On the way to the modern automobile
10/20/2019
The Panhard-Levassors built around the turn of the century are actually regarded as pioneers of the modern automobile. They had the engine at the front, a manual gearbox, a steering wheel and pedals like a piano.
The Ford Model T (pictured above), which came onto the market just a few years later in 1908, did much the same. And with over 15 million units produced, it should have had a significant influence on and shaped the standard for driving an automobile.
Although the Ford Model T also had a steering wheel and even three pedals, at the latest when you try to drive this record-breaking car, you realize that the Ford people had thought of all sorts of creative things and that hardly anything works the way modern drivers are used to.
In fact, the three pedals are responsible for shifting the two forward gears, reverse gear and the foot brake, which acts on the cardan tunnel. The accelerator, however, is operated by hand and the drum brakes on the rear axle with a lever.
This method of operation did not catch on; the competition came up with other and better solutions. And this was obviously not a problem for people back then, after all they usually only drove one car and the technology changed so much from generation to generation that they had to completely relearn.
Incidentally, as of yesterday, two new owners can once again enjoy the special driving experience of a Ford Model T. The two cars were successfully auctioned off in Toffen, as we reported. And if you want to buy a Panhard-Levassor 7 HP from 1901 and thus the pioneer of the modern automobile, you will have the opportunity to do so at the Bonhams auction on the occasion of the London-Brighton Run on November 1, 2019, but you should have enough cash with you, because the Panhard is nowhere near as cheap as a Model T, as we wrote in our auction announcement.
