Auto Factoids for Week of Dec 14, 2014

Dec 15, 1861  Charles Duryea was born in Canton, Ohio.  He grew up to be an engineer and with his brother Frank, they began production bicycles.  By 1893 they test driving the first U.S. gasoline powered vehicle.  It was a used horse drawn buggy they purchased fro $70.00.  It sported a single cylinder 4HP engine with friction transmission, spray carburetor and low tension ignition.  The car was then stored in 1894 and found and given to a museum.

 

These brother went on to create Duryea “Motor Wagon Company” and produced 13 hand-made cars out of their garage.  These were the first commercially produced automobiles in the U.S.   This wasn’t their only ‘first’.   The Duryea car won the first American car race and was involved in the first traffic accident.   Charles and Frank parted ways in 1898 and Charles died in 1938.  Frank formed the Hampden Car company. To actually produce the cars brother Frank sought out the services of J. Stevens of J. Stevens Arms and Tool Company.  This eventually lead to the Stevens-Duryea cars being produced.

 

 

New York City creates the first one way street Dec 17th 1791.

 

Ford names Lee Iacocca as president 10/18/1970.

 

Dec 20, 1892 Pneumatic automobile tire patented.  The original patented was by Robert William Thomson who invented the first pneumatic tire but apparently never caught on, however, John Dunlap’s did.

Harvey Firestone was born in Columbia County, Ohio on Dec 20, 1868.    After high school Harvey  worked for the Columbus Buggy Company .  In 1890 before starting his own company making rubber tires for carriages.  By 1900 he began marketing tires for automobiles and then founded the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, a pioneer in the mass production of tires. In 1926 he published a book, Men and Rubber:

Sears, Roebuck & Co show off the Kaiser built Allstate, Dec 20, 1951.  The Allstate was built on Kaiser-Frazer platform and marketed by Sears.   It was a 2 door, fastback and came in a Series 4 and Series 6 with several different trim levels.

 

 

Thanks for reading.

Tim

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