Here's an interesting story I was not aware of before.

Kelly


from www.about.com
history of automobiles

Ralph Teetor - Invented Cruise Control

By Mary Bellis

Ralph Teetor, a prolific (and blind) inventor, invented cruise control.
Teetor, blind since the age of five, built his first car, a one-cylinder,
by the age of 12. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in
Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. His first job
post-graduation was to develop technology for steam turbine rotors used
in torpedo boat destroyers during W.W.I.

Teetor became an mechanical engineer for the Light Inspection Car
Company, a company founded by his family that later was renamed the
Perfect Circle Corporation. The company provided piston rings to car
companies such as Packard, General Motors, Chrysler and Studebaker. He
soon became the Vice President of Engineering for Perfect Circle and
later the President.

In 1945, Teetor received his first patent on a speed control device.
Early names for his invention included "Controlmatic", "Touchomatic",
"Pressomatic" and "Speedostat" and finally the familiar name of "Cruise
Control". Teetor thought of inventing cruise control after a jerky car
ride. He was being driven by his lawyer, an avid talker, who would slow
down and speed up while conversing. Cruise Control was first offered in
the 1958 Chrysler Imperial, New Yorker and Windsor car models. By 1960,
cruise control was offered on all Cadillacs.


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