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The dashboard of a car takes its name from the eponymous piece of wood on a stagecoach; the same concept eventually gave its name to a software design pattern showing a row of data readouts.

But what data did the first dashboard to contain any instruments show? While I'm assuming it'd be a motorcar dashboard, I'm open to suggestions of other dashboard form factors such as a ship's helm, as long as they came first and fit the mold of a board with instruments on it.

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    I don't have any evidence but, since the first motor vehicles were steam powered, I'd guess that the first dashboard instrument was probably a steam pressure gauge.
    – KillingTime
    Commented Apr 1 at 7:11
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    Do the gauges in a steam locomotive or even at the helm of a steam ship count as a dashboard? Both predate automobile cars, but they might lack a board.
    – Pere
    Commented 2 days ago
  • @Pere I would accept an instrument board on a ship's helm, but not a gage on the boiler itself
    – SPavel ♦
    Commented 2 days ago
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    @Pere: And how about a fixed compass next to the helm of a sailing vessel? I would think the transition to what we call a dashboard today was gradual.
    – Flint
    Commented 2 days ago

2 Answers 2

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The 1901 Daimler engine had a dashboard with instruments. I'm still looking for the 1896/1899 model, as it might be an earlier model answering the question. A picture of the car itself is easy to find, but not the dashboard or more detailed information...

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  • Cool (+1). I found an image of the dashboard of Panhard's 1902 model here
    – njuffa
    Commented 2 days ago
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    The 1892 details) No metering instruments, but the looking glass for the fuel (I guess it is a pressure regulator, maybe a float chamber?) was clearly for observing the health of the system.
    – ccprog
    Commented 2 days ago
  • Interesting development: the 1891 version of the P2D had the looking glass(es) mounted on top of the dashboard: 2
    – ccprog
    Commented 2 days ago
  • Any idea what most of this stuff is? I can only guess maybe half. Clockwise from the large gauge we have 1) speedometer 2) throttle? 3) bell or ignition? 4) fuel? 5) carburetor? 6) unknown gauge reading 0-100. Plus one more gauge in the top left background.
    – Nuclear Hoagie
    Commented 2 days ago
  • @NuclearHoagie: unfortunately, my mechanic of a father isn't there anymore and I never shared his knowledge :/ I think we might need a "real deal" one on this one :)
    – OldPadawan
    Commented 2 days ago
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I guess it depends on what you define as the first car. If we assume it is T-Ford, then apparently it had the ignition and an ammeter (of all things!) with a speedometer as option. Without an electric starter, there might not have been a need for a dashboard at all.

Picture source and full article: Mission Control: A History of the Urban Dashboard

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    I'm not sure anyone would consider the Model T Ford as the first car. The first mass-produced car possibly.
    – Steve Bird
    Commented Apr 1 at 7:42
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    @SteveBird Yeah I'm sure that's a pretty big question of its own, hence the disclaimer. Now if anyone can find a record of an older car with a dashboard, that's the question here. Electric starters weren't standard and without one you'd neither need the ignition key nor the ammeter.
    – Lundin
    Commented Apr 1 at 7:49
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    @T.E.D. I don't think it was feasible before electric ignition (and thieves not knowing much about electronics) - if you look at the supposedly first ever car like "Benz Patent Motor Car" they are essentially just bicycle-like chariots. You could lock the wheel to something using an external chain + lock, much like you'd lock a modern bike I guess.
    – Lundin
    Commented Apr 1 at 13:36
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    @OldPadawan - IIRC, electric, steam boilers, and ICE's were all contenders. Gas-ICE's won out largely for having the most convenient (energy-per-pound?) fuel source. Electric had some clear advantages (torque, simplicity), but it took over a century to figure out how to get batteries competitive as an onboard fuel source. They not only had to catch 1900 ICE's, but the entire century of advances in ICEs.
    – T.E.D. ♦
    Commented Apr 1 at 19:04
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    If you are looking for historical oddities, the Selden patent on internal combustion automobiles.
    – Henry
    Commented 2 days ago

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