automobiles

UNIT 5. THE HISTORY OF LAND TRANSPORT

Introduction

The word transport means to carry people or goods from place to place. It is also used for the vehicles that carry people or goods – for example, motor transport includes buses, lorries, motor coaches and motor cars. The American word for the same thing is transportation, and the remark “transportation is civilization” was made by an American, the motor-car manufacturer Henry Ford.

The history of transport is divided into two stages. The first stage is that in which all forms of transport depended directly on the power of men or animals or on natural forces such as winds and current. The second stage began with the development of the steam engine, which was followed by the electric motor and the internal combustion engine as the main sources of power for transport.

Who introduced the first cheap motor car?

The first practical internal combustion engine was introduced in the form of a gas engine by the German engineer N. Otto in 1876.

Since then motor transport began to spread in Europe very rapidly. But the person who was the first to make it really popular was Henry Ford, an American manufacturer who introduced the first cheap motor car, the famous Ford Model “T”.

When did diesel-engined lorries become general?

The rapid development of the internal combustion engine led to its use in the farm tractors, thereby creating a revolution in agriculture. The use of motor vehicles for carrying heavy loads developed more slowly until the 1930s when diesel-engined lorries became general.

The motor cycle steadily increased in popularity as engines and tyres became more reliable and roads improved. Motor cycles were found well suited for competition races and sporting events and were also recognized as the cheapest form of fast transport.

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When were the buses and trams introduced first?

Buses were started in Paris in 1820. In 1828 they were introduced in London by George Shillibeer, a coach builder who used the French name Omnibus which was obtained from the Latin word meaning “for all”. His Omnibuses were driven by three horses and had seats for 22 passengers. Then in the 20th century reliable petrol engines became available, and by 1912 the new motor buses were fast replacing horse-driven buses.

Trams were introduced in the middle of the 19th century. The idea was that, as the rails were smoother than the roads, less effort was needed to pull a tram than a bus. The first trams were horsedrawn but the later trams were almost all driven by electricity. The electric motor driving the tram was usually with electric current from overhead wires. Such wires are also used by trolleybuses, which run on rubber tyres and do not need rails.

Another form of transport used in London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv and some other crowded cities is the underground railway.

London’s first underground railway of the “tube” type was opened in 1862, the Moscow underground – in 1935.

Exercise 1. Answer the following questions:

1.What does the word “transport” mean?

2.What are two stages in the history of transport?

3.What are the main sources of power for transport?

4.When, where and by whom was the first internal combustion engine introduced?

5.What do you know about Henry Ford?

6.What did the rapid development of the internal combustion engine lead to?

7.When did diesel-engined lorries become general?

8.When were buses introduced in London?

9.What is the origin of the word “omnibus”?

10.When did motor buses replace horse-driven buses?

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Exercise 2. Give English equivalents of the following:

-транспортний засіб, автомобіль

-перевозити людей

-виробник автомобілів

-паровий двигун

-двигун внутрішнього згоряння

-поширюватися

-представити, запровадити

-швидкий розвиток

-надійний

-дешевий вид транспорту

Exercise 3. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words:

1.The word “transport” means …or goods from place to place. It is also used for the … that carry people or goods, for example buses, lorries, motor cars.

2.The American word for the same thing is … .

3.The remark “… is civilization” was made by an American, Henry Ford.

4.The second stage in the history of transport began with the development of … which was followed by the electric motor and the internal combustion engine.

5.The first practical … was introduced by the German engineer N. Otto in 1876.

6.Since 1876 motor transport began … in Europe very rapidly.

7.The American manufacturer Henry Ford made motor transport really popular when he … the first cheap motor car, the famous Ford Model “T”.

8.… of the internal combustion engine led to its use in the farm tractors, thereby creating a revolution in agriculture.

9.The motor transport steadily increased in popularity as engines and types became more ….

10.In 1828 buses were … in London by George Shillibeer, who used the name “Omnibus”.

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UNIT 6. THE EARLY DAYS OF THE AUTOMOBILE

TEXT 1.

1.One of the earliest attempts to propel a vehicle by mechanical power was suggested by Isaac Newton. But the first self-propelled vehicle was constructed by the French military engineer Cugnot in 1763. He built a steam-driven engine which had three wheels, carried two passengers and ran at maximum speed of four miles. The carriage was a great achievement but it was far from perfect and extremely inefficient. The supply of steam lasted only 15 minutes and the carriage had to stop every 100 yards to make more steam.

In 1784, the Russian inventor Kulibin built a three-wheeled carriage. In this vehicle he used for the first time such new elements as brakes and gear-box.

The first Englishman to build a full-size self-propelled vehicle for use on the roads and to obtain practical results was Threvitheck. In the period of 1798-1800 he built several working models.

