On This Day

The first race in Belgium, from Brussels to Spa was run. It was won the following day by Pierre de Crawhez in a Panhard.

(25th – 26th): The French Grand Prix race was run over two days with the drivers completing ten laps on each day and their times being aggregated to produce the winner. Coupe de l'Auto cars competed alongside Grand Prix cars. Riding mechanic Jean Bassignano was killed in a lap 3 crash when his driver Léon Collinet put a wheel off and flipped. Continue Reading →

Grandstands at the 1912 French Grand Prix at Dieppe

The Salem, Massachusetts, US bicycle shop of Lucius B. Packard was destroyed by fire. In the late 1890's three prototype Packard automobiles had been built here, but further production did not occur. Continue Reading →

The Daniels Motor Car Company was incorporated in Reading, Pennsylvania, US by George E Daniels and Neff E Parish. With custom coachwork, the Daniels was a bespoke car, built to order, offering a proprietary narrow-angle V8 as standard equipment, for a price (in 1922) of US$7,450. By contrast, the 1913 Lozier Big Six limousines and landaulettes were US$6,500, tourers and roadsters US$5,000; the Lozier Light Six Metropolitan tourer and runabout started at US$3,250; Americans ran from US$525 down to US$4250; the Enger 40 was US$2000, the FAL US$1750, the Oakland 40 US$1600, and both the Cole 30 US$1500, and Colt Runabout were US$1500. Continue Reading →

The 6,000,000th Chevrolet was produced.

Richard Seaman (26) crashed during the Belgian Grand Prix held at Spa-Francorchamps on the La Source hairpin into a tree, causing the fuel line to break. Fuel rushed over the car and the car caught fire. Seaman couldn't move because his right hand was broken and he was also trapped by his steering wheel. Continue Reading →

Seaman's fatal crash at the 1939 Belgian Grand Prix

Hans Stuck driving an Auto Union Typ D won the Bucharest Grand Prix.

Hans Stuck

Henry Ford was awarded the James Watt International Medal by the British Institution of Mechanical Engineers at a diner in Detroit, Michigan, US.

The Longbridge car plant in the West Midlands (UK) produced its millionth car, an Austin. Opened in 1905, by the late 1960s Longbridge employed around 25,000 workers. A wide variety of products have been produced at the site during its history, although the core product has been cars, most notably the original two-door Mini. Continue Reading →

MG Rover works at Longbridge, Birmingham

(25-26th): The first Le Mans 24 hours was held following the end of World War II. Even though the war had ended four years prior, major reconstruction throughout France meant that the return of the race was of secondary concern, and thus was not run until after France had established itself again. Luigi Chinetti won the race in the first Ferrari barchetta by driving 23. Continue Reading →

Le Mans - 1949

Jimmy Florian, sponsored by Euclid Motors, gave Ford their first NASCAR Grand National stockcar victory when he won the 100 mile race on the 1/2-mile dirt oval in Dayton, Ohio, USA. Florian drove bare-chested to beat the heat.

Jimmy Florian Ford Stock Car NASCAR Racing 1950

A full-sized clay model of the proposed Lincoln Continental Mark II was completed. The Continental Mark II was a personal luxury car produced by the Continental Division of the Ford Motor Company in 1956 and 1957. Many aficionados of the automobile consider the Continental Mark II one of the classics of the postwar period. Continue Reading →

Lincoln Continental Mark II

British doctors urged stricter drink-driving tests on motorists than tongue-twisters and walking in a straight line.

The last Packard--the classic American luxury car with the famously enigmatic slogan "Ask the Man Who Owns One"--rolled off the Detroit production line. Mechanical engineer James Ward Packard and his brother, William Dowd Packard, built their first automobile, a buggy-type vehicle with a single cylinder engine, in Warren, Ohio in 1899. The Packard Motor Car Company earned fame early on for a four-cylinder aluminum speedster called the “Gray Wolf,” released in 1904. Continue Reading →

1955 Packard Clipper

The last Hudson rolled off the Kenosha assembly line in Wisconsin, US. There were no ceremonies, because at that point there was still hope of continuing the Hudson and Nash names into the 1958 model year on the Rambler chassis as deluxe, longer-wheelbase senior models. The Hudosn Car Company was founded by eight Detroit businessmen in February 1909. Continue Reading →

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway), the second purpose-built road race course in Canada, held its first major race, the Player's 200, a sports car race bringing drivers from the world over to rural Ontario. Stirling Moss won the two-heat event in a Lotus 19. Second was Joakim Bonnier with Olivier Gendebien third. Continue Reading →

Tunnel, Whites Corner - Turn 10 and Event Centre at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

Augie Pabst drove a Scarab MK2-Chevrolet to victory in the USAC Road Racing Championship event at Indianapolis Raceway Park, in Indianapolis, Indiana, US.

The Vehicle and Driving Licences Act came into force in the UK, introducing new regulations that included a licence-fee increase and the specification of vehicle groupings for the purposes of driving tests.

Pole-starter Richard Petty lapped the field on a steamy day at Texas World Speedway (US), leading 186 of 250 laps to win the Lone Star 500. Bobby Allison finished second, one lap down at the end. Coo Coo Marlin took third place, six laps off Petty’s pace. Continue Reading →

A.J. Foyt (21), Buddy Baker (71) and Richard Petty (43) race three abreast on the Banked oval of Texas World Speedway as they try for the lead of the 1972

The Bricklin SV-1 was introduced to the public in Livonia, Michigan, US. The model name SV-1 was an acronym for "safety vehicle one". The original idea for the Bricklin SV-1 was a safe and economical sports car, but due to the added weight of the safety features, the car was inefficient and simply a safe sports car. Continue Reading →

Bricklin SV-1

Rolls-Royce Motors Ltd and Vickers Son & Company Ltd announced plans to merge.

The United States Postal Service issued a 17-cent regular coil stamp picturing an "Electric Auto" at the Greenfield Village, Michigan Post Office, The design by Chick Jaquays was based on a photograph of a 1917 Detroit Electric coupe.

John Pratt drove a Lola to victory in the Townsend Thoreson FF1600 race at Oulton Park, England.

Steve Read became Europe's first four second Top Fuel driver when he ran 4.966/280.72 at Eastern Creek Raceway, NSW Australia. This added to Steve's record as being the first European Alcohol driver into the fives.

General Motors celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of the automatic transmission. Alfred P. Sloan, GM’s first chairman, had been more than impressed when he took his inaugural ride in a 1940 Oldsmobile equipped with brand new Hydramatic transmission. Continue Reading →

Volkswagen celebrated a very special milestone with the production of the 21,517,415th Golf at the Wolfsburg factory in Germany. With this car, production of the Golf exceeded that of the original Beetle, to become Volkswagen's highest production model. The ceremony was attended by Dr Bernd Pischetsrieder, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, along with a number of political figures, members of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG and Golf production employees. Continue Reading →

Polesitter Fernando Alonso took his sixth win of the season at the Canadian Grand Prix and increased his championship lead over Michael Schumacher, who finished second after passing Kimi Räikkönen with two laps remaining when the Finn ran wide. Räikkönen subsequently finished in third position, completing the podium for the McLaren team. Alonso had taken six wins and three second places