Ep 1. The History of Car Enthusiasm

The Freiburger Files

Host David Freiburger traces the historical arc of automotive enthusiasm from the invention of the automobile in 1886 to the modern era. The

Key takeaways

• Carl Benz invented the automobile in 1886, marking the start of the modern era.
• Ransom Eli Olds pioneered the first mass-produced assembly line manufacturing for cars in 1901.

Main topics

• Origins of the automobile
• Early manufacturing and assembly lines

Notable quotes

Every single time, the aftermarket has overcome. And I expect that it will do again.

Conclusion

A comprehensive look at how historical resilience and mechanical innov

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:00) This is the very first episode of The Freiberger Files, a brand new historical podcast brought to you by O'Reilly Auto Parts. And this time, I'm going to talk about how did this whole world of car enthusiasm even begin? Let's go. Speaker 1 (0:21) I am David Freiberger, and if you're unaware of who I am, I'll give you just the very quick bio here. I was the editor of car magazines for a long time. Magazines like Hot Rod, Rod & Custom Car Craft, 4Wheel, and Offroad. And after that, you may have seen me on TV, on shows such as Roadkill, Roadkill Garage, Engine Masters. And most recently, I'm doing my own thing on the David Freiberger channel of YouTube. So my whole... career has been about presenting automotive information, and my passion is actually the history of all of this stuff. And so that's what you're going to get in this podcast, is a whole lot of fun facts and details. And this time, I'm going to go way back. to tell you about how the general populace became super stoked about cars. And you know what? It begins in 1886. That is when Carl Benz invented the automobile. Now in the United States, unbelievably, there was a magazine called The Horseless Age that was about cars, and that came out in 1895, before there was any automotive manufacturing in the United States at all, which is kind of crazy to me. But then, in 1901, there was a guy named Ransom Eli Olds who came up with the first manufactured car on an assembly line that was designed to be sold in bulk. And yes, that is Olds of Oldsmobile and later of REO, like REO Speedwagon, not just a band, but also a truck manufacturer. Now, I just said that... Olds was the very first guy to manufacture on an assembly line a car in the United States, and many people believe that that's Henry Ford. As was taught to my son in school, he actually raised his hand and rightly said, that is incorrect. Henry Ford was involved in the whole automotive culture back in the 1890s around the Detroit area, and he even had a company that ended up folding. In 1901, Henry Ford took one of his vehicles that he had been building, and he entered it in a race against one other person. It was called a sweepstakes and the car was called the Ford sweepstakes. And he actually won that deal and got massive press because here's where I start to point out the enthusiasm. Not only were there inventors and manufacturers and engineers tinkering with this stuff. But the news about horseless carriages and automotive and gasoline-powered stuff and even electric cars was just huge in the United States. So when Henry Ford won this, it actually kind of kicked off his path towards founding the Ford Motor Company in 1903. And the Model T came out in 1908. And the Model T Ford is absolutely pivotal. to car enthusiasm in the United States because all of a sudden there was a vehicle that was accessible to the masses. Now, at the same time that this was all going on, we're talking the 1900s and very early teens, Ford had a driver whose name you might still recognize, Barney Oldfield. This guy was a legend and... probably the very first superstar in racing. People followed this guy. And don't forget that the Indianapolis 500 started in 1911, and in 1916, Barney Oldfield was the first guy to go 100 miles an hour on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Not during the race, but nonetheless, the first 100 miles an hour. And you know what? The other thing that happened is that Henry Ford himself set the very first speed record in the United States. Other records had been set in France and Belgium. And as a matter of fact, France was the absolute heartbeat of automotive at the time, believe it or not. In the United States, top speed runs were happening, many of them on just local roads, but the big news was in 1903 at Ormond Beach in Florida. They started running stuff, famously even a record for a Stanley Steamer. But then in 1927, they were running at Daytona, and you know what that developed into with NASCAR, and it's the Daytona 500 today. And in 1935, the very first... recognized land speed record was set at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Now for all this time, the automotive craze is booming and hill climbs are the thing. Even in local towns, they would try and figure out whose Model T could make it all the way up the hill. And all the way is a real thing because some of them