The First Car. The story of the automobile is not one of instant gratification and overnight success, turns out a lot of failure laid the groundwork for the modern automobile. Join Nolan Sykes as he examines the strange machines that predated the car, and why they didn’t work out. From Ferdinand Verbiest’s steam cart, to the totally metal-sounding Puffing Devil of Richard Trevithick. These are the “not-cars” before cars.