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It would be easy to think that more than 130 years after the first cars were built, the companies that make them would be running out of ideas for new technologies.
But the pace at which new tech is introduced is increasing at a greater rate than ever. Since Karl Benz built the first car in 1885, these are just some of the groundbreaking technologies introduced by the major car makers:
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Alfa Romeo
Common rail fuel delivery was pioneered in the 1960s, but it wasn't fitted to a production car until 1997, when it arrived in the Alfa Romeo 156 JTD (uniJet Turbo Diesel - pictured). In 1980 Alfa Romeo had also been the first to use variable valve timing in its engines, in the Spider – the technology had been invented in the 1920s though.
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Audi
Audi is no stranger to innovation, especially when it comes to lighting. Its R8 V10 of 2008 was the first car ever to be fitted with LED headlights, then in 2014 the limited-production R8 LMX (pictured) was the first car to feature laser headlights. Audi is also quite a trailblazer when it comes to introducing fuel-saving tech and in conjunction with Volkswagen it was the first brand to fit stop-start to its cars, which it did to the 80 and 100 in 1981.
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Bentley
The idea of ultra-traditional Bentley beating any of its rivals to a new technology would have been laughable not very long ago, but when the Bentayga SUV arrived in 2015 it brought with it a technology that will become crucial to the architecture of many cars in the future: 48-volt electrics.
Although Bentley was the first, its cousin the Audi SQ7 followed very soon after, with the two cars sharing much under the skin.
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BMW
All V8 engines were made of cast iron until BMW introduced the world's first aluminium V8 in 1954 in the 502 (pictured); this powerplant was far lighter than anything that had come before. Throttle-by-wire, with the accelerator controlling engine output electronically instead of via a cable, is now the norm, but it had never been offered before BMW launched the E38 750iL in 1987.
This was also the first European car to be offered with satellite navigation, while the 7 Series of 2001 was the first car ever to be fitted with a six-speed automatic transmission, made by Germany's ZF. The E38 7 Series of 1995 was also one of the first cars to feature Electronic Stability Control, alongside the Mercedes S600.
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BMW
BMW was the first company to offer a hydrogen-powered car with its 2005 Hydrogen 7 (pictured). However, just 100 or so of these were available to lease, not buy, and the hydrogen wasn't used for producing electricity; instead it was burned in the car's 6.0-litre V12 engine, at a rate of around 5.6mpg compared with 20.3mpg when the car was running on petrol/gasoline.
In 2012 BMW introduced the diesel-powered M550d – the first car in the world to have a triple-turbocharged engine.
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British Leyland
The ill-starred British Leyland (BL) conglomerate never had much of a reputation for anything apart from industrial strife still less innovation, but it was the first company to sell its cars with a run-flat tyre option, specifically on the Mini 1275GT. Those tyres were developed by Dunlop rather than BL, but it was the latter that brought the product to market.
Sadly the market wasn't ready though, and the Dunlop Denovo proved a big failure. But run-flats are now commonplace, and have saved many from the dangers of wheel-changing on busy roads.
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Bugatti
The 1991 EB110 was the first car to ever be fitted with four turbos – although we can't see such tech catching on in more mainstream cars, somehow.
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Buick
We take traction control for granted nowadays, but when Buick fitted MaxTrac to its 1971 Riviera (pictured) it was a pioneering technology. The system worked by comparing the front and rear wheel speeds and if the latter started to spin, the power was reduced. Later on, in 1986, Buick fitted the first ever touch-screen display to its Regal.
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BYD
Chinese company BYD (Build Your Dreams) has a low profile outside its home market but as long ago as 2009 it introduced the first plug-in hybrid, in the catchily named F3DM. A major investor in BYD is the famed American investor Warren Buffett.
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Cadillac
This General Motors (GM) offshoot pioneered the use of shatter-proof windscreens as far back as 1925; in 1916 Cadillac was the first to offer a key-operated starter motor. Until this point the engine had to be cranked over by hand. Cadillac was also the first to offer an in-car radio (available from 1929) as well as a V16 engine, the latter making its debut in 1930 in its V-16 (pictured).
