In 1846, Belgium’s Etienne Lenoir revved up history by inventing a practical two-cycle internal combustion engine. Fast forward to 1896, when Brits finally got their speed limit increased to a blazing 22 km/h. Meanwhile, in 1901, the White Sewing Machine Company crafted a car using a Serpolet flash boiler that could steam up a storm faster than a teapot. By 1927, 55% of American families owned cars, and half of them were itching for an upgrade. It seems the love affair with cars was just getting into gear!