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Inventors of the Automobile Engine

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Inventors of the Automobile Engine
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 9 to 12
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	9.75

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		emission, gas-powered, mass-producing, petroleum, economical, reliable, limousine, technology, accelerate, distinction, mining, salesman, horseless, carbon, dioxide, development
	content words:		Nicolaus August Otto, Otto Engine, Rudolf Diesel, Carl Benz, Gottleib Daimler, In January, Frank Duryea, United States, New York City, Ransom E.

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Inventors of the Automobile Engine By Sharon Fabian

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¹     The automobile engine wasn't invented all at once. Rather it was improved and perfected by a number of "car guys" beginning in the 1870's and continuing into the 1900's.
 
²     When people were first trying to invent a motorized passenger vehicle, they tried various types of engines. First they tried steam power. Some people tried electric power. But, eventually, most of them settled on some type of petroleum fuel to power their engines.
 
³     A German inventor named Nicolaus August Otto is credited with inventing the first practical gas engine. Otto was a traveling salesman who became interested in the latest engine technology. He quit his salesman job and worked on developing a gas-powered engine. In 1876, he began manufacturing and selling the Otto Engine. He used his engine to power a motorcycle, but never used it on an automobile. Nevertheless, his Otto Engine set the stage for the development of the modern car engine.

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