The Duryea Motor Wagon was among the first

standardized Standardization (American English) or standardisation (British English) is the process of implementing and developing technical standards based on the consensus of different parties that include firms, users, interest groups, standards organiza ...

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

s and among the first powered by

gasoline Gasoline ( North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When for ...

. Fifteen examples were built by the Duryea Motor Wagon Company of

Chicopee, Massachusetts Chicopee ( ) is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 55,560, making it the second-largest city in western Massachuset ...

, between 1893 and 1896. Their enterprise followed the first commercially available automobile which was patented by

Karl Benz Carl (or Karl) Friedrich Benz (; born Karl Friedrich Michael Vaillant; 25 November 1844 – 4 April 1929) was a German engine designer and automotive engineer. His Benz Patent-Motorwagen from 1885 is considered the first practical modern automo ...

on January 29, 1886, and put into production in 1888. To construct the first Duryea Motor Wagon, the brothers had purchased a used horse-drawn buggy for $70 and then installed a , single cylinder gasoline engine. The car had a friction transmission, spray carburetor, and low tension ignition. It was road-tested again on 10 November, when the newspaper '' The Springfield Republican'' made the announcement. The car was put into storage in 1894 and stayed there until 1920 when it was rescued by Inglis M. Uppercu and presented to the

United States National Museum The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

. The Duryea Motor Wagon remained in production until 1917. The Duryea brothers entered their

horseless carriage Horseless carriage is an early name for the 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 wireless p ...

in many shows and races. The Duryea Motor Wagon carriage won first place in the first-ever American automobile race, the Times-Herald race, in 1896. The Duryeas also won first and second place in the Cosmopolitan Race on

Decoration Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States for National day of mourning, mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States ...

, 1896 in New York City. On November 14, 1896, they joined the Procession/ Race from London to Brighton England. Davidson-Duryea Gun Carriage The Duryea was used as the basis of the Davidson-Duryea car of 1898, which has the distinction of being the first American armored car. The car, which was photographed by the Chicago Tribune, was adapted from the commercial passenger model by installing a forward-firing M1895 Colt-Browning machine gun operated by the front passenger. It featured an armored shield between the front wheel and steering tiller. The conversion was devised by inventor Major (later Colonel) R.P. Davidson, of the Illinois National Guard, then commandant of the Northwestern Military and Naval Academy, Highland Park, Illinois. The First Duryea

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Veteran vehicles Motor vehicles manufactured in the United States Manufacturing companies based in Chicopee, Massachusetts 1890s cars Motor Wagon Highwheeler {{Veteran-auto-stub

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