International Harvester’s mission statement was always to not only meet the customers’ needs, but to exceed them. With this in mind, they entered the automotive market in 1907 with the Auto Buggy, a vehicle they intended to help the farmer get his produce quickly to market or take his family to town without having to round up the horse.

It featured a removable rear seat for carrying goods and had a 20hp, two cylinder aircooled, horizontally opposed engine that drove through a two speed box into a chain driven rear axle and could achieve twenty miles per hour. But, basically, it was a motorised horsedrawn wagon complete with tall, skinny wooden wagon wheels. Even in 1907, it was outdated by the automotive standards of the time, but it was simple, reliable and the tall wheels gave good ground clearance to travel the undeveloped country roads, and it could carry half a ton while doing it.

The Auto Buggy was a hit with America’s farmers and carrier companies and,