Kyle's Corner (FYI) it was 1886 and There was Something Called a '˜Motorwagen'

Karl Benz filed a patent for a contraption that he called a 'Motorwagen." His idea involved burning a substance called gasoline in a small internal combustion engine. Furthermore, it was chained driven to two of its three wheels to almost magically move the contraption forward.

At the time, the questions were likely: Where will you get the 'magic' fluid? Benz's reply, I'm not suggesting that it does not exist as it actually does, in great quantities, under sand in the Middle East. It was thought that gasoline powered mobility was little more than a pipe dream. Karl Benz was considered to have developed a machine that would run on good intentions.

Further thinking went that what was actually underground in places like Persia, Guzarat and Malabar was oil that needed to be refined at great cost into gasoline. Then it required hundreds and even thousands of liquid tons of the flammable stuff great distances to a few dozen people who might be interested is horseless transportation.

At the time, hay for a horse was very cheap and there was little chance of running out. Hay was just about everywhere and a horse could munch on it as its owner got a bite to eat or a drink. But run out of gasoline and it was time to start walking or get back on the horse!

With a horse, all that was required involved food (hay), some water, and some shelter. And regarding the Motorwagen, folklore has it that on a road trip, Mrs. Bertha Benz had to locate fuel at a pharmacy, unclog the air/fuel mixer (carburetor) with her hairpin, obtain the services of a blacksmith to reweld a drive chain, and obtain the services of a shoemaker to attach a strip of leather to the brakes.

And one more little inconvenient thing about the Motorwagen, it started our addition to oil. Some days, it seems like the horse might be the way to go!

Kyle Busch is the author of "Drive the Best for the Price..." He welcomes your comments or car questions at his auto web site: DriveTheBestBook.com . Follow Kyle on Facebook and Twitter.