Page:America's Highways 1776–1976.djvu/60



In 1900 there were about 8,000 automobiles in the United States, practically all concentrated in the major cities. Probably half of these were electric-motor driven, silent and dependable, but limited by their lead-acid batteries to an operating radius of 25 to 30 miles. Since dependable pneumatic tires did not become available until 1897, practically all of these electrics ran on solid rubber tires, and most of them were European-made.

In the late 1890's, the Stanley brothers of Newton, Massachusetts, perfected the European steam car into a reliable American vehicle with a greater driving range than the electric. By 1900 their steamers had driven the European models from the American market and two factories were producing cars under the Stanley patents.

Karl Friedrich Benz of Mannheim, Germany, built the first reliable internal combustion engine automobile—a three-wheeler—in 1885. This extraordinary vehicle had electric ignition, water cooling system, a differential gear and surface carburetor—all Benz inventions. Later Benz invented the fixed front axle with steerable stub axles and in 1899 the gear box for changing speeds. In 1893 he exhibited a four-wheel vehicle which incorporated most of these advanced mechanical ideas at the Chicago World Fair. This machine, which incorporated in rudimentary form, practically all of the essential features of the modern automobile, was the inspiration for many others produced by American inventors in the following decade.

The total production of TJ.S.-made automobiles for the year 1900 was 4,192 machines, of which 1,575 were electrics, 1,681 were steamers and 936 were gasoline engine-driven. These, along with the European imports, were individually handcrafted and correspondingly expensive, costing from $3,000 to $12,000 each at a time when industrial and farm laborers were paid $1 for a 10-hour day.

These early automobiles were large, heavy and clumsy, partly from a paucity of engineering knowledge on how to compute the stresses in their various parts and partly from lack of strong light materials for their manufacture. About 1906 vanadium alloy steel, developed in Europe, became available in the United States, and by using it and other alloys, Henry Ford of Detroit, Michigan, was able to redesign his big, heavy touring car into a much lighter and smaller 54