The following is an excerpt from the 1905 Oldsmobile owners manual, from the section entitled "ADVICE TO THE PIONEER MOTORIST" :
It seems that despite the antiquated terms ("green horse", "oil cup") this is a lot like any modern "do's and dont's" section of a typical owners manual, except maybe a little more straight-forward.quote:
Don't take anybody's word for it that your tanks have plenty of gasoline and water and your oil cup plenty of oil, that person may just be guessing.
Don't do anything to your motor without good reason or without knowing what you are doing.
Don't imagine that your motor runs well on equal parts mixture of water and gasoline. It is a mistake.
Don't make "improvements" without writing the factory. We know about all of those improvements and can advise you.
Don't think your motor is losing power when clutch bands need tightening or something is out of adjustment.
Don't drive your Oldsmobile 100 miles the first day.You wouldn't drive a green horse ten miles till you were acquainted with him. Do you know more about a gasoline motor than you do a horse?
Don't delude yourself into thinking we are building these motors like a barber's razor, "just to sell". We couldn't have sold one in a thousand years- much less five thousand in one year- if it hadn't been demonstrated to be a practical success.
Don't confess you are less intelligent than thousands of motorists who are driving Oldsmobiles. We make the only motor that "motes"!
- - -1905 Olds manual