The Glidden Tours, also known as the National Reliability Runs, were promotional events held during the automotive Brass Era by the American Automobile Association (AAA) and organized by the group's chairman,

Augustus Post Augustus Thomas Post Jr. (8 December 1873 – 4 October 1952) was an American adventurer who distinguished himself as an automotive pioneer, balloonist, early aviator, writer, actor, musician and lecturer. Post pursued an interest in transp ...

. The AAA, a proponent for safer roads, acceptance of the automobile and automotive-friendly

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolled bill, enrolling, enactment of a bill, enacting, or promulgation, promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous Government, governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law i ...

, started the tour to promote public acceptance and bring awareness of their goals. The original Glidden Tours were held from 1904 until 1913. They were named after Charles J. Glidden, a financier and

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

enthusiast, who presented the AAA with a trophy first awarded to the winner of the 1905 tour. In 1906, the Glidden Tours were the first motor race to use a

checkered flag Racing flags are traditionally used in auto racing and similar motorsports to indicate track condition and to communicate important messages to drivers. Typically, the starter, sometimes the grand marshal of a race, waves the flags atop a flag s ...

to indicate the end of the race:

Sidney Walden Sidney may refer to: People * Sidney (surname), English surname * Sidney (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Sidney (footballer, born 1972), full name Sidney da Silva Souza, Brazilian football defensive midfielder * S ...

divided the courses into sections; the time check at the end of each section was performed by race officials called "checkers." These checkers used checkered flags to identify themselves. The first two days of the 1907 edition of the Glidden Auto Tour were marred by a number of accidents that resulted in the death of one man,

Thomas J. Clark Thomas Jefferson Clark (1869–1907), originally from New Hampshire, United States, was a lifelong friend and partner of John K. Stewart as they built the companies that would one day be the foundation of the Stewart-Warner Corporation of Chicago ...

, lifelong friend and partner of John K. Stewart, and four other persons severely injured. While trying to make a sharp angle in the road preparatory to crossing a bridge, about two miles east of

Bryan, Ohio Bryan is a city in, and the county seat of, Williams County, Ohio, United States. It is located in the state's northwestern corner, southwest of Toledo. The population was 8,729 at the 2020 census. History Bryan was platted in 1840 by John ...

, Mr. Clark lost control of his Packard that jumped over an embankment. The car turned over and he was crushed between the steering wheel, suffering several ribs broken and serious internal injuries, from which he succumbed four days later at Bryan hospital. It is believed that Mr. Clark was demonstrating the Stewart

speedometer A speedometer or speed meter is a gauge that measures and displays the instantaneous speed of a vehicle. Now universally fitted to motor vehicles, they started to be available as options in the early 20th century, and as standard equipment f ...

on the 1907 Glidden Auto Tour. At the turn of the century automobile travel was difficult as the road systems around the world were generally not well suited for the

horseless carriage Horseless carriage is an early name for the car, motor car or automobile. Prior to the invention of the motor car, carriages were usually pulled by animals, typically horses. The term can be compared to other transitional terms, such as mobile ph ...

. To bring more awareness and sponsorship to the event, the AAA announced that the tour would be a "reliability and endurance" tour, a type of

road rally Road rally may refer to: * Rallying Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at ...

. This attracted

automobile manufacturer The automotive industry comprises a wide range of company, companies and organizations involved in the design, Business development, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industry ...

s who competed to test their vehicles and use the events for advertising. The tours were gruelling events: cars broke down, were damaged by accidents, and encountered nearly impassable roads. Drivers and teams did repairs on the run and helped out other drivers having difficulties. The tours went several hundred miles in the US and occasionally into

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

with time limits between check points and a point scoring system to determine a winner of each event. The time limits caused some problems with the inhabitants of where the tour traveled through as autos scared horses, caused personal and property damage and sometimes appeared to not care.

Revival

The Glidden Tours were revived in 1946 by the Veteran Motor Car Club of America (VMCCA) and have continued since with

antique car An antique car is an automobile that is an antique. Narrower definitions vary based on how old a car must be to qualify. The Antique Automobile Club of America defines an antique car as over 25 years of age. However, the legal definitions for th ...

s traveling premarked routes and stopping in local towns to show off their vehicles, many people dressed in period costume. Original founder

participated in every Glidden Tour until his death in 1952. In 1954, Dr. Jay Rice Moody was given the Col.

Memorial Award by the AAA in recognition for his role in reestablishing the Glidden Auto Tours, and maintaining the spirit of the original tours as founded by Post. The silver Glidden trophy is still presented to the winner of the event.

References

{{Reflist
Glidden Auto Tour History
from the AAA website

an August 2003 article from an AACA/VMCCA chapter website

External links

Color photo of Glidden Trophy
in the Antique Automobile Club of America Photo Gallery
1908 Glidden Tour Legs
with approximate route charted (on modern roads that didn't exist in 1908) on Google Maps
Film from a 1964 Glidden Tour
Alexander Film Co. Archive has a series of videos featuring the 1964 Glidden Tour "Pikes Peak or Bust" * New York Public Library
Item related to Glidden Tour
* Library of Congress
Items related to Glidden Tour
Automotive events Road rallying