"Where 'Snowmobile' Began" in the early 1910s

[Joel S. Berson]

The sports section (or rather "Automobiles" page) of today's Sunday
New York Times (p. 11) claims that "snowmobile" arises from a Model T
conversion kit created by Virgil D. White, a Ford dealer in West Ossipee, N.H.

"In the early 1910s, White was searching for a way to make the Model
T a true all-season vehicle. His solution was to add a second set of
rear wheels and caterpillar tracks. White then replaced the front
wheels with wooden runners. He called his creation a Snowmobile, a
term now used to describe sporty snow vehicles."

There is apparently a Snowmobile chapter of the Model T Ford Club of
America (from illustration caption on-line).

OED 2nd ed. (1989) has as its earliest cite 1931.

Article on-line at
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/20/automobiles/collectibles/20SNOW.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=where%20snowmobile%20began&st=cse&oref=slogin

Joel

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