The pedal car has a very long history, almost as long as the automobile. The pedal car fist came out in the 1890’s, were modeled after the automobile and were very expensive. At that time only the wealthy could afford one. Children who’s parents could not afford one would often build their own from parts they found.
Pedal cars reached their height of popularity in the 1920’s to 1930’s but then had a resurgence in the 1950’s to 1960’s. That is also the time that the chain driven models came out. From the 1920’s to the 1960’s pedal cars kept up with the latest trend of the automobile with many models and colors to choose from. If you had one of the original pedal cars that came out from 1922 to 1940 it would be worth alot of money today.