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Cadillac
The 1958 Cadillac Brougham was the world's first car to feature air suspension while the 1965 models (Fleetwood Sixty pictured) introduced a steering wheel adjustable for both reach and rake.
A year later, in 1966, Cadillac was the first car maker to sell a model with heated seats, which were available on that year's DeVille. In 1978 the Cadillac Seville was the world's first car to be offered with an electronic trip computer.
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Cadillac
The 2000 Cadillac DeVille (pictured) tied with Mercedes in offering massaging seats. This car was also the first to be offered with night vision which initially proved popular. On the following year's DeVille – as well as the Seville – there was a satellite radio option so that drivers could lock on to their favourite station wherever in the US they were; today around a quarter of the cars on US roads have it.
The 1986 Cadillac Allante pioneered multiplex wiring, which significantly reduces the amount of cabling needed in a car, which in turn cuts weight.
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Chrysler
Many think the Jaguar C-Type was the first car with disc brakes in 1953, but five years before this, the Chrysler Crown Imperial (pictured) featured them, front and rear. In 1951 Chrysler was the first to offer electric windows driven purely by motors; Packard had introduced a hydro-electric system more than a decade earlier.
The 1934 Chrysler Airflow was the first car to be offered with fuel-saving overdrive as well as a one-piece curved windshield.
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Chrysler
In 1958 Chrysler brought out the 300D (pictured) with electronic fuel injection. The system proved unreliable though, and Chrysler recalled its cars for them to be fitted with carburettors which were much less troublesome.
A year later, in 1959, Chrysler launched the 300E with the world's first auto-dimming rear-view mirror, called Mirror-Matic.
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Citroën
Many people assume that the first hatchback was the Renault 16 of 1965, but Citroën offered the Traction Avant Commerciale 26 years earlier, in 1939 (pictured). Later would come self-levelling suspension at the rear of the Traction Avant of 1954; a year later the truly groundbreaking Citroën DS used the same technology for all four wheels.
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Daf
Continuously variable transmissions (CVTs) have become really popular over the last decade or so, but it was Holland's Daf that was the first to offer a CVT, on its 600, launched in 1958.
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Duesenberg
One of the most glamorous marques of the 1920s, Duesenberg built very expensive cars for very wealthy people. Featuring large, powerful engines they needed plenty of stopping power too, yet most cars of this period featured brakes only on the rear wheels, often operated by cables or rods. But in 1921 Duesenberg introduced four-wheel hydraulically operated brakes on its Model A and it's this system that cars still use today, albeit with a lot more tech now incorporated.
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Ferrari
Ferrari has been involved in Formula One since the outset, so it knows all about high-speed engineering, but you might not associate it with pioneering interior technology. One advance that you probably wouldn't have guessed is Apple CarPlay, which made its production car debut in the Ferrari FF of 2014 (pictured).
Ferrari also introduced the 206GT in 1968; alongside the Fiat Dino with which it shared its V6 engine, this was the first car to feature electronic ignition.
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Ferrari
Proving that Ferrari isn't afraid to adopt race car technologies for the road, its F50 of 1995 used an engine that was part of the car's structure, so it was stressed. Such a design had been used in racing cars for years, but never had a road car used such a feature.
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Fiat
You might think that the MPV (Multi-Purpose Vehicle) is a recent invention, but Fiat built the original as far back as 1956. That's when the Fiat 600 Multipla was launched and while it was cramped, it could carry six people in three rows of two. Also, all cars had points-based ignition until the Fiat Dino (pictured) pioneered electronic ignition in 1968, alongside the Ferrari Dino 206GT.
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Ford
Ford has long been a pioneer in the heated windshield/windscreen world. It fitted an early effort to the Ford Thunderbird 1974-76 and the Lincoln Continental Mark IV 1974-76, powered by a separate 110V alternator. The system proved unreliable and was dropped. But Ford returned to the field in 1985, with the technology featuring that year in the Granada/Scorpio in Europe and the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable (pictured) in America.
With Ford holding a patent on the technology until 2011, it remains a unique selling point of many inexpensive Ford models to this day, usually able to clear ice in under a minute, no scraper needed.
