History - arrangement of control pedals

[kayton]

I am researching the history of the control pedals - clutch, brake, accelerator.  They weren't always the way they are today.  I have been told that the Cadillac type 53 in 1916 was the first with the modern pedal layout, but have found no documentation to verify this.  Does anyone know if this car was indeed the first?  Or have any documentation to prove it?  Or know why this pedal arrangement became the standard?  Thank you.

Sue Kayton
kayton@alum.mit.edu

[Jay Friedman]

Don't know the answer to your question, but it was not unusual until the '30s for pedals to be arranged differently.  Cars with a planetary transmission such as the Model T had a brake pedal but its two other pedals had to do with shifting gears.  On cars with a sliding gear manual transmission (what we know today) I once drove a 1921 Marmon Model 34 which has the gas pedal in the middle, between the brake and clutch pedals. 

[TJ Hopland]

There was a episode of the British Top Gear that talked about this subject and they they said it was a 1916 Cadillac, I don't remember if they said which model or if there was more than one model that year.   There may have been something before that with the layout but the point they made in the episode is it was the first to have all the controls including electric start with a key.    They went on to say it didn't sell especially well so in general the innovation went unnoticed.   They then said the Ausin 7 became the first mass produced and mass selling car to use the 'conventional' layout.   

[las39]

Top Gear link
Wait 10 min and it switches to second part and then another 5 min

http://www.streetfire.net/video/top-gear-season-10-episode-8-december-2nd-20_part-1_179449.htm