CHAPTER XVIII 

 THE AUTOMOBILE 



What should a person know about an automobile 

 in order to run one successfully ? 



Uses of automobiles. Automobiles now seem to be used 

 for almost every purpose that any type of vehicle has ever 

 served. They began as pleasure cars. Now they are put 

 to a great variety of commercial uses : delivery wagons, 

 motor trucks, plows, and jitney busses. In the great Euro- 

 pean War they were used to propel gun carriages and to 

 transport soldiers and supplies. The battle of the Marne 

 was won by the French and Verdun was saved through the 

 use of automobiles. Moreover, the service of the auto- 

 mobile seems to be only in its beginning. It doubtless has 

 an even greater future before it, when it will take the place 

 to some extent of locomotives and street electric railways. 

 For lines of business that require a person to travel short 

 distances the automobile is a great time saver, enabling him 

 to do a larger amount of work in a day. 



History of the automobile. The first carriage to be pro- 

 pelled by an engine was built in 1769, by a Frenchman 

 named Cugnot. This carriage was propelled by a steam 

 engine placed on the frame of the carriage. It was a very 

 clumsy affair mounted on three wheels. It traveled only 

 three or four miles an hour, it had to stop every ten minutes 

 to get up steam, and it could carry only three persons. 

 Compare this with our modern automobile ! 



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