This came right from the Cessna website:

Lakeland, Fla., April 4, 2006 - When the Cessna model 170B taildragger added the patented Land-O-Matic tricycle landing gear in 1956, the venerable 172 was born. Since then, nearly 40,000 Skyhawks have been produced, making it the highest-volume commercial airplane ever made...

....Snip Skyhawk history lesson...

I love the "Land-O-Matic" gear designation. Kinda fancy name for a
nosewheel - patented, even. How many new 172 pilots macked up their
airplanes thinking it would really land the plane automatically? G
Clearly, this was before the current proliferation of lawyers.