Automobiles A Technical History

This book provides the background that automotive engineers, students and other readers need in order to appreciate the development of the complex machines. In chronological order, it integrates world historic events related to advances in transportation with the lives and accomplishments of professionals who contributed to those events. The book traces the technological processes related to invention of the automobile, including scientific research, development of the automobile design process and development of new and more effective systems within the vehicle.

Preface. Invention of the Wheel and Carriage - Predecessors of Automobile (4th - 3rd Millennium BC). Building Roads for Ancient and Modern Vehicles (From 1100 BC to Present Day). the Science of Automobile Formation (From Adam and Eve to the First Automobile). Carriages and Self-Moving Strollers - First Steps Towards an Engine (Renaissance, 14 - 17th Centuries). the Eve of the Automobile’s Birth (18th and 19th Centuries, Until 1885). Birth of the Automobile and Other Contenders (1885 - 1886). Childhood of the Automobile - Beginning of Industrial Production (1886 – 1900). Youth of the Automobile - Contributing Useful Work to Society (1901 - 1914). the Automobile in Wartime (1914 - 1945). the Automobile - Aiming for the Future (1946 - 2013). Prospects for the Future Automobile Technologies.