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Ford
Six years after Toyota popularised the petrol/electric hybrid, in 2003 Ford came up with the four-wheel drive hybrid with the Escape SUV (pictured). Decades before this, in 1950, Ford pioneered MacPherson strut suspension in its Consul – something which would go on to become the norm in mainstream production cars in a bid to keep costs down and enhance crash protection.
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Ford
Ford has also made more affordable fast cars than anybody else, so who better to also introduce us to the delights of electronic gadgetry that allows a driver to drift their car through a bend? It was the 2016 Ford Focus RS that introduced the technology, although it hasn't become widely adopted yet - and is strictly for race track use only.
A year later, Ford introduced the world's first 10-speed automatic transmission, which was developed in conjunction with GM and which made its debut on the F-150, and soon after on the Chevrolet Camaro ZL-1.
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General Motors
Some GM brands appear separately here, but across the group's Buick, Cadillac and Oldsmobile divisions (a 1975 Oldsmobile Cutlass is pictured), airbags were offered for the first time in 1974. Back then they were marketed as an 'Air Cushion Restraint System'.
It was also GM that introduced us to power-adjustable seats, which were available as early as 1948 on some Cadillac, Buick and Oldsmobile models. They worked hydraulically rather than electrically though.
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General Motors
GM also introduced the range extender in the Chevrolet Volt and Opel/Vauxhall Ampera which arrived in 2010. Since then GM has given up on the tech but BMW still uses it in the i3 and i8, while the London Electric Vehicle Company's TX 'London' taxi also has a range extender.
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Goliath
You've probably never heard of Goliath, which was part of the Borgward empire. Despite being a small manufacturer of compact cars, it was this long-forgotten company that built the world's first production mechanical fuel-injected car, the 1952 GP700 Sport.
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Honda
Honda has a long tradition of innovation. It was the first car maker to build a car with an aluminium monocoque, with the NSX of 1990 (it was badged as an Acura in the US). In 1982 the Honda Accord became the first car in the world to be offered with a navigation system.
Called the Electro Gyrocator it didn't use GPS so it wasn't all that reliable – and it was hugely expensive. Honda was also the first to market a car with mechanical four-wheel steering, with its Prelude of 1988.
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Honda
Hydrogen fuel cell cars have yet to take off but it was Honda that led the way with its FCX Clarity of 2008. Only 200 were made and they were available for lease only in the US – but it was still Honda that got there first.
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Hyundai
Connectivity is one of the most important features of any modern car, and the ability for us to hook up our mobile phones to a car's multi-media system is now seen as essential.
But it was only relatively recently, in 2015, that Android Auto was first fitted to a car, enabling its screen to mirror that of an Android phone. It was the Hyundai Sonata that beat everyone else to premiere this now-essential tech.
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Imperial
Even now a lot of cars don't have cruise control, but Chrysler subsidiary Imperial offered it as long ago as 1957 (pictured). Imperial also beat everyone else to sell a car with power steering, which was available on its 1951 models.
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Infiniti
We take voice control for granted nowadays but it didn't arrive until 2002, when Nissan's Infiniti launched the technology on its Q45 (pictured). Something that could be a true game changer for the industry is an engine with a variable compression ratio, which can dramatically improve fuel economy. The first car to get this piece of tech was the 2017 Infiniti QX50.
Something that's still a rarity is an around-view camera system, yet it was way back in 2007 that Infiniti introduced the techology, on its EX35 crossover.
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Jensen
The idea of anti-lock brakes seemed fanciful when Britain's Jensen introduced the technology with its 1966 FF. Using aircraft technology the mechanical Dunlop Maxaret braking system was truly cutting edge. The FF was also the first non all-terrain production car equipped with four-wheel drive, with a system developed by tractor specialist Ferguson Research.
The FF was 30% more expensive than the standard Interceptor from which it derived, could not be reconfigured to left-hand drive, and was a commercial disaster - just 320 were made up to 1971, against 6408 Interceptors.
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Lancia
This Fiat offshoot may be in its death throes today, but there was a time when it was incredibly innovative. Lancia introduced monocoque construction and hydraulic dampers on its 1924 Lambda while the 1939 Ardea introduced the four-speed manual gearbox; the 1948 Ardea was the first with a five-speed manual transmission.
