Tabor City tribune. (Tabor City, N.C.) 1946-1991, 1958-03-26
Free
leeIille
BY BILL CROWELL

inquired "Now, about this road
test-do you take off from a
standing Start?"
AUTO LORE Here are
some historical tid-bits cover
ing half-century Of American
acknowledging.
Who built the country's first
successful sas-propelled auto
mobile?
A couple of Chicago broth
ers, Charles E. and Frank Dur
yea. They cranked it up and
ran it smartly on September
81, 1893. At five miles per
hour. Later they won a race
at five-and-a-half miles per
hour.
When did the first auto race
occur?
That was in 1895, on Thanks
kiving Day, when six horseless
carriages sped away in a Chi
cago Times-Herald sponsored
event. Only two vehicles fin
ished and the winner was a
Duryea Motor Wage, driven by
Frank Duryea.
Thirteen cars We're built by
the Duryea Company in 1896.
One of them was sold to Geo
rye H. Morrill,, Jr. of Norwood,
Mass, the first known sale of
an American car.
When did Henry Ford come
on the scene?
Ford successfully operated
his first motor vehicle in De-
troit on June 4, 1896. 1t had a
two-cylinder engine, develop
ing four horsepower.
What was the first automo-
bile company in Michigan?
The Odds Motor Vehicle Com
pany, established in 1897 by
Ransom E. Olds had been ex-
perimenting with steam-pow-
cred cars since 1896.
The production of automo-
biles in the year 1900 totaled
4192 units.
Any record of who got the
first drivers license?
Yes. a New Yorker, Harold
I. Birnie, who was issued what
was then termed an "Engin-
GERS Certificate" on MAY Is.
1900. No record OF whether he
ever lost it, though.
T. II. Shelvin OF Minneapo-
hs wasn't as lucky. He opened
up a Pierce-Arrow to ten miles
an hour, was promptly arrest
ed for speeding ard fined $40.
This was in 1902.
When was the first Stude-
baker sold?
In 1904. But the Studebaker
people were no noviccs at
building wheeled vehicles.
They had been in the buggy
business since 1882 and began
experimenting with autos in
1897.
Guess who won the first In
dianapolis Speedway Race?
v was Ray Harroun in a six
cylinder Marmon, which intro
duced the first use of a rear
view mirror. Time: 6 hours, AZ
minutes, 8 seconds. The year:
1911.
Remember the At.erbury, At
lantic, Davis, Daniel, bort.
Hackett, Harvard, Madison,
Monitor, Owen-Magnetic, San
dow, Simplex and Sun? They
were all models which appear
ed in 1915.
BY 1924, Ford Motor Co. had
built its ten-millionth car with
production soon to seceed 5000
cars a day.
Think cars always had bump
ers, front and rear?
Not until 1925 did bumpers
appear as standard equipment
on all models and makes Heat
ers were introduced the fol-
lowing year.
Cadillac came out in 1880
with a monster V-16 engine
and police cars we're eouipped
with radios for the first time.
They called it "Airflow" in
1884, the year Clrysler intro
duced its beetle-shaped sedan
which the country soon laugh
eel out of existence. And a sim
gle new make appeared: Lafay-
cite.
Now read this and weep,
During 1886, tn, Automobile
Manufacturers Association re-
ported that 95-per cent of all
the current model cars sold for
less than $3.50.
When did the first Mercury
appear?
That was in 1895, the same
year Charles (. Duryea died
and Floyd Roberts won the In
dianpolis Sweepstakes at 1l72
mph.
When did running boards
disappear?
1t must have been the fol-
lowing year when the 80 Lin
coln-&ephyr rolled out sans
running boards. The Crosley. a
small car, came en- the scene
In 1910, automotive engin-
GERS witnessed demonstration
q