The term “horseless carriage” aptly describes the emerging motorized vehicles of the time that did not require horse-drawn traction. While they heavily borrowed from traditional horse-drawn carriages in appearance and structure, their power source had shifted from horses to steam engines or electric motors.
The core characteristics of a horseless carriage were:
no longer relying on horses, but instead using the new power sources of the time, such as steam, electricity, or gasoline internal combustion engines. At the time, gasoline-powered vehicles were considered “new energy” vehicles. Their body styling, seating layout (with the driver sitting in a position similar to a coachman), and suspension system were all directly adopted from horse-drawn carriages, hence the name “horseless carriage.”
