The Motor Car

It is usually agreed that a German, Carl Benz, built the first motorcar in 1885. It was really a tricycle with a petrol motor at the rear. Members of the Royal family and other wealthy people took up motoring as a sport; they were pleased when the Red Flag Act was removed in 1896.

Many of the early cars were two seaters, steered by a tiller, not a wheel. They had no hoods, so motorists wore goggles, hat-veils and short leather coats. There were no petrol pumps and few garages, so every driver had to be his own engineer for the frequent breakdowns, which occurred.

By 1905, cars began to look like cars today, with headlamps, bonnet, windscreen, rubber tyres and number plates. Roads were sprayed with hot tar to ensure a smoother ride and fewer punctures. Henry Ford's 'Model T', introduced in America in 1909, was cheaper because it was made on assembly line. It brought cars closer towards the reach of 'ordinary people'.

The company knew that the future lay with motor transport, but was less certain whether steam or petrol engines should power it. In 1903, Pickfords started running 20 traction engines, a sort of 'light locomotive' that could haul a trailer carrying between five and eight tonnes. By 1920's, however, most of its vehicles were running on petrol.