Its important to see how an automobile has evolved over years, and also how it all began, and this patent is an important part of that history.
Heavily contested against by Henry Ford and others, this patent went on to see the win as well as the loss of Selden.
History considers Selden's patent to be a design that was never used, or rather, never could be used, to make an actual vehicle. It considered Selden to be a manipulating lawyer who filed amendments every two years to delay the start of his patent's protection until the Auto industry started booming
The story is covered beautifully in this article.