The 1950 Lancia Aurelia was also the first car ever fitted with a V6 engine. When the V8-powered Lancia Thema 8.32 (pictured) went on sale in 1986 it brought a new innovation with it: the electrically adjustable boot spoiler.
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Land Rover
It was Germany's Bosch that developed the Hill Descent Control system, but it was Land Rover that was the first to fit it to a production car. The 1997 Freelander was the first to get it, so that owners could safely decend hills despite the lack of a low-range gearbox.
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Lincoln
Lincoln fitted a cigar lighter as early as 1920 - something never offered before - and this feature ensured all cars would ultimately come to have a very useful interior power-supply. In the 1986 Town Car (pictured), Lincoln was also the first brand to adopt the CD player – a technology which is now fast becoming obsolete. Cooled seats are still unusual, but as long ago as 2000 Lincoln introduced the technology, on its Navigator SUV.
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Maserati
While twin turbochargers are now the norm, it was Maserati that was the first to offer a twin-turbo engine with its aptly named Biturbo of 1981 (pictured). Maserati also blazed a trail with LED lighting, as its 3200GT of 1998 premiered rear lights with this tech.
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Maybach
Although Maybach is part of the Mercedes-Benz empire now, when the brand was launched in the early years of the 20th century it was independently owned and run. Focusing on ultra-luxury cars, the company launched the world's first eight-speed manual gearbox as far back as 1931, on its DS8 limousine. Before that, in 1929, Maybach launched the first 12-cylinder car to be produced at relatively large scale, the Maybach 12 (pictured).
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Mazda
As you've already read, Honda was the first to offer in-car navigation, but Mazda took things a stage further in 1990, with the launch of satellite-controlled navigation in the Eunos Cosmo. The 1982 Mazda Cosmo had also been a pioneer as it was the world's first car to be fitted with a turbocharged rotary engine.
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McLaren
The 1992 McLaren F1 was a money-no-object, no-holds-barred hypercar, and nowhere is this best demonstrated than with its carbon fibre monocoque construction, which has become an essential characteristic of any modern hypercar.
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Mercedes-Benz
Not only did Karl Benz build the first car in 1886, but the company that resulted would go on to introduce supercharging in 1921, the first production diesel car (the 260D of 1936), the turbodiesel engine in 1977 (in the 300 SD), plus adaptive cruise control and keyless-go in 1998 on the W220 S-Class.
The 1978 S-Class was also the first production car to be fitted with four-channel electronic anti-lock brakes, while the 1995 CL600 was one of the world's first cars to feature the Bosch-developed Electronic Stability Programme.
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Mercedes-Benz
The second-generation CL of 1999 (pictured) was the first car to be fitted with active suspension, known as Active Body Control. Mercedes went further with the W222 S-Class of 2013, which featured Magic Body Control.
This incorporated a camera which scanned the road ahead at speeds of up to 81mph, to adjust the suspension if potholes or bumps were spotted – it's an effective technology too.
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Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes tied with Cadillac in 2000, to be the first car maker to offer massaging seats which were available on the W220 S-Class; its predecessor the W140 S-Class of 1991 (pictured) had introduced the world to automotive double glazing, fitted to the side windows, which greatly reduced noise, though it added a fair bit of weight.
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Mercedes-Benz
The W221 S-Class of 2006 was the first car to feature Autonomous Emergency Braking, although this earliest application didn't allow maximum braking capacity to be applied. Instead there was a 40% limit but in 2009 the W212 E-Class (pictured) pioneered an emergency braking system that would bring the car to a stop.
In 2003, Mercedes also premiered the seven-speed automatic transmission, on a raft of its models.
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Mitsubishi
The first car to feature adaptive cruise control was the 1995 Mitsubishi Diamante. But it wasn't the full system that we know today; in these early cars only the throttle was controlled, not the brakes. Mitsubishi was also the first company to sell a car with a diesel engine with variable valve timing; the 2010 ASX arrived three decades after the first petrol engine with this technology.
