By the end of the first decade of the 20th century, it was clear that the motor car was here to stay, and carmakers started looking for ways to increase production. De Dion-Bouton in France and Oldsmobile in the United States both claimed sales of...
The history of Mercedes is also the history of the car itself. The companies founded by the two German pioneers of the internal combustion engine and the automobile-Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz-came together to form a marque that now makes some of the world's most...
It was one amazing feat to build the first practical motor cars—it was another to start making more and selling them. Just convincing people of their benefits was often difficult. Entrepreneurs, engineers, and aristocrats all played parts in the earliest faltering steps toward car manufacture....
The 19th century saw tremendous advances in engineering, as mechanization transformed production in factories. Inventors turned their attention to replacing the horse with something that could go faster and farther. Steam, electricity, and gas were all tried, and in this early period it was hard...
Despite the legacy of energy crises and the recessions there were still plenty of buyers for the most glamorous cars, just as there had always been. Group B rally racing added extra impetus to the creation of truly spectacular performance cars, the new competition category...
Reviving a famous name last used in the 1950s, the 1984 Ferrari Testarossa was a Pininfarina-designed, 12-cylinder two-seater. The early “red heads” had been racing machines, but this was a pure road car—sleek, very fast, and enormously expensive. Like many Ferrari Formula 1 engines of...
Premium cars offered higher levels of comfort, convenience, safety, and performance than ever before. Sophisticated electronics were one of the big developments, with computer control providing features and benefits that had previously been impossible, Engines were still big V8s—or occasionally V12s—but electronic fuel injection offered...
The name Robert Opron may not be widely known, even among car enthusiasts, but the extraordinary sweep of his achievements is still greatly admired by those who appreciate the craft of styling. A colorful man with a fondness for brash bow ties, his remarkable designs...
Most off-roaders were tough, basic trucks intended for military, agricultural, and emergency service uses, or for hardy outdoor types, but changing attitudes saw them evolve into multipurpose vehicles that had just as much appeal on the road as off it. Trucktype leaf springs were replaced...
Founded in a London garage in 1913 by Robert Bamford and Lionel Martin, the sports car adopted part of the name of the famed motoring venue, the Aston Hill Climb, to reinforce its sporting character. Reborn after World War II, Aston Martins became synonymous with...