121-520: Sunbeam Motor Car Company Limited was a British automobile manufacturer in operation between 1905 and 1934. Its works were at Moorfields in Blakenhall , a suburb of Wolverhampton in Staffordshire, now West Midlands. The Sunbeam name had originally been registered by John Marston in 1888 for his bicycle manufacturing business. Sunbeam motor car manufacture began in 1901. The motor business
242-536: A Flemish member of a Jesuit mission in China around 1672. It was a 65-centimetre-long (26 in) scale-model toy for the Kangxi Emperor that was unable to carry a driver or a passenger. It is not known with certainty if Verbiest's model was successfully built or run. Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot is widely credited with building the first full-scale, self-propelled mechanical vehicle in about 1769; he created
363-492: A 12-horsepower four-cylinder car with the engine beneath a bonnet at the front, camshaft within the "crank chamber", a four-speed gearbox and all four artillery wheels of the same size fitted with pneumatic tyres. Price 500 guineas or £525. Listed in February 1904 its specification was: four cylinders 80 × 120 mm. 1527 cc engine designed to run at 1,000 rpm, four-speed gearbox, rear wheels driven by chain drives from
484-543: A 4.2-litre version of this engine design. The Nautilus implemented a number of early "wind cutting" or streamlining features but the specially-built engine suffered various problems and eventually the engine design was abandoned. The next year he made Sunbeam Toodles II featuring an improved valve system that made the Nautilus engine a success. Coatalen won 22 prizes in Toodles II at Brooklands in 1911 and also achieved
605-407: A Fiat vehicle. Toyota , Nissan , Suzuki , Mazda , and Honda began as companies producing non-automotive products before the war, switching to car production during the 1950s. Kiichiro Toyoda's decision to take Toyoda Loom Works into automobile manufacturing would create what would eventually become Toyota Motor Corporation , the largest automobile manufacturer in the world. Subaru , meanwhile,
726-699: A body by Charles Hope of Brisbane) and 34 (of 1960, body by Athol Hedges), are preserved at the Brisbane Tramway Museum . Sunbeam, Wolverhampton, England, started to build aircraft engines in 1912. Louis Coatalen joined Sunbeam as chief engineer in 1909, having previously been Chief Engineer at the Humber works in Coventry. The company quickly became one of the UK's leading engine manufacturers and even designed an aircraft of its own. Sunbeam discontinued
847-437: A combination of the use of feet and hands, and occasionally by voice on 21st-century cars. These controls include a steering wheel , pedals for operating the brakes and controlling the car's speed (and, in a manual transmission car, a clutch pedal), a shift lever or stick for changing gears, and a number of buttons and dials for turning on lights, ventilation, and other functions. Modern cars' controls are now standardised, such as
968-416: A flying mile of 86.16 mph (138.66 km/h) to take the 16 hp Short Record . Sunbeam cars powered by more conventional (for the time) side-valve engines featured prominently in the 1911 Coupe de l'Auto race, and improved versions won first, second and third the next year. Sunbeams continued to race over the next few years, but its management had moved on to other interests. Coatalen also designed
1089-485: A joint managing director in 1914 alongside William Marklew Iliff (1873–1957). In June 1920 Darracq bought Wolverhampton's Sunbeam Motor Car Company Limited. In 1919, following the First World War, Darracq had bought a London motor manufacturer, Clément-Talbot . The Sunbeam Talbot and Darracq businesses retained their separate identities. The Sunbeam car would continue to be made at Moorfield Works, Wolverhampton,
1210-483: A long-established wagon and coach manufacturer, started to build cars in 1897 and commenced sales of electric vehicles in 1902 and petrol vehicles in 1904. In Britain, there had been several attempts to build steam cars with varying degrees of success, with Thomas Rickett even attempting a production run in 1860. Santler from Malvern is recognised by the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain as having made
1331-1166: A model name, firstly for the Chrysler Sunbeam from 1977 to 1979, and, following the takeover of Chrysler Europe by PSA Group , for the Talbot Sunbeam from 1979 through to its discontinuation in 1981. John Marston, the London-educated son of a sometime mayor of Ludlow and landowner, had been apprenticed to Edward Perry , tinplate -works master and twice mayor of Wolverhampton . In 1859 aged 23 Marston bought two other tinplate manufacturers in Bilston, four miles away, and set himself up on his own account. On Perry's death Marston bought his Jeddo Works in Paul Street Wolverhampton, left Bilston and continued Perry's business. An avid cyclist he established his Sunbeamland Cycle Factory in 1897 in his Paul Street premises manufacturing and assembling pedal bicycles he branded Sunbeam. His Sunbeam trademark
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#17327872641281452-484: A new business Starley & Sutton Co with William Sutton, a local cycling enthusiast. They set about developing bicycles that were safer and easier to use than the prevailing penny farthing or "ordinary" bicycles. They started by manufacturing tricycles , and by 1883 their products were being branded as "Rover". In 1885, Starley made history when he produced the Rover Safety Bicycle . The Rover
1573-655: A new marque called Sunbeam-Talbot which combined the quality Talbot coachwork and the current Hillman and Humber chassis and was assembled at the Talbot factory in London. The initial two models were the Sunbeam-Talbot 10 and the 3-litre followed by the Sunbeam-Talbot 2 Litre and 4-litre models based on the earlier models only with different engines and longer wheelbases. Production of these models continued after
1694-670: A new model DMG car was produced and the model was named Mercedes after the Maybach engine, which generated 35 hp. Maybach quit DMG shortly thereafter and opened a business of his own. Rights to the Daimler brand name were sold to other manufacturers. In 1890, Émile Levassor and Armand Peugeot of France began producing vehicles with Daimler engines, and so laid the foundation of the automotive industry in France . In 1891, Auguste Doriot and his Peugeot colleague Louis Rigoulot completed
1815-564: A number of experimental cars driven about Wolverhampton but none was offered for sale. In late 1900 they announced the purchase in Blakenhall of "a large area of land in Upper Villiers Street for the erection of works for the manufacture of cars" alongside the premises of Marston's Villiers Engineering business. The first announcement of their new autocar was on 22 September 1900 issue of The Autocar but no full description
