Ford Quadricycle

Last updated
Ford Quadricycle
FordQuadricycle.jpg
Overview
Manufacturer Henry Ford
Also calledThe horseless carriage
Production1896–1901 Ford sold his first Quadricycle for $200 in 1896 to Charles Ainsley. He later built two more Quadricycles: one in 1899, and another in 1901. He eventually bought his first one back for $60. [1] (according to Ford Museum records)
Designer Henry Ford
Body and chassis
Body style 2-seat roadster
Powertrain
Engine 2-cylinder
Transmission 2-speed (no reverse) [2]
Dimensions
Wheelbase 49 in (1,200 mm)
Curb weight 500 lb (230 kg) [2]
Chronology
Successor Ford Model A (1903–04)

The Ford Quadricycle was the first vehicle developed by Henry Ford. Ford's first car was a simple frame with a gas-powered engine and four bicycle wheels mounted on it. [3]

Contents

The earliest cars were hand built, one by one, and were very expensive. The peculiar machines were seen as toys for the rich. [3] In the 1890s, the "horseless carriage" was a relatively new idea, with no one having a fixed, universal idea of what a car should look like or how it should work. Most of the first car builders were inventors, rather than businessmen, working with their imaginations and the parts they had on hand. [3] Thus, the invention of the Quadricycle marks an important innovation as a proto-automobile that would lay the foundation for the future, with more practical designs to follow.

On June 4, 1896, in a tiny workshop behind his home on 58 Bagley Avenue, Detroit, [2] [4] where the Michigan Building now stands, Ford put the finishing touches on his pure ethanol-powered motor. After more than two years of experimentation, Ford, at the age of 32, had completed his first experimental automobile. He dubbed his creation the "Quadricycle", so named because it ran on four bicycle tires, and because of the means through which the engine drove the back wheels. [5] The success of the little vehicle led to the founding of the Detroit Automobile Company in 1899, followed by the Henry Ford Company in 1901 and then later the Ford Motor Company in 1903. [6]

The two cylinder engine could produce 4 horsepower. [7] The Quadricycle was driven by a chain. The transmission had only two gears (first for up to 10 mph (16 km/h), 2nd for up to 20 mph (32 km/h)), but did not have a reverse gear. The tiller-steered machine had wire wheels and a 3 US gal (11 L) fuel tank under the seat. [2] Ford test drove it on June 4, 1896, after various test drives, achieving a top speed of 20 mph (32 km/h). [2] Ford would later go on to found the Ford Motor Company and become one of the world's richest men. [3]

The original Quadricycle resides at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Ford</span> American business magnate (1863–1947)

Henry Ford was an American industrialist and business magnate. As founder of the Ford Motor Company, he is credited as a pioneer in making automobiles affordable for middle-class Americans through the Fordism system. In 1911, he was awarded a patent for the transmission mechanism that would be used in the Model T and other automobiles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ford Model T</span> American car (1908–1927)

The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by the Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first mass-affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relatively low price was partly the result of Ford's efficient fabrication, including assembly line production instead of individual handcrafting. The savings from mass production allowed the price to decline from $780 in 1910 to $290 in 1924. It was mainly designed by three engineers, Joseph A. Galamb, Eugene Farkas, and Childe Harold Wills. The Model T was colloquially known as the "Tin Lizzie".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Detroit Electric</span> Motor vehicle

The Detroit Electric was an electric car produced by the Anderson Electric Car Company in Detroit, Michigan. The company built 13,000 electric cars from 1907 to 1939.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Ford Company</span> Former automotive company

The Henry Ford Company was an automobile manufacturer active from 1901 to 1902. Named after Henry Ford, it was his second company after the Detroit Automobile Company, which had been founded in 1899. The Henry Ford Company was founded November 1901 from the reorganization of the Detroit Automobile Company. The company, much like the Detroit Automobile Company, was plagued by disputes between Ford and his investors, and Ford left in 1902. Later that year, the company was reorganized as the Cadillac Automobile Company under the suggestion of Henry M. Leland. Cadillac, whose early vehicles were identical in design to those of Ford's later Ford Motor Company except for the engine, would develop a reputation for precision engineering and was acquired by the nascent General Motors (GM) in 1909, becoming GM's luxury marque. Ford would eventually find success with the Ford Motor Company, and is considered one of the primary pioneers of the automobile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minerva (automobile)</span> Belgian automobile manufacturer (1902–1956)

Minerva was a Belgian firm active from 1902 to 1938 and a manufacturer of luxury automobiles. The company became defunct in 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quadricycle</span> Small motorized four wheeled vehicle

Quadricycle refers to vehicles with four wheels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Front-wheel drive</span> Automotive transmission where the engine drives the front wheels only

Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel-drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitudinal engine arrangement generally found in rear-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ateliers de Construction Mecanique l'Aster</span>

L'Aster, Aster, Ateliers de Construction Mecanique l'Aster, was a French manufacturer of automobiles and the leading supplier of engines to other manufacturers from the late 1890s until circa 1910/12. Although primarily known as an engine mass manufacturer the company also produced chassis for coach-works and a complete range of components.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duesenberg</span> American engine and automobile manufacturer

Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Company, Inc. was an American racing and luxury automobile manufacturer founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, by brothers Fred and August Duesenberg in 1920. The company is known for popularizing the straight-eight engine and four-wheel hydraulic brakes. A Duesenberg car was the first American car to win a Grand Prix race, winning the 1921 French Grand Prix. Duesenbergs won the Indianapolis 500 in 1922, 1924, 1925 and 1927. Transportation executive Errett Lobban Cord acquired the Duesenberg corporation in 1926. The company was sold and dissolved in 1937.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ford GT90</span> Motor vehicle

The Ford GT90 is a high performance concept car that was developed and manufactured by American car maker Ford. It was unveiled in January 1995 at the Detroit Auto Show. The car is currently on display at Hajek Motorsports Museum, Ames, Oklahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorized bicycle</span> Bicycle with an attached motor or engine and transmission

A motorized bicycle is a bicycle with an attached motor or engine and transmission used either to power the vehicle unassisted, or to assist with pedalling. Since it sometimes retains both pedals and a discrete connected drive for rider-powered propulsion, the motorized bicycle is in technical terms a true bicycle, albeit a power-assisted one. Typically they are incapable of speeds above 52 km/h (32 mph), however in recent years larger motors have been built, allowing bikes to reach speeds of upwards of 72 km/h.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Car-Nation</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

The Car-Nation was a brand of automobile manufactured in Detroit, Michigan, by the American Voiturette Company from 1913 to 1914.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ford Performance</span> Motorsports division of Ford Motor Company

Ford Performance is the high-performance division of the Ford Motor Company and the multinational name used for its motorsport and racing activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of steam road vehicles</span>

The history of steam road vehicles comprises the development of vehicles powered by a steam engine for use on land and independent of rails, whether for conventional road use, such as the steam car and steam waggon, or for agricultural or heavy haulage work, such as the traction engine.

The Success Automobile Manufacturing Company was a brass era United States automobile manufacturer, located at 532 De Ballviere Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri, in 1906.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Cooper (cyclist)</span>

Tom Cooper was an American cyclist and early automobile racing driver. He is best known for his rivalry with cyclist Major Taylor, as well as his later work with Henry Ford and Barney Oldfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Automobiles Darracq France</span> French motor vehicle manufacturer

Automobiles Darracq France was a manufacturer of motor vehicles and aero engines in Suresnes, near Paris. The enterprise, known at first as A Darracq et Cie, was founded in 1896 by successful businessman Alexandre Darracq.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Brothers</span> English motor vehicle manufacturer

Dennis Brothers Limited was an English manufacturer of commercial vehicles based in Guildford. It is best remembered as a manufacturer of buses, fire engines and lorries (trucks) and municipal vehicles such as dustcarts. All vehicles were made to order to the customer's requirements and more strongly built than mass production equivalents. Dennis Brothers was Guildford's main employer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fossmobile</span> Internal combustion

The Fossmobile was Canada’s first successful internal combustion, gasoline engine automobile. Manufactured by George Foote Foss in 1897, only one Fossmobile is known to have existed.

Benson Ford Sr., originally named Edsel Ford Jr, was an American businessman in the automotive industry, a vice-president of Ford Motor Company, and national co-chairman of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. Benson Ford remains famous for: being the first prominent person in the Ford family to actively preach religious harmony between faiths through his NCCJ co-chairmanship ; through the internationally famous Benson Ford Research Center in Dearborn, Michigan, which bears his name; and the now historic 1924 Great Lakes freighter Benson Ford Ship named after him, now known as the Benson Ford Shiphouse, in Put-In-Bay, Ohio. Benson was also noteworthy as being the one member of the Ford family most closely associated with Lincoln-Mercury, rather than Ford, where under Benson's guidance the experimental Lincoln Futura car was developed. The Futura later became the most famous and recognizable car in the world for several years, television's Batmobile driven by Batman actor Adam West.

References

  1. Herndon, Ford: An Unconventional Biography of the Men and Their Times, (New York: Weybright & Talley, 1969), p. 62; also Flammang et al., Ford Chronicle, (Publications International, 1992), p. 9 (as cited in Brinkley, David, Wheels for the World: Henry Ford, His Company, and a Century of Progress, (New York: Penguin Group, 2003), p. 23
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Clymer, Floyd. Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877–1925 (New York: Bonanza Books, 1950), p. 58.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Doeden, Matt (2007). Crazy Cars. Lerner Publications. ISBN   978-0-8225-6565-9.
  4. "Henry Ford Story Timeline - Henry Ford Heritage Association". hfha.org. Retrieved 2016-11-27.
  5. Brinkley, David, Wheels for the World: Henry Ford, His Company, and a Century of Progress, (New York: Penguin Group, 2003), p. 22
  6. The Showroom of Automotive History: 1896 Quadricycle Archived 2010-06-15 at the Wayback Machine
  7. 1896 Ford Quadricycle Archived 2012-08-13 at the Wayback Machine RemarkableCars.com