The Cruise Control invention is something that many people don’t think anything of as it has become such a normal feature so many of us use whenever we drive along long stretches of road. But the Cruise Control is in fact a relatively new invention, not having become featured on any vehicle models until 1958 and, even then, it was only offered as an option for luxury Chrysler cars. Cadillac followed in ’59 and the Cruise Control became more mainstream in the 1960’s & 1970’s as Ralph R. Teetor had originally stated that it helped fuel economy and safety, but still, it wouldn’t be a standard feature across most all auto manufacturers until later years.
Today, the Cruise Control invention has paved the way for many driver-assist features in which the vehicle automates aspects of driving, such as lane-keep assist that keeps the vehicle in between the lines of a highway lane in a similar manner to how Cruise Control keeps the vehicle going at a constant forward speed. This driver-assist invention could not have been made without first the Cruise Control invention.
But back to that initial question of who was the inventor of the Cruise Control. The inventor was Ralph R. Teetor, a remarkable visionary who lived during much of the 20th century. This extraordinary American didn’t just make an easier way to drive a vehicle, but he paved the way for so many of today’s exciting automotive technologies; technologies that harken a new era of autonomous vehicles.