OCR Text |
Show B aBasI iSUmmmmW '&mmW& KaaaaaPSanaaaaaaaalata Fifty years ago J. Frank Duryea and his brother, Charles, formed the Dursca Motor Wagon Corp. They made and sold 16 of the quaint machines in 1896. Theirs was the pioneer automobile manufacturing manu-facturing company of the United States. The 1895 model was described de-scribed as a vehicle running "on four wheels with pneumatic pneu-matic tires and ball bearings. Speed is controlled by a proper prop-er arrangement of gears, cones and levers," The Duryea company, despite de-spite its early start and the prestige enjoyed by the car following the victory in the American automobile race at Chicago on Thanksgiving Day, 1895, faded out in the 1900s. 11 mm wmmm ssmsamszi 1. Frank Duryea (left) at the tiller of his car at the start of the first automobile race In the United States held in Chicago on Thanksgiving Day, 1895. Beside Duryea Is Arthur M. White, an umpire. &3ears Automobiles By AL JEDL1CKA FIFTY years ago, H. H. Kohlsaat, editor and publisher pub-lisher of the old Chicago Times-Herald, took up his pen to make this daring prediction predic-tion to a skeptical public: "The horse still has work to do but motors are coming in and they will, in the end, be cheaper, faster and more economical. They will of necessity ne-cessity command ultimate supremacy. The law of selection, selec-tion, the survival of the fittest, is going to play its part in carrying it out as it has played it in everything else in the world." machines, economy of operation, and appearance or design. Three of the contestants dropped out early In the race, one gas-driven job failing to obtain sufficient traction in the slippery going, and two electric-powered vehicles retiring retir-ing because of battery limitations. Only Two Finished. That left three gas-powered machines ma-chines in the running, with one, the Rogers, entered by the Macys of New York, falling out after first colliding col-liding with a street car and damaging dam-aging the gearing and then running into a hack and bending the steering steer-ing apparatus. With four vehicles eliminated, only the two-cylinder Duryea Motor Mo-tor Wagon, piloted by Frank Duryea, and the single-cylinder imported Benz, driven by Oscar Mueller and Charles King, remained to fight it out. Traveling the distance in a little lit-tle over 10 hours, Duryea crossed the line first, with King, who relieved re-lieved Mueller after he collapsed under the tension, following close behind. be-hind. Though the winning car is not on exhibition at the museum, a surrey-type Stevens-Duryea model of the 1900s is to be seen, with its brass kerosene lamps, folding top and leather mudguards. A four-seater, the driver was situated in the back, with the engine beneath him. First to win an American automo- apparatus after a previous test had miscarried when the car caught fire. Coming in the same decade was the closed car, which also represented represent-ed a marked advance in the motor industry since it permitted year-round year-round use of vehicles. On exhibition exhibi-tion at the museum is a 1918 custom-built Pierce, with an open driver's driv-er's seat and a closed rear, fashioned fash-ioned after the elaborate horse-carriages of old with oval windows and fabric upholstery of pearl gray. Also shown is a gray 1916 Overland coupe, with the low slung body and high, box-like cab. In 1924, automobile engineering made another significant advance In the installation of four-wheel brakes on Buicks, adding to the safety features fea-tures of motor vehicles and increasing increas-ing their appeal to the public. The same year, C. F. Kettering made another notable contribution to the industry, developing ethyl gasoline, which increased compression in automobile au-tomobile engines and resulted in greater power and efficiency and higher mileage. Toward the close of the 1920s, the old custom-built automobile which had dominated the industry since poduction got under way in the 1900s was replaced by the standardized standard-ized car. As a result of the perfection perfec-tion of mass production, more automobiles auto-mobiles were turned out at lower prices, putting motor cars within This is one of the handsomest of the new ears, the Packard Clipper for 194S. The dashing appearance has been achieved by redesigning the radiator grille and by more massive sideguard bumpers. Colorful new interiors and clean-lined modern styling also enhance its beauty. There have been many mechanical improvements, too. Kohlsaat was drumming up his j promotion of the first American automobile race to be run at Chicago, Chi-cago, 111., with the twin objectives of popularizing the motor car and improving the country's roadways. His was no easy task, for, though the automobile has since become an important economic and social link In American life, it was then looked upon with curiosity and even suspicion. suspi-cion. Indeed, the nation's farmers then were in the forefront of opposition to the automobile, as exemplified by the affronts suffered by Louis Green-ough Green-ough and Harry Adams of Pierre, S. D., in the early nineties. Having constructed a homemade "horseless "horse-less wagon," powered by a two-cylinder gas engine and capable of seating eight, the progressive pair were refused the right to carry pas- sengers at county fairs, and were I even refused permission to drive their vehicle inside the town limits of Mitchell. Said the Press and Dakotan: "It is a dead moral certainty that that Infernal machine will frighten horses and endanger the lives of men, women and children." 