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Benz is widely recognized as
having developed the first gasoline automobile with his three-wheeled
car in 1886. It was initially thought that Benz's three-wheeled
car would replace the carriage as a form of transportation, but
the development experienced problems in handling. This made the
transition to a three-wheeled, front-wheel steering vehicle difficult.
The car's engine had a single horizontal cylinder positioned over
the rear axle, and it was capable of speeds of up to 15km/h. It
was also equipped with a differential gear. |
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After his three-wheeled development,
Benz began designing the first four-wheeled car. He immediately obtained a patent
from the German empire in 1893 to incorporate the"kingpin"front-wheel-steering
system. He then built the Victoria, the first four-wheeled car, as well as the
first car to adopt the kingpin system. A smaller version of the Victoria, the
Velo, was marketed in 1894. The Velo, capable of going up to 2lkm/h, had a vertical
flywheel engine and a two-speed transmission based on a system of belts and
pulleys, in which a chain through the differential gear powered the rearwheel-drive
system. |
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De Dion-Bouton in Paris started
production of steam carriages in 1883, and switched to petrol-powered vehicles
in 1895. The company developed a reliable lightweight engine and fitted it to
the tricycle, making it the most popular powered vehicle in Europe due to its
agility and low price.The company also introduced a quadricycle with a front passenger
seat in 1898, but it failed to satisfy the market demand for greater capacity,
safety, and comfort for passengers, and production of both the tricycle and quadricycle
was terminated in 1903. |
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Oldsmobile changed production from
building steam cars to gasoline cars in 1895. The company's most recognized accomplishment
was building the world's first mass-produced car, the Curved Dash model of 1901.
The sales recorded were 2,500 units in 1902, 4,000 in 1903, and 5,000 in 1904.
In contrast,Europe's largest automaker, De Dion-Bouton mass-produced only 1,200
cars per year at that time. |
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