<P> In the 1890s, the term began to be used in a manner closer to the modern sense . In 1891, for example, Battles referred to the shaft between the transmission and driving trucks of his Climax locomotive as the drive shaft, and Stillman referred to the shaft linking the crankshaft to the rear axle of his shaft - driven bicycle as a drive shaft . In 1899, Bukey used the term to describe the shaft transmitting power from the wheel to the driven machinery by a universal joint in his Horse - Power . In the same year, Clark described his Marine Velocipede using the term to refer to the gear - driven shaft transmitting power through a universal joint to the propeller shaft . Crompton used the term to refer to the shaft between the transmission of his steam - powered Motor Vehicle of 1903 and the driven axle . </P> <P> The pioneering automobile industry company, Autocar, was the first to use a drive shaft in a gasoline - powered car . Built in 1901, today this vehicle is in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution . </P> <P> An automobile may use a longitudinal shaft to deliver power from an engine / transmission to the other end of the vehicle before it goes to the wheels . A pair of short drive shafts is commonly used to send power from a central differential, transmission, or transaxle to the wheels . </P> <P> In front - engined, rear - drive vehicles, a longer drive shaft is also required to send power the length of the vehicle . Two forms dominate: The torque tube with a single universal joint and the more common Hotchkiss drive with two or more joints . This system became known as Système Panhard after the automobile company Panhard et Levassor patented it . </P>

Two advantages of using a two-piece prop shaft arrangement