The icon in Norwegian technological history, the Benz Phaeton, came to Gjøvik in 1895 to be put into scheduled traffic where the railway ended. The route was supposed to be between Tretten and Åndalsnes.
In the newspapers, it was referred to as "a rather ordinary-looking carriage without a horse" and a "country road trotter that was supposed to be "easy to look after and groom". Although there was so much interest in the car that people punched holes in the transport box to get a look at it, it was not a success.
The four gentlemen who started this brave enterprise were factory owner Anders Østbye at Gjøvik Støberi and mechanical workshop, traveling salesman H. Mølmen, factory owner HCHansen and engineer SRSvendsen. The car was driven by Halvdan Nilsen from Gjøvik.
Did you know that Helene Uri, the famous writer and language professor, is the great-granddaughter of Østbye? Follow the link to read more about this.
The bus company, with the motor vehicle from Benz & Cie, did not become a business anyone could make a living from. The gentlemen probably did not make much of a profit on their invested NOK 5,000, which the car cost. With today's krone value, the car would cost around NOK 360,000. So why didn't this turn out to be a good entrepreneurial adventure, with several cars, as the gentlemen envisioned?
Opposition
The motorcar met with strong resistance because it was thought that the horses would be spooked. At that time accounted for a large part of the transport. The car therefore constantly had to stop for oncoming horse-drawn vehicles. In the vernacular, it was believed that horses were still the most efficient means of transportation.
Absence of comfort and speed
If we compare it with today's cars, we can hardly say this was a car. On a flat road, it managed to pull itself up to 20 km/h. It was probably not a pleasant experience on dirt roads which were certainly both bumpy and dusty. The single-cylinder four-stroke engine of five hp did not do as well on the downhill, and the passenger probably had to get out more than once to keep the wheels moving. The engine could also be capricious.
Engine problems
With only one car in Norway, there was naturally no access to car mechanics in the country. The problems connected with the operation of the engine were probably due to the fact that no one knew how to maintain it.
Museum object
Since the car was quickly taken out of service, the engine was little used. It is therefore very well preserved. The car is probably more suitable as documentation of car history today than it was in operation as a regular car.
Read more about Norway's first car
The Benz Phaeton was produced by Benz & Cie in the 1890s. It is deposited at The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology by the Royal Norwegian Automobile Club.
Yearbook for the Norwegian road museum, 2013 ,
article by Herdis Uri Jensen, pp. 23 - 63
Digital museum:
https://digitaltmuseum.no/011024252804/bil
Aftenposten
Helene Uri in "My Oslo".
Her great-grandfather, Anders Østbye, was among the four who imported Norway's first car. https://www.aftenposten.no/kultur/i/QodMPQ/helene-uri-i-mitt-oslo-overrasket-over-alle-nordmenn-som-snakker-s
Norway's first car was imported by workshop owner Østbye at Gjøvik Støberi and mechanical workshop, traveling salesman H. Mølmen, factory owner HCHansen and engineer SRSvendsen.
125 years ago, Helene Uri's great-grandfather, Anders Østbye, received the historic innovation for Norway.
Come and see Norway's first car at The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology ! Photo: Kathrine Daniloff