1936-465: A number of passenger cars, notably the Sunbeam 12–16. By 1911 Sunbeam were building about 650 cars a year and were regarded as a substantial motor manufacturer. Wolseley sold 3,000 cars of similar quality in 1913. Ford sold 6,000 Model Ts that same year assembled at Trafford Park , Manchester. In 1914 Ford switched on Britain's first moving assembly line for car production and it began its run at
2057-426: A production car since then. Car A car , or an automobile , is a motor vehicle with wheels . Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads , seat one to eight people, have four wheels , and mainly transport people over cargo . There are around one billion cars in use worldwide. The French inventor Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot built the first steam-powered road vehicle in 1769, while
2178-423: A quarter of world oil production as of 2019 . Both petrol and diesel cars pollute more than electric cars. Cars and vans caused 8% of direct carbon dioxide emissions in 2021. As of 2021 , due to greenhouse gases emitted during battery production, electric cars must be driven tens of thousands of kilometres before their lifecycle carbon emissions are less than fossil fuel cars; however this varies considerably and
2299-437: A rate of 21 cars an hour. In 1912 they began to make aircraft engines introducing a series of engines that were not a commercial success. Coatalen seemed to believe the proper solution was a bespoke design for an aircraft designer's requirements instead of designing and producing a successful engine to let the aircraft designers build their aircraft around it. Sunbeam's designs included the troublesome V8 Sunbeam Arab , which
2420-399: A re-badged 1921 Grand Prix Sunbeam . This important straight-eight dohc, four valve per cylinder aluminium block car influenced by the great designer Ernest Henry proceeded to win the 1922 Tourist Trophy in the hands of Jean Chassagne . A different team of 2-litre dohc 1922 Grand Prix Sunbeams designed by Ernest Henry were entered in that year's French Grand Prix. Sunbeam also manufactured
2541-419: A result, Ford's cars came off the line in 15-minute intervals, much faster than previous methods, increasing productivity eightfold, while using less manpower (from 12.5 manhours to 1 hour 33 minutes). It was so successful, paint became a bottleneck. Only Japan black would dry fast enough, forcing the company to drop the variety of colours available before 1913, until fast-drying Duco lacquer
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#17327872641282662-472: A single overhead camshaft. The two camshafts were driven by a complex set of 16 gears from the front of the crankshaft – a similar arrangement to that used on the Maori engine which had two OHC per bank of cylinders. This famous car ( Sunbeam 350HP ) established three Land Speed Records, the first achieved by Kenelm Lee Guinness at Brooklands in 1922 with a speed of 133.75 mph. Malcolm Campbell then purchased
2783-474: A somewhat simpler Sopwith design. Sunbeam had produced 647 aircraft of various types by the time the lines shut down in early 1919. Marston's third son, Roland, had been expected to take over as chairman of Sunbeam but he suddenly died in March 1918 and John Marston himself died the morning after Roland's funeral. He was aged 82. Cureton was already in poor health and would die in 1921. They had made Coatalen
2904-467: A steam-powered road vehicle. It was unable to maintain sufficient steam pressure for long periods and was of little practical use. The development of external combustion (steam) engines is detailed as part of the history of the car but often treated separately from the development of true cars. A variety of steam-powered road vehicles were used during the first part of the 19th century, including steam cars , steam buses , phaetons , and steam rollers . In
3025-544: A steam-powered tricycle. He also constructed two steam tractors for the French Army, one of which is preserved in the French National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts . His inventions were limited by problems with water supply and maintaining steam pressure. In 1801, Richard Trevithick built and demonstrated his Puffing Devil road locomotive, believed by many to be the first demonstration of
3146-579: A three-wheeled car powered by electricity at the International Exposition of Electricity . Although several other German engineers (including Gottlieb Daimler , Wilhelm Maybach , and Siegfried Marcus ) were working on cars at about the same time, the year 1886 is regarded as the birth year of the modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use—when the German Carl Benz patented his Benz Patent-Motorwagen ; he
3267-429: A variety of lamps . Over the decades, additional features and controls have been added to vehicles, making them progressively more complex. These include rear-reversing cameras , air conditioning , navigation systems , and in-car entertainment . Most cars in use in the early 2020s are propelled by an internal combustion engine , fueled by the combustion of fossil fuels . Electric cars , which were invented early in
3388-673: A way to head off on unchaperoned dates, plus they had a private space to snuggle up close at the end of the night." Similarly the costs to society of car use may include; maintaining roads , land use , air pollution , noise pollution , road congestion , public health , health care, and of disposing of the vehicle at the end of its life; and can be balanced against the value of the benefits to society that car use generates. Societal benefits may include: economy benefits, such as job and wealth creation, of car production and maintenance, transportation provision, society wellbeing derived from leisure and travel opportunities, and revenue generation from
3509-479: Is called " Fordism " and was copied by most major industries. The efficiency gains from the assembly line also coincided with the economic rise of the US. The assembly line forced workers to work at a certain pace with very repetitive motions which led to more output per worker while other countries were using less productive methods. In the automotive industry, its success was dominating, and quickly spread worldwide seeing
3630-448: Is expected to improve in future due to lower carbon electricity , and longer lasting batteries produced in larger factories. Many governments use fiscal policies, such as road tax , to discourage the purchase and use of more polluting cars; and many cities are doing the same with low-emission zones . Fuel taxes may act as an incentive for the production of more efficient, hence less polluting, car designs (e.g., hybrid vehicles ) and
3751-469: Is generally acknowledged as the inventor of the car. In 1879, Benz was granted a patent for his first engine, which had been designed in 1878. Many of his other inventions made the use of the internal combustion engine feasible for powering a vehicle. His first Motorwagen was built in 1885 in Mannheim , Germany. He was awarded the patent for its invention as of his application on 29 January 1886 (under
