Congratulations to this weeks winner @ThomasFlyer for getting the most likes on their 1907 Thomas Flyer!
Join our virtual car show with this week's theme: Pre-war cars.
Reply to this post and include:
- A few photos of your car
- The car's year, make, and model
- Your location
- (Optional) A short write-up about the car’s history or significance to you
No car to submit? No problem. Have fun looking at the pictures and reading stories from others. And make sure you “like” your favorites!
The reply with the most likes by next Thursday 23 July will win this week’s show - earning unlimited bragging rights and some Hagerty social media love.
In addition to the 58 Buick Super (seen in the "Drive - In" set), I also have a 1938 McLaughlin Buick "Special". What makes this car a "McLaughlin" is that is was made at General Motors of Canada in Oshawa, Ontario. It is essentially the same as an American Buick, with a few subtle differences, like "six bolt" pattern wheels and different hub caps for example. It is all stock and powered by a 248cid straight eight engine - delivering a whopping 107hp which was pretty good in its day! We live in Carleton Place, Ontario, Canada and try to get as much driving in as we can in our relatively short season.
My Dad has owned this 1932 Auburn 8-100A coupe for 68 years! The car has many interesting features -especially for 1932. The list includes a 2 speed rear end. "Free wheeling transmission -allowing clutch-less shifting and driver adjustable ride control. The original dual point distributor and startix -autostart features both work perfectly. ( the car will restart itself if the driver stalls the car) A fully automatic Bijur lubing system lubricates the chassis suspension for a quite ride. A DIY restoration was done as a father / son project in the early '70s. Engine /paint and interior was all restored. The project taught me (the son) a lot about cars. Although I wasn't old enough to drive at the time, I caught the car bug and am still "happily infected".
Although my dad is not able to drive anymore, he happily gets in the passenger side of the Auburn and we take 'er for spin around the neighborhood.
1907 THOMAS FLYER MODEL 35
The 1907 Thomas Flyer defined early ‘supercars’ with its epic victory in the globe-circling 1908 New York to Paris Race. With 250,000 people in Times Square the morning of February 12, 1908 to watch the start of the Race, it was an event comparable to a space launch going to the moon decades later.
With only 680 miles of paved roads in the entire US (most of that in cities), many considered a winter crossing of just the US in a ‘horseless carriage’ impossible. Especially at a time when snow plows had not been invented. Covering 22,000 miles in 169 days, the Thomas Flyer bested German, French and Italian competitors, becoming the first US automobile to win an international racing competition.
The winning driver, George Schuster is equally celebrated for his world victory with the induction into the Automotive Hall of Fame on October 12, 2010. George’s global off-road feat still stands unchallenged over 110 years later. Today the Thomas Flyer is the Crown Jewel of the William F. Harrah collection at the National Automobile Museum in Reno, NV, and Its provenance is well established with the Flyer’s induction into the National Historic Vehicle Register on June 19, 2016.
The Flyer’s accomplishments also include becoming the first automobile to cross the US in winter in a record 41 days, 8 hours and 15 minutes. It was also the first horseless carriage ever seen by thousands of people around the world. Measured by power, endurance, provenance and its global victory the Thomas Flyer is a worthy contender to be considered one of the very first historic supercars. Video telling the incredible story:
1907 Thomas Flyer-Historic Vehicle Association
For more information visit: TheGreatAutoRace.com
