Piloting the 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen

In 1886 Carl Benz (of Mercedes Fame)Patented what is believed to be the first gasoline powered automobile. The Patent Motorwagen, a three wheeled one cylinder vehicle that produced .75 Horsepower, was built from 1886 to 1894 only to be brought back one hundred years later in 1986. I have had the pleasure of maintaining, and driving these replicas during an intership at the Mercedes Benz Classic Center. They are accurate down to the size of the threads although they do sport modern Paint jobs.

Before I take a Motorwagen for a drive I always go through a checklist, in much the same way a pilot does a preflight check on his aircraft before takeoff. I walk around the vehicle looking for anything that needs attention. I wiggle the tiller, is everything tight? does the steering gear mesh properly?

Next I look at the wheels to make sure they are straight and true and that the rubber tires are still firmly glued to the rims. Look at the drive chains, how clean are they, are lubricated? Next I check to make sure that the drive belt that connects the engine to the transmission is firmly in place. Then I open the water tank and fuel tank and refill them if needed. I also check and lubricate all wear points on the engine and drive train and make sure to top up the oilers that lubricate the piston and connecting rod.

OK, everything good? one last check, and I'm ready to go. I reach under the seat and flip the ignition switch to the ON position. Next I screw the throttle out about an inch and move to the back of the car.

To start this car I rotate the flywheel so that the engine is on the compression stroke. I grasp the flywheel and heave it in a clockwise direction. The machine coughs once and dies. I repeat the process it coughs once more...the engine free wheels and starts to slow it slows almost to a stop and then bang! The flywheel rotates faster this time and almost immediately there is another Bang! The engine starts Banging faster and Pumps out a rhythm of Bang! click, click, click, Bang! click, click, click... Faster and faster the engine goes and the whole car begins to rock back and fourth with each explosion. Great, the car is ready to go!

I put my foot on the step plate and climb into the cockpit. I firmly grasp the tiller with my right hand and in my left I push the drive lever forward and the car begins to move. That fast moving engine slows dramatically as the car moves forward. I pull out of the garage and open up the throttle. The Three wheeled contraption starts to pick up speed, and almost immediately it is faster than I want it to go!

Even on smooth pavement the over sized leaf springs make the car feel unstable. It definitely isn't a modern car. As I tool around a parking lot the car seems to float over the road. That ancient suspension providing a very cushy but disconnected ride. I move the tiller and the car responds quickly, almost too quickly for comfort. Steer to the right and the entire carriage slings its weight to the left and you feel almost like you are going to be thrown out of the car. Of course that doesn't happen but it certainly makes you excited.

I move onto the road now and get up to top speed. It feels fast, it even looks fast, but it isn't. A cyclist from a hundred years ago would have easily surpassed it's speed of only about 15mph. Though, I wouldn't want to go any faster on this thing!

The truth about those early automobiles is that they weren't practical, and they were every bit as dangerous as people made them out to be. Speeding could and did result in death. Trying to start early cars, by hand, resulted in many broken fingers and arms and the ride quality was atrocious. These, however, become just minor trivialities as soon as you pilot a vehicle like this.

Patent motorwagens are just too exciting to be ignored! The wind through your hair, the clatter of the engine, and the uncertainty that the bouncy ride gives make this car more exciting than any modern car. To buy a replica of the Benz Patent Motorwagen will set you back about $90,000 and if i had the dough I'd buy one!

The Best Run Of My Life

I was angry, I couldn’t figure out why but for the first and only time in my life I was angry and needed to get it out of my system. I donned my running cloths and tuned my Ipod to music that made my angrier, Coldplay, and headed out the door.

I ran up the path and made a U-turn that would take me into the valley below. I headed down hill getting angrier and angrier. I tried to contain my self until I warmed up. I had an 18 miler to run that day and didn’t want to blow up early.

I ran the mile and a half that I considered my warm-up. I crossed B-10 and the massive field of U-bahn tracks in the middle of the street, ran up some stairs to a bridge that would get me into the park. As I was climbing the bridge I could see a man that often trained in the park, and that day he was my enemy. He had always been faster than me. He was middle aged but ran like an elite of half his age.


I shot down the bridge and into the park. He was my rabbit and I was determined to catch him. I released my fury, a combination of the isolation that I felt living in a different country and that fact the problems that haunted me in America followed me to Europe. I started running fast, but instead of feeling better I just kept getting angrier. My anger fueled my speed and I carved the turns of that first mile in the park like I was skiing in the alps. I wasn’t going to let him get away.

I was almost delirious with rage and ran even faster. I didn’t care about my long run anymore if I collapsed from speed that would be enough. Normally when I trained I couldn’t handle such high speed because of all the hills I trained in, but today it did not matter. I passed by the Stuttgart Archaeological Museum and the big fiberglass dinosaur.

