TOP 10 | breakthrough cars

Today we will look at cars that, with their premiere, brought breakthrough solutions across the entire automotive industry.

1. The first diesel engine in a passenger car - Mercedes 260 D (1936)

Today, diesel engines are lagging behind, but over the past few decades, they have firmly established themselves in the market. The turbocharged diesel was not only economical but also offered very good performance and flexibility. But how did it really start?

In 1930, the famous American manufacturer of diesel engines for trucks, Cummins, created one passenger car with a unit of his own design, but this was an experimental project. I had to wait some time for the serial use of a diesel engine in a passenger car.

In 1933, Citroën built a station wagon version of the Rosalie, but did not introduce it until the 1936 Paris Motor Show. That is why the name of the first mass-produced passenger car with a diesel engine belongs to the Mercedes 260 D. The car went on sale in 1936 and from the very beginning became a favorite of taxi drivers. Taxi drivers' love for Mercedes continues to this day.

The Mercedes 260 D had a 2.6-liter naturally aspirated diesel engine with 45 hp. It allowed to accelerate to less than 100 km / h, but the most important thing was low fuel consumption - the car consumed less than 10 liters of diesel fuel, despite its heavy weight (about 1,6 tons).

Mercedes 260 D was produced until 1940. By that time, about 2 copies had been built.

2. Hatchback Pierwszy - Citroen Traction Avant 11CV Commerciale (1938)

Citroen is known for its innovative solutions. The French brand boasts not only a hydropneumatic suspension, but also the introduction of the first hatchback into mass production.

In 1938, Citroën introduced a new version of its popular Traction Avant model, prepared especially for entrepreneurs. The Citroen 11CV Commerciale provided excellent access to the trunk and almost the entire rear of the car. The hatch opened twice - up and down.

Production was stopped for the period of the Second World War, but after these upheavals, Citroen returned to the release of the first hatchback.

3. The first mass-produced car with an automatic transmission - Oldsmobile (1939)

It could not be otherwise - the first cars with automatic transmission appeared in American car dealerships, and General Motors is responsible for this novelty. The Hydramatic transmission was used in Oldsmobile cars in 1939, and the first cars were delivered to customers in the fall of 1939 as 1940 models.

After the first year of production, General Motors decided to offer the same powertrain to the more luxurious Cadillac brand. After the war, the Hydramatic also entered the Pontiac lineup. Until 1949, one million cars were produced with this transmission.

4. Air conditioning on board - Packard (1939)

Another novelty that quickly settled in the American market and was a luxury item in Europe for decades is air conditioning. The first attempts to create an automotive cooling system took place at the end of the XNUMXs, and in the XNUMXs companies appeared that installed air conditioners on various vehicles.

Packard, an American luxury car manufacturer, was the first brand to introduce this novelty into its offer.

The first air conditioning system was not perfect. The main thing is that it was extremely expensive - it cost $ 274, which is less than $ 5 today. In addition, the air conditioning system took up most of the luggage space and did not allow you to adjust the temperature - you could turn the cooling on or off. There was no thermostat. The variant was unsuccessful and the 1941 model was withdrawn from the offer.

5. The first hybrid - Lohner-Porsche (1900)

Although the idea of ​​hybrid cars is related to the modern car market, the first hybrid actually appeared in 1900.

The young engineer Ferdinand Porsche, working in the Viennese company of Jakob Lohner, developed an electric motor, which he decided to install on the hubs. Each small unit drove one wheel. This is how the Lohner-Porsche electric car was created, presented in 1900 in Paris. Due to the problem of storing energy to power the engines, Porsche decided to create the first ever hybrid. He added an internal combustion engine to his car to generate electricity. This is the same solution as in the Opel Ampera.

The hybrid created in this way weighed 4 tons, but despite this, it was able to accelerate to 61 km / h. The large weight was due to the need to use batteries weighing up to 1800 kg. Production began in 1900 and continued for five years. At least 300 cars were produced.

6. McPherson column - Ford Vedette (1948)

MacPherson struts are a common front suspension solution today, providing a compact size, simple design and good ride quality. Its author is Earl S. McPherson, still working at General Motors in the XNUMXs, but in the XNUMXs he moved to the European branch of Ford, where he managed to put into production a front suspension design of his own design.

The first car to receive this innovation was the French-made Ford Vedette, a large comfortable car with American V8 engines and attractive American styling. The car remained in production until 1954, but, as we well know, the history of the MacPherson strut, which is today the most popular front suspension solution, did not end there.

7. The first car with an airbag - Oldsmobile Toronado (1973)

Improving driver and passenger safety has been one of the most important tasks in the automotive industry since cars began to reach significant speeds. One of the most important inventions is airbags, which are now widely used even in popular cheap cars. The history of the decision that saved countless lives goes back to th years. Over the cover, designed to protect the face of the driver and passenger in the event of a collision, worked in the United States, Germany and Japan.

In the USA, John W. Hetrick received a patent for this solution in 1953, but the commercial application of this solution had to wait until 1973. It was then that the first production car appeared, which had an air-cushion passive safety system in the list of optional equipment. However, American buyers of the 1977s were reluctant to choose it, and it remained on sale until the model year.

Since 1974, a driver and passenger airbag has been an option on Cadillac, Buick, and other Oldsmobile models.

8. The first seat belts in a production car - Tucker, 1948

When we want to look at the history of seat belts, our interest is undoubtedly directed to Scandinavian manufacturers known for their love of safety. Indeed, the Swedes have an excellent track record in this area.

The first car to be offered with seat belts as standard was the Saab GT 750 in 1958, and Volvo introduced the first three-point belts in 1959, which also protected the upper body, unlike the lap belts previously used.

However, to find the first car equipped with seat belts, you have to go back ten years to the United States.

For the 1948 model year, the small Tucker company, led by Preston Trucker, introduced its first product. It was a Trucker 48, an extravagant sedan full of modern features. It had an additional headlight located in the center, a reinforced body, disc brakes and lap belts.

The Tucker 48 was a fiasco, only 51 cars were produced, but seat belts appeared on Nash cars the following year, and other American manufacturers offered them as optional equipment in the XNUMXs.

9. The first production car - Oldsmobile Curved Dash (1901)

The Ford T is widely regarded as the first production car to use an innovative production line solution. However, the story is a little different. The first production car was the Oldsmobile Curved Dash, introduced in 1901, so named because of the shape of the front end.

Over the 6 years of production, Oldsmobile produced more than 19 copies. This was made possible through the use of a production line. Unlike many turn-of-the-century automobiles, Oldsmobile was designed so that each example was identical, allowing parts to be easily replaced. That's why this Oldsmobile is considered the first production car.

10. The first production supercharged car - Mercedes 6/20 hp and 10/35 hp (1921)

The compressor has been a hallmark of Mercedes for many decades, and without a doubt the most famous pre-war car using this solution is the sports Mercedes-Benz SSK, designed by Ferdinand Porsche himself. Before this great car began to win on the European racetracks, in 1921 Mercedes introduced 6/20 hp models at the Berlin Motor Show. and 10/35 hp

The first model had a 1.6-liter engine enriched with a Roots mechanical compressor, while the second version was equipped with a 40-liter engine with approximately 2.6 hp. We had to wait until 1923 to begin serial production of both machines. The idea of ​​increasing power through a compressor remained in the minds of Mercedes engineers, who developed this technology in subsequent years.