so...mercedes benz is celebrating their 125th anniversary this year and they're taking the 1886 benz patent motorwagen on a cross canada tour. it was at the sales dept in richmond yesterday so i had to go check it out on my lunch break. pretty cool machine!!
there is some controversy and mixed ideas about who built the first car and when it was actually made...but this vehicle is generally considered to be the first purpose built automobile ever patented, built, and sold that uses technology still used today. gasoline powered 4 stroke internal combustion engine, valves/piston/cylinder/rod/crank, points & plug ignition, watercooled, rack & pinion steering, ring & pinion/band & drum/chain & gear driven drive train, rubber tires...apparently on the first trip when the brake was worn out they got a local shoemaker to attach some shoe soles as friction material (first ever brake shoe/pad...)!!
i think it's absolutely amazing what karl benz and the other innovators/inventors were coming up with at the time considering the tools, materials, resources, knowledge and communication they had back then. sometimes we take so much for granted these days that it's nice to just sit back and marvel at what the automobile was...and what it's become!!!
1886 motorwagen vs 2011 sls...
