Thomas Motor Company
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E. R. Thomas Motor Company was a manufacturer of automobiles in Buffalo, New York between 1902 and 1919.
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[edit] Road Cars
The 1904 Thomas was a touring car model. Equipped with a tonneau, it could seat 5 passengers and sold for US$2500. The vertically-mounted water-cooled straight-3, situated at the front of the car, produced 24 hp (17.9 kW). A 2-speed planetary transmission was fitted. The steel-framed car weighed 1900 lb (862 kg). A modern cellular radiator was used for cooling. An 8 hp (6 kW) tonneau model sold for US$1250.
[edit] New York to Paris Race
A 1907 Model 35 with 4 cylinders and 60 horsepower, dubbed Thomas Flyer, won the 1908 New York to Paris Race, the first and only around-the-world automobile race ever held. The race began in Times Square, New York, on February 12 and covered some 22,000 miles (35,000 km), finishing in Paris on July 30, 1908. Six teams started the race (one Italian, one German, three French, and the Flyer). Only three of the cars finished, the Thomas Flyer which won, the German Protos, and the Italian Züst. The original intent was to drive the full distance. In the course of the race, the Flyer was the first car to cross the United States,[citation needed] and the first to do so in the winter,[citation needed] with George Schuster the first driver to ever make the transcontinental winter crossing of the US.[citation needed] Finishing in 169 days was a remarkable feat, considering the lack of roads and services in 1908. Schuster, the driver, was the only member of the Thomas crew to go the full distance.
The Flyer survived and was restored to the exact condition it entered Paris on that day by William F. Harrah. It is now on exhibit at the National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada. Additional details with numerous photos and videos on the 1908 New York to Paris Race are available at The Great Auto Race of 1908
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly (January, 1904)
- http://www.thegreatautorace.com/ The Great Auto Race of 1908
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