Nation's Largest Annual Antique Auto Tour Sept. 24-28 in Northern Michigan, AAA Says

    ORLANDO, Fla.--Aug. 28, 2001--More than 300 antique autos and their owners will commemorate one of the most important touring events in American automotive history this September by participating in the 56th annual Revival Glidden Tour(R), AAA said today.
    Sponsored and organized this year by the West Michigan Region of the Antique Automobile Club of America, the 2001 tour will take place over five days from September 24 to 28 and cover more than 600 miles in northern lower and upper Michigan. The 2001 tour will be based in Mackinaw City.
    "As the Revival Glidden Tour(R) visits scenic destinations throughout the week, local residents and visitors will have a unique opportunity to see a rolling display of AAA's and America's early automotive heritage," said Marshall L. Doney, vice president of AAA Automotive Services.
    The tour itinerary will include:

    Monday: Mackinaw Bridge and Soo Locks
    Tuesday: Mackinaw Island (no vehicles)
    Wednesday: Cheyboygan Opera House and "Cross in the Woods"
    Thursday: Mackinaw Bridge and Tahquamenon Falls
    Friday: Petoskey on the Bay and "Tunnel of Trees"

    AAA sponsored the original 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 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 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 premier antique automotive touring activity in the United States. Entry in this year's tour is limited to no more than 350 vehicles built before 1935.
    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 help celebrate AAA's 100th anniversary, next year's tour will be held in Central Florida with a visit to AAA's National Office.
    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 Revival Glidden Tour(R) held in Tucson, Ariz. was a 1911 Cadillac driven by Fred and Helen Gilcrest of Sequim, Wash.
    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 44 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. AAA clubs can be visited on the Internet at www.aaa.com.