Cruise control (sometimes known as speed control or autocruise, or tempomat in some countries) is a system that automatically controls the speed of a motor vehicle. The system takes over the throttle of the car to maintain a steady speed as set by the driver.
History
Speed control with a centrifugal governor was used in automobiles as early as 1900 in the Wilson-Pilcher and also in the 1910s by Peerless. Peerless advertised that their system would "maintain speed whether up hill or down". The technology was adopted by James Watt and Matthew Boulton in 1788 to control steam engines, but the use of governors dates at least back to the 17th century. On an engine the governor adjusts the throttle position as the speed of the engine changes with different loads, so as to maintain a near constant speed.
Modern cruise control (also known as a speedostat) was invented in 1948 by the inventor and mechanical engineer Ralph Teetor.[1] His idea was born out of the frustration of riding in a car driven by his lawyer, who kept speeding up and slowing down as he talked. The first car with Teetor's system was the 1958 Imperial (called "Auto-pilot").[2] This system calculated ground speed based on driveshaft rotations and used a solenoid to vary throttle position as needed.
A 1955 U.S. Patent for a "Constant Speed Regulator" was filed in 1950 by M-Sgt Frank J. Riley.[3] He installed his invention, which he conceived while driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, on his own car in 1948.[4] Despite this patent, the inventor, Riley, and the subsequent patent holders were not able to collect royalties for any of the inventions using cruise control.
Following the 1973 oil crisis and rising fuel prices, the device became more popular in the U.S.[5] "Cruise control can save gas by avoiding surges that expel fuel" while driving at steady speeds.[5] In 1974, AMC, GM, and Chrysler priced the option at $60 to $70, while Ford charged
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