The first automobile patent in the United States was granted to Oliver Evans in 1789; in 1804 Evans demonstrated his first successful self-propelled vehicle, which not only was the first automobile in the USA but was also the first amphibious vehicle, as his steam-powered vehicle was able to travel on wheels on land and via a paddle wheel in the water.

It is generally claimed that the first automobiles with gasoline powered internal combustion engines were completed almost simultaneously in 1886 by German inventors working independently: Carl Benz on 3 July 1886 in Mannheim, resp. Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in Stuttgart (also inventors of the first motor bike). On November 5, 1895, George B. Selden was granted a United States patent for a two-stroke automobile engine. This patent did more to hinder than encourage development of autos in the USA. A major breakthrough came with the historic drive of Berta Benz in 1888. Steam, electric, and gasoline powered autos competed for decades, with gasoline internal combustion engines achieving dominance in the 1910s. (Source: The Wikipedia)

The large scale, production-line manufacturing of affordable automobiles was debuted by Oldsmobile in 1902, then greatly expanded by Henry Ford in the 1910s. Early automobiles were often referred to as 'horseless carriages', and did not stray far from the design of their predecessor. Through the period from 1900 to the mid 1920s, development of automotive technology was rapid, due in part to a huge (hundreds) number of small manufacturers all competing to gain the world's attention. Key developments included electric ignition and the electric self-starter (both by Charles Kettering, for the Cadillac Motor Company in 1910-1911), independent suspension, and four-wheel brakes. More...