The Cars That Made the World

C)

- I put my gloves to soak in some ligroin.

(moving into driving percussion music)

- as the 20th century approaches,

industrialization is accelerating,

while steam powers an explosion of manufacturing

and transforms transportation.

But for most, getting around still requires a horse.

Now, a small group of visionary engineers

pioneer a radical new invention.

- These first cars were very rudimentary machines,

but this technology was really unheard of at the time.

- the automobile unlocks the potential

of personalized travel--

it's hard to think of another invention

that has had a greater impact on the way we live our lives.

- creating a new global industry

fueled by rivalry.

- They're all a bit obsessive, but they're all driven

by this singular goal of a brighter tomorrow.

- as benz, daimler, maybach, rolls and royce,

ford,

bentley,

porsche,

honda,

and toyota

create the cars that made the world.

(church bell tolling f

- working tirelessly in his home workshop in germany,

struggling inventor karl benz thinks he's solved a problem

that's stumped him for the last five years,

thanks to a chance nearby fire

triggered by a common cleaning solvent

that's made from petroleum and highly flammable

called ligroin.

- Karl benz realized that this cleaning solvent

could be a very potent fuel source.

- if he can harness ligroin's explosive power,

he might just reinvent personal transportation.

For 60 years, steam-powered trains have moved the masses.

- Steam power is great if you don't care about the weight

and the size of the engine.

But if you're gonna move people around individually,

you have to get, really, more bang for your buck.

- while some insist steam engines

can be made small enough to replace the horse and carriage,

benz believes in a radical alternative.

- Steam was popular, electricity was popular.

And then, out there, right on the outliers,

you had this crazy bunch of individuals going,

"no, no, no, what you need

"is this thing called the internal combustion engine."

- internal combustion engines

inject a mixture of fuel and air into an enclosed cylinder,

ignite them, and use the energy of the explosion

to power motion.

But early versions are used only in heavy industry.

- They were these huge stationary pieces of machinery

that were loud, noisy, dirty, smoke-belching affairs.

- now, benz wants to shrink this giant machine

and make it mobile.

To harness his new fuel source,

he builds a small internal combustion engine

onto a tricycle frame with carriage-style wheels.

There was really no guide book

for how you build the automobile.

So, people like karl benz

were just experimenting and experimenting.

again.

- You're making a vehicle that's not a train,

it's not a horse and carriage.

it's this completely new invention.

It seemed like magic

and it was really quite beautiful.

The tinkerers, the inventors,

they could see that this was just the start.

They were proving the concept.

And if they could demonstrate that the concept worked,

they could change society.

- in 1886, benz is awarded a patent

for his invention.

He calls it the motorwagen.

But two years later,

benz is still tinkering,

to the frustration of his main financial backer,

his wife bertha,

who's secretly booked a spot for the motorwagen

at the 1889 paris world's fair.

- I think it's time people see it.

- It's not ready for a stage like that!

- bertha's sunk her entire dowry

and future inheritance into his motorwagen.

- You have created something special.

- He didn't see it as much more than

a project to be optimized.

- We'll talk about this tomorrow.

- she saw that it could be extraordinary.

- Karl benz is almost this introverted engineer

and he needs bertha's marketing genius

to bring this car to life.

- as bertha's frustration grows,

others are starting to crack the code

of internal combustion.

Just 80 miles away,

engineer gottlieb daimler has built a reputation

designing huge factory engines.

Like benz, he sees a radically different use for them.

- He was convinced that you could miniaturize these engines

and put them into vehicles.

- while benz has claimed the first car patent,

daimler is determined to be first into production.

- Among these men, there's a lot of competition

because they all want to have the most power,

the best engine, the first working automobile.

- he designs a car with four wheels

and an engine that's twice as powerful as the motorwagen.

But he needs investors to bring it to market.

- Looks like a horse carriage without any horses.

Exactly!

Imagine going wherever you want, whenever you want,

never needing a horse.

- Everybody understood the market for industrial engines.

Daimler wanted to make engines

for a market that didn't even exist yet,

which is a very hard sell to investors.

- Karl benz patented a motor vehicle two years ago

and he still hasn't started selling it.

If we act now, we could beat him to the market.

We already have a market.

- the investors agree to fund

his factory engines, but won't commit to making cars.

- Are you still interested or not?

- Well, let's go and discuss the details.

- the deal keeps daimler

and design partner wilhelm maybach working,

but it means giving up control of his company.

Meanwhile, for karl benz,

who's funded by his wealthy wife,

cashflow isn't the problem.

Confidence is.

- Karl would just tinker with this thing

over and over again 'til it met this platonic idea

in his head of what would be perfect.

Well, it was bertha who realized,

at some point you gotta get this thing actually on the road

and you actually have to show people what this thing can do.

bertha!

Bertha!

as karl stalls--

- by 1888, new developments

like electric lights, moving pictures, and the telephone

are changing lives for the better.

Now, inventor karl benz is convinced

internal combustion engines will follow

by replacing the horse.

But after seven years developing his motorwagen,

he's yet to sell one.

Determined to bring her husband's invention

to the world,

bertha benz takes matters into her own hands.

- she wanted her husband's achievements

to be amplified so that everyone would know.

- in a publicity stunt that's ahead of its time,

bertha sets out with her two sons,

hoping to drive to her mother's house 65 miles away.

it was extraordinary!

Nothing had ever gone more than a couple of hundred meters.

- but world's firsts don't come easily.

The tiny one-cylinder engine

limits their speed to a fast walk.

And the motorwagen's fuel tank only carries enough ligroin

to drive about 30 miles.

- Finally, it gasps and it runs out of fuel.

"everybody out," she says,

"we're going to push it to the next village."

- luckily, while gasoline is rare

and hard to come by,

ligroin is a readily available household cleaning product.

- A key part for internal combustion fuel

is you have to be able to get it,

and you could go to a local apothecary

and they might actually have ligroin there.

- I need to purchase some ligroin.

Five liters, more if you have it.

- I'm sure it musta made a scene,

seeing a formally-dressed woman

buy this solvent for this crazy machine.

I'm sure nobody had any idea what the hell was going on.

This is all I have.

Thank you, sir.

- but fuel isn't her only problem.

- Bertha wasn't just a driver, she was a no-joke mechanic.

She used a hat pin to clean out the fuel line

and then used part of her garter and wrapped it around

to repair the spark plug wires.

She took it upon herself to do exactly what had to be done,

which is show the world this is a viable machine.

here we go.

bertha and her sons

complete their 65-mile journey in 12 hours