'Model T' Arrives. By the time Henry Ford's old i Model T started rolling in the 1900s, however, the Americap farmer, like his other compatriots, was rapidly I accepting the new motor car. Rad-! Rad-! ical improvements in construction ! and design have come through the I years. A vast. Integrated roadway system presently comprising near- ly 600,000 miles in state highways : alone has been constructed. Almost from the start, the gas-driven car supplanted the electric and steam Jobs, proving a steadier source of power and simpler to maintain. The extent of the development of j the automobile in the' 50 years, dat-j dat-j lng from the first American race, Is vividly shown in the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry's exhibit in connection with the celebration cele-bration of the motor car's golden anniversary. an-niversary. It was at the southwest entrance of the present museum, then the Fine Arts Building of the Columbian Exposition of 1893, that the heralded herald-ed race of 1895 got under way, with six vehicles lined up. Four were gas-driven gas-driven of either double or single cylinder motors, and two were elec- ; tric-powered. According to accounts, a goodly throng was on hand to see the start of the 55-mile race from Chicago to Evanston and back. The roads were slushy from an early snowfall. Crowds pressed about the high-wheeled, high-wheeled, buggy-type vehicles in wonder, only drawing back to permit the drivers to start off. With Kohlsaat bent upon making the race a constructive event rather rath-er than a circus, strict rules were laid down for judging the winner, with a total of $5,000 in cash prizes. Awards were to be made on general gen-eral utility or performance of 'the bile race, Duryea also had the distinction dis-tinction pf being the first to sell a gas-powered motor car in the U. S. in 1896. Next to the Duryea-Stevens, the Mobile phaeton of 1900 intrigues moderns used to the sleek streamliners stream-liners of today. A surrey-like fourseater four-seater with "steering handle" in the rear, this vehicle had an open front and a square canvas top with tas-seled tas-seled fringes. Of wooden structure, the Mobile was smartly trimmed in red and black. Along with the old vehicles, the Model T Ford of 1908 proves of especial interest to spectators, milestone mile-stone that It is in American motor history. None can mistake the Old T with its high top supported by metal brackets, its leather seats, shining black body, brass headlights and lamps and octagon-shaped hood. Next comes the big blue Cadillac touring car of 1911, with its high windshield, gears on the outer running run-ning board, steering wheel on right, and brass accessories. A four-cylinder car, this model possessed an electric ignition system and headlights. head-lights. No More Cranking. It was the installation of the electric elec-tric starter on the Cadillac of 1911 that marked the . first great stride forward in the development of the automobile in the U. S., not only enabling an easier and safer method of operation but also permitting women to take to motoring. In inventing the self-starter, C. F. Kettering, one of the mechanical wizards of the industry, was spurred by the mishap of a friend who fractured frac-tured his arm while cranking. Like all innovators, Kettering had to run a gauntlet of scoffers, but he got out of a sick bed to demonstrate his new the reach of the average and lower income groups. With the development of volume output, prices showed a considerable consider-able drop between 1925 and 1940, the average in the former year being be-ing $1,007 f.o.b. and in the latter $778 f.o.b. Besides, the 1940 cars were heavier and improvements included in-cluded balloon tires, safety glass, all-steel bodies, finer springs, sturdier stur-dier and better finishes, windshield wipers and rear view mirrors. Also in production in 1940 was the automatic shift, which, like the self- j starter, promises to further facilitate facili-tate the use of the automobile by the elimination of the hand shift, oft so befuddling to the more nettle-some nettle-some motorist. Still a luxury and not in general use, the automatic shift enables drivers to stop and start without the traditional change or disengagement of gears, and provides pro-vides smooth, fast pickup. Spectators at the museum exhibit were quick to notice the revolutionary revolution-ary difference between the old horseless carriages of Duryea's days and the new postwar automobiles auto-mobiles on exhibit Though representing repre-senting no radical change over prewar pre-war models, the new cars possess an abundance of chrome grill ex-1 tending across the front, sleek streamlining and many mechanical refinements. Indeed, Kohlsaat's prophecy of 1895 that the automobile was here to stay and would prove of the greatest utility util-ity to the American people has been amply borne out as the museum exhibit ex-hibit shows, even if the Press and Dakotan's assertion that the infer- nal machine "would frighten horses j and endanger the lives of men. women wom-en and children" has proved to be only too true. A tricycle, car, with its three wheels arranged in imitation of the landing gear of some fighter planes, is being manufactured in Los Angeles. It Is probably the most startling departure from conventional con-ventional automobile design that has been put into actual production. Other features are a 58-horsepower aircraft type motor that will give a speed of 100 miles per hour. At ordinary or-dinary speeds it will run 40 miles on a gallon of gasoline, its makers claim. The body Is plastic. I |