This year marks the centennial of one of America's best-loved and most influential automobile designs of all time: Of course, we're referring to the Reeves Octo-Auto. As the vehicle that made Columbus, Indiana, the automotive captial that it is today turns 100, fans around the globe are lining up a year's worth of celebrations.

"I think it goes without saying that the Octo-Auto is the most important vehicle that the Reeves Pulley Company ever produced," said Barnabas Trimalchio "Bunty" Reeves, a descendant of company founder Milton O. Reeves and president-for-life of the Octo-Auto Owners and Preservation Society, or OOPS. "In fact, it's not much of a stretch to say that the Octo-Auto was the most important American car ever produced. Aw, heck, it's probably the most important car the world has ever produced, and one of humankind's most stunning achievements. I mean, can you imagine if four-wheeled cars caught on?"

Automotive historians have long marveled at the genius of Reeves's design. In a world where conventional wisdom dictated that automobiles should have four, or perhaps three, wheels, it was Reeves who broke the barrier with his idea for an eight-wheeled automobile.

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