Motor Vehicles, 1914 [Slide Show]

A look at the machines that moved us a century ago

Motor Industry: Color cover wrap of the 16th annual “Motor Number,” a look at the developments in various motor vehicle industries. The image is not of a specific scene but based on the idea of American exports of working locomotives and trucks. Image: Scientific American, January 3, 1914
Fancy Car: This advertisement for Oldsmobile in 1914, then as now, pushes the idea of the good life in a good car. Driven by a professional chauffeur, of course (notice the peaked cap on the driver). Image: Scientific American, February 14, 1914
Motorbike Sleigh: Galt, Ontario, Canada, gets a lot of snow. One inventor figured out a way to drive over the snow with this motorcycle and sidecar combination sporting runners instead of front and side wheels. Image: Scientific American, Marc 28, 1914
Electric Start Motorbike: This model of Indian Motorcycle from the Hendee Manufacturing Company was the first motorbike to have an electric starter. The battery didn’t work so well, so the electric starter was pulled from the market and the company went back to a manual start. Image: Scientific American, February 7, 1914
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Motorbike Fire Engine: In Oklahoma City this motorbike was equipped with two chemical fire-extinguishers. It made for a cheap and fast fire engine (for smaller fires, I assume). Image: Scientific American, April 4, 1914
Motor Machines: This 30-spindle drill is making holes in two crankcases simultaneously. Machine tools for mass-producing cars were just as important then as they are now, but most of the attention focused on the final product as it rolled into the dealer showrooms. Image: Scientific American Supplement, April 25, 1914
The Cheapest Cars:
“Cyclecars” were powered by motorbike engines, were cheaply made and very small. The niche for such cheap, small cars is today filled by microcars such as bubble cars and the Ford Smart Fortwo. Image: Scientific American, August 1, 1914
Auto Testing: The testing laboratory of the Automobile Club of France at Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris, examined every aspect of a variety of internal-combustion engines. Our photograph from 1914 shows the testing of a pump for moving water (for instance, for draining boats). Image: Scientific American Supplement, February 21, 1914
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Unicycle: The idea of a single-wheel vehicle with the driver in the center was at least 20 years old in 1914. This new twist, though, is driven by an aircraft propeller. It looks like it would have been lethal to everyone else on the road. Image: November 21, 1914
Cars for Thrills: Special effects for a show at the New York Hippodrome theater. A specially-made (motorless) car hurtled down a track, somersaulted and landed upside-down in a huge water tank (acting as the Colorado River). The actors tried to land in the water but not underneath the car. Image: Scientific American, February 28, 1914
Wind-Shield: The increase in car speeds risked Madame’s elaborate hair-do, not to mention her chapeau (“hat” to the French). This patented wind-shield invention for rear-seat passengers is a must-have accessory for Sunday drives in the countryside. Image: Scientific American, January 3, 1914.

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