125th birthday of the automobile

[john70t]

The birth certificate of the automobile was issued 125 years ago today - Image 4 of 50
"On January 29, 1886, Karl Benz filed a Patent No. 37435 at the Reich Patent Office in Berlin – it is generally regarded as the birth certificate of the automobile and became the first of over 80,000 patents awarded to the Mercedes Benz marque. Benz’ Patent Motor Car was equipped with a horizontal single-cylinder four-stroke engine, which developed an output of 0.55 kW at 400 rpm from a displacement of 954 cubic centimetres. The vehicle’s top speed was 16 km/h."

[RWebb]

thx for posting that

I'd have bored it stroked it, and put in a high lift cam...

[Scott Douglas]

M-B had one of those (I assume it was a replica made by them) at Cars and Coffee this morning in Irvine.
It was pretty cool to see it doing a few laps of the parking lot.



Hard to get a good picture of it with all the people looking at it.

[Z-man]

I've got one of them Patent-wagons (replica, of course), in the downstairs lobby in my building! (the perks of working for MBUSA Corporate Headquarters!)

To celebrate the birthday of the automobile, Daimler world-wide is allocating 125,000 Euro to give out as bonuses to all employes of Daimler! That's a nice thank you from my company!

-Z-man.

[dewolf]

I have four early 70's Benz' and find them to be incredibly reliable and robust cars. My favorite is my W108 280SE. Benz has, and most probably always will, set the standard by which other cars are judged.

[EarlyPorsche]

Originally Posted by Z-man

To celebrate the birthday of the automobile, Daimler world-wide is allocating 125,000 Euro to give out as bonuses to all employes of Daimler! That's a nice thank you from my company!

-Z-man.

Thats it!? What is that like 1-2 Euro per person? I would think that 12,500,000 Euro would be a good company.

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by EarlyPorsche

Thats it!? What is that like 1-2 Euro per person? I would think that 12,500,000 Euro would be a good company.

My exact tough...

Dear Mr Dailmer, please keep the 2 Euro since it seem you need it more the me

[EarlyPorsche]

Dr. Z I believe is Mr. Daimler.

[kaisen]

I thought I read $650 per employee

[john70t]

Looks like this was posted too soon.
Benz had the first patent and serves as a milestone for historys, but turns out it wasn't the first automobile, and certainly not the first powerplant-vehicle. There were trains, mining cars and the like already in use, and in all likelyhood there probably was a few barn projects that also made it to the road.

The De Dion Bouton was made a few years earlier.
De Dion, Bouton et Trepardou Dos-a-Dos - Supercars.net

"Boasting a top speed of 38 miles per hour, the De Dion Bouton's twin tandem compound steam engines use coal and water for fuel. On April 28, 1887 it won the world's first auto race, from Paris to Neuilly and back, covering a distance of 19 miles while averaging 26 miles per hour."

Back then, the early steam cars were by far the fastest on the road, but could take up to 45 minutes to warm up and drive.

With the complexity of starting and keeping the gasoline engine going, the horse-and-buggy stayed in use for quite a while, and was considered a vehicle for men only.

There were electric vehicles in widespead use back then as well, and I think it was Dodge who marketed their cars as "easy enough for women and children to drive". The range still seem to be the limiting factor for their use.

The ability to easily "get in and go fast" was the limiting factor to the spread of the automobile until the ignition switch, the electric starter, and the spark plug came along.

[Z-man]

Originally Posted by EarlyPorsche

Thats it!? What is that like 1-2 Euro per person? I would think that 12,500,000 Euro would be a good company.

Sorry, I missed a couple of zeros -- it is 125 MILLION euro.

For MBUSA, the payout is based on years of service and for most people, it's over $1000.

Sorry for the confusion.

-Z