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San Francisco circa 1925. "Velie touring car ascending steps." As well as promoting the Philadelphia Sesquicentennial of 1926. 5x7 glass negative. View full size.
Our driver is a dashing fellow, but why is he wearing jodphurs to drive a car? Where's the horse?
[Ahem. The word is "jodhpurs." Although what the driver is wearing is canvas gaiters. -Dave]
...weird pants that the guy in the middle is sporting? Some kind of leather inserts which turn into shoe covers which loop under the regular shoes. Is this a set of driving pants? Never saw them before.
[Those are boot spats. -tterrace]
When with gritted teeth I ease my daily driver over a speed bump or up to a parking lot curb (it's a Dodge Magnum whose front bumper has thrice required replacement) I really miss cars that might have lacked carbon-fiber cup holders and side air bags but could be relied upon not to get too hung up on things.
1925 was the year the Velie first had them. Hard to say if this was a demonstration of how well they worked, or how poorly.
The Velie was produced in Moline, Illinois, from 1908 through 1928. Moline is my home town. When I was a kid, I played in Velie Park, about six blocks from my house. Willard Velie was a maternal grandson of John Deere. Deere & Co. is (and was) also based in Moline.
The ability to climb must have been a big selling point back then.
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