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Nash
America's Nash was the first company to offer front seatbelts, in its 1950 Ambassador and Statesman. But they were an optional extra; Saab was the first to offer them as standard. Nash was also the first with a factory-fit heater, available from 1933, while an efficient, usable air conditioning system was available from 1954 in the Nash Ambassador (pictured).
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Nissan
Even the smallest city cars are now available with a multi-function steering wheel, but the first car with this feature was the Nissan 300ZX of 1984 (pictured). While we like multi-function steering wheels, we're sometimes less certain about the benefits of lane departure warning systems, which can be annoying and intrusive.
The first car to feature such tech was the Nissan Cima F50 executive car of 2001, although it was available only in its home market.
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Nissan
In an age of eight-speed (or more) automatic transmissions, a five-speed auto doesn't seem impressive. But it was 50 years after the introduction of the first four-speed auto before a five-speed automatic gearbox was available, thanks to Nissan introducing such a transmission for its 1989 range including the Cedric, Gloria, Cima (pictured), Skyline and Laurel.
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Nissan
Nissan pioneered rain-sensing windscreen wipers on its 1983 200SX (sold as the Silvia in some markets), then in 1985 it introduced electronically controlled four-wheel steering on its Skyline (pictured).
Having produced the first ever electric-only car with a lithium-ion battery (with the 1998 Altra), Nissan went on to make the technology mainstream with the world's first mass-produced electric car – the 2010 Leaf.
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NSU
The Wankel rotary engine appeared to represent the future of the internal combustion engine when the NSU Wankel Spider arrived in 1964. But NSU couldn't get the engine to work reliably, leading to huge warranty claims that saw the company collapse into the arms of Volkswagen in 1969.
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Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile was a GM subsidiary, originally founded in 1897. It was the first brand to sell a car with an automatic transmission – the 1939 range was offered with a Hydramatic gearbox (pictured), while the 1901 Oldsmobile was the first car to be fitted with a speedometer. In 1941 Oldsmobile introduced the automatic choke, which regulated the amount of fuel that the engine needed, depending on how warm it was.
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Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile was also the first company to sell a production turbocharged road car, the F-85 Turbo Jetfire of 1962 (pictured). Oldsmobile went on to launch a true life-saving tech in 1971 with the Toronado, which was the first car to feature a high-level rear brake light as standard, something which Ford had offered as an optional extra on the 1968 Thunderbird.
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Oldsmobile
By 1988 Oldsmobile had pioneered the fitment of a head-up display, but only on 50 examples of the Cutlass Supreme Convertible Indy 500 Pace Car (pictured); by 1990 the same tech was offered as a cost option on the regular Cutlass Supreme.
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Packard
Wind-up windows were universally offered until 1940, but that year that Packard introduced power-operated windows on its Super Eight One-Eighty, using a hydro-electric set-up. Packard was also the first to offer central locking in 1956, while primitive air conditioning was available from 1939 (pictured), not that the system worked very well and dominated the car's trunk.
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Peugeot
The world's first coupé-cabriolet was the Peugeot 401 Eclipse of 1934 (pictured); the format wouldn't be popularised until the Mercedes SLK of the 1990s. The thermostatic cooling fan was also devised for the 1959 Peugeot 403; it cut in once the engine was up to optimum operating temperature, whereas all previous fans had run as soon as the engine started to turn over.
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Plymouth
A Chrysler division until it was closed in 2001, Plymouth wasn't especially innovative but it did fit the first alternator as standard while everyone else was still using dynamos. The 1960 Plymouth Valiant was the first car to get the alternator treatment, so the battery was charged more efficiently than before.
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Porsche
The idea of having to double-declutch seems ridiculous now, but until Porsche introduced the all-synchromesh gearbox in the 356 of 1952, that's how it was. Porsche also introduced drivers to the seven-speed manual gearbox, which arrived in the 911 of 2011. Porsche was also the first company to fit an airbag for the front seat passenger (in 1988, in the 944 as pictured); before then it was only the driver who got one.
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Renault
The first car with a sealed, pressurised cooling system was the Renault 4 of 1961, then in 1982 came the world's first car with remote central locking – the Renault Fuego (pictured).
