Automotive History -- Nicholas-Joseph Cugnot

Has anyone ever told you that the Benz Motorwagen was the first car?  Well, if they did, they are very wrong.  There were, in fact, many cars before the Benz Motorwagen, but the car I am about to tell you about was the very first.  I am, of course, talking about the Cugnot Steamer.
          In 1965, Nicholas-Joseph Cugnot conceived the idea of a self-propelled land vehicle.  He worked on his idea for four years, and, in 1769, finally showed it to the public.  He claimed that it could carry up to four tons, and travel at a top speed of 4.8mph, but, at least in practice, in only ever got up to the speed of 2.25mph. It could seat four people, but could only go short distances before needing to have the boiler refilled, and the entire thing restarted.  Thus, it had a very short range, and bad reliability.  The boiler was bad quality, even for its time.  It also had bad stability, due to the fact that it only had three wheels.
          The Cugnot Steamer is most famously known, however, for being involved in the first car crash.  In 1771, it was reported that Nicholas-Joseph Cugnot drove his Steamer into a wall in France, breaking right through it, and then was arrested for dangerous driving.
            So there you have it.  The first car in the Automotive History series, and one that should be remembered.

CYNHO -- Salica GT

There are at least hundreds, if not thousands, of small, obscure companies that make fun, sporty cars for relatively cheap, and this company, called Salica, is no exception.  This car was unveiled back in 2008, based on a Noble M12, and using the same engine, a Ford Duratec V6.  Thanks to two turbochargers fitted to the engine, in made anywhere from 400hp (in the base version) to 550hp (the GTC version).  It would have done 0-60 in 3.2 seconds, making it one of the highest-performing V6-powered cars of the time, and the top speed was an estimated 190mph.  Weight would have been 2,255 pounds.  The GTC version, essentially a track version of the normal GT (funny, because it was actually 45 pounds heavier than the standard version), was also proposed in 2008, but didn't make it beyond the prototype stage.  Speaking of which, neither did the standard GT.  So, unless one of the two prototypes pops up for sale on eBay, then no, you can't buy one.  Sorry.