Did You Know?!: Automotive History

Sales and Leasing Consultant, Tim Hoyt, takes a look at some of the milestones in automotive history in this month's edition of "Did You Know?!" 

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Automotive milestones from a Chevrolet "Friends" Magazine...

The long and illustrious history of the automobile has resulted in a great many "firsts" - some have been dutifully recorded and passed down by generations while others have failed the test of time, being forgotten by most soon after they happened, sometimes as quickly as the following day. 

Rather than rehash the truly monumental moments, FRIENDS, using information provided by the Automotive Information Council, presents some of the car's not-so-greatest hits. They include:

1. The first woman at the wheel - at least legally - was a Chicago resident. She was the recipient of the first driver's license ever issued to a female, striking an early blow for the women's movement.

2. Detroit has been the focal point of many automotive firsts. One of the least known - the Motor City in 1911 was first to paint center lines on some of its highways.

3. St. Louis has the dubious honor of being the  city where the first car was reported stolen in 1905.

4. The first seat belts were offered on Nash cars in 1950.

5. Running out of gas became less of a problem in 1913 when the first drive-in gas and service station opened in Pittsburgh and sold 30 gallons the first day. But it would still be another nine years before drivers would know if they were running precariously close to empty- the gas gauge didn't start appearing on cars until 1922.

6. The big news out of Chicago in 1895 after a big motor race wasn't the winning entry's speed - a blistering seven and a quarter miles per hour - but the fact that he had actually finished the entire 55-mile course. In the same spirit, seven years later, an overzealous Minneapolis driver tried to set a personal land speed record and was fined $10 for going over 10 miles per hour.

7. The Gulf Oil Company gave away the first road maps in 1913.

8. The first National Automobile Show was held in 1900 in New York's Madison Square Garden. The Big Apple was also the site of the first used-car dealership in 1902.

9. Didja know department - some 290 different makes of automobiles had been produced in 145 cities by the end of 1919...the 100-millionth passenger car built in the U.S. came off the line in December of 1951...almost 90 percent of all American cars sold in 1929 were closed models, whereas 10 years earlier, 90 percent had been open models.

  

Did you know that the Baum dealership was originally opened in Carlock, Illinois in 1928?