The Horseless Carriage Club of America defines the horseless carriage as vehicles manufactured prior to 1916. Also known as the Brass Era of the automobile, these cars date from the origin of the self-propelled, motorized vehicle in the late nineteenth century to the emergence of substantial automobiles that formed the foundation of a technology that would profoundly shape and influence the next century.
The First Manufacturers
By the turn of the twentieth century, there were already hundreds of auto makers in the United States. By 1910 there were several thousand. Europe, the early leaders in automobile technology, had similar numbers of manufacturers in the early 1900s, but by 1910 the number of cars produced in the U.S. had moved well ahead of other countries. Among the American marques founded in the early twentieth century that survived the formative years to become major auto makers included Ford, Cadillac, Oldsmobile, Buick, REO, Overland, and Maxwell. Some of the pioneering manufacturers in Europe that became major names in the automobile industry were Mercedes, Panhard Levassor, Daimler, Rolls Royce, Napier, Talbot, Renault, and Peugeot. There are many published and on-line resources on the history of individual automobile manufacturers, however a comprehensive reference on American firms is the Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805-1942, by Beverly Rae Kimes and Henry Austin Clark, Jr.
The Automobile Industry
The first cars were manufactured individually, in very small numbers. As interest developed and sales grew, production increased to dozens of cars per year by the more successful firms. Still, it was a labor-intensive effort that kept cars accessible only to the more affluent within a community. Ransom E. Olds, creator of Oldsmobile and later REO, is credited with the first production line for automobile manufacture. But later, with his famous Model T, Henry Ford revolutionized mass production of cars with a moving assembly line and sourcing materials on-site, resulting in annual production rates of hundreds of thousands of cars per year. With this system, and the simple, reliable design of the Model T, Henry Ford achieved the goal of a reasonably priced car that many households could afford, establishing the foundation of the “car culture” that would dominate twentieth century American life.
The automobile quickly became “big business” in the United States and abroad, with many fortunes made and lost in the nascent motoring industry. The pioneering community of auto manufacturing personalities was a close-knit group. Across all markets, competition was fierce, yet there was extensive cross-fertilization of creative ideas and innovation as automotive technology emerged from infancy and began to mature.
William Crapo Durant was the first person who pursued the vision of assembling numerous individual manufactures into a single automotive corporate entity, producing lines of cars meeting a range of design markets and price points. He created General Motors by purchasing and assembling into one company a number of the more successful early marques, including Oldsmobile, Buick, Cadillac, among others, to offer vehicles at all levels of cost, design appeal, and prestige. During Durant’s tenure, General Motors bought and sold a large number of auto manufacturing companies, ending some and making others great. Durant’s leadership of General Motors was often chaotic and fraught with poor business decisions, even seeing him ousted from the company a couple of times. One of his major successes, however, was bringing Chevrolet into the GM fold in 1918. By the early1960s, one in ten cars sold in the Unites States was a Chevrolet.
Modes of Power—Steam, Electric, Internal Combustion
Although today the dominance of the gasoline automobile from the outset seems self-evident, in fact, in 1900, 42 percent of motor vehicles were steam powered, with electric cars the next most popular at 40 percent, and internal combustion (primarily gasoline fueled) a distant third with 18 percent of the market. Steam power was a logical initial choice given that steam was a principal power source for the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries. By the end of the nineteenth century there was extensive knowledge and experience with steam engines. While early steam cars had some advantages with power and relative simplicity of engine design, they were impractical to operate and had finicky performance. Early electric cars (they are nothing new) were clean, efficient, and often well-appointed. But they had major drawbacks of low speed and limited range given the primitive battery technology at the time. They were fine for short trips in a city, but not useful for longer drives. Gasoline cars were of course present at the outset of the automotive age, but the first examples were messy, required challenging crank starting, and were spotty in terms of performance and reliability. But the power and duration of the gasoline fueled engine offered great potential. By 1910, gasoline cars were coming into their own in terms of speed, performance, and reliability, and were vastly improved compared to steam and electric automobiles. Finally, with the advent of the self-starter, doing away with the need to crank start by hand, the preeminence of the gasoline car was firmly established. A few steam and electric car manufacturers continued to produce small numbers of vehicles into the 1920s, but their heyday had long since passed. One final fact on propulsion, in 1912 the number of engine-powered automobiles first exceeded the number of horses used for transport in US cities, and by 1930 there were more cars than horses overall.
