10 Historical Lies You Totally Fell For
4. Henry Ford Invented The Automobile
Personal automotive transportation seemed the stuff of dreams when long-distance travel relied solely on horse and cart, so when Henry Ford blessed the world with the automobile in 1908, crowds surely flocked to what is the first ever motor car...
...Or that would have been the case if Henry Ford's crowning invention was the first car to be invented. Instead, the truth of who was behind the first automobile is far more blurry.
The Model T, Ford's magnum opus, was the first automobile readily available to the masses, with its affordable price tag and efficient manufacturing process, but motorised transportation dates back to the late 19th century with the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, created by the company that would become known as Mercedes Benz.
The invention sported a 1-litre single-cylinder engine that produced a whopping 2/3 of a single horsepower. Reaching a maximum top speed of 10mph, the Patent-Motorwagen is a far cry from the Mercedes Lewis Hamilton races around in each week, but for its immense impact towards pioneering motorised transportation it is a tragedy for the masses to believe the Model T was the first production car.