But this hasn’t stopped it from producing some of the most notable new technologies for the first time on a production car. And the various firms it has swallowed up over the years also did their bit.

Over the water, its future partner at Fiat and its various consitutent parts also contributed greatly to the modern car  as we know it today – all of which means this story has a particularly Italian-American feel to it. So grab yourself a slice of pepperoni pizza and join us for a look at everything Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) did for the first time on a production car, ahead of everyone else: