On this day in 1896, Henry Ford test drove his first gas-powered vehicle—the Quadricycle—paving the road to the future of automobiles.
TRANSCRIPT
On this day in 1896, Henry Ford test drove for the first time his motorized vehicle with 4 wheels, or Quadricycle, the first gasoline powered vehicle designed by Ford. Because these horseless carriages, as they were called, were expensive and hand built, they were seen more as a toy for the rich.
Ford’s quadricycle was little more than four bicycle wheels and a simple gas-powered engine mounted to a carriage frame. The two cylinder engine had 4 horsepower and was driven by a chain.
The transmission had only two gears, neither was reverse. After various test drives, Ford’s top speed in the Quadricycle was a massive 20 miles per hour. Ford would later found the Ford Motor Company becoming one of the world's richest men. Today the original Quadricycle resides at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
And that is your Michigan Minute.