How they Worked
Steam: In simple terms, a steam engine required a water supply, a boiler and burner to heat the water and turn it into steam, and a plumbing system to feed the steam into a piston motor (generally 2 cylinder) to generate power to the transmission system. Starting a steam car involved filling the boiler via a water reservoir, lighting the pilot flame to vaporize the fuel (usually kerosine or gasoline) to the burner to heat the water to make steam. Initial start-up from cold usually took around 20 minutes before there was enough steam pressure to drive the car. Steam cars generally ran around 500 psi steam pressure. Mileage was typically 1 mile per gallon of water, with a water reservoir of 20-30 gallons. So after about 20-25 miles you had to stop for water, which was a major limiting factor in operating a steam car.
Electric: Early electric vehicles were produced in a variety of sizes and carrying capacities. The basic design used a large bank of batteries that supplied current to a powerful electric motor and drove the wheels by chain-and-sprocket or drive shaft. Many electric cars were tiller steering. Electric vehicles ran very quietly, delivered power instantly from the electric motor for ease of operation, and required no messy fuel, oil, or coolant. They were popular in the cities where speed and duration were not an issue, and the ability to recharge the batteries, which was a lengthy process, was more readily available than in small towns. Battery life was the major limitation of early electric vehicles, as it still is to a degree with modern electric cars. Early electric cars typically could travel only 20-25 miles before needing to be recharged.
Internal Combustion: From the simple single-cylinder, to vertical four- and six-6 cylinder, to V8 and 12-cylinder engines, the principle is the same. Deliver a mixture of fuel and air into the cylinder, compress the mixture via the piston as a spark is introduced to ignite the fuel/air mixture to create an explosion, pushing back on the piston, and exhaust the resulting gases. The cycle repeats in each cylinder with the proper timing. This process, via connecting rods, rotates the crankshaft and delivers power to the transmission. Early transmissions were either planetary, sliding gear, or transaxle, among others, and supplied power from the engine to the wheels over a range of speeds. The internal combustion engine offered both speed and duration, resulting in it supplanting steam and electric as the primary means of propulsion. The advent of the self-starter further secured its dominance.
Infrastructure—Roads, Fuel, Service
At the turn of the twentieth century, there were no roads as we know them today, just paths and wagon routes from town to town. There were no gasoline stations. You purchased fuel from a general store or other supplier. Service was on your own, or for major repairs, back to the dealer. So with the introduction and proliferation of the automobile, an infrastructure to support it had to be developed. As with most new technologies, a system of support emerged to foster its use and development. This occurred in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere through organizations dedicated to promoting the automobile, and by government. In the United States, a major impetus for this came from the American Automobile Association, today’s AAA, founded in 1902. An early focus of AAA was advocating for investment and construction of better roads and ultimately a highway system. In 1913, one of the first major road projects in the United States was dedicated, the Lincoln Highway. It spanned the continent from New York to California, and inspired future major highway construction efforts. The AAA also promoted travel assistance with maps, and information on service facilities, hotels, and motor vehicle laws. To meet the growing demand for readily available fuel and service, the need was filled by the growth of a parallel industry of service stations, parts suppliers, and mechanics.
Social History of the Automobile
Prior to the introduction of the automobile, the average person never traveled more than a few miles from their place of birth. When less expensive and reliable automobiles began to be produced in greater numbers it became possible for people with average incomes to own an automobile and expand their ability to travel greater distances, and more easily and quickly. This development fueled one of the most pervasive social changes of the twentieth century. In the United States, Europe, and elsewhere, access to personal automobile ownership engendered a whole new way of life.
The automobile was also integrated into the culture through racing, long-distance competitions, pioneering cross-country drives, and other spectator events. These activities endeavored to demonstrate the reliability and performance of the automobile and promote enthusiasm and acceptance of the new technology. The first recognized city-to-city race from Paris to Bordeaux took place in 1895. The first US coast-to-coast drive was accomplished by Horatio Nelson in a Winton in 1903. In 1909 Alice Ramsey with a group of friends became the first female driver to replicate this feat. The first Indianapolis 500 race took place in 1911, and racing at county fairs and local tracks grew around the nation. By 1920, motor sports were firmly established and had captured broad popular interest. The automobile was also entering popular culture through song, nascent motion pictures, and the arts.
By the end of the Brass Era, the automobile as personal transport, as spectator sport, and in culture was changing the social fabric of the world in profound and lasting ways.
Attire and Personal Equipment
Driving an early automobile placed the occupants in direct contact with the elements. Unlike the sealed and isolated personal environment of a modern car, the first automobilists had to contend with sun, temperature, wind, dust, rain, mud, and snow. Innovative manufacturers soon saw the opportunity to capture a piece of the newly forming auto industry by producing clothes and equipment to make the journey more bearable. Light overcoats worn to protect your clothes from dust and grime called “dusters” became very popular for men and women. All manner of hats, scarves, goggles, gauntlets (long gloves), lap blankets, and the like became standard gear for the those venturing out in the first cars.