Post Your GLIDDEN TOUR BADGE

[Professor Fate]

Here's a pic of my friends '47 badge on his '21 touring.

[Professor Fate]

The Glidden Tours, also known as the National Reliability Runs, were promotional events held during the automotive Brass Era by the American Automobile Association (AAA) and organized by the group's chairman, Augustus Post. The AAA, a proponent for safer roads, acceptance of the automobile and automotive-friendly legislation, started the tour to promote public acceptance and bring awareness of their goals.[1]

Postcard of a Flanders 20 serving as the pathfinder car to lay out the 1911 route from New York to Jacksonville, Florida.
The original Glidden Tours were held from 1904[2] until 1913. They were named after Charles J. Glidden, a financier and automobile enthusiast, who presented the AAA with a trophy first awarded to the winner of the 1905 tour.

In 1906, the Glidden Tours were the first motor race to use a checkered flag to indicate the end of the race: Sidney Walden divided the courses into sections; the time check at the end of each section was performed by race officials called "checkers." These checkers used checkered flags to identify themselves.[3]

At the turn of the century automobile travel was difficult as the road systems around the world were generally not well suited for the horseless carriage.

To bring more awareness and sponsorship to the event, the AAA announced that the tour would be a "reliability and endurance" tour, a type of road rally. This attracted automobile manufacturers who competed to test their vehicles and use the events for advertising.

The tours were gruelling events: cars broke down, were damaged by accidents, and encountered nearly impassable roads. Drivers and teams did repairs on the run and helped out other drivers having difficulties.

The tours went several hundred miles in the US and occasionally into Canada with time limits between check points and a point scoring system to determine a winner of each event. The time limits caused some problems with the inhabitants of where the tour traveled through as autos scared horses, caused personal and property damage and sometimes appeared to not care.

1909 Glidden Tour Parade at Belle Isle Park, Detroit
Revival Edit

Glidden Trophy
The Glidden Tours were revived in 1946 by the Veteran Motor Car Club of America (VMCCA) and have continued since with antique cars traveling premarked routes and stopping in local towns to show off their vehicles, many people dressed in period costume. Original founder Augustus Post participated in every Glidden Tour until his death in 1952. In 1954, Dr. Jay Rice Moody was given the Col. Augustus Post Memorial Award by the AAA in recognition for his role in reestablishing the Glidden Auto Tours, and maintaining the spirit of the original tours as founded by Post.[4]

The silver Glidden trophy is still presented to the winner of the event

[Rich Eagle]

That is an awesome badge. I was born that year. Thanks for mentioning the Glidden.
For the most part the recent ones have been too far for me to travel to. However, we were able to make the 1982 and 1990 ones with our T Speedster.

Our chapter helped Utah put on the 2018 one in Twin Falls, ID.
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/82 ... 1537729126
We drove our "1909" T Touring car and received the cloisonné car badge, upper left, and one for recognition of a 100 year old car completing an AACA tour. The '86 and '76 tour plaques belonged to our friend Russ Heath.
They are marvelous events. Our son was 2 years old for the '82 and 10 for the '90 while his sister was 7.
https://mtfca.com/phpBB3/download/file. ... &mode=view
We and our 1 suitcase filled up the Speedster. I drove up Pikes Peak in '90 after they cleared some Summer Snow.
Past issues of the Bulb Horn and AAA magazines contain great articles on them.
Just like the fantastic MTFCA tours, they are attended by delightful people who know how to enjoy touring and each other.
Rich

[FreighTer Jim]

The 75th Anniversary Tour starts tomorrow

Thread with images on The AACA Forum:

@ https://forums.aaca.org/topic/348941-20 ... mber-2021/


FJ