I was very excited to learn that today, March 31, is National Backup Day. I thought, what a great subject for my blog. When I think about cars, I think about the Model T, built by Henry Ford. We all know it was the first car made that was affordable to “average” people — not just the rich. But the first vehicle developed by Henry Ford wasn’t the Model T, it was the Ford Quadricycle. The Quadricycle was just a frame, powered by an engine that burned ethanol — four bicycle wheels were mounted on it. It was driven by a chain — the transmission had only two gears, first and second. It did NOT have a reverse gear. I think you can see where this story on National Backup Day is going… The success of the Quadricycle led to the founding of the Henry Ford Company and later the Ford Motor Company (in 1903.) But back to the Quadricycle and backing up.
The first 800 Quadricycles actually produced for sale could back up and were put in reverse with a lever. All units produced after that put the vehicle in reverse using a pedal between the clutch and brake pedals. The middle peddle was used to engage the reverse gear when the car was in neutral. After the Quadricycle, Ford went on to produce the famous Model T. Its transmission was a planetary gear type that was billed as “three speed,” but in today’s terms it would be considered a two-speed, because one of the three “speeds” was reverse.
You’re probably wondering what’s the fastest anyone has ever driven backwards… well, a few years ago, a stunt driver named Terry Grant drove a Nissan Leaf (really!) backwards over a course about three miles long and and averaged about 55 mph — in reverse. If you think that’s impressive, in Germany, Marco Hellgrewe drove a truck backwards for 39.7 miles in 5 hours and 21 minutes.
I know by now you’re as excited as I am about back up day, but after putting together all this fascinating data, I’ve been told that National Backup Day doesn’t have anything to do with going backwards — it’s a day that everyone is supposed to make a copy of all their data on their computers. To say I’m a little bummed would be an understatement. I think a day dedicated to backing up should be about…. backing up.
— 30 —