2.In 1825 a steam engine was built in Great Britain. The vehicle carried 18 passengers and covered 8 miles in 45 minutes. However, the progress of motor cars met with great opposition in Great Britain. Further development of the motor car lagged because of the restrictions resulting from legislative acts. The most famous of these acts was the Red Flag Act of 1865, according to which the speed of the steam-driven vehicles was limited to 4 miles per hour and a man with a red flag had to walk in front of it.

Motoring really started in the country after the abolition of the

act.

3.In Russia there were cities where motor cars were outlawed altogether. When the editor of the local newspaper in the city of Uralsk bought a car, the governor issued these instructions to the police: “When the vehicle appears in the streets, it is to be stopped and escorted to the police station, where its driver is to be prosecuted.”

4.From 1860 to 1900 there was a period of the application of gasoline engines to motor cars in many countries. The first to perfect gasoline engine was N. Otto who introduced the four-stroke cycle of

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operation. By that time motor cars got a standard shape and appearance.

In 1896 a procession of motor cars took place from London to Brighton to show how reliable the new vehicles were. In fact, many of the cars broke, for the transmissions were still unreliable and constantly gave trouble.

The cars of that time were very small, two-seated cars with no roof, driven by an engine placed under the seat. Motorists had to carry large cans of fuel and separate spare tyres, for there were no repair or filling stations to serve them.

After World War I it became possible to achieve greater reliability of motor cars, brakes became more efficient. Constant efforts were made to standardize common components. Multi-cylinder engines came into use, most commonly used are four-cylinder engines.

5. Like most other great human achievements, the motor car is not the product of any single inventor. Gradually the development of vehicles driven by internal combustion engine – cars, as they had come to be known, led to the abolition of earlier restrictions. Huge capital began to flow into the automobile industry.

From 1908 to 1924 the number of cars in the world rose from 200 thousand to 20 million; by 1960 it had reached 60 million! No other industry had ever developed at such a rate.

Exercise 1. Memorize the following words and word combinations from the text:

to propel a vehicle by me-	приводити автомобіль в рух меха-
chanical power	нічною силою
wheel	колесо
speed	швидкість
supply	постачання, запас
to lag	відставати
to be limited to	обмежуватися
restriction	обмеження
application	застосування
stroke	такт
fuel	паливо

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spare tyre	запасна шина
repair	ремонт; ремонтувати
filling station	бензоколонка
brakes	гальма

Exercise 2. Find synonyms:
A 1.	to build	B 1.	to happen
2.	speed	2.	form
3.	to obtain	3.	to present
4.	in front of	4.	well-known
5.	famous	5.	to get
6.	application	6.	velocity
7.	to introduce	7.	to construct
8.	shape	8.	use
9.	take place	9.	before
10.	to achieve	10.	to reach

Exercise 3. Answer the following questions:

1.What did Isaac Newton suggest?

2.Who constructed the first self-propelled vehicle and when?

3.What new elements did Kulibin use in his vehicle for the

first time?

4.What do you know about the English inventor Thre-

vitheck?

5.What do you know about the progress of motor cars in Great Britain at the end of the 19th century?

6.What did N. Otto introduce?

7.What engines came into use after World War I?

8.What can you say about the modern automotive industry?

Exercise 4. Translate the following sentences using words and word combinations from the text.

1. І. Ньютон запропонував приводити автомобіль у рух за допомогою механічної сили.

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2.У 1763 році французький військовий інженер Кюньйо побудував автомобіль, що приводився у рух паровим двигуном і мав три колеса.

3.У 1865 році швидкість автомобілів з паровим двигуном обмежувалась 4 милями на годину.

4.Застосування двигунів, що працювали на бензині, було поширеним у багатьох країнах у період з 1860 по 1900 роки.

5.Німецький інженер Н. Отто удосконалив бензиновий двигун, запровадивши чотиритактний цикл роботи.

6.Водії перших автомобілів змушені були возити з собою великі каністри з паливом і запасні шини, тому що тоді не було ремонтних станцій і бензозаправок.

7.Після І світової війни вдалося досягти більшої надійності автомобілів завдяки удосконаленню гальм.

8.Сучасний автомобіль – результат винаходів багатьох інженерів і винахідників.

Exercise 5. Translate into Ukrainian:

Engineering milestones began to enhance the popularity of the car and improve its safety. They included the electric starter in 1911, introduced by Charles Kettering; the synchronized transmission for easier gear shifting; improved carburettors; heaters; mechanically operated windshield wipers; and interchangeable parts. Henry Leland, president of Cadillac Automobile Co., believed that car parts should be the same for similar models. Skeptics disagreed, so to prove his point, he shipped three cars to England, had them disassembled, their parts all mixed together, and then reassembled. This successful innovation increased production efficiency and reduced costs, adding to the affordability of the auto.

