PAST IMPERFECTFrom batteries to seatbelts, they're all part of what we are when we're driving, writes Bob Montgomery
OVER THE years writing this column I've learned that three subjects are certain to get a reader reaction. They are: registration marks; the debate over why we drive on the left rather than the right hand side of the road, and motoring firsts. The list of motoring firsts seems endless and today I present a further selection.
Cruise control: one would imagine cruise control to be a relatively recent invention but it was first patented back in 1946 by blind American inventor Ralph Teetor. The inspiration for his invention of cruise control is said to have come from a particularly jerky ride in a friend's car. In 1958 Chrysler were the first manufacturer to offer cruise control on their Imperial model.
The lead acid battery: French physicist Gaston Planté developed the first practical rechargeable lead acid battery as early as 1859.
Seat belts: as soon as cars appeared so too did car crashes. As far back as 1885 Edward J Claghorn of New York was granted a patent for an automobile safety belt. He called his invention a "Safety Belt for Tourists" and described it in his patent application as "designed to be applied to the person, and provided with hooks and other attachments for securing the person to a fixed object". It was altogether too complex, and confining, to have had any practical use and we had to wait a further 73 years before Swedish inventor Nils Bohlin produced his three-point lap-and-diagonal seat belt with which we have all become familiar.
The speedometer: not surprisingly, as soon as man invented the automobile he wanted to know how fast it travelled. In 1901 Oldsmobile fitted the first speedometer to its famous Curved Dash model. Speedometers quickly became a sought-after accessory and by 1908 were available as a must-have option on most of the more expensive cars.
The mileometer: the invention of the mileometer, or odometer, as it was originally called, goes all the way back to a Mormon inventor, William Clayton, who produced the first mechanical odometer in 1847. Clayton marketed it as the "Roadometer" and it recorded the distance travelled by the wagons used by pioneers who journeyed to America's west. It operated by a series of gears, exactly like those still in use today.
Windscreen wipers: American Mary Anderson was granted a patent for a window-cleaning device in 1903. Her invention was said to have been inspired by her noticing that streetcar drivers had to open their windows when it rained so that they could see where they were going. It was operated by moving a handle inside the vehicle which moved a rubber arm in similar fashion to today's wipers.
The airbag: a relatively recent invention from 1968, when Allen Breed patented what he called his crash-sensing 'Sensor and Safety System'. The first car to be fitted with the device for sale to the public was the 1973 Oldsmobile Tornado, a car which, it seems, had handling so bad that it totally justified the fitting of the device.