The move from street testing of automobiles to specialized facilities took place in the early decades of the 20th century. Because of what might be the first recall in the industry – copper-cooled Chevrolets without radiators in 1923 – General Motors established its Milford, Michigan, proving grounds in 1924. GM set about to standardize the testing of vehicles under controlled conditions, work that is still done there.  Packard followed in 1927, as did Studebaker. It took Ford Motor a decade more to catch up with what is now a standard practice globally.

As part of what’s called the “Images of America” series of books from Arcadia Publishing, Mike Davis has culled images from many sources, predominately the National Automotive Historical Collection (NAHC) at the Detroit Public library, and come up with Detroit Area Test Tracks.