September Issue 107
www.thenewsyneighbour.com
By Kathryn Hartwell
Over the years, I have
owned many, many vehicles. My first car was a 1967 Chevy Malibu. I have also
owned a 1976 Trans Am, a Camaro Z28 and a 1999 Jaguar XJ8. What can I say, I
like fast cars! Now I drive my Big White Hemi Dodge Ram Truck.
Can you believe that the
Benz Patent-Motorwagen is believed to be the first modern automobile? It was
built in 1886 by German inventor Carl Benz. In August 1888, Carl Benz's wife,
Bertha Benz, became the first person to drive a car over a long distance.
Without telling her husband, she drove one of their Benz Patent-Motorwagen’s
along with her two eldest sons from a town called Mannheim in southern Germany
to Pforzheim. Automobile trips before this were usually short drives; she
wanted to prove the automobile they had invented was a useful contraption that
the general public could use. Bertha Benz's road trip was a pioneering drive
and a key event in the technical development of the car. Covering 106 km (66
miles) each way, she did the round trip in two days, solving numerous problems
on the way. When the brakes needed repairing, she invented brake lining. She
used a hatpin to clean a blocked fuel pipe and insulated a wire with a garter.
She located fuel at the city pharmacy in Wiesloch (hailed as the first fuel
station in the world) and on her return home made other suggestions, such as
the need of another gear for climbing hills.
As automobiles became more
popular, a need arose to manufacture affordable cars on a large-scale basis.
Ransom Olds in 1902 debuted a production-line manufacturing system at his
Oldsmobile factory in Michigan, USA. The Henry Ford's Model T car, introduced
in 1908, is often regarded as the most famous of all early automobiles. It was
the first car to become publically affordable, especially after Ford massively
improved the production-line manufacturing system. In 1914, Ford created a
production-line system that focused on synchronization, precision, and
specialization. Ford's cars came off the line much faster than previous methods
(from 12.5 man-hours down to just 1.5), which increased productivity, yet used
less manpower. By assigning each worker a specified area rather than allowing
them to roam about, injuries were dramatically reduced.
Now, have you heard that
Google has developed a driverless car? The vehicles look cute but hardly
impact-resistant, and they have a top speed of only 25 miles per hour. Google
still has significant work to do before its software can handle all the
situations a human driver can. “There’s going to be an enormous market for
small autonomous vehicles,” says Gary Silberg, an auto industry analyst at the
consulting firm KPMG. He cites city centers, airports, campuses, and amusement
parks as places where vehicles, much like those Google is just starting to test
could fit in. Google said that the new design will be unleashed on the roads of
the company’s hometown of Mountain View, California, this summer. Eventually,
up to 100 vehicles will roam the town’s suburban streets. These cars are expected
to be available commercially around the year 2020.
Can you imagine seeing a
car driving down the street empty? That would be just too weird and it sounds
like it really is going to happen! What is this world coming to? Just give them
another 20 years and we will have flying cars – it could happen!
Drive safe out there and
may something wonderful happen for you today!
Kathryn Hartwell
References:
sciencekids.co.nz, theeatlantic.com and technologyreview.com
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