Collier’s car
On Feb. 12, 1900, D.C. “Charlie” Collier’s car seemed on the streets of San Diego for the primary time. Bought for $600 through a wheeled vehicle company, Collier’s vehicle had a shaky open, but soon grew to be a well-known afterimage round city.
The identity of William L. Tibbals is misspelled within the Feb. 15 union chronicle.
From the night Tribune, February 12, 1900:
COLLIER’S automobile, Costs About Twenty Cents to run a distance of fifty miles, Associated columnist particular busy Wire
D.C. Collier has made the difference of being the first resident in the metropolis to own a personal automobile. The car fabricated its aboriginal appearance on the streets this morning and attracted appreciable attention. It is constructed after the French type of motor tricycles and has an optimum pace of twenty-5 miles an hour. With three quarts of gas it’ll cover a distance of fifty miles and if integral, it can be stopped within its personal length.
Anticipation through cutting-edge trials, the computing device is excellent and makes a good time going upgrades as on the degree. The computing device was built through the Waltham manufacturing company at Waltham, accumulation. And was purchased throughout the local company of Nolan & Tibballs.
From The San Diego abutment February 15, 1900:
A self-willed vehicle. Introduction of Tibballs.
Usual reports are instructed of the addition of cars to run abroad with their riders, but this kind of thing has not yet taken place to D.C. Collier, who’s the proud patent of the first automobile to accord to a San Diegan. Collier has superb control of his computing device and may accomplish its travel and go to the place he wills.
A new account is instructed, although, for the first time he was vehicle approved. It received huge order from the company of Nolan & Tibballs. Though they became afraid to be the primary ones to supply the machine, its balloon go back and forth and straws have been for this reason drawn to peer which one should make the venture.
It fell to the lot of Nolan to start the laptop activity, however alike then he tried to get out of it, fearing that he could run right into a telegraph post or something else and smash his close. He finally summoned up satisfactory braveness to try the laptop and shortly discovered that his fears were ungrounded, for he had comprehensive manage of the desktop.
When Nolan obtained via along with his trial trip Tibballs determined to try the tricycle himself. He started out and had no longer gone a long way before the computing device began to veer to 1 facet and, regardless of his efforts to turn it, it kept getting closer to the curb. Tibballs had no longer the aboriginal manage over the machine.
A short ambit ahead the tricycle noticed a sidewalk bridge and commenced beeline for it. Tibballs held on and shortly found himself in a lower back backyard, the place, after a strenuous effort, he succeeded in stopping the desktop, however now not unless he had fallen off and it had run over him. Fortunately, he was not injured. On examination, it was found that Tibballs, in his pleasure, had alone the steerage lever and artlessly his efforts to steer the automobile have been bootless.
