The Oxford Dictionary (online) defines a veteran car as "An old style or model of car, specifically one made before 1919 or (strictly) before 1905."
If asked in a quiz, "What is a veteran car?", the answer required is probably "one built before 1905".
This begs the question, what happened between 1905 and 1919?
Wikipedia comes to the rescue, defining an era that "lasted from roughly 1905 through to 1914 and the beginning of World War I. It is generally referred to as the Edwardian era, but in the United States is often known as the Brass era from the widespread use of brass in vehicles during this time."
I'd say you're unlikely to get asked what an Edwardian car is, but having discovered that there was a Brass Era (even if only in America) I wouldn't be surprised to get asked when that was.
© Haydn Thompson 2017