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Inventor John William Lambert finally took his three-wheeled, gasoline-powered automobile out for a test drive in 1891. Imagine the reactions from his fellow Ohio City residents: Even in Germany, the first Daimler Motorized Carriage wouldn’t be available until 1892. Lambert had invented the first practical gasoline automobile in the U.S. Then the test drive went a little sideways.

Lambert later reported that his single front wheel struck a tree root. The impact sent him careening out of control, and he crashed his car into a horse hitching post. Both he and his passenger, James Swoveland, only reported minor injuries. The Mechanicsburg-born inventor would go on to claim 600 patents. His innovations to the engine and transmission helped make the U.S. Midwest a global capital of the automobile industry. Acura, Honda, and Jeep still operate factories in Ohio today.

Why Ohio drivers pay less than the rest

More recently, Ohio claimed another automotive distinction. A study named the Buckeye State the cheapest place in the U.S. to buy and operate a vehicle.

To complete the study, National Business Capital examined a range of data—including the average price of a new car, price of a used car, cost of gasoline, cost of repairs, and road quality. It found West Coast drivers have to dish out cash at the pump, many Southern drivers owe sky-high car buying and registration fees, and the American West struggles with poor roads.

The Midwest ranked highest in road quality, but that’s just because residents rated 88.1% of their blacktop “acceptable.” That may be as much a testament to Midwesterners’ attitudes as it is to their pavement quality.

Ohio also has some of the cheapest gas in the U.S. The absolute lowest gasoline prices can be found along the Gulf Coast, thanks to the close oil rigs and refineries. But while the average U.S. driver is paying $3.067 per gallon right now, Ohio enjoys an average of $2.702.

Thanks to Ohio’s strong trucking industry, delivery costs for fuel are low—so the final price is low. This is true in much of the state, and whenever I’m driving from Detroit to the East Coast, I make sure to top off in Ohio before I leave. If you’re road-tripping through Ohio, you should also know its state troopers seem to have taken safety lessons from Lambert’s historic crash to heart and are infamous for a strict “no speeding” policy. But hey, maybe fewer crashes keep the cost of driving and repairing a car in Ohio even lower.

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Staff Writer

Henry Cesari

Henry Cesari is a MotorBiscuit Staff Writer who brings his deep interest in vintage cars, trucks, and motorcycles to the site. Henry covers Ford models daily, including the F-150. Having restored his first classic car at just 16 years old, Henry has wrenched on everything from overland campers to Japanese motorcycles and even pre-war Bugattis. He’s an avid attendee at local car shows and genuinely enjoys connecting with fellow auto enthusiasts. Henry earned a Bachelor’s in Anthropology and English from the University of Vermont.

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