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Rolls-Royce
The first company to equip a road-going car with a V8 engine was Rolls-Royce, in 1905, although racers and aircraft had previously featured such powerplants. Rolls-Royce built just three V8-powered cars before it reverted to the straight-sixes that it had previously offered. The Camargue of 1975 (pictured) was the first car to feature digital climate control.
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Rover
Rover may now have a reputation for lagging behind the times in terms of technology, but in its 1960s heyday it was experimenting with all sorts of things. One of them was gas turbine engines and it was in 1950 that Rover built the first fully functioning gas turbine-powered car, although it was only a one-off prototype.
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Saab
Well known for its safety innovations, Saab was the first to offer front seatbelts as standard, on its 1958 GT750 – which also pioneered the analogue trip computer. In 1970 the Swedish company was the first to fit headlamp washers.
Saab's original model, the 92 of 1949, was the first production car to incorporate a safety cell for its occupants. The 1962 Saab 92 was also the first car to feature a dual-circuit braking system.
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Saab
Saab wasn't just a pioneer when it came to safety; it was also good at developing new comfort features too. One was ventilated seats, which were first offered on the 2001 9-5 (pictured). It was also the 2003 Saab 9-3 that blazed a trail for Bluetooth, which had never been fitted to a production car before, and enabled much safer hands-free in-car phone calls.
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Studebaker
Defunct by 1967, American car maker Studebaker introduced a string of innovations in its 65-year lifetime, including the dash-mounted fuel gauge in 1914, the windscreen demister in 1927, then in 1936 it also introduced windscreen washers (1936 Studebaker Dictator pictured).
The first ever mechanical limited-slip differential was also fitted by Studebaker, in its 1955 range.
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Toyota
The 1991 Toyota Soarer (pictured) was the first production car to be fitted with a rear parking camera which transmitted to a dash-mounted colour screen. The technology was first seen 35 years earlier though, on the Buick Centurion concept. Toyota was also the first company to fit an electronic compass to one of its cars, on the Crown of 1980.
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Toyota
Toyota is perhaps best known for launching the first production petrol-gasoline/electric hybrid car, the Prius, which went on sale in its home market in Japan in 1997. However, in the UK it was Honda that was the first to sell a petrol/electric hybrid with its original Insight which arrived in 2000; the Prius followed just a few weeks later.
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Tracta
It's often assumed that Citroën's Traction Avant was the world's first front-wheel drive car, but not so. It made it popular, but France's Tracta introduced front drive in 1928.
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Tucker
Preston Tucker's 1948 48 'Torpedo' was incredibly innovative, with its pop-out windscreen, padded dashboard and collapsible steering column. It also featured a lockable handbrake to prevent the car being stolen.
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Volkswagen
Volkswagen might have a reputation for being conservative, but the German brand has pioneered a raft of technologies including the fuel-saving engine technology stop-start, which was introduced on the 1981 Passat (pictured), alongside the Audi 80 and 100 of the same year.
In 2003 the Volkswagen Golf R32 would be the first car ever to feature a dual-clutch transmission, though Porsche had been working on such technology in its race cars since the 1980s.
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Volkswagen
You'll find ISOFIX (known as LATCH in the US) attachment points in just about every production family car nowadays, but it was Volkswagen that was first to fit them, in some of its 1997 models. The technology was a joint project between Volkswagen and child seat maker Britax-Römer.
VW was also the first to produce a W-configuration engine in its 2001 Passat W8 (pictured) – a trend that failed to catch on.
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Volvo
When it comes to safety, only Mercedes can match the innovations introduced by Volvo. One of its first – and arguably the most significant – was the three-point seatbelt, available from 1959 in its Amazon (pictured). Another safety feature that's becoming more commonplace is Blind Spot Warning although a lot of cars still don't feature it – but Volvo offered as long ago as 2006 on its S80.
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Woodill
You've almost certainly never heard of Californian company Woodill, which is no surprise as it built just a handful of Wildfires in the early 1950s before disappearing. The Wildfire of 1952 was significant though, as it was the world's first production car with glassfibre bodywork. A year later the glassfibre Chevrolet Corvette went into mainstream production and proved rather more successful...