The automobile was presumably invented by Karl Benz, whom many suggest created the first true automobile in 1885/1886, Mannheim Germany. Karl Benz received credit for inventing it the automobile because his car was practical, used a gasoline-powered internal-combustion engine and worked like modern cars do today. Nevertheless, there were previous prototypes created by different inventors around that era, so exactly who invented the automobile is a matter of opinion. Ultimately, the purpose of the automobile was to revolutionize the idea of self-propelled vehicles.