"Flivver" in OED

[Douglas G. Wilson]

Wondering about the etymology of "flivver" (= "small auto" etc.), I
reviewed the OED entry. I find that "flivver" referred to a small destroyer
("750 tons or less", OED). I reviewed the list of US destroyer classes and
I found the Flusser class, of which the 700-ton USS Flusser was
commissioned in 1909 (IIRC). That looks like a likely origin of "flivver" =
"destroyer". Googling with the entry <<  flivver flusser  >> turns up a
(cached) Russian page wherein these names are in fact equated for this
destroyer class: so I think my odd notion is probably correct for once. [Of
course this suggests that "flivver" PROBABLY had SOME other sense before
being applied to the destroyer class, but we know that "flivver" was used
something like "flop" by 1912, and a 'deprecating' use for a light
destroyer from this origin might not be unbelievable (cf. modern USN "tin
can" = "destroyer").]

Next question: did the application of "flivver" to motorcars precede this
use for ships, or not? When did "flivver" first refer to an automobile?

OED shows a '1910' citation in "Red Meekins" by W. A. Fraser, but
apparently the (book) edition from which it was taken was dated 1921, the
earlier (1910?) publication apparently in "Sunday Magazine" or something
like that as far as I can tell. Can the 1910 date be confirmed? Can any
other early (pre-WWI) date be verified for this sense? The next OED
citation in the motorcar sense is 1919, and I wonder whether the
application to motorcars might actually be from ca. 1918 instead of 1910.

Can Jesse Sheidlower or any other scholar make any relevant comment?

-- Doug Wilson