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Author Topic: Top 20 Motoring Inventions  (Read 7018 times)

davewilson

  • Guest
Top 20 Motoring Inventions
« on: January 10, 2007, 06:58:11 PM »
REVILED by many drivers but adored by its fans, the humble caravan has been voted one of Britain's top 20 greatest motoring ideas.

Enthusiasts have voted the caravan as 19th best - beating even classic car clubs. The list is topped by pneumatic rubber tyres, which were both patented and perfected by Scots.

Other favourites in the survey include cat's eyes, split rear seats, self-cancelling indicators and the Mini.

The list also features inventions that make some drivers see red - such as traffic lights, pedestrian crossings and speed limits. Safety equipment also features, such as disc brakes, laminated windscreens and bumpers.

The motoring writers Giles Chapman and David Burgess-Wise compiled a shortlist with staff at Auto Express. This was then voted on by 2,000 of the magazine's readers.

According to the National Caravan Council, the first leisure caravan, the Wanderer, was built in 1880 by the Bristol Carriage Company.

Nearly 40 years later, the Birmingham firm Eccles Motor Transport spotted a gap in the market for a portable holiday home that could be towed by a car.

Its initial production run was just 50 caravans, which were single axle with a towbar. The same system is still in use nearly 90 years later.

There are now some 500,000 towing caravans in the UK, and up to two million Britons take caravanning holidays each year.

The National Caravan Council said the industry was worth more than £1 billion a year to the economy.

The Caravan Club, which describes itself as Europe's premier touring organisation, yesterday welcomed the survey.

Fiona Bewers, the club's spokeswoman, said: "We are, naturally, delighted that the caravan has now been officially recognised as a top motoring invention.

"Our club now represents nearly a million members across the UK and they know that caravanning is the perfect way to explore our beautiful countryside, enjoy a whole range of outdoor pursuits and allow you to have the freedom to go where the mood takes you."

However, their large size and sluggish nature on the roads have also earned caravans many enemies.

The TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson provoked a storm of complaints after lampooning caravanning on the BBC's Top Gear programme in July.

He told viewers: "We proved there is no upside to caravanning and they clog up the roads. When we come to power, caravanning is going to be banned."

Clarkson also described a caravan site in Dorset as a "concentration camp". John Bates-Williams, a London barrister, disliked them so much he was reported to have founded the Anti-Caravan Club.

Mat Watson, of Auto Express, said: "Despite our car industry no longer being a global force, we Britons still have plenty to be proud of.

"Without these UK inventions, the motoring world would be a whole lot less pleasurable, quite a bit more dangerous - and maybe not even exist at all.

"Britain may be a small island, but when it comes to ground-breaking inventions and ideas, we are world leaders - and nowhere more so than in the field of motoring."

TOP 20 MOTORING INVENTIONS:
-------------------------------
1. Pneumatic tyre

2. Passenger automobile

3. Disc brakes

4. Cat’s eyes

5. Laminated windscreen

6. The Mini

7. All metal car construction

8. Pedestrian crossings

9. Traffic lights

10. Self-cancelling indicators

11. Bumpers (1905)

12. Factory fitted radios (1922)

13. National speed limits (1865)

14. Race track (1908)

15. 60-40 rear split seat (1980)

16. Motorway service area (1959)

17. Multi-storey car park (1901)

18. Car museum (1912)

19. Caravans (1919)

20. Classic car club (1930)

What do you think is the greatest Motoring Invention?
----------------------------------------------------

The Stig
Reclining Seats come to mind:


« Last Edit: January 12, 2007, 12:51:43 AM by The Stig »



Offline Ian

Re: Top 20 Motoring Inventions
« Reply #1 on: January 10, 2007, 07:26:17 PM »
 Windscreen wipers were'nt a bad invention either, were they Stig, be a bit buggered without them
An aircraft landing is just a controlled crash.

davewilson

  • Guest
Re: Top 20 Motoring Inventions
« Reply #2 on: January 10, 2007, 08:09:05 PM »
Cant understand why such items are missed off  the list? ....Good One...!
I think we should compile our own list and enter it.

