We have very advanced automotive technology like AWD these days to allow us to go off-road, but clearly not all cars can go off-road; how come in old movies you see old cars driving on dirt roads all the time?

Question

Is this just a movie thing? Aside from the lack of comfort, how well did old cars drive on dirt roads, which presumably were everywhere? I can’t imagine they got good traction on those thin wheels, or even produce enough power to push through a bumpy hill, so I’m wondering if there’s something I’m missing here?

In: Technology

Answer 1

Dirt roads in the past were the only roads. Typically only inside towns and cities had cobblestone or hard paved road. Once you left the city, all you had was bare dirt, oiled dirt or gravel roads.

An experiment with the us army in 1919 trying to cross the country lead to the birth of the us interstate highway system and a paved network of roads from coast to coast.