How did you commute to office today? While some of you will complain about the daily grind of boarding the metro or bus to work, some will rant about the detour they had to while driving in horrendous traffic.
Whatever may be your mode of transport, automobiles (with ever burgeoning numbers) form an integral part of our lives today. What if we tell you it all started today, more than hundred years ago? On this very day in 1896, a man put his finishing touches to the what would become the world’s first gasoline powered motor car.
Henry Ford, at the age of 32, had accomplished a Herculean enterprise — the Quadricycle was so named because it ran on four bicycle tires.
The Quadricycle’s success fueled Ford’s automobile ambitions which ultimately led him to establish the Ford Motor Company in 1903.
The Quadricycle ran on a pure ethanol-powered motor, and could churn out 4 BHP of power (Today, a Mustang is capable of generating 500 BHP).
The mechanics were simple — it was driven by chain, had just two gears, a top speed of 32 Km/h and a fuel tank with 11 litres of capacity.
If you put that in perspective, the world has come a long way. It was Henry Ford’s vision to make commuting easy for mankind and his Quadricycle paved the way for modern day cars. The basic design still remains the same, a chassis, four wheels, an engine, and something to steer with.
The Quadricycle was basically a horse carriage without a horse upfront. The man was more in control of the carriage than the tamed beast, supposed to pull it.
It was the Quadricycle that paved the way for modern cars to dominate our roads.
So the next time you are driving somewhere, remember that its all thanks to man who once decided to drive a rather odious feat of mechanincs.
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