Horse and buggy to the Indy 500 at 74 mph – the automobile has changed the way we live

The Model T required auto maintenance, too.

Early autos required auto maintenance, too.

The automobile has played a significant role in American society. With Henry Ford’s development of the assembly line, even someone with a moderate income could afford to purchase a car. With their new car, they had new options. For starters, they didn’t have to live within walking distance of their place of employment.

Imagine if you didn’t have a car. Suddenly, you’re very conscious of the schedules and routes of train lines. You can always saddle the horse, or hitch it to a buggy, but a trip from McHenry County to Chicago was a major undertaking even with a horse. Deciding to visit New York City or Miami Beach was a long train ride or a much longer horse ride with or without the buggy.

While the top speed of a horse-drawn buggy is probably around 20 mph, not exactly sufficient for the modern expressway, you can’t expect a horse to gallop 1,716.74 miles, as the crow flies, if you decided to go from McHenry to Los Angeles. Keeping in mind that you’ll add considerable miles on available roads that don’t fly with the crows, roads that cross mountains and deserts, your average speed, if you’re lucky, is about eight miles per hour. Even as the crow flies, that works out to a 214.59-hour trip.

That means, if you, your horse and your buggy were able to take a straight, nonstop route to LA it would still take almost nine days to get there. In reality, you’re going to stop to sleep each night. Your horse will need a rest on a regular basis. Your horse will also need to eat, just as you’ll want to eat.

Before roads, covered wagons traveling the 2,000-mile Oregon Trail generally made the trip to Oregon in about six months. Traveling nonstop from Chicago to Los Angeles (approximately 2,060 miles when you’re following roads) takes about 32 hours in a car. Of course, that journey will take a little longer as you’ll want to fill the gas tank six or seven times, depending on how many miles you get out of a tank full of gasoline. You might also want to stop at a motel for a night during the trip.

Certainly, Henry Ford’s Model T would not have made the trip to L.A. in the time you could make the trip now driving a new SUV or a sports car. The Model T had a top speed of about 40 to 45 mph.

Around that time, they ran the first Indy 500 ( 1911). The team of Ray Harroun and Cyrus Patschke (the latter relieved Harroun for 35 laps), won the race in 6:42:08 with an average speed of 74.602 mph. At that speed, they wouldn’t even keep up on Route 12 heading south with the morning rush hour. And, that rush hour is based on people who drive 20, 30 even 40 miles or more to work each day, unheard of distances in 1911.

Since its development, the automobile has given Americans unparalleled independence of movement. Do you want to ‘run’ to the store 10 miles away? No problem. Hop in the car and you’ll be there in 15 or 20 minutes. Want to visit Aunt Ida in Des Moines? You’re just a couple hours away.

There is one question this does leave unanswered, however. In the 1800s, with a covered wagon, did children repeatedly ask, “Are we almost there yet?” And if so, did mom or dad threaten, “Don’t make me pull this wagon over.”

Just as you might break an axle on your covered wagon, you could find yourself stuck on the side of the road when something breaks down in your modern automobile. For instance, if you’re driving down to watch this year’s Indy 500 Sunday, you’ll want to make sure your car is ready for the trip. Performance Unlimited in Ringwood can help. They’ll change the oil and look the car over regardless of where you plan to travel.

For more information about Performance Unlimited, call 815-728-0343 or visit www.4performanceunlimited.com.

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