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3872-621: Is that cars can use lighter batteries. Most cars are designed to carry multiple occupants, often with four or five seats. Cars with five seats typically seat two passengers in the front and three in the rear. Full-size cars and large sport utility vehicles can often carry six, seven, or more occupants depending on the arrangement of the seats. On the other hand, sports cars are most often designed with only two seats. Utility vehicles like pickup trucks , combine seating with extra cargo or utility functionality. The differing needs for passenger capacity and their luggage or cargo space has resulted in
3993-826: Is the replacement of physical knobs and switches by secondary controls with touchscreen controls such as BMW 's iDrive and Ford 's MyFord Touch . Another change is that while early cars' pedals were physically linked to the brake mechanism and throttle, in the early 2020s, cars have increasingly replaced these physical linkages with electronic controls. Cars are typically equipped with interior lighting which can be toggled manually or be set to light up automatically with doors open, an entertainment system which originated from car radios , sideways windows which can be lowered or raised electrically (manually on earlier cars), and one or multiple auxiliary power outlets for supplying portable appliances such as mobile phones , portable fridges, power inverters , and electrical air pumps from
4114-471: Is the usual formal term in British English . "Autocar", a variant likewise attested from 1895 and literally meaning " self-propelled car", is now considered archaic. " Horseless carriage " is attested from 1895. "Automobile", a classical compound derived from Ancient Greek autós ( αὐτός ) "self" and Latin mobilis "movable", entered English from French and was first adopted by
4235-580: The 1923 Sunbeam Grand Prix race car. He also built a Brooklands racer with a purpose-built V12 18.3-litre engine whose design was a hybrid of the Sunbeam Manitou and the Sunbeam Arab aero engines. This engine had four blocks of three cylinders arranged in two banks set at 60 degrees (unlike the Arab which were set at 90 degrees). Each cylinder had one inlet and two exhaust valves actuated by
4356-593: The Automobile Club of Great Britain in 1897. It fell out of favour in Britain and is now used chiefly in North America , where the abbreviated form "auto" commonly appears as an adjective in compound formations like " auto industry " and " auto mechanic ". In 1649, Hans Hautsch of Nuremberg built a clockwork-driven carriage. The first steam-powered vehicle was designed by Ferdinand Verbiest ,
4477-639: The Great Depression , by 1940, only 17 of those were left. In Europe, much the same would happen. Morris set up its production line at Cowley in 1924, and soon outsold Ford, while beginning in 1923 to follow Ford's practice of vertical integration , buying Hotchkiss' British subsidiary (engines), Wrigley (gearboxes), and Osberton (radiators), for instance, as well as competitors, such as Wolseley : in 1925, Morris had 41 per cent of total British car production. Most British small-car assemblers, from Abbey to Xtra , had gone under. Citroën did
4598-541: The Great Depression . It fell into receivership in 1934 and was sold by the receiver to the Rootes brothers . When at its height in the 1920s, Sunbeam Motor Car Company's Moorfield works employed 3,500 staff on their 50-acre site. The buildings covered 15 acres. Under VSCC rules all cars made in Wolverhampton post WW1 qualify as vintage and as post-vintage thoroughbreds after 1 January 1931. All cars built before
4719-679: The Portsmouth Block Mills , England, in 1802. The assembly line style of mass production and interchangeable parts had been pioneered in the US by Thomas Blanchard in 1821, at the Springfield Armory in Springfield, Massachusetts . This concept was greatly expanded by Henry Ford , beginning in 1913 with the world's first moving assembly line for cars at the Highland Park Ford Plant . As
4840-520: The Wankel engine has had more than very limited success. All in all, it is estimated that over 100,000 patents created the modern automobile and motorcycle. Large-scale, production-line manufacturing of affordable cars was started by Ransom Olds in 1901 at his Oldsmobile factory in Lansing, Michigan , and based upon stationary assembly line techniques pioneered by Marc Isambard Brunel at
4961-409: The history of the car , became commercially available in the 2000s and are predicted to cost less to buy than petrol-driven cars before 2025. The transition from fossil fuel-powered cars to electric cars features prominently in most climate change mitigation scenarios , such as Project Drawdown 's 100 actionable solutions for climate change. There are costs and benefits to car use . The costs to
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5082-440: The tax opportunities. The ability of humans to move flexibly from place to place has far-reaching implications for the nature of societies. Cars are a major cause of urban air pollution , with all types of cars producing dust from brakes, tyres, and road wear , although these may be limited by vehicle emission standards . While there are different ways to power cars, most rely on petrol or diesel , and they consume almost
5203-751: The 1.8% annual average reduction between 2010 and 2015. Given slow progress to date, the IEA estimates fuel consumption will have to decrease by 4.3% per year on average from 2019 to 2030. The increase in sales of SUVs is bad for fuel economy. Many cities in Europe have banned older fossil fuel cars and all fossil fuel vehicles will be banned in Amsterdam from 2030. Many Chinese cities limit licensing of fossil fuel cars, and many countries plan to stop selling them between 2025 and 2050. John Kemp Starley John Kemp Starley (24 December 1855 – 29 October 1901 )
5324-411: The 16 was solid and very reliable, it was a little underpowered at 2.1 litres; the 20.9 made a big jump to 3 litres and 70 bhp (52 kW; 71 PS) with similar body weight and vacuum servo brakes and was capable of 70 mph (110 km/h). Sunbeam built their own bodies but also supplied to the coachbuilder trade; many limousines were built on Sunbeam chassis. The sales catalogue illustrates
5445-544: The 1930 Silver Bullet , failed to achieve either records, or the hoped-for advances in aero engines. It is now almost forgotten. The name lives on in the open space known as Sunbeam Gardens near a housing estate built in the early 1990s on most of the Ladbroke Grove site of the Clément-Talbot car factory. One of the original buildings remains, the Talbot administration block now known as Ladbroke Hall, with
5566-487: The 1950s, Chevrolet shared bonnet, doors, roof, and windows with Pontiac ; by the 1990s, corporate powertrains and shared platforms (with interchangeable brakes , suspension, and other parts) were common. Even so, only major makers could afford high costs, and even companies with decades of production, such as Apperson , Cole , Dorris , Haynes , or Premier, could not manage: of some two hundred American car makers in existence in 1920, only 43 survived in 1930, and with
