Ralph Teetor

[2][8] In 1918, Teetor went to Camden, New Jersey to help the New York Shipbuilding Corporation balance turbine rotors on torpedo-boat destroyers in World War I.[citation needed] This rocking motion so annoyed Teetor that he was determined to invent a speed control device.In 1945, after ten years of tinkering, Ralph Teetor received his first patent on a speed control device.[5] The Perfect Circle device wasn't used commercially until Chrysler introduced it as a luxury model option called the "Auto Pilot" in 1958.The floating post would "guide" the motor (and throttle and vehicle speed) with input from 1) sprung leveraged spinning weights driven from the transmission's speedometer cable, and 2) a counter-spring tension set by a cable from a dial near the steering wheel.[citation needed] Teetor managed to live his life almost as if his accident had never happened, and went on to become successful as an engineer, manufacturing executive and entrepreneur.His other inventions included an early powered lawn mower, lock mechanisms, and holders for fishing rods.
Telegram of appreciation to Perfect Circle Company employees for their contribution to the war effort , from Arnold Stratmeyer, Chief of Air Staff, 1942
Hagerstown, IndianaRichmond, IndianaUniversity of PennsylvaniaCruise controlDana Holding CorporationMahle GmbHpiston ringssympathetic ophthalmiaHagerstown High Schoolbachelor's degreemechanical engineeringmaster's degreeCamden, New JerseyNew York Shipbuilding CorporationWorld War IDynamic balancinggearshiftBendixDana CorporationChryslerCadillacwar effortfishing rodsSociety of Automotive EngineersRalph R. Teetor Educational AwardAutomotive Hall of FameDearborn, Michiganautomotive industryHuntington, IndianaReid Memorial HospitalNewspapers.comHemmingsSmithsonianIndianapolis StarClassic Cars