Thursday Trivia

Thirsday Trivia

Welcome to Thursday Trivia where we offer up a historical automotive trivia question and you try and solve it before seeing the answer after the jump. It’s like a history test, with cars! 

This week’s question: What was the first car to be driven across the Continental U.S.?

If you think you you, take the trip over the jump and see if you are right.

WintonRoad trips seem to be a right of passage for many people. Being afflicted with such a wanderlust is just about as common as is – that’s right – the common cold, and with today’s modern network of highways and backroads, it’s pretty easy just to pick up and go.

But imagine for a minute that none of that existed. In fact, consider what it must have been like to be the first to travel across the nearly 2,900 miles of the Continental U.S. before there were even many paved roads, much less ribbons of highways.

That feat was accomplished in 1903 by a Vermont physician named H. Nelson Jackson, and his ride-along mechanic, Sewall K. Crocker. The two of them traveled from California to New York in a 1903 Winton, an open car without so much as a windshield to protect the two adventurers from the elements.

From America on the Move:

Jackson and Crocker followed trails, rivers, mountain passes, alkali flats, and the Union Pacific Railroad across the West. In Idaho, Jackson acquired Bud, and the bulldog accompanied the pioneering motorists to the East Coast Bud, a bulldog, accompanied the drivers, and was featured in many news photos. After 63 days on the road, the expedition reached New York.

The total cost of the trip, including the purchase of the Winton, was $8,000, a sizable amount back in 1903. It also included a pair of goggles for Bud the dog, acquired after it was found that the dust kicked up on the dirt roads that were their only route options irritated the dog’s eyes.

Image source: America on the Move

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