jeff_a Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 (edited) In the April 1st, 1903 Cycle & Automobile Trade Journal : Edited June 5, 2022 by jeff_a (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 We can be quite sure that, before automobiles were around, someone was stealing horses or carriages! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFranklin Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 32 minutes ago, John_S_in_Penna said: We can be quite sure that, before automobiles were around, someone was stealing horses or carriages! But back then you could hang a horse thief! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gossp Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 3 minutes ago, JFranklin said: But back then you could hang a horse thief! I am willing to apply the rule to car thieves. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 Pretty sporty looking in 1903. I can see why thieves would choose it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 Blends in, like a white van. You would never spot them with all the wagons on the road/path. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plymouthcranbrook Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 How do you hotwire a car from 1903? In time to not get shot I mean. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3macboys Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 2 minutes ago, plymouthcranbrook said: How do you hotwire a car from 1903? In time to not get shot I mean. Even in a city the size of NYC at the time, how many people would have known how to operate it? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plymouthcranbrook Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 (edited) And where do you fence it? Were there chop shops? Edited June 5, 2022 by plymouthcranbrook (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff_a Posted June 5, 2022 Author Share Posted June 5, 2022 (edited) That would be a London-To-Brighton-eligible car....maybe that's why it was horked.🙂 The same issue said there were only 25 cars in all of India; and that the locals thought them to be unearthly things, each one powered by a god. Edited June 5, 2022 by jeff_a (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
30DodgePanel Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 On 6/5/2022 at 1:51 PM, GregLaR said: Pretty sporty looking in 1903. I can see why thieves would choose it. Nice. Actually a good trivia question for enthusiasts. So that is how the Tonneau cover came about. I'll be darned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike3121 Posted June 8, 2022 Share Posted June 8, 2022 The biggest thing to thwart a car thief is a stick shift. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryB Posted June 8, 2022 Share Posted June 8, 2022 3 minutes ago, mike3121 said: The biggest thing to thwart a car thief is a stick shift. Model T Ford, that would be fun to watch! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted June 9, 2022 Share Posted June 9, 2022 The biggest problem to most people today to try to drive a really early car, is what they are convinced they know about driving! Remember, that automobiles in the early days were designed to be driven by people that had never even ridden in a car! Planetary transmissions were most popular for most early cars because they were easy to use. Ford was NOT the only one! Cars with a clutch and gear shifting required more training. The average mechanically inclined farmer or shop worker could usually get one going and with that planetary transmission make it run down the street at a rip-roaring eight miles per hour without too much effort. As for hot-wiring? Why? Most cars had an off/on switch. Not even a key on most in those days. A longtime good friend has a 1903 Thomas! Neat car! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
playswithbrass Posted June 9, 2022 Share Posted June 9, 2022 Apparently it was fairly simple. You needed the coil box key and if it had been left in the car or in a nearby one you were set. Just as today you don’t leave your keys n the car, back then you made sure to slip the coil box key in your pocket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff_a Posted June 10, 2022 Author Share Posted June 10, 2022 (edited) On 6/6/2022 at 6:18 PM, 30DodgePanel said: Nice. Actually a good trivia question for enthusiasts. So that is how the Tonneau cover came about. I'll be darned 120 years ago, you could get a car like this with just the front seat assembly. By adding a rear seat unit, you had a 5-passenger car. On some cars, you could easily go back and forth. Where that curved line behind the front seat is on the Thomas, is probably where they separated. A car like that would be a 5-passenger tonneau, a tonneau cover is a retractable cover on the back of a pickup or sometimes over seating of a convertible sports car. Edited June 10, 2022 by jeff_a (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Kingsley Posted June 11, 2022 Share Posted June 11, 2022 I wonder what number they are up to now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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