5687-812: The 20th and 21st centuries because there are more cars; the 1980s oil glut even fuelled the sales of low-economy vehicles in OECD countries. The BRIC countries are adding to this consumption. As of 2023 few production cars use wheel hub motors . In almost all hybrid (even mild hybrid ) and pure electric cars regenerative braking recovers and returns to a battery some energy which would otherwise be wasted by friction brakes getting hot. Although all cars must have friction brakes (front disc brakes and either disc or drum rear brakes ) for emergency stops, regenerative braking improves efficiency, particularly in city driving. Cars are equipped with controls used for driving, passenger comfort, and safety, normally operated by
5808-561: The Benz car to his line of products. Because France was more open to the early cars, initially more were built and sold in France through Roger than Benz sold in Germany. In August 1888, Bertha Benz , the wife and business partner of Carl Benz, undertook the first road trip by car, to prove the road-worthiness of her husband's invention. In 1896, Benz designed and patented the first internal-combustion flat engine , called boxermotor . During
5929-515: The British brand that had been merged into STD Motors many years earlier. Chrysler's experience with the Rootes empire appears to have been unhappy. Models were abandoned over the next few years while they tried to build a single brand from the best models of each of the company's components. For management, "best" typically meant "cheapest to produce," which was at odds with the former higher-quality Rootes philosophy. Brand loyalty began to erode, and
6050-571: The LSR in a new 4-litre V12 Sunbeam racer originally named Ladybird and later renamed Tiger. Coatalen decided to re-enter the LSR field himself, building the truly gigantic Sunbeam 1000HP powered by two 450 hp (340 kW) Matabele engines. On 29 March 1927 the car captured the speed record at 203.792 mph (327.971 km/h). The car is now at the National Motor Museum , Beaulieu , UK. A later land speed record attempt, with
6171-484: The Sunbeam 14/20, their first to use a shaft-driven rear axle. It was upgraded in 1911 with a slightly larger engine and rebranded 16/20. Coatalen was particularly fond of racing as a way to drive excellence noting that "Racing improves the breed". After designing his 14/20 he began to design advanced high-power engines combining overhead valves with a pressurised oil lubrication system. In 1910 he built Sunbeam Nautilus , his first dedicated land-speed-record car, powered by
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#17327872641286292-475: The Sunbeam name on a large and expensive luxury car, the eight-cylinder Sunbeam 30, after almost four years it was announced Sunbeam Motors and Clement-Talbot were now combined under the ownership of Clement Talbot Limited – since renamed Sunbeam-Talbot Limited – and would produce good quality cars at reasonable prices. During 1937 Humber Limited bought Clement Talbot Limited and Sunbeam Motors Limited from Rootes Securities Limited. In 1938 Rootes created
6413-567: The Swiss inventor François Isaac de Rivaz designed and constructed the first internal combustion-powered automobile in 1808. The modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use—was invented in 1886, when the German inventor Carl Benz patented his Benz Patent-Motorwagen . Commercial cars became widely available during the 20th century. The 1901 Oldsmobile Curved Dash and the 1908 Ford Model T , both American cars, are widely considered
6534-755: The Talbot in North Kensington and the Darracq at Suresnes with central buying, selling, administration and advertising departments with S T D in Britain On 13 August 1920 Darracq changed its name to S T D Motors Limited. The initials represented Sunbeam, Talbot and Darracq. S.T.D. Motors Limited had been first incorporated in London in 1905, at that time bearing the name A Darracq and Company (1905) Limited , though it continued to manufacture its Darracq cars in Suresnes, Paris. Sunbeam did not survive
6655-614: The US's first pedestrian car casualties in 1899 in New York City. There are now standard tests for safety in new cars, such as the Euro and US NCAP tests, and insurance-industry-backed tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). However, not all such tests consider the safety of people outside the car, such as drivers of other cars, pedestrians and cyclists. The costs of car usage, which may include
6776-583: The United Kingdom, sentiment against them led to the Locomotive Acts of 1865. In 1807, Nicéphore Niépce and his brother Claude created what was probably the world's first internal combustion engine (which they called a Pyréolophore ), but installed it in a boat on the river Saone in France. Coincidentally, in 1807, the Swiss inventor François Isaac de Rivaz designed his own " de Rivaz internal combustion engine ", and used it to develop
6897-658: The United States. His patent was challenged by Henry Ford and others, and overturned in 1911. In 1893, the first running, petrol-driven American car was built and road-tested by the Duryea brothers of Springfield, Massachusetts . The first public run of the Duryea Motor Wagon took place on 21 September 1893, on Taylor Street in Metro Center Springfield. Studebaker , subsidiary of
7018-514: The achievement of world land speed records. In spite of its well-regarded cars and aero engines, by 1934 a long period of particularly slow sales had brought continuing losses. Sunbeam was unable to repay money borrowed for ten years in 1924 to fund its Grand Prix racing programme, and a receiver was appointed. There was a forced sale, and Sunbeam was picked up by the Rootes brothers . Manufacture of Sunbeam's then old-fashioned cars did not resume under
7139-552: The architect signed the plans for the new motorcar buildings on the land in Upper Villiers Street. In January 1905, the Sunbeam Motor Car Company Ltd was formed to purchase and remove motor cars and their Villiers Street Works from the rest of the John Marston business which retained Sunbeam Cycles . Six years later after several further issues of shares to provide capital for greater expansion there
7260-412: The auspices of his major company, Benz & Cie. , which was founded in 1883). Benz began promotion of the vehicle on 3 July 1886, and about 25 Benz vehicles were sold between 1888 and 1893, when his first four-wheeler was introduced along with a cheaper model. They also were powered with four-stroke engines of his own design. Emile Roger of France, already producing Benz engines under license, now added
7381-462: The availability of a large variety of body styles to meet individual consumer requirements that include, among others, the sedan/saloon , hatchback , station wagon/estate , coupe , and minivan . Traffic collisions are the largest cause of injury-related deaths worldwide. Mary Ward became one of the first documented car fatalities in 1869 in Parsonstown , Ireland, and Henry Bliss one of
