1902 Century Tourist Dos-A-Dos
At the dawn of the American automobile industry, the Century Motor Vehicle Company of Syracuse, New York produced the Tourist Dos-A-Dos during their brief four-year existence from 1899 to 1903.
The company originally manufactured electric and steam automobiles before switching to gasoline-powered internal combustion engines in January 1903, going out of business later that year.
The Tourist featured the distinctive dos-a-dos seating arrangement, with passengers sitting back-to-back in opposite directions. The vehicle displayed a gloss black wooden body complemented by deep red trim and running gear, with black button-tufted leather upholstery.
The rear seat faced aft, as the body style implies, while steering was accomplished via a center tiller with the driver positioned on the right side.
Power came from a 1-cylinder, 7-hp engine, typical of the experimental period when manufacturers were still determining optimal power sources and configurations.
Only three examples of this early American automobile are known to survive today, making it an extremely rare representative of early automotive history.
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