I continued to carving the turns and hitting the apex and exit of each turn perfectly and gaining on my opponent. I was now within yards of my opponent and started to look for my next rabbit to chase. The anger was starting to fade now as I concentrated on racing in the park. I breathed hard and my legs pounded the pavement with the highest cadence I had ever run.

My new opponent had been found, a runner wearing a blue rain jacket just about to run down the avenue of Oak trees that lined the lower park for one straight measured mile. I was curious about my pace by now as this was completely new territory. I had never considered that I would be able to run this fast. I had already covered three and a half miles as I turned to run down the avenue of oak trees. I clicked my watch to begin a new lap.

I locked onto my new target and with all the strength in me pushed for more speed, but I was careful not to trip on the uneven cobble stones beneath my feet. I could see my target below me at about the middle of the mile. I would make up that half mile before the blue runner ran the next half. I started leaned forward making the most of the down hill and letting gravity speed me up even more. I was determined to prove that I was fast. He wasn’t going to beat me!

The Oak trees were speeding by like guard rails on the autobahn I was flying but I also knew that I had to get more speed out of these long legs if I was going to catch him. I kept pushing my self harder, and each time was amazed that I could handle it. I wasn’t angry anymore but was in complete awe and filled with determination that I would make the eighteen mile run and It would be fast.

I started to see the statute that marked the end of measured mile, I was about three quarters of the way through, and my target turned abruptly left, signaling that had completed the one mile part of the course. It didn’t matter that I didn’t catch him. I was running in the joy of the lord, I had decided to make this His run.

That gave me new purpose, and I kept running at that break neck speed. I finished the mile straining to turn left. I could feel every joint in my body trying to go straight but I wouldn’t allow it. I would not allow Physics to slow me down! I came dangerously close to hitting a low stone wall at the end of the park but just squeaked by and continued running fast.

I was now in the part of the park that I likened to a snake. It was a 2 mile series of S curves that were quite easy to navigate running slowly or walking but became very difficult at the break neck speed I was running. I had to throw my weight around the corners like cyclists do to navigate the bends.

I Kept thinking that by now I should have been spent, normally by this point I would barley be able to walk without passing out. Today was different. Everything was right. I navigated all the S curves and started up the hill again.

It was a long climb up it had take over four miles to get down in the valley. It was all up hill from here. I ran through the park climbing towards the old palace that was once owned by Willhelm II Duke of Swabia. I ran through the natural part of the park, the maintenance crews did not keep up this section of the park so that it became a prairie. Soon I was back at the bridge.

I began to climb it and decided that today would be longer that 18 miles I would run the entire park system all the way to Kiliesberg Messe and back. This would be the most technical part of the run. I hit a small part of the park that was part of the WineWanderWeg system of paths the wound through the vineyards on the steep river valley. I continued to climb.

I reached the apex of the hill and looked out over the next bridge I would tackle. This bridge had three paths meeting at a cross roads in the middle. All three paths were suspended by cables that when viewed from far away formed a sail. I ran towards the bridge feeling as fresh as I had started. I crossed over the narrow bridge dodging bicycles and families out for their evening walk. I flew past an old couple who were tending to their garden next to a beautiful little pond, and ran through an under pass. Here comes the hard part, I thought.

Before me was one of the most difficult parts of the run. I can only liken it to a cliff. It was so steep that this 400 ft tall wall of grass had no less then 6 hairpin turns in it. I started the climb, it was difficult because the path was narrow, almost like single track and I had to watch that I didn’t fall off.

I finished the climb and started running through another park This park was not all grass and trees like the others had been but was concrete and post modern sculpture, it was like running through a Salvador dahli painting. I hit the end of the park and turned around ready to retrace my steps. I decide though that I would take a detour and run through a near by carnival that was taking place at the same time.

I reached the carnival only a block away and was not impeded by all the pedestrians, they just made it more fun. I weaved and dodged between them and I ran past a Ferris wheel, a miniature train and a popcorn machine and decided it was time to turn around. I retraced my steps through the carnival, and through the modernist park. I had one more challenge to face before it would be smooth sailing back to my apartment, and that was the cliff.

I was still hurtling along at blistering speed and wondered if I would be able to stay on the path. I hit the cliff and turned a corner, there in front of me was an only couple slowly making their way down the path. I would not slow down for them this run was to important, a turning point in my training, and a run for God. In a split second I bounded off a bolder that was on the outside of the narrow path and was able to jump around the old couple blocking my route. The couple was startled with fright but I had no time for them, I was on a mission.

