Picture the dawn of the motoring era: a veritable wild west of engineering, with more bizarre contraptions than you could shake a gearbox at. Yes, the early days of cars were a bonkers time—innovation ran rampant and there was no rulebook. Imagine steering your car with a tiller, or trying to figure out a throttle lever on the steering column while dodging horse-drawn carriages. Chaos! Utter chaos! But amidst this motoring madness, one car dared to set a standard that, frankly, we’re all quite fond of today—the three-pedal layout.
Now, hold onto your clutch, because here’s where it gets interesting. You might think that this groundbreaking innovation was the brainchild of a flashy American automaker, wouldn’t you? A behemoth like Ford or Chevrolet, perhaps? Wrong! While it’s true that an American car first introduced the familiar clutch-brake-accelerator arrangement, it wasn’t the car that changed the motoring world. No, that honor goes to a little British car. That’s right, the plucky Austin 7!
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First, let’s talk about the American contender—the Cadillac Type 53. This was the car that first dared to question the status quo, the first to look at the chaotic pedal arrangements of its contemporaries and say, “Surely, we can do better.” And do better it did, by placing a single pedal for the clutch, one for the brake, and another for the throttle. You’d think this would be a hit, right?
Well, not quite. Despite its intuitive design, the Cadillac Type 53 was a bit of a dud in the sales department. It was like releasing a greatest hits album with only one good song. The Type 53, despite its innovative layout, just didn’t catch on. It was built for just one year and then faded into the obscure fog of automotive history.
Enter the Austin 7, the plucky underdog from across the pond. This little British marvel looked at what Cadillac had tried and said, “Yes, that—but cheaper and smaller.” The Austin 7 wasn’t just affordable; it was practical, and it adopted the Type 53’s three-pedal layout with a zeal that could only be described as British.
Why did the Austin 7 succeed where the Cadillac failed? Because it was the right car for the right time. It was small, easy to drive, and most importantly, it was mass-produced, making it accessible to a burgeoning class of motorists. The Austin 7 became known as the “British Model T” for good reason—it brought motoring to the masses in a way the Cadillac only dreamed of.
The little Austin didn’t just charm Britain; it went global. It was licensed to BMW in Germany, became the Dixi, journeyed to France as the Rosengart, and even caught the eye of Japan, eventually leading to a formal deal with Nissan. The Austin 7’s influence spread far and wide, embedding its pedal layout into the DNA of nearly every car that followed.
So there you have it. While the Cadillac Type 53 set the stage with a brilliant idea, it was the Austin 7 that turned that idea into the global standard. The Cadillac may have written the first draft, but it was the Austin that published the bestseller. And in the world of cars, as in many things, it’s not always about being first—it’s about being embraced and embrace the Austin 7 we did, steering wheels and all three pedals firmly in place.
1916 Cadillac 53
1922 Austin 7