He named his car the "Pioneer" and first test drove the vehicle on July 4, 1894. The Apperson brothers had notified the Kokomo townspeople of the test drive and a crowd gathered to witness the event. Haynes was concerned that his vehicle could injure someone in the crowd, so he had the vehicle towed by a horse and buggy to Pumpkinvine Pike, away from the crowd. The car started with Haynes driving and Elmer Apperson riding as a passenger, and traveled at 7 mph (11 km/h). He traveled for and then stopped the vehicle to manually turn it around with Elmer's help. He proceeded to drive it several more miles back into town without stopping. His trip convinced him that the vehicle was worthwhile and could become a valuable enterprise, although he was disappointed in the vehicle's handling and decided he needed to improve the steering system and find a way to divert the motor's exhaust smoke away from the carriage.