In June of 1909, five cars departed from New York City with one major goal in mind: Each one wanted to become the first to reach Seattle in order to be proclaimed the victor of the 1909 Ocean-to-Ocean race. There was just one problem: Ford was ready to cheat in order to win.
The Ford Model T was still a relatively new invention at this point in history, and it defied all of the contemporary logic about car construction. No one believed that a small, light car would have the endurance required to conquer thousands of miles of unpaved, unmarked terrain. The early pace of the two Fords entered in the event was shocking.
But the Ford that crossed the Seattle finish line first cheated, and the rightful winner — a car produced by a struggling Boston-based company called Shawmut — folded in the wake of the event, which meant this story has been lost to the annals of time.
This month on “Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys,” I'm joined by Pulitzer-winning journalist Eric Moskowitz, whose incredible new book “The Hardest, Longest Race: Henry Ford and the Cross-Country Contest That Changed America” brings the 1909 Ocean-to-Ocean race back to life in evocative detail.
Order your copy today:
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250282675/thehardestlongestrace/
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Episode Bibliography:
The Hardest, Longest Race: Henry Ford and the Cross-Country Contest That Changed America by Eric Moskowitz
Coast-to-Coast Auto Races of the Early 1900s by Curt McConnell
https://colescollision.com/history-of-the-american-automobile/
