Show afflec the of ta J franic duryea left at the till r A ix of his car at the start of the s automobile race III the united stal s field in chicago an thanksgiving day 1895 beside duryea Is arthur 51 white an umpire 4 ij 4 4 SP iv 11 Y A 1 4 fifty years ago J frank duryea and his brother diaries charles formed the duryea motor wagon corp they made and sold 16 of the quaint machines in 1896 theirs was the pioneer automobile manufacturing fac turing company of the united d states slates tho the 1895 model was described as a vehicle running on four wheels with pneumatic tires and ball bearings speed is controlled by a proper arrangement arranger nent of gears cones and levers tho the duryea company despite its early curly start and the prestige enjoyed by the car following the victory in the Arne american rican automobile race at chicago on tha giving day 1895 laded faded out in the years 01 7 automobiles C ul 4 04 eaf I 1 J of no ile by AL JEDLICKA years ago H H kohlsaat Kohla at editor and publisher of the old chicago apes herald took up his pen II 11 M laake make this during daring fredic B arin rn to a skeptical public the horse still has work to motors are coming in ill dl they will in the end be faster and more inimical Ormo ino mical they will of nc vasity wor command ultimate in rc macy the law of vh a the survival of the fittest in lne 9 going to play Us its part in B agnic crying ing it out as it has played euclin everything else in tho the its 13 ohl sant was drumming up hla his to 10 qulon motion of the first american bior amobile race to be run at chlo natio nor 0 ill with the twin objectives popularizing the motor car and the count rys roadways ship s P was no easy task tor for though gun automobile has since become an lorrant lor tant economic and social link has american kmer ican life it was then looked Is in n with curiosity and even thou udeen the nations farmers f then file E ee ae in the forefront of opposition automobile as exemplified by tha affronts suffered by louis louia green doah dow and harry adams of pierre savo in the early barly nine nineties ties having strutted ted a homemade horse 1 I wagon powered by a two eyl cyl er dr gas engine and capable of ting eight the progressive pair e refused the right to carry pas gers at county fairs and were n refused permission to drive ir r vehicle inside the town limits Hitchc di ll said the press and dakotans Dako Dal cotan tans it Is a dead moral certainty lot that infernal machine will lighten horses and endanger lo 10 c lives of men women and alldren ill dren model ta T arrives y the time henry fords old iel belt T started rolling roiling in the ever the american farmer like other compatriots was rapidly epting the new motor car rad improvements in construction design have come through the ys rs A vast integrated roadway elern tem presently comprising near miles in state highways age ye has been constructed almost m I 1 the start the gas driven car planted the electric and steam i 1 proving a steadier source of lei e r and s simpler to maintain antim he ct extent of the development of automobile in the 50 years dat 1 the first american race 2 vividly shown in the chicago seum cum of science and industry Indu j abit in connection with the cele tion of the motor cars golden an ler casary Cr sary gl t was at the southwest entrance I 1 ithe the present museum then the de e arts building of the columbian of 1893 that the herald race of 1895 1893 got under way with vehicles lined up four were gas ven of either double or single ij inder motors and two were dec clec f powered according cc to accounts a goodly byong ong was on hand to see the start athe the 55 mile race from chicago to anston and back the roads were ashy shy from an early snowfall ads pressed about the high reeled eelem buggy type vehicles in j ader only drawing back to permit w drivers to start off kaith ith kohlsaat bent upon making i race a constructive event rath uthan than a circus strict rules were d down for judging the winner in ih a total of in cash prizes bards were to be made on gen gil 1 utility or performance of the machines economy of operation and appearance or design three of the contestants dropped out early in the race one gas daiv en en job failing to obtain sufficient traction in the slippery going and two electric powered vehicles retiring because of battery limitations only two finished that left three gas powered machines in the running with one the rogers entered by the macys of new york falling ailing out after first colliding with a street car and damaging the gearing and then running into a hack and bending the steering apparatus with four vehicles eliminated only the two cylinder duryea motor 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 over 10 hours duryea crossed the line first with king who relieved mueller after he collapsed un under der the tension following close behind though the winning car ls is not on exhibition at the museum a sur rcy typo stevens duryea model of the Is to bo be seen with its itsu brass Ice kerosene rosene lamps folding top and leather mudguards mud guards A four seat er the driver was situated in the back with the engine beneath him first to win in 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 a marked advance in the motor industry since it permitted year round use of vehicles on exhibition at the museum Is a 1918 cus tom built pierce with an open drivers seat and a closed rear fashioned after the elaborate horse car biages of old with oval windows and fabric upholstery of pearl gray also shown Is a gray 1916 1910 overland coupe with the low slung body and high boxlike box like cab in 1024 1924 automobile engineering made another significant advance in the installation of four wheel brakes on bhicks adding to the safety features of motor vehicles and increasing 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 to engines and resulted in greater power and efficiency and higher mileage toward the close of the the old custom built automobile which had dominated the industry since production po got under way in the was replaced by the standardized car As a result of the perfection of mass production more automobiles were turned out at lower prices putting motor cars within 1 this Is one of the of the new cars the packard clipper for 1916 1910 the dashing appearance has been achieved by redesigning the radiator grille and by more massive si deguard bumpers colorful new interiors and clean lined modern styling also enhance its beauty there have been many mechanical improvements too bile race duryea also had the distinction of being the first to sell a gas powered motor car in the U S in 1890 next to the duryea stevens the mobile phaeton of 1900 intrigues moderns used to the sleek stream liners ol of today A surrey like four seater with steering handle in the rear this vehicle had an open front and a square canvas top with tas meled fringes of wooden structure turC the mobile was smartly trimmed in red and block black along with the old vehicles the model T ford of 1908 proves of especial interest to spectators milestone 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 ning board steering wheel on right and brass accessories A tour four cyl inder car this model possessed nn an electric ignition system and headlights no more cranking it was the installation of the electric 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 ail 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 his arm while cranking like oil all innovators kettering had to tut run a gauntlet of sc offers but he got out of a sick bed to demonstrate his new the he reach of the average and lower income income groups with the development of volume output prices showed a considerable drop between 1925 1923 und and 1940 the average in the former year being 1007 fob and I 1 in n the latter fob besides the 1040 1940 cars were heavier and improvements included balloon tires safety glass all steel bodies finer springs sturdier and better finishes windshield wipers and rear view mirrors also in production in 1940 was the automatic shift which like the self starter promises to further facilitate bacill the use of the automobile by the elimination of the hand shift oft so befuddling to the more nettlesome 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 smooth fast pickup spectators at the thenus eum exhibit were quick to notice the revolutionary difference between the old horseless carriages of Dur yeas days and the new postwar automobiles on exhibit though representing no radical change over prewar models the new cars possess nn an abundance of chrome grill extending across the front sleek streamlining and many mechanical refinements indeed prophecy of 1895 1893 that the automobile was here to stay and would prove of the greatest utility to the american people has been amply borne out as the museum exhibit shows even it the press and dakotans Dako tans assertion that the infernal machine would frighten horses and endanger the lives of men women and children has proved to be only too true A tricycle car with its ats three I 1 wheels arranged in imitation ol of the landing pear gear of sonic some fighter planes Is being manufactured in los angeles it Is probably the most startling departure froni from conventional vent ional automobile design trial ali if lias has been 11 put ut into actual production other features are arc a 58 aircraft type motor that will give a spec speed d of miles per hour at al ordinary speeds it will run 40 miles m ilc on a gallon of gasoline g its makers claim the body Is plastic |