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#17327872641287502-564: The brand name Daimler . It was a horse-drawn stagecoach built by another manufacturer, which they retrofitted with an engine of their design. By 1895, about 30 vehicles had been built by Daimler and Maybach, either at the Daimler works or in the Hotel Hermann, where they set up shop after disputes with their backers. Benz, Maybach, and the Daimler team seem to have been unaware of each other's early work. They never worked together; by
7623-455: The car visible to other users, so that the vehicle can be used at night; in some jurisdictions, daytime running lights ; red brake lights to indicate when the brakes are applied; amber turn signal lights to indicate the turn intentions of the driver; white-coloured reverse lights to illuminate the area behind the car (and indicate that the driver will be or is reversing); and on some vehicles, additional lights (e.g., side marker lights) to increase
7744-580: The car's disturbance of dust on the road. The new car also featured chain cases so the chains ran in oil, were rendered almost silent and were protected from dirt. London-born Thomas Charles Willis Pullinger (1866–1945) joined Sunbeam in 1902. He had repaired, then made bicycles, and then in 1891 was sent by Humber to France for Humber's joint venture with Gladiator but Humber struck difficulties and Pullinger stayed in France with Alexandre Darracq as Darracq's designer and personal assistant. He moved on as works manager to other French firms, designing perhaps
7865-525: The car, had it painted in his distinctive colour scheme, named it Blue Bird and in September 1924 achieved a new record speed of 146.16 mph at Pendine Sands in South Wales, raising it the following year to 150.76 mph. The same year Coatalen's new 3-litre Super Sports came 2nd at Le Mans, beating Bentley – this was the first production twin-cam car in the world. In 1926 Segrave captured
7986-542: The convertible drophead coupé shells were completed by Thrupp & Maberly coachbuilders in Cricklewood . The underpowered 80 was discontinued in 1950. The 90 was renamed the 90 Mark II and then the 90 Mark IIA and eventually in 1954 the Sunbeam Mark III, finally dropping the Talbot name. With the model name changes, the headlights were raised on the front fenders and an independent coil front suspension and
8107-443: The cost of: acquiring the vehicle, repairs and auto maintenance , fuel, depreciation , driving time, parking fees , taxes, and insurance, are weighed against the cost of the alternatives, and the value of the benefits—perceived and real—of vehicle usage. The benefits may include on-demand transportation, mobility, independence, and convenience, and emergency power . During the 1920s, cars had another benefit: "[c]ouples finally had
8228-588: The development of alternative fuels . High fuel taxes or cultural change may provide a strong incentive for consumers to purchase lighter, smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, or to not drive . The lifetime of a car built in the 2020s is expected to be about 16 years, or about 2 millionkm (1.2 millionmiles) if driven a lot. According to the International Energy Agency the average rated fuel consumption of new light-duty vehicles fell by only 0.9% between 2017 and 2019, far smaller than
8349-443: The differential. Weight 16 cwt. Price £512. In February 1904 the 12-horsepower car was given a six-cylinder 16-horsepower stablemate. Like the 12 the new engine was designed to give its full power at what were even then considered low engine speeds. Particular note was made that special attention had once more been paid to further controlling the airflow beneath the car's apron and the chassis to reduce that bane of passengers' comfort,
8470-512: The directors to avoid the appointment of a receiver to Sunbeam Motor Car Company and S T D was unable to complete its sale to Rootes. However six months later in July 1935 Rootes Securities announced they had bought Sunbeam Motor Car Company and its subsidiary Sunbeam Commercial Vehicles. The following cars were built by Sunbeam Motor Car Company Limited. Car production was terminated but trolleybus production continued. Karrier 's trolleybus business
8591-749: The driver from a crash perspective, but more dangerous for other vehicles and road users. The weight of a car influences fuel consumption and performance, with more weight resulting in increased fuel consumption and decreased performance. The Wuling Hongguang Mini EV , a typical city car , weighs about 700 kilograms (1,500 lb). Heavier cars include SUVs and extended-length SUVs like the Suburban . Cars have also become wider. Some places tax heavier cars more: as well as improving pedestrian safety this can encourage manufacturers to use materials such as recycled aluminium instead of steel. It has been suggested that one benefit of subsidising charging infrastructure
8712-493: The earl's crest high above its main entrance. In the housing area there is a Sunbeam Crescent. Rootes was an early exponent of badge engineering , building a single mass-produced chassis and equipping it with different body panels and interiors to fit different markets. They ended production of existing models at all the new companies, replacing them with designs from Hillman and Humber that were more amenable to mass production . Although Rootes' intention had been to continue
8833-412: The end of that year there were more than 16 million electric cars on the world's roads. Despite rapid growth, less than two per cent of cars on the world's roads were fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars by the end of 2021. Cars for racing or speed records have sometimes employed jet or rocket engines, but these are impractical for common use. Oil consumption has increased rapidly in
8954-466: The end of the First World War are covered by the VCC . Coatalen's obsession with improvement meant that there were numerous small changes in models from year to year. Therefore, although his designs are basically similar, few parts are interchangeable. Two models dominated production: The most successful, judged by volumes, was the 16 hp (16.9) followed by 20 hp (20.9) made from 1926 to 1930. Whilst
9075-484: The engine displacement went from 1944 cc to 2267 cc with a high compression head and developing 80 bhp (60 kW; 81 PS). There was one more model of the Sunbeam-Talbot that appeared in 1953 in the form of an Alpine, a two-seater sports roadster which was initially developed by a Sunbeam-Talbot dealer George Hartwell in Bournemouth as a one-off rally car that had its beginnings as a 1952 drophead coupé. It
9196-413: The engineering group, bought Sunbeam Commercial Vehicles but in September 1948 sold the trolley-bus part of the business to Guy Motors Limited. who built Sunbeam trolleybuses at their factory until the last was completed in 1964. Brisbane City Council (Australia) imported Sunbeam single-deck trolleybus chassis from 1951 until 1960. All had been withdrawn by 1969. Two of these, fleet numbers 1 (of 1951, with
