1901 - Cotta Automobile Company - Charles Cotta of Rockford, Illinois, developed a steam-powered touring car that featured a chaindrive four-wheel drive system. It's uncertain how many units were built, but Cotta advertised the cars through 1902 in magazines such as the Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal, from which the ad above was taken. In 1903, Cotta sold the designs and patents to the Milwaukee Four-Wheel Drive Wagon Company, which built small numbers of 4x4 cars and trucks until 1907. Cotta went on to design and manufacture truck transmissions for many years.