I rounded another hairpin just so fast I cam within inches of flying off the cliff. I continued in this reckless but fun fashion for the next four hairpin turns and started the speedy trek home. I was now in the final stretch. I ran across B 10 and the multitude of U-bahn tracks. I flew up that last mile and a half, and made the U turn that would take me to the steps of my apartment.

As I ran to the end of the path I clicked my watch, realizing I had forgotten to click lap at the end of the long mile and the avenue of oaks. No matter. I would still be able to get an average. The best run of my life had taken 2hr 13min and 28 seconds over 20 miles.

That’s a 6:40/Mile average!!!

That run took place over a year ago now but it is still the most memorable run of my life, even more than my first marathon and my first barefoot running experience. That was the best run of my life.

Observations about the american car industry

Since I am a mechanic and auto historian I often get asked the question: What is wrong with American cars today? Here are my observations.

For this blog I will use my current cars as examples, they are a 1999 pontiac sunfire, and a 1929 Ford Model A town sedan.

The American automobile was always known for its reliability, ease of maintenance, and its robustness. These design principles are evident in the design of the model A but lacking the new Pontiac. One can easily go to a hardware store to pick up many common parts for the model A, all bolts are SAE size and grade and it is for the most part a simple design containing only the necessary parts to get perform well, an exception to this is the brakes.

Henry ford had an unrational fear of hydraulic brakes and insisted on a mechanical linkage from the pedal to each wheel. The model A is solidly built, it has some of the thickest sheet metal ever in the automotive industry. These cars do not just rust away to nothing. Also, the model A was a leader in advanced materials and designs, the goal of ford was to improve the longevity and performance of the parts of the car while still keeping it affordable.

The opposite is true when looking at the Pontiac. If there was ever a car to demonstrate the demise of the American auto industry this would be it. This car is a great example at America cutting corners.

These cars are very poorly built. Engineers have designed this car with too few spot welds, there is not much metal holding this car together. There are many reasons why this is bad but one of the biggest reasons is safety.

There are no braces in the doors or side of the passenger compartment. In crash tests this car received a rating of 2 out of 5 stars for front passengers and 1 out of 5 stars for rear passengers. This poor rating is the result of very little metal between people and the outside world. the lack of proper welds also results in a very annoying shake. Whenever one drives across a pothole, crack, bump or other defect in the road surface the entire dashboard violently shakes up and down and sounds as though it's going to fall on your lap.

The worst part about this car that I have noticed on many other new American cars is an oversimplification of fasteners on the car. The car does not have lock washers or lock nuts on any of its suspension components, and in the service manual it says under the 6,000 mile/ 6 month service to "be sure to check and tighten loose suspension bolts and nuts." This should not be. Compare this to the model A.

For its time the model A was one of the safest cars on the road, it had laminated safety glass, and doors that would not pop open in an accident the bodies did not deform under impact. There have been many stories over the years of model A's being driven off bridges, overpasses or into ditches fliping over an landing on their roofs. The bodies did not deform the doors still operated smoothly and they were none the worse for wear. I understand the need for crumple zones, they do make cars safer but there has to be a limit. I set a heavy box on the roof of my Pontiac and perminetly dented it. Conversely I have sat on the roof of my model A with no damage done to the car. These are problems inherent in most modern cars regardless of where they are made, but the real issue comes with lack of standardization.

American cars today do not use any standardized system for fasteners, on many American cars there are both metric and SAE fasteners! The Sunfire has a German engine(read Metric fasteners) the fenderbolts are SEA, the suspension components are a mixture of both metric and SAE fasteners.

Then there are odd fasteners, I have seen Allen head bolts where hex head would have worked better, the car also contains Robertsons fasteners, a style particular to Canada. It seems as though GM execs reached into their world wide parts bin and pulled out what would work that required the least modification. This is not just a GM problem, Ford and Chrysler do it as well. Take the new 300 series, a Mercedes E-class platform(metric)with an American SAE body

The American auto industry has also stubbornly ignored the worldwide trend of better fuel economy. The modern American car gets the same gas mileage as a model T did in 1908! I looked in a European car magazine's buyers guide and the average fuel economy was 40MPG with the highest being 87MPG, and it wasn't a hybrid.

Other complaints I have are cheap interiors even on expensive American cars, hard plastics, and poorly designed seats are real problems for the American auto industry if they wish to remain competitive. People expect high quality and the American auto industry does not deliver. That is why my next car will be Japanese or European

The American auto industry has somehow continued to maintain its old technology, and 1950s engineering. If the American auto industry wishes to remain competitive it must change.

When I was working in Germany for Mercedes one of the German mechanics said to me, "why doesn't your auto industry listen to its consumers. What it is doing is the same thing that the British auto industry did in the 70's. They refused to change their methods." That is the real lesson we should have learned, that if you want to remain competitive you have to change.