First Gear

What was the first real ‘automobile’? And what actually constitutes an automobile, anyway? Such questions are not easy to answer, but Keith Ray has embraced the challenge and compiled a myth-busting book packed with fascinating facts. Ranging from the ‘firsts’ in motoring technology such as the disc brake, fuel injection and four-wheel drive, through the legislation that brought in the driving test, speed limit and first conviction, all the way to the first roundabout, dual carriageway, motorway, motoring organisation and fatality, Ray not only reveals what happened first but rights historic wrongs along the way. The V8 engine did not originate in America, as most people believe, and Rudolf Diesel certainly did not invent the diesel engine. Packed with photographs, First Gear is the perfect gift for any motoring enthusiast.