Our Two Cents: What was the most important automotive invention?
Time always marches forward, sometimes upward when it comes to technology. In the world of the automobile, that march of progress has been a good thing. Cars get better and better over time, but a singular innovation usually sparks the change that sends the trajectory climbing even higher. I asked my cohorts at Hagerty Media for the automotive invention they think has made the biggest difference. I even started off with some low hanging fruit to get their wheels turning:
- Tubeless tire
- Oil Filter
- Cup Holder
- Cigarette lighter
So let’s see what the gang came up with for this installment of Our Two Cents. I expect you’ll be surprised by a few of them.
The hand crank delete?
“Charles Kettering’s self-starter for the 1912 Cadillac.” –Joe DeMatio
“Another step forward that borders on being as important as Joe’s with the electric starter would be synchronized gears. Don’t get me wrong, one of the best feelings in the world is double clutching an unsynchronized box and getting the shift perfect, but the convenience of not having to double clutch cannot be understated.” –Greg Ingold
Three-point safety belts
“I am gonna go with Volvo’s three-point seatbelt, created by engineer Nils Bohlin.” –Eric Weiner
“Airbags owe their implementation to a whole lot of inventors. Cars would be a lot less safe without them.” –Brandan Gillogly
You can’t pick just one!
“I have a few that stick out in my mind: implementing the assembly line for automobiles, electronic fuel injection, the catalytic converter, and definitely radial tires.” –Larry Webster
“Safety glass and disc brakes.”–Todd Kraemer
Standardized Controls
“I’m going to go with the traditional control layout. Accelerator on the floor to the right, brake pedal on the center and clutch on the left. Drive something like a Model T where it is a combination of hand and foot controls and you’ll quickly appreciate the standardization.” –Greg Ingold
“To Greg’s point, even the steering wheel.” –Todd Kraemer
Not standardized controls?
“Haptic volume and HVAC sliders, for the purpose of reminding everyone that physical controls are and always will be superior.” –Eddy Eckart
“And to combine Eddy and Todd’s comments above, let’s mention Tesla’s yoke steering wheel.” –Sajeev Mehta
The love of the rings?
“The piston ring. The ability to seal a cylinder and moving piston, especially in a way that has any longevity in the environment created by combustion, is amazing and the reliability and longevity of the piston ring is likely what has allowed the automobile to progress from a novelty to near necessity. Imagine if engines required re-ringing after just 20k miles: Would we use cars and trucks the way we do today? It’s one of the hardest working parts of an engine and rarely is ever thought of until failure.” –Kyle Smith
“I’m kinda glad for the failures present in piston ring design, otherwise I wouldn’t have a silly name for my advice column.” –Sajeev “Piston Slap” Mehta
Overhead valve engines?
“Pushrods. Heck yeah!” –Cameron Neveu
Integrated circuitry
“While I admit that electronics are reaching too far in some instances, our motoring lives have improved significantly once the integrated circuit made its way into the automobile. There’s solid state ignition, improved radio performance, anti-lock brakes, the gauge cluster on the Series I Aston Martin Lagonda … the list goes on and on.” –Sajeev Mehta
Smartphone integration
“Apple CarPlay, and I am approximately 64% serious about that.” –Grace Houghton
“General Motors would like a word about that, Grace.” –Nathan Petroelje
One for Minivan
“Automatic sliding doors on minivans.” –Ben Woodworth
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Rain-X; micro-fiber towels.
And cup holders for your beer
Brilliant.
Safety Glass…
All wheel drive. Can be used in all conditions not just off-road like four-wheel-drive. The current generations of SUVs and pickups have a variety of drive conditions to suit all. right behind That is ABS brakes. magnetic ride control is pretty spiffy too.
I would classify the three-point belt as more of an improvement/development than an invention, such as the two-pot master brake cylinder, which is not the invention that hydraulic brakes were. Safety-wise, the greatest development was the dual-latch door and hood, the most significant invention was safety glass. In function, the automatic transmission had the largest impact. With it almost anyone, save for the totally paralyzed and legally blind, could drive.
I’m surprised no one mentioned back-up cameras yet. One of the few true safety advances in the last twenty years.
Needed because too many drivers are now too fat to turn around and look behind them
The automatic transmission. More than even the self starter, it opened the world of motoring to the lazy, the stupid, and the clueless, and set the stage for the car as a giant video game.
Did you ever try to show an unknowing participant how to drive a manual transmission automobile ? First question would be how do I connect my phone? Is there an app for that?
An unsung hero: Electrocoat primer (e dip) I believe pioneered by PPG on Chrysler minivans.
Looking to the future, I think Ferdinand Porsche’s in-hub electric motor from 1901 will, within the next few years, be recognized as significant and way ahead of its time.
The future will be carbon-less or low carbon burning internal combustion engines. Electric cars are a fanciful fad.
The use of Carbon Black in the construction of tires. The radial ply construction, then steel belts, then the creation of aramid fibers, for tire construction.
Many good and important innovations mentioned already. I have to a shout out to Air Conditioning, Power Windows, and Cruise Control. All very important for comfortable and safe long distance travel.
The most important automotive invention has been the race car because countless innovations in safety and efficiency have trickled down from racing development.
If you would check the October 1952 issue of Hot Rod Magazine, you would find an ad for a three point shoulder harness that was announced to be sold in Sears stores, years before Volvo’s Bohlin made his design available.
Safety glass and the collapsible steering wheel column
Tailfins
I’ll see your tailfins, and raise you a pair of fender skirts.
I’ll call with a set of curb feelers and a suicide knob (and toss in the hanging pine scented tree)
Continental Kits and Opera Windows.
I call your raise. My ’59 Coupe deVille has both.
If we could just get rid of all those vinyl roofs that people thought were so great during the 1960s.
So many great cooments here. I can’t argue with the importance of brakes, and innovations like hydraulics, Discs, and ABS. But, as a former paramedic in the pre air bag years, I have to go with air bags. Even taking into account pre air bag cars with decent brakes, the severity of injuries, and the number of people transported to hospitals from collisions has dramatically reduced since airbags became required. The number of people who walk away from accidents unharmed is amazing. Of course I’m not ignoring other safety innovations such as crumple zones, and stronger construction arpound the passenger space. They all contibute significantly to safety. But air bags are a game changer.