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TEXT 2. THE HISTORY OF THE AUTOMOBILE

Early Steam Powered Cars

Old Engraving depicting the 1771 crash of Nicolas Joseph Cugnot’s steam-powered car into a stone wall.

The automobile as we know it was not invented in a single day by a single inventor. The history of the automobile reflects an evolution that took place worldwide. It is estimated that over 100,000 patents created the modern automobile. However, we can point to the many firsts that occurred along the way. Starting with the first theoretical plans for a motor vehicle that had been drawn up by both Leonardo da Vinci and Isaac Newton.

In 1769, the very first self-propelled road vehicle was a military tractor invented by French engineer and mechanic, Nicolas Joseph Cugnot (1725-1804). Cugnot used a steam engine to power his vehicle, built under his instructions at the Paris Arsenal by mechanic Brezin. It was used by the French Army to haul artillery at a whopping speed of 2 ½ mph on only three wheels. The vehicle had to stop every ten to fifteen minutes to build up steam power. The steam engine and boiler were separate from the rest of the vehicle and placed in the front (see engraving above). The following year (1770), Cugnot built a steam-powered tricycle that carried four passengers.

In 1771, Cugnot drove one of his road vehicles into a stone wall, making Cugnot the first person to get into a motor vehicle accident. This was the beginning of bad luck for the inventor. After one of Cugnot’s patrons died and the other was exiled, the money for Cugnot’s road vehicle experiments ended.

Steam engines powered cars by burning fuel that heated water in a boiler, creating steam that expanded and pushed pistons that

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turned the crankshaft, which then turned the wheels. During the early history of self-propelled vehicle – both road and railroad vehicles were being developed with steam engines. (Cugnot also designed two steam locomotives with engines that never worked well.) Steam engines added so much weight to a vehicle that they proved a poor design for road vehicles; however, steam engines were very successfully used in locomotives. Historians, who accept that early steam-powered road vehicles were automobiles, feel that Nicolas Cugnot was the inventor of the automobile.

After Cugnot Several Other Inventors Designed Steam-Powered

Road Vehicles:

-Cugnot’s vehicle was improved by Frenchman, Onesiphore Pecqueur, who also invented the first differential gear.

-In 1789, the first U.S. patent for a steam-powered land vehicle was granted to Oliver Evans.

-In 1801, Richard Trevitheck built a road carriage powered by steam – the first in Great Britain.

-In Britain, from 1820 to 1840, steam-powered stagecoaches were in regular service. These were later banned from public roads and Britain’s railroad system developed as a result.

-Steam-driven road tractors (built by Charles Deitz) pulled passenger carriages around Paris and Bordeaux up to 1850.

-In the United States, numerous steam coaches were built from 1860 to 1880. Inventors included: Harrison Dyer, Joseph Dixon, Rufus Porter, and William T. James.

-Amedee Bollee Sr. built advanced steam cars from 1873 to 1883. The “La Mancelle” built in 1878, had a front-mounted engine, shaft drive to the differential, chain drive to the rear wheels, steering wheel on a vertical shaft and driver’s seat behind the engine. The boiler was carried behind the passenger compartment.

-In 1871, Dr. J. W. Carhart, professor of physics at Wisconsin State University, and the J. I. Case Company built a working steam car that won a 200-mile race.

Early Electric Cars

Steam engines were not the only engines used in early automobiles. Vehicles with electrical engines were also invented. Between

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1832 and 1839 (the exact year is uncertain), Robert Anderson of Scotland invented the first electric carriage. Electric cars used rechargeable batteries that powered a small electric motor. The vehicles were heavy, slow, expensive, and needed to stop for recharging frequently. Both steam and electric road vehicles were abandoned in favor of gaspowered vehicles. Electricity found greater success in tramways and streetcars, where a constant supply of electricity was possible.

However, around 1900, electric land vehicles in America outsold all other types of cars. Then in the several years following 1900, sales of electric vehicles took a nosedive as a new type of vehicle came to dominate the consumer market.

The History of the Automobile

The Internal Combustion Engine and Early Gas-Powered Cars The very first self-powered road vehicles were powered by steam engines and by that definition Nicolas Joseph Cugnot of France built the first automobile in 1769 – recognized by the British Royal Automobile Club and the Automobile Club de France as being the first. So why do so many history books say that the automobile was invented by either Gottlieb Daimler or Karl Benz? It is because both Daimler and Benz invented highly successful and practical gasolinepowered vehicles that ushered in the age of modern automobiles. Daimler and Benz invented cars that looked and worked like the cars we use today. However, it is unfair to say that either man invented

“the” automobile.

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