1770
Dawn of passenger vehicles
In 1770, Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot invented the first steam-powered self-propelled vehicles large enough to transport people. By 1806, Swiss engineer François Isaac de Rivaz had built a hydrogen/oxygen internal combustion engine. And by 1893, the Duryea brothers, who were bicycle mechanics, had designed the first successful American gasoline-powered automobile.
However, it was not until 1908, when Henry Ford’s Model T was released — at an average price of $825 — that car ownership became a realistic aspiration for every American.
Today it’s estimated that that there are 1.3 people for every car in the US.
Pictured above is a Model T Ford.