Horseless buggy made by Charles and Frank Duryea, 1893.

This is a question that does not have a simple and definitive answer. It all depends on what you want to define as a car. The history of the automobile actually dates back to the 15th century when Leonardo da Vinci was creating a wide variety of designs and mock-up models for various transport vehicles.

Many different types of cars were created in the early days – steam, electric, and gasoline – as well as countless styles from hardtops to convertibles to pickup trucks to open roadsters. Exactly who invented the automobile is a matter of opinion and great debate. If we had to give credit to any single inventor, it would probably be Karl Benz from Germany. Many suggest that he created the first true automobile in 1885/1886 – making the Benz part of Mercedes Benz the oldest continuous maker of automobiles in the world.

Here are some interesting historical tidbits that show how complex it is to really define when the first horseless buggy was considered an automobile.

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