Americans still living the horse-and-buggy lifestyle thought automobiles were a dangerous nuisance and wanted them strictly regulated or banned from roads. The Post accurately predicted the way this story would play out.
Many plain citizens on the road hate the automobile. There has never been a form of luxury — or any symbol of wealth — that the poor man has treated with such intolerance. The people are trying to strike at the object of their aversion by legislative acts and ordinances limiting speed. The enthusiastic [wealthy] motorists strike back with “influence,” of course. The only way out seems to be more motors.
When every citizen who, in the old days, could buy a bike can lay hands on some sort of self-propelling vehicle, the hatred in his breast for the arrogant motorist will suddenly vanish.
—“The Cure for Motorphobia,” Editorial, December 8, 1906
Editor’s note: We have reissued our Special Collector’s Edition “Cars, The Early Years,” featuring lush car ads from the pages of the Post and fascinating articles by and about the visionary inventors who built the first cars and, in doing so, changed the world. Look for it on newsstands everywhere.
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