The Amazing World of Automobiles

Follow the evolution of the amazing automobile through the ages: from the first Model T Ford to roll off the conveyor belt to the most recent design innovations including cars that reduce your carbon footprint.

Cars have kept us on the road for the last century. In the beginning only the wealthy could afford to buy a car until Henry Ford and his assembly line changed the way the world moved.

Before cars roads were used for horse-drawn carts. Soon gravel gave way to cobblestones and then to modern roads paved with tar. Even as roads became smoother and more durable some intrepid drivers still wanted to explore more inhospitable terrain.

Since the invention of the automobile men have raced cars. The first races were feats of endurance but after WWII motor sport became a team affair and drivers became professionals.

Chart some of the most important names in the short history of automobiles: men who have raced designed or built cars including the most influential icon Henry Ford.

While BMW is one of the most sought-after cars in the middle-class prestige market the brand has also long been associated with motorsport with its BM1 division devoted to creating cars that can outperform and outlast their competitors.

In the last ten years car manufacturers have been working to cut carbon emissions and save fuel resulting in the development of hybrid cars such as Toyotaʼs Prius and Fordʼs Fiesta E-kinetic.

During the first twenty-five years of motoring history vehicular accidents necessitated the advent of the earliest seatbelts in the 1950s. Soon three-point belts become law in some countries due to their effectiveness in saving lives.

By the turn of the century the Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Company produced the first all-British automobile the Baby Austin which became available in 1922 at a price of 225 pounds.

Two German inventors Niklaus Otto and Karl Benz revolutionized the way people traveled by creating the first reliable engines.

Ransom Olds father of the famous American Oldsmobile started building cars around the same time as Henry Ford. But Ford established the 40-hour work week and introduced mass production via assembly lines heralding a new era for industry.

Porsche and Renault were just two of the famous names competing for glory during the 1970s: a classic era in sports car racing. The Porsche short-tail 917 was one of the newer lightweight vehicles introduced early in the 70s.

Europe's great circuits evolved from city-to-city road races such as the 1939 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. Post WWII racing resumed in Europe with Maserati and Ferrari represented by Juan Manuel Fangio and Nino Farina.