Florida AAA to Welcome Home Nation's Premier Antique Auto Tour

    ORLANDO, Fla.--Oct. 28, 2002--More than 200 antique autos and their owners -- dressed in vintage clothing -- will commemorate the 100th year of the founding of AAA by re-creating an automobile touring event similar to those first organized by AAA from 1904 to 1913, AAA and the Veteran Motor Car Club of America (VMCCA) announced today.
    Called the AAA Centennial Glidden Tour(R), the event will take place the week of October 28-November 1, and feature daylong trips to stops in Central Florida, including the AAA National Office. This will be the 57th revival AAA Glidden Tour(R) sponsored by the Veteran Motor Car Club of America.
    "AAA is honored to have the most prestigious touring event in the antique automobile hobby driving literally to our doorstep in commemoration of 100 years of service to AAA members," said Marshall L. Doney, vice president of AAA Automotive. "We look forward to celebrating with these dedicated individuals the origins of AAA and the preservation of America's antique automotive heritage."
    "The antique automobile hobby's largest touring event is delighted to have the opportunity to celebrate this important milestone with an organization that has done more than any other to make automobile travel safe and pleasurable for millions of car owners," said Bill Johnson VMCCA president.
    Sponsored and organized this year by the Florida Region of the Veteran Motor Car Club of America, the 2002 tour will cover more than 600 miles and be based in Daytona Beach.

    The AAA Centennial Glidden Tour itinerary(a) will include:

    Monday: Route 92 to AAA's National Office
    Tuesday: Routes 44 & 46 to Mount Dora
    Wednesday: U.S. A1A to St. Augustine
    Thursday: U.S. 1 to Cocoa Beach
    Friday: Daytona International Speedway

(a) Participation in the tour is by advance registration only with the
    Veteran Motor Car Club of America. Attendance at the centennial
    event at the AAA National Office in Heathrow, Florida, will be by
    invitation only due to parking limitations. All media are welcome
    to attend.

    AAA sponsored the original automobile tours in various locations in the United States from 1904 to 1913 to demonstrate the reliability of the automobile as basic transportation and encourage the development of safe roads, dependable driving information and other motoring services.
    The name AAA Glidden Tour comes from Charles Jasper Glidden's 1905 sponsorship of a magnificent silver trophy awarded each year to the drivers of the winning vehicle. The original Glidden trophy is on perpetual public display in the atrium of AAA's National Office in Heathrow, Florida.
    The Revival AAA Glidden Tours commenced in 1946 for antique auto enthusiasts under the sponsorship of the Veteran Motor Car Club of America -- which holds all rights to the event and alternates tour sponsorship each year with the Antique Automobile Club of America.
    The revival event commemorates the original Glidden Tours and is today recognized as the most distinguished annual antique automotive touring activity in the world. Entry in this year's tour is limited to approximately 225 vehicles built 1942 and earlier.
    Different from a car show, the tour emphasizes driving a pre-determined route, re-creating the purposes and traditions of the early AAA events and providing a week of pleasurable daily car trips to points of scenic or cultural interest.
    To win the revival AAA Glidden trophy, participants driving vehicles made in 1913 or older must complete a set of daily tour cards recording the start and end time of each day's trip. The vehicle coming closest to the average time needed for all cars to complete the week's tour receives the award. A reserve AAA trophy also is awarded to a post-1913 vehicle.
    The purpose of logging daily tour times and calculating a weekly average originated with AAA's early practice of providing traveling members with the estimated time required to reach a particular destination.
    The winner of last year's AAA Glidden Tour(R) held in Mackinaw City, Mich., was a 1913 Overland driven by Mike and Audrey Danzig of Chardon, Ohio. The AAA Glidden Reserve Trophy was won by a 1931 Ford Model A Roadster driven by Ray and Nancy O'Hanlon of Montrose, New York.
    The Veteran Motor Car Club of America was founded in 1938 and has more than 5,000 members throughout the world. The VMCCA can be visited on the Internet at www.vmcca.org.
    The Antique Automobile Club of America is based in Hershey, Penn., and has more than 63,000 members in the U.S. and in 55 other nations. The AACA can be visited on the Internet at www.aaca.org.
    As North America's largest motoring and travel organization, AAA provides its 45 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. AAA clubs can be visited on the Internet at www.aaa.com.