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Fact Sheet

Who Invented the First Automatic Car?

Contributor
By Rob Wagner
eHow Contributing Writer
(4 Ratings)
Who Invented the First Automatic Car?
Who Invented the First Automatic Car?
General Motors

The invention of the first automatic car is more evolutionary than the result of a single invention. Frenchmen Louis-Rene Panhard and Emile Levassor are recognized for inventing the modern transmission in 1894, but it was Thomas J. Sturtevant of Boston, Mass., who designed the first automatic transmission in 1904.

From Quick Guide: Car Facts 101

    History

  1. The first automatic car, the 1904 Sturtevant Tourer
     
    The first automatic car, the 1904 Sturtevant Tourer
    Inventor Sturtevant designed the 1904 Automatic Tourer that featured an internal combustion engine, a 3-speed semi-automatic gearbox, automatic lubrication and vacuum brakes.
  2. Significance

  3. The 1901 Panhard et Levassor.
     
    The 1901 Panhard et Levassor.
    The Sturtevant automatic transmission serves as the blueprint for all automatic cars and trucks on today's roads.
  4. Function

  5. A cutaway view of the automatic transmission.
     
    A cutaway view of the automatic transmission.
    The clutch-less automatic car utilizes a gearbox that automatically changes the gear ratio, which allows the driver to simply select one gear to move or park the vehicle.
  6. Types

  7. The
     
    The "Hydramatic" transmission began its life in a 1940 Oldsmobile.
    While automakers experimented with a variety of different automatics, the semi-automatic and the fully automatic transmission received the most attention.
  8. Features

  9. Automatic cars changed gears at specific predetermined speeds, often coming in 2- or 3-speed models, depending on the size of the engine and the options available.
  10. Identification

  11. Relatively modern automatic cars, such as 1940-67 Oldsmobiles equipped with "Hydramatic" transmissions, have no clutch pedal, freeing the driver from physically shifting gears.
  12. Considerations

  13. The automatic transmission increasingly is becoming standard equipment on all vehicles, while European vehicles often are equipped with manual versions.
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