WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF THE TERM HORSEPOWER?

What is the Origin of the Term Horsepower?

Today whenever we purchase a vehicle of any kind the term horsepower is one of the topics of conversation. We speak in terms of horsepower as being a measure of how much power the engine of the vehicle possesses. Whether we are purchasing a family car, an SUV, or a muscle car, the term has significance as far as the strength of the engine and how fast a car will travel.

The term horsepower came into being in the 18th century when the famous inventor, James Watt was looking for a way to sell his steam engines. He was observing the workings of a coal mine where ponies were hauling coal and determined that one pony could haul 33,000 foot-pounds per minute. He thereby set a standard of measurement for them to the delivery of the movement of a certain amount of weight per time period.

Stop in and learn more about modern horsepower in the Pekin, IL area at Ray Dennison Buick GMC!