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The following are the History of:
The Car Radio,
The Brake System, Windshield Wipers,
The Dashboard, The Car Heater,
Car Starter and More.
For the History of the
Car Radio -
.
For the History of the
Car Starter -
.
For the History of the
Brake System -
Windshield Wipers:
In 1903, American inventor Mary Anderson is popularly
credited with devising the first operational windshield
wiper.
In Anderson's patent, she called her invention a
'window cleaning device'.
Her invention cleaned snow and rain from the windshield,
using a handle from inside a vehicle.
Anderson had a model of her design manufactured, then
filed a patent in June, 1903 that was issued to her by
the US Patent Office in November, 1903. In 1915, the
Mary Anderson ‘windshield wiper’ became standard
issue on all cars.
In 1919, inventor William M. Folberth and his brother,
Fred, applied for a patent for an 'Automatic Windscreen
Wiper Apparatus', which was granted in 1922.
It was the first "automatic" mechanism
to be developed by an American.
The new vacuum powered system quickly became standard
equipment on cars, and the vacuum principle
was in use until about 1960.
In the late 1950's, a feature common on modern vehicles first
appeared, operating the wipers automatically for 2 or 3 passes
when the windshield washer button was pressed, making it
unnecessary to manually turn the wipers on as well.
Today, an electronic timer is used, but originally a small vacuum
cylinder mechanically linked to a switch provided
the delay as the vacuum leaked off.
In 1963, the intermittent wiper was invented by Robert Kearns
in Detroit, Michigan.
Kearns's design was intended to mimic the function of the
human eye, which blinks only once every few seconds.
In 1963, Kearns built his first intermittent wiper system
using electronic components.
In the Kearns design, the interval between wipes was determined
by the rate of current flow into a capacitor.
When the charge in the capacitor reached a certain voltage, the
capacitor was discharged, activating the wiper
motor for one cycle.
Kearns showed his wiper to the Ford Motor Company,
and proposed manufacturing the design.
Ford executives rejected Kearns' proposal, but later offered
a similar design as an option on the company's Mercury line,
beginning with the 1969 models.
Kearns sued Ford in a multi-year patent
dispute that Kearns eventually won
in court.
Some cars from the 1960s and 1970s,
had hydraulically driven wipers,
most notably the 1961 - 1969
Lincoln Continental.
The Dashboard:
The word “dashboard” originated from
horse drawn carriages.
The dash board were the boards that protected the driver
and their passengers from being splashed or "dashed"
by mud, snow, rocks, and other debris from the horses
back feet.
In the early 1900’s when carriages became motorized,
the “dashboards" remained useful as a panel that protected
passengers from the heat and oil of the engine.
And later were repurposed to house panel
instruments such as speedometers,
fuel gauges, etc.
The Car Heater:
As motor carriages increased, portable coal burning
heaters appeared on the market.
These heaters were made of galvanized iron and brass handles.
The coal was placed in a drawer that slid into the outer shell.
The special type of coal used in these heaters was in the shape
of a brick that burned without odor or smoke.
Before use, the brick was placed into a
brisk fire until it became thoroughly hot.
It was then taken out of the fire and left standing until the
flame died away.
Then the hot brick was placed in the heater drawer.
A small brick was sufficient to provide heat for several hours.
The coal could be doused with water and used over again.
In 1893 mechanical engineer Margaret Wilcox from Chicago invented
the first car heater.
She designed a way for the car engine to open and disperse hot air
inside the car for the driver and their passengers.
In the 1920's, manufacturers designed exhaust manifolds that
allowed some of the exhaust heat to be moved into the passenger
compartment.
The heater manifolds would push out a lot of heat.
In 1930, GM pioneered the now standard heater core.
In 1933, Ford made the first in-dash heater, a small gas fueled boiler.
In 1937, Nash Motors in Kenosha perfected the cabin heating system
with temperature controls and air filters that we know today.
In 1941, Nash introduced the automatic temperature controls
in the car heating system.
Around 1950, car manufactures began
using outside air for climate control.
In the early 1970's, Cadillacs were the first cars
with fully automatic climate controls, adjusting
interior temps to those outside.
Did you know?
In 1964, Gail Brown, a school teacher in Chicago, made history
when she became the first Mustang owner in America.
She bought her Mustang, 2 days before the car was set to
go on sale.
A mix up at the dealer resulted in her making the very first retail
purchase of a Mustang.
Even though Ford would later alter the Mustang as a muscle car,
Ford’s release of the Mustang began with a large marketing
effort aimed at women.
And part of the advertising campaign, the company put ads in
the 'Women’s' section in over 2,500 newspapers.
The popularity of the Mustang for women remained strong
from the 1960's through today.
The word MOPAR originated from:
In the 1930's to early 1940's Chrysler Corporation looked into
consolidating the parts divisions of all their brands
(Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth, DeSoto, Imperial etc.)
into one division.
Thus the Chrysler Corporation Mopar division was created.
Parts used on any of the brands came in boxes branded with
the Chrysler MOtor PARts logo.
Over time, Mopar became a synonymous
term to use to talk about any of the Chrysler
Corporation vehicles.
Other History and Facts:
Did you know?
I-90 is the longest
interstate in the U.S. at more than 3000 miles.
It starts in Seattle and ends in Boston and it is the
most northern
coast-to-coast interstate.
In the 1940's, the FCC assigned television's
Channel 1 to mobile
services (2-way radios in taxicabs, etc.)
but did not re-number the other channel assignments.
That is why your TV set has channels 2
and up, but no channel 1.
For more History such
as: Car Lighting, Street
Lighting, Traffic Lighting,
Turn Signals
For Wisconsin Automobile
History:
