ABSTRACT
When the automobile first became a viable means of conveyance few people considered it utilitarian. The automobile was not meant to drive one to work or to the market, not at all. Its true employment was for touring–to see the countryside, lakes, mountains … to see America. In 1902 a writer for Scientific American confirmed this purpose:
Quite naturally touring has become a favorite pastime with those who patronize automobiling not as a fad, but as a healthful, pleasurable sport–a class of automobilists by the way that is constantly increasing, not only abroad but also in this country.