Cheers: The Stig
Are You going to the Autoshow?
« Last Edit: January 10, 2007, 08:51:53 PM by The Stig »

Offline Dare

Re: Top 20 Motoring Inventions
« Reply #3 on: January 10, 2007, 10:05:34 PM »


  I vote for a heater and airconditionong,it
  gets in the upper 90's with high humidity
  at times in the summer.As for the
 
Mark Twain once opined, "it's easier to con someone than to convince them they've been conned."

davewilson

  • Guest
Re: Top 20 Motoring Inventions
« Reply #4 on: January 11, 2007, 12:52:02 AM »
Dare:
I know what you mean.It is getting hotter here as well.I cant understand how you guys cope in the winter.
Over here everything grinds to a halt,because people do not know how to drive in snow or ice ,and have a go anyway,ie the school runs etc.This tends to snarl things up added to which poor maintainence of cars etc.Gritters always come out after the the event!Lack of planning all round..!
You might say we are just are useless.

The Stig
I will add Anti- Freeze to the list
« Last Edit: January 11, 2007, 12:55:50 AM by The Stig »

Offline Dare

Re: Top 20 Motoring Inventions
« Reply #5 on: January 11, 2007, 03:18:46 AM »


  I always thought the trunk was a useful
  inventionas the mother in laws needed a
  place to stick them in on trips :D

  Seriously,what about airbags and seatbelts
Mark Twain once opined, "it's easier to con someone than to convince them they've been conned."

davewilson

  • Guest
Re: Top 20 Motoring Inventions
« Reply #6 on: January 11, 2007, 03:25:27 AM »
Well we have them here too Dare: And i suppose they do the same job: oh i thought you meant Mother In Laws
The Stig
But being one for safety i will add them to the list: Drivers Airbags.
« Last Edit: January 11, 2007, 03:38:26 AM by The Stig »

Offline Wizzo

Re: Top 20 Motoring Inventions
« Reply #7 on: January 11, 2007, 09:19:05 AM »

I think some of the best inventions are the ones you take for granted.

Windscreen wipers
Seatbelts
Power assisted steering (remember the days without it?)
Fuel injection
Automatic choke
Starter motor
Brake disc



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Wizzo

Offline Ian

Re: Top 20 Motoring Inventions
« Reply #8 on: January 11, 2007, 11:49:05 AM »
 No Stig, afraid I can't make it
An aircraft landing is just a controlled crash.

Offline cosworth151

Re: Top 20 Motoring Inventions
« Reply #9 on: January 11, 2007, 06:53:36 PM »
If you're sticking to the best UK inventions, I'd have to say John Cooper's first modern mid-engine F1 car. That and Q putting machine guns in a DB 5.
“You can search the world over for the finer things, but you won't find a match for the American road and the creatures that live on it.”
― Bob Dylan

davewilson

  • Guest
Re: Top 20 Motoring Inventions
« Reply #10 on: January 11, 2007, 07:29:49 PM »
Cosworth151:
Thanks, but the Machine Guns might be a bit drastic to add to the list.
Road Rage takes on a whole new meaning.
Cheers:The Stig

Offline romephius

Re: Top 20 Motoring Inventions
« Reply #11 on: January 11, 2007, 07:31:17 PM »
Ok then no guns..........but stig can we please keep the rocket launchers behind the headlights????

davewilson

  • Guest
Re: Top 20 Motoring Inventions
« Reply #12 on: January 11, 2007, 07:36:07 PM »
Romephius:
Ok,then.At least it would take care of the tailgaters we have here.
Thanks:The Stig

Offline Dare

Re: Top 20 Motoring Inventions
« Reply #13 on: January 11, 2007, 09:26:14 PM »
Romephius:
Ok,then.At least it would take care of the tailgaters we have here.
Thanks:The Stig

   Are the drivers there as bad as here in US,speeders
   tailgaters,and everybody drivibg with a cell phone
   stuck in their ear :nono:
Mark Twain once opined, "it's easier to con someone than to convince them they've been conned."

Offline romephius

Re: Top 20 Motoring Inventions
« Reply #14 on: January 11, 2007, 09:29:13 PM »
I think bad drivers are pretty much universal mate.......

 


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