How Much Do You Know About the First Automobiles?

French inventor Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot built a steam-powered automobile in 1769, several years before the American Revolution. The contraption reportedly ran for about 20 minutes and carried up to four people.

The Cugnot steam automobile was meant to pull heavy cannons. It featured a large steam vessel that stored potential energy to propel the vehicle

Cars aren't a single technology -- they are the culmination of many interconnected systems. Many thousands of patented inventions played a role in the making of even the simplest automobiles.

The auto industry didn't invent the assembly line, but it did put this concept to good use. Where once cars took a lot of painstaking labor, the assembly line drastically increased efficiency, which ultimately reduced the price of the product.

The first Mercedes was designed by Wilhelm Maybach and Paul Daimler in 1901. It became a cornerstone for the company that eventually renamed itself Mercedes-Benz.

The 1901 Mercedes 35 hp was so named due to the power it generated. The 35hp car had a water-cooled engine and a top speed of more than 50 MPH.

The 190 Mercedes was a solid machine, but it took a lot of people to make one, and thus, it was expensive. But mass manufacturing would eventually change the face of auto production.

Ford didn't invent the assembly line, but he did come up with an affordable and reliable automobile design that didn't break the average person's bank account. He cars transformed the entire industry.

The Benz Patent-Motorwagen was the first internal combustion engine vehicle to go into production. It was essentially a big tricycle with a motor.

In the 1870s, Gottlieb Daimler began building the first high-speed gas engines that would make their way into cars. Gas engines became the technology of choice thanks in large part due to the huge energy potential in petroleum.

The Flocken Elektrowagen was possibly the world's first electric car. It looked like an oversized baby carriage, but no proper photographs of the contraption exist.

The first production Ford car was the legendary Model A. Sales of the Model A commenced in 1903.

Ford not only revolutionized auto manufacturing, he changed the way factory owners treated their employees. Ford workers had high wages and a regular work week.

The first Model A sold for around $850. In today's dollars, that's more than $21,000.

By today's standards, the Model A wasn't much more than a go-kart engine. But in 1903, the 8hp motor was enough to make the car worth buying.

Electic and steam engines were rather rudimentary technologies. Internal combustion engines powered by gasoline quickly gained favor in the marketplace and became the technology of choice.

The first American automobiles were novel items that only the wealthy could afford. But very quickly, mass production made cars more affordable for the common citizen.

The Benz Patent Motor Car is regarded by some historians as the first true gas-powered car. The little .75hp engine helped get the little three-wheeled contraption rolling ... and that was about it.

Ford got better and better at making cars. Improved production speeds helped drop the price of the car by hundreds of dollars, and by the mid-1920s, many Americans could afford one.

In the 19th century, Nikolaus Otto built the "Otto Engine." It was a four-stroke internal combustion engine that used a fuel-air mixture for energy. His design is essentially the basis for all modern gas-powered car engines.

Otto didn't give a lick about transportation. His engine was meant to be integrated into stationary products -- fortunately, other people saw the transportation potential of Otto's work.

Early cars were very simple machines. They were open-top convertibles, sometimes equipped with a basic roof to block sun and rain. It wasn't until years later that enclosed cars with heaters really made an impact.

The Saturn brand, of course, didn't come along until decades later. The "big three" consisted of GM, Ford, and Chrysler. Dozens of other companies emerged, but then quickly folded in the competitive market.

Ford offered the Model T in numerous body styles to accommodate consumer preferences. The largest was a seven-seat town car.

The Model T was commonly called the "Tin Lizzie." Other alternative names including "flivver" and "Leaping Lena."

Early cars had rudimentary springs that made for a rough ride. In the '20s, better shock absorbers appeared, making cars much more comfortable to drive.

In the 1930s, the car market was hitting a point of saturation. GM began the trend of "planned obsolescence," in which car companies tweaked various models from year to year to tempt consumers into upgrading ... even though their old cars were still working just fine.

The Model T wasn't just a car -- it was a cultural phenomenon. Ford sold more than 16 million Model Ts, and it still ranks as one of the best-selling cars in automotive history.

Ford did build a Model B, along with numerous other lettered vehicles. Some models never made it off of the drawing board and others were regarded as failures. The first Model B appeared in 1904.