Indianapolis Auto Show - 1908

These articles chronicle the second annual Indianapolis Auto Show that took place from Monday March 23, 1908 through the following Saturday, March 28. This was a much expanded show over the previous year and had been planned by a committee of executives from local dealerships and automobile manufacturers for months. Below are several attachments containing news coverage of the event from the Indianapolis Star.
Indianapolis Automobile Trade Association

Founded in March 1908 by the group planning for the Indianapolis Auto Show week, the Indianapolis Automobile Trade Association (IATA) wasted no time after the show in getting to work planning events to stimulate primary demand for the automobile market.
Siberian Leg - NY to Paris

The articles in the attachments below come from the Indianapolis Star from June and July 1908.
Divorce of Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt

The article in attachment VanderbiltDivorce040208 published in the Indianapolis Star on April 24, 1908, reports on the pending divorce of Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt and his wife Ellen French.
1908 Vanderbilt Cup Challenges

The William Kissiam Vanderbilt Jr. International Cup Road Race was America's first international road race and the biggest race in the country for several years beginning in 1904. The event was staged on public roads of Long Island, New York from 1904 through 1906 before being canceled for one year in 1907.
Joan Cuneo Image

This attachment was published in the Indianapolis Star on July 28, 1908. It is an image of Joan Cuneo, the top female race driver of the early 20th Century. Cuneo enjoyed reasonable success with the best example coming in 1909 on an oval dirt track in New Orleans.

This category for the 1908 Briarcliff Road Race currently includes four files sourced from Barney Oldfield’s scrapbook and a few from local Indianapolis newspapers. The race was won by Lewis Strang in an Italian Isotta. The field was large for the day – 22 competitors in all, including: Ralph De Palma, George Robertson, Herb Lytle, Barney Oldfield and Emanuel Cedrino. Briarcliff proved to be the final road race for the Italian ace Cedrino, who was killed in his Fiat at Pimlico the following month.

Briarcliff Preparations

The attached brief article discusses preparations for the Briarcliff, New York (Westchester County) road race of 1908. This race was eventually won by Lewis Strang in and Italian Isotta racer. The event proved to be a "one-off" as the terrain was so rugged and treacherous no one in their right mind would want to return for more abuse. Given the poor roads of the region the course preparation was an overwhelming task.
Strang Triumphs at Briarcliff

The article in the attachment below comes from the April 25, 1908 Indianapolis Star and reports on a pretty amazing road race that occurred that year. The race kicked off the best year of Lewis Strang's brief career.

This folder contains three excellent articles on the early days of the French Grand Prix. The race was initiated in 1906 but canceled from 1909 through 1911 as the French absorbed disappointing losses in 1907 and 1908. The race returned in 1912 only to be interrupted after 1914 by World War I.

1908 French GP Preparations

The attached articles from the Indianapolis Star published in June and July 1908 disuss preparations for the upoming French Grand Prix, the first Grand Prix auto race - the inaugral event occurring in 1906.

Carl Fisher and James Allison’s Prest-O-Lite Corporation marketed compressed gas canisters initially used to fuel the first viable automobile headlights. Fisher and Allison founded the company with Percy Avery in 1904 and eventually sold the company in 1917 for millions of dollars.

Indianapolis vs. Prest-O-Lite

After three big expolsions within Indianapolis at the Prest-O-Lite factory (due to the volatility of acetylene) the city had enough. Following the June 6, 1908 explosion a meeting of the City Council was called to draft an ordinance to ban the manufature of the gas - pumped into brass canisters and used to spark a flame for headlights - within city limits.