{"id":127,"date":"2026-03-09T13:57:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T13:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tt-blogs.dealerfire.com\/folsomautomall\/?p=127"},"modified":"2026-03-24T13:58:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T13:58:49","slug":"the-history-of-cruise-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.folsomautomall.com\/blog\/the-history-of-cruise-control\/","title":{"rendered":"The History of Cruise Control"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Folsom Auto Mall - History of Cruise Control\" width=\"474\" height=\"267\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mVpupIfjGNg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>If you\u2019ve ever wondered about the history of cruise control, the Folsom Auto Mall is here to educate you.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>The very first version of a speed control device was found in a Wilson-Pilcher car back in 1901. This English car company built a single gear vehicle with a speed governor in the middle of the camshaft. A \u201cfoot throttle\u201d, or pedal, overrode the governor to increase or decrease speed. Essentially, this speed governor was a very early form of cruise control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The version of cruise control we\u2019re familiar with today wasn\u2019t invented until the 1940s by a man named Ralph Teetor. Teetor was a talented mechanical engineer. When he was five years old, he injured his eye and ultimately became blind. Even with his disability, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in mechanical engineering (and eventually earned his master\u2019s degree, too). For many years, he worked at his family\u2019s motor company. It has been said that Teetor was inspired to invent cruise control when, as a passenger in his lawyer\u2019s car, he became irritated by the constant jerking of the car speeding up and slowing down. The rocking motion annoyed him to the point that he began tinkering with the concept of a speed control device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His solution was both mathematical and mechanical; he created a mechanism to count the rotations of the drive shaft to calculate the vehicle\u2019s speed and used a bi-direction screw-drive electric motor to adjust the throttle in order to maintain an even pace. He called it the Controlmatic, then the SpeedoStat. Other names included \u201cTouchomatic\u201d and \u201cPressomatic\u201d. Speedostat became the trademark name and he eventually received a patent for his invention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chrysler was the first manufacturer to implement the device in 1958. They called it \u201cAuto-Pilot\u201d and it appeared in their luxury model as an upgraded option. Soon after, General Motors installed it in their Cadillac vehicles, naming it \u201cCruise Control\u201d which has stuck to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Popularity for the option soared in the 1990s and more advanced solutions using LiDAR, radar and cameras appeared soon thereafter. These days, cruise control has advanced to what has been called \u201cAdaptive Cruise Control\u201d. It uses computer aided technology to determine and maintain a safe following distance from vehicles ahead of the vehicle equipped with the system. It adjusts a car\u2019s speed automatically. It can also detect and warn drivers about potential forward collisions. Adaptive cruise control has also been known to maximize traffic flow. What will they think of next?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now you know the history of cruise control. Does it make you appreciate it even more? Visit the Folsom Auto Mall to check out all of the automotive advancements in safety and convenience in our new 2022 and 2023 models.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019ve ever wondered about the history of cruise control, the Folsom Auto Mall is here to educate you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10,9,2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v16.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tt-blogs.dealerfire.com\/folsomautomall\/the-history-of-cruise-control\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The History of Cruise Control - Folsom Auto Mall\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you\u2019ve ever wondered about the history of cruise control, the Folsom Auto Mall is here to educate you.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tt-blogs.dealerfire.com\/folsomautomall\/the-history-of-cruise-control\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Folsom Auto Mall\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-09T13:57:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-24T13:58:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\">\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tt-blogs.dealerfire.com\/folsomautomall\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tt-blogs.dealerfire.com\/folsomautomall\/\",\"name\":\"Folsom Auto Mall\",\"description\":\"Official Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/tt-blogs.dealerfire.com\/folsomautomall\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tt-blogs.dealerfire.com\/folsomautomall\/the-history-of-cruise-control\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tt-blogs.dealerfire.com\/folsomautomall\/the-history-of-cruise-control\/\",\"name\":\"The History of Cruise Control - 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