9317-466: The first mass-produced and mass-affordable cars, respectively. Cars were rapidly adopted in the US, where they replaced horse-drawn carriages . In Europe and other parts of the world, demand for automobiles did not increase until after World War II . In the 21st century, car usage is still increasing rapidly, especially in China, India, and other newly industrialised countries . Cars have controls for driving , parking , passenger comfort, and
9438-569: The first petrol-driven car in the country in 1894, followed by Frederick William Lanchester in 1895, but these were both one-offs. The first production vehicles in Great Britain came from the Daimler Company , a company founded by Harry J. Lawson in 1896, after purchasing the right to use the name of the engines. Lawson's company made its first car in 1897, and they bore the name Daimler. In 1892, German engineer Rudolf Diesel
9559-521: The first small car and certainly designing the first water-cooled cylinder head. Very keen to design and build his own car, he moved back to England and arrived at Sunbeam in Wolverhampton on a motor-quadracycle he had built himself. He prepared a report for the Sunbeam directors and delivered it on 11 November 1902. His first recommendation was that Sunbeam should buy-in a car from an established firm, then as sales built-up, buy them without certain components which would instead be made by Sunbeam until all that
9680-425: The founding of Ford France and Ford Britain in 1911, Ford Denmark 1923, Ford Germany 1925; in 1921, Citroën was the first native European manufacturer to adopt the production method. Soon, companies had to have assembly lines, or risk going broke; by 1930, 250 companies which did not, had disappeared. Development of automotive technology was rapid, due in part to the hundreds of small manufacturers competing to gain
9801-528: The idea of different makes of cars produced by one company, called the General Motors Companion Make Program , so that buyers could "move up" as their fortunes improved. Reflecting the rapid pace of change, makes shared parts with one another so larger production volume resulted in lower costs for each price range. For example, in the 1930s, LaSalles , sold by Cadillac , used cheaper mechanical parts made by Oldsmobile ; in
9922-403: The individual include acquiring the vehicle, interest payments (if the car is financed), repairs and maintenance , fuel, depreciation , driving time, parking fees, taxes, and insurance . The costs to society include maintaining roads, land-use , road congestion , air pollution , noise pollution , public health , and disposing of the vehicle at the end of its life . Traffic collisions are
10043-476: The largest cause of injury-related deaths worldwide. Personal benefits include on-demand transportation, mobility, independence, and convenience. Societal benefits include economic benefits, such as job and wealth creation from the automotive industry , transportation provision, societal well-being from leisure and travel opportunities, and the generation of revenue from taxation. People's ability to move flexibly from place to place has far-reaching implications for
10164-637: The last years of the 19th century, Benz was the largest car company in the world with 572 units produced in 1899 and, because of its size, Benz & Cie., became a joint-stock company . The first motor car in central Europe and one of the first factory-made cars in the world, was produced by Czech company Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau (later renamed to Tatra ) in 1897, the Präsident automobil. Daimler and Maybach founded Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG) in Cannstatt in 1890, and sold their first car in 1892 under
10285-580: The location for the accelerator and brake, but this was not always the case. Controls are evolving in response to new technologies, for example, the electric car and the integration of mobile communications. Some of the original controls are no longer required. For example, all cars once had controls for the choke valve, clutch, ignition timing , and a crank instead of an electric starter . However, new controls have also been added to vehicles, making them more complex. These include air conditioning , navigation systems , and in-car entertainment . Another trend
10406-422: The longest trip by a petrol-driven vehicle when their self-designed and built Daimler powered Peugeot Type 3 completed 2,100 kilometres (1,300 mi) from Valentigney to Paris and Brest and back again. They were attached to the first Paris–Brest–Paris bicycle race, but finished six days after the winning cyclist, Charles Terront . The first design for an American car with a petrol internal combustion engine
10527-545: The market. In Japan, car production was very limited before World War II. Only a handful of companies were producing vehicles in limited numbers, and these were small, three-wheeled for commercial uses, like Daihatsu , or were the result of partnering with European companies, like Isuzu building the Wolseley A-9 in 1922. Mitsubishi was also partnered with Fiat and built the Mitsubishi Model A based on
10648-496: The marque. The Hillman (by now Chrysler) Hunter , on which they were based, soldiered on until 1978. A Hillman Avenger -derived hatchback, the Chrysler Sunbeam , maintained the Sunbeam name, as a model rather than a marque, from 1977. Following the takeover of Chrysler Europe by PSA Group , the model was branded as the Talbot Sunbeam from 1979 through to its discontinuation in 1981. The Sunbeam name has not been used on
10769-426: The nature of societies . The English word car is believed to originate from Latin carrus / carrum "wheeled vehicle" or (via Old North French ) Middle English carre "two-wheeled cart", both of which in turn derive from Gaulish karros " chariot ". It originally referred to any wheeled horse-drawn vehicle , such as a cart , carriage , or wagon . "Motor car", attested from 1895,
10890-406: The new owners, but Sunbeam trolleybuses remained in production. The two Rootes brothers had intended to sell luxury cars under the Sunbeam name, but by 1938 instead chose to add the name to their Talbot branded range of Rootes designs, calling them Sunbeam-Talbots. In 1954 they dropped Talbot from the name. Sunbeam continued to appear as a marque name on new cars until 1976. It was then used as
11011-404: The on-board electrical system. More costly upper-class and luxury cars are equipped with features earlier such as massage seats and collision avoidance systems . Dedicated automotive fuses and circuit breakers prevent damage from electrical overload . Cars are typically fitted with multiple types of lights. These include headlights , which are used to illuminate the way ahead and make
11132-410: The opposite roadside. Wheels were arranged in a diamond formation. They used a frame like a motorised quadracycle version of Starley 's Coventry Rotary and were to be referred to by The Automotor Journal as "the curiously light vehicles with which their (Sunbeam) name has for some time been associated". The Sunbeam Mabley was a limited success, several hundred sold in 1901 and 1902 at £130. More stock
