1. The History of Cars – How have they changed? In 1896 Henry Ford built his first gasoline powered motor car in a tiny workshop behind his home in America. He called it the ‘Quadricycle” because it had four bicycle tyres. It could carry only two people and could only go forwards! Because it was hard to stop it had to have a bell to warn people to get out of its way. Can you see how it was steered? In those days people were used to travelling with a horse and cart or in a horse drawn carriage. They didn’t have tarmac roads like we do today so often the cars had to travel down rutted tracks used by horse drawn coaches. It was very bumpy uncomfortable. People thought it was very fast but it travelled only a little bit faster than a dog could run and it was very expensive so only rich people could afford to buy one.

2. In 1908 , Henry Ford designed and made this car, the Model T’ or ‘Tin Lizzie’ in his factory in America, At first it took 14 hours to make one car but Henry Ford built a bigger factory with better machines and more men to make more cars. All Tin Lizzie’s were black and were started by turning a special starting crank. The very first Tin Lizzie’s didn’t have a top, a windshield or lamps but Henry Ford soon changed his design so that people could order a black or a grey top if they wanted to stay out of the rain! It could travel at up to 45 miles an hour.

3. The Morris Minor motor car was first seen at the Earl’s Court Motor Show in London in September 1948 . It was designed in England by a man called Alec Issigonis. The Morris Minor was a small family car with room for only four people. It was very strong and reliable but not very fast.At first it only had two doors because it was so small and it didn’t have a heater so it could be very cold to travel in! It had a tiny back window and headlights that were on the front grill. No more Morris Minors were made after 1971 but you can still see old Morris Minors being driven on our roads!

4. The Mini was designed by Alec Issigonis in 1959. At first people didn’t like it very much and thought it was a very odd car. Then they saw the queen having a ride in one and suddenly the mini became very fashionable! The mini had two doors, room for four passengers and a tiny boot for luggage. At first they had wind up windows, not electric ones. It also had small wheels. Although its design has had to be changed to make it more environmentally friendly, the Mini is still popular today. It doesn’t cost much to run or to repair and because it is so small, it is very easy to park and doesn’t use much petrol.