It must have been an exciting time for everyone involved, especially the guy in front, riding a bicycle and serving as a rolling road block! Still, this simple vehicle sure did start something!
Jun 4, 1896:
Henry Ford test-drives his "Quadricycle"
At approximately 4:00 a.m. on June 4, 1896, in the shed behind his home on Bagley Avenue in Detroit, Henry Ford unveils the "Quadricycle," the first automobile he ever designed or drove.
Ford was working as the chief engineer for the main plant of the Edison Illuminating Company when he began working on the Quadricycle. On call at all hours to ensure that Detroit had electrical service 24 hours a day, Ford was able to use his flexible working schedule to experiment with his pet project--building a horseless carriage with a gasoline-powered engine. His obsession with the gasoline engine had begun when he saw an article on the subject in a November 1895 issue of American Machinist magazine. The following March, another Detroit engineer named Charles King took his own hand-built vehicle--made of wood, it had a four-cylinder engine and could travel up to five miles per hour--out for a ride, fueling Ford's desire to build a lighter and faster gasoline-powered model.
As he would do throughout his career, Ford used his considerable powers of motivation and organization to get the job done, enlisting friends--including King--and assistants to help him bring his vision to life. After months of work and many setbacks, Ford was finally ready to test-drive his creation--basically a light metal frame fitted with four bicycle wheels and powered by a two-cylinder, four-horsepower gasoline engine--on the morning of June 4, 1896. When Ford and James Bishop, his chief assistant, attempted to wheel the Quadricycle out of the shed, however, they discovered that it was too wide to fit through the door. To solve the problem, Ford took an axe to the brick wall of the shed, smashing it to make space for the vehicle to be rolled out.
With Bishop bicycling ahead to alert passing carriages and pedestrians, Ford drove the 500-pound Quadricycle down Detroit's Grand River Avenue, circling around three major thoroughfares. The Quadricycle had two driving speeds, no reverse, no brakes, rudimentary steering ability and a doorbell button as a horn, and it could reach about 20 miles per hour, easily overpowering King's invention. Aside from one breakdown on Washington Boulevard due to a faulty spring, the drive was a success, and Ford was on his way to becoming one of the most formidable success stories in American business history.
Maybe I could build one of these to run back and forth to the store, ya think? I'm afraid that I would have to have brakes on mine though. Guess I'm just a sissy!
Let's have our coffee outside this morning, OK?
The government would probably put you in prison for not submitting all the paperwork, and 27 different companies would line up to sue you. And let's not forget the protests by the environwackos!
ReplyDeleteMr Ford and Mr Edison would become life long friends. They have homes next door to each other down here in Ft. Myers Fla.
ReplyDeleteDidn't ole Henry and Tom build an early camper and go camping a lot ?
ReplyDeleteThe Ft. Myers Ford/Edison museum is worth the trip. Lots of nifty stuff there.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what old Henry would think if he got to see a top fuel dragster do 330 mph in 1000 feet???
ReplyDeleteNo brakes, I guess that is why they wore those big boots with thick soles. Wonder how many stops you could get with one pair of boots.
ReplyDeleteGreat post and a wild ride for sure.
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