<P> Odometers were developed for ships in 1698 with the odometer invented by the Englishman Thomas Savery . Benjamin Franklin, U.S. statesman and the first Postmaster General, built a prototype odometer in 1775 that he attached to his carriage to help measure the mileage of postal routes . In 1847, William Clayton, a Mormon pioneer, invented the Roadometer, which he attached to a wagon used by American settlers heading west . The Roadometer recorded the distance traveled each day by the wagon trains . The Roadometer used two gears and was an early example of an odometer with pascaline - style gears in actual use . </P> <P> In 1895, Curtis Hussey Veeder invented the Cyclometer . The Cyclometer was a mechanical device that counted the number of rotations of a bicycle wheel . A flexible cable transmitted the number of rotations of the wheel to an analog odometer visible to the rider, which converted the wheel rotations into the number of miles traveled according to a predetermined formula . </P> <P> In 1903 Arthur P. and Charles H. Warner, two brothers from Beloit, Wisconsin, introduced their patented Auto - meter . The Auto - Meter used a magnet attached to a rotating shaft to induce a magnetic pull upon a thin metal disk . Measuring this pull provided accurate measurements of both distance and speed information to automobile drivers in a single instrument . The Warners sold their company in 1912 to the Stewart & Clark Company of Chicago . The new firm was renamed the Stewart - Warner Corporation . By 1925, Stewart - Warner odometers and trip meters were standard equipment on the vast majority of automobiles and motorcycles manufactured in the United States . </P> <P> By the early 2000s, mechanical odometers would be phased out on cars from major manufacturers . The Pontiac Grand Prix was the last GM car sold in the USA to offer a mechanical odometer in 2003, the Canadian - built Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis were the very last Fords sold with one in 2005 . </P>

When did they start putting odometers in cars