11253-474: The production of aero engines after Coatalen left the company in the 1930s. Sunbeam's great era was in the 1920s under Coatalen's leadership with well-engineered, high quality, reliable cars and a great reputation on the track. Coatalen was pleased to build racing cars for Henry Segrave , who won the French and Spanish GPs in 1923/4. In 1921 Segrave participated in his first Grand Prix on Talbot no.10, in effect
11374-472: The same in France, coming to cars in 1919; between them and other cheap cars in reply such as Renault 's 10CV and Peugeot 's 5CV , they produced 550,000 cars in 1925, and Mors , Hurtu , and others could not compete. Germany's first mass-manufactured car, the Opel 4PS Laubfrosch (Tree Frog), came off the line at Rüsselsheim in 1924, soon making Opel the top car builder in Germany, with 37.5 per cent of
11495-466: The small-engined car. But at this point, Rootes was in financial trouble. Talks with Leyland Motors were fruitless. In 1964, 30 percent of the company (along with 50 percent of the non-voting shares) was purchased by Chrysler , who was attempting to enter the European market. Ironically, Chrysler had purchased Simca the year earlier, who had earlier purchased Automobiles Talbot, originally
11616-485: The standard body designs. Financial difficulties arose in the early years of the Great Depression and just before the opening of the October 1934 Olympia Motor Show an application was made to the court for an appointment of a receiver and manager for the two major subsidiaries of S T D, Sunbeam and Automobiles Talbot France . Clément-Talbot remained profitable and was sold to the Rootes brothers. It proved impossible for
11737-654: The success of the AC Cobra , which mounted a small-block V-8 engine in the small AC Ace frame to create one of the most successful sports cars of all time. Garrad became convinced the Alpine frame could also be adapted the same way, and contracted Carroll Shelby to create a prototype with a Ford engine. The result was the Sunbeam Tiger , released in 1964, which became a success. It sold 7,000 units in its three years of production compared with 70,000 over nine years for
11858-405: The time of the merger of the two companies, Daimler and Maybach were no longer part of DMG. Daimler died in 1900 and later that year, Maybach designed an engine named Daimler-Mercedes that was placed in a specially ordered model built to specifications set by Emil Jellinek . This was a production of a small number of vehicles for Jellinek to race and market in his country. Two years later, in 1902,
11979-530: The visibility of the car. Interior lights on the ceiling of the car are usually fitted for the driver and passengers. Some vehicles also have a boot light and, more rarely, an engine compartment light. During the late 20th and early 21st century, cars increased in weight due to batteries, modern steel safety cages, anti-lock brakes, airbags, and "more-powerful—if more efficient—engines" and, as of 2019 , typically weigh between 1 and 3 tonnes (1.1 and 3.3 short tons; 0.98 and 2.95 long tons). Heavier cars are safer for
12100-541: The war until 1948. In the summer of 1948, the Sunbeam-Talbot 80 and Sunbeam-Talbot 90 were introduced, with a totally new streamlined design with flowing front fenders (wings). The 80 used the Hillman Minx-based engine with ohv and the 90 used a modified version of the Humber Hawk with ohv. The car bodies were manufactured by another Rootes Group company, British Light Steel Pressings of Acton , however
12221-482: The world's attention. Key developments included electric ignition and the electric self-starter (both by Charles Kettering , for the Cadillac Motor Company in 1910–1911), independent suspension , and four-wheel brakes. Since the 1920s, nearly all cars have been mass-produced to meet market needs, so marketing plans often have heavily influenced car design. It was Alfred P. Sloan who established
12342-645: The world's first vehicle to be powered by such an engine. The Niépces' Pyréolophore was fuelled by a mixture of Lycopodium powder (dried spores of the Lycopodium plant), finely crushed coal dust and resin that were mixed with oil, whereas de Rivaz used a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen . Neither design was successful, as was the case with others, such as Samuel Brown , Samuel Morey , and Etienne Lenoir , who each built vehicles (usually adapted carriages or carts) powered by internal combustion engines. In November 1881, French inventor Gustave Trouvé demonstrated
12463-726: Was a (technically) public offer of ordinary and preference shares to Sunbeam agents and their customers representing a small part of the company's capital. Twelve months later in January 1912 its shares were formally listed on the London Stock Exchange and Sunbeam became a public listed company. The Breton car designer, Louis Coatalen , joined Sunbeam from Hillman-Coatalen in 1909, and became chief designer. He soon reorganised production so almost all parts were built in-house instead of relying on outside suppliers with their variable quality. He quickly introduced his first design,
12584-642: Was a rear-wheel-drive, chain-driven cycle with two similar-sized wheels, making it more stable than the previous high wheeler designs. Cycling magazine said the Rover had "set the pattern to the world" and the phrase was used in their advertising for many years. In 1889, the company became J. K. Starley & Co. Ltd and in the late 1890s, it had become the Rover Cycle Company Ltd. Starley died suddenly on 29 October 1901, in Coventry , and
12705-526: Was an English inventor and industrialist who is widely considered the inventor of the modern safety bicycle , and also originator of the tradename Rover . Born on 24 December 1855 Starley lived on Church Hill, Walthamstow , London , England . He was the son of a gardener, John Starley, and Mary Ann (née Coppen). In 1872 he moved to Coventry to work with his uncle James Starley , an inventor. He worked with his uncle and William Hillman for several years building Ariel cycles. In 1877, he started
12826-468: Was bought in would be an engine. The report concluded with his advice that the cars should be supplied to Sunbeam by Berliet . He also advised the remaining stock of Mabley cars should be sold off as quickly as possible. A decision was made to sell shares in the company to the general public. Some of the board approved because they could see much growth ahead, some only because they wanted other people to come in to cut back on their own risk. On 31 January 1905
12947-407: Was developed in 1926. This is the source of Ford's apocryphal remark, "any color as long as it's black". In 1914, an assembly line worker could buy a Model T with four months' pay. Ford's complex safety procedures—especially assigning each worker to a specific location instead of allowing them to roam about—dramatically reduced the rate of injury. The combination of high wages and high efficiency
13068-623: Was dropped in 1954 for the Sunbeam Alpine sports car , making Sunbeam the sports-performance marque. In 1955 a Sunbeam saloon won the Monte Carlo Rally. Production ceased in 1956 and was replaced by the sporty Sunbeam Rapier . In 1959 a totally new Alpine was introduced, and the 1955 Rapier (essentially a badge-engineered Hillman Minx ) was upgraded. After several successful series of the Alpine were released, director of US West-Coast operations, Ian Garrad, became interested in
