The first vehicle to move with its own power recorded was invented by
Nicholas Joseph Cugnot who did not manage to build it in his life time.
Instead Mr. M. Brezin built it. This was in the year 1769. A replica of
this vehicle can be seen in the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers, in
Paris. It may also be seen at the Smithsonian Museum, Washington D.C.
An advanced version of this car was built in 1770. This car weighed
8000lbs. This car had a top speed of 2 miles per hour (which is
probably as fast as was needed for the roads in Paris at that time).
This car had the strange ability of tipping over if it did not have a
canon weighing it down in the back. Because of this interesting feature
the car was mainly used to transport cannons around Paris.
The early
invented steam powered vehicles were to heavy to be off much use unless
it was on very flat surfaces which had to be as strong as iron to
support the weight of the car. Therefore iron rails for roads were used
for the next 125 years. The vehicles gained in size and power until
they became the predecessor of trains. These vehicles were able to
carry
many cars full of supplys and people. These vehicles were very good for
the time but now they look like a toy compared to our modern vehicles.
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