Members of the Vanderbilt Cup Race Commission, Including Henry Ford, 1906

The Vanderbilt Cup, held from 1904 to 1916, was America's first internationally prominent automobile race. William K. Vanderbilt, Jr., a wealthy railroad heir, organized the competition over public roads on Long Island. European cars dominated until 1908, when Connecticut-built Locomobile "Old 16" won. Long Island residents tired of the crowds and accidents, and the race relocated to Georgia, Wisconsin, and finally California.