13189-1429: Was formed from a conglomerate of six companies who banded together as Fuji Heavy Industries , as a result of having been broken up under keiretsu legislation. The transport sector is a major contributor to air pollution , noise pollution and climate change . Most cars in use in the early 2020s run on petrol burnt in an internal combustion engine (ICE). The International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers says that, in countries that mandate low sulphur motor spirit, petrol-fuelled cars built to late 2010s standards (such as Euro-6) emit very little local air pollution. Some cities ban older petrol-driven cars and some countries plan to ban sales in future. However, some environmental groups say this phase-out of fossil fuel vehicles must be brought forwards to limit climate change. Production of petrol-fuelled cars peaked in 2017. Other hydrocarbon fossil fuels also burnt by deflagration (rather than detonation ) in ICE cars include diesel , autogas , and CNG . Removal of fossil fuel subsidies , concerns about oil dependence , tightening environmental laws and restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions are propelling work on alternative power systems for cars. This includes hybrid vehicles , plug-in electric vehicles and hydrogen vehicles . Out of all cars sold in 2021, nine per cent were electric, and by
13310-414: Was granted a patent for a "New Rational Combustion Engine". In 1897, he built the first diesel engine . Steam-, electric-, and petrol-driven vehicles competed for a few decades, with petrol internal combustion engines achieving dominance in the 1910s. Although various pistonless rotary engine designs have attempted to compete with the conventional piston and crankshaft design, only Mazda 's version of
13431-468: Was greatly damaged when they decided to drop former marques and start calling everything a Chrysler. The Tiger was dropped in 1967 after an abortive attempt to fit it with a Chrysler engine, and the Hillman Imp –derived Stiletto disappeared in 1972. The last Sunbeam produced was the " Rootes Arrow " series Alpine / Rapier fastback (1967–76), after which Chrysler , who had purchased Rootes, disbanded
13552-427: Was made in 1877 by George Selden of Rochester, New York . Selden applied for a patent for a car in 1879, but the patent application expired because the vehicle was never built. After a delay of 16 years and a series of attachments to his application, on 5 November 1895, Selden was granted a US patent ( U.S. patent 549,160 ) for a two-stroke car engine, which hindered, more than encouraged , development of cars in
13673-535: Was moved from Huddersfield to Moorfield (not Luton with other Karrier operations) and combined with Sunbeam but the same Karrier designs were to be produced. During wartime the factory produced the only trolleybus available in the UK; a four-wheeled double decker known as either the Karrier or Sunbeam W4. In 1946 soon after the end of the Second World War J. Brockhouse and Co Limited of West Bromwich,
13794-666: Was named supposedly by Norman Garrad, (works Competition Department) who was heavily involved in the Sunbeam-Talbot successes in the Alpine Rally in the early 1950s using the Saloon model. The Alpine Mark I and Mark III (a Mark II was never made) were hand built like the Drophead Coupé at Thrupp & Maberly coachbuilders from 1953 to 1955 when production ceased after close to 3000 were produced. It has been estimated that perhaps only 200 remain in existence today. The Talbot name
13915-477: Was not Marston and Cureton's but a car designed and developed by a young architect, Maxwell Mabberly-Smith, powered by a single-cylinder 2 3 ⁄ 4 horsepower De Dion engine. Described as a "sociable" it carried two passengers sitting close together facing the roadside from above a central belt-drive. To begin with they faced opposite roadsides. This layout provided propinquity while maintaining propriety. Their driver at his tiller sat behind them his body facing
14036-408: Was ordered in quantity in 1917 but suffered from continual vibration and reliability problems and only saw limited service and the more successful V12 Sunbeam Cossack . Meanwhile, Coatalen continued to experiment with ever-more odd designs such as the star-layout Sunbeam Malay , which never got beyond a prototype, the air-cooled Sunbeam Spartan and the diesel-powered Sunbeam Pathan . However Sunbeam
14157-422: Was provided to the public until February 1901. It would be supplied with a 2-seater body on a channel steel frame powered by a 4-horsepower horizontal engine with electric ignition intended to run at 700 rpm and have two forward speeds and reverse using belt drive to differential gears on the live axle. Dimensions: weight 10 cwt, overall measurements 84 inches by 57 inches. The first production car branded Sunbeam
14278-496: Was registered in 1893. In 1895 a company, John Marston Limited, was incorporated and took ownership of John Marston's business. The Sunbeam trademark was registered for motor-cars in 1900. Rugby -educated Thomas Cureton (1863–1921) began as his apprentice then became Marston's right-hand man in the cycle works and the cautious advocate of a motor-car venture. Their board of directors did not favour it but Marston and Cureton continued their project. Between 1899 and 1901 Sunbeam produced
14399-489: Was sold to a newly incorporated Sunbeam Motor Car Company Limited in 1905 to separate it from Marston's pedal bicycle business ; Sunbeam motorcycles were not made until 1912. In-house designer Louis Coatalen had an enthusiasm for motor racing and accumulated expertise with engines. Sunbeam manufactured their own aero engines during the First World War and 647 aircraft to the designs of other manufacturers. Engines drew Sunbeam into Grand Prix racing and participation in
14520-490: Was still in the Sunbeam catalogue in early 1904 with the following specification: single cylinder 74 x 76 mm. 327 cc engine designed to run at 1,800 rpm, 2-speed gearbox, central wheels driven by belt then chain drives from the differential. Weight 4 1 ⁄ 2 cwt. Price £120 At the annual Stanley Cycle Show in November 1902 Sunbeam, thoroughly approved by the magazine's correspondent, displayed beside more Mableys
14641-784: Was successful with the introduction of newer manufacturing techniques and became one of the first to build aluminium single-block engines, a design that would not become common until the 1930s. During the First World War Sunbeam built trucks and ambulances. It also participated in the Society of British Aircraft Constructors pool which shared aircraft designs with anyone that could build them. In this role Sunbeam produced 15 Short Bombers powered by their own Sunbeam Gurkha engines, 20 Short Type 827s , 50 Short 310s , and others including Avro 504 trainers; they even designed their own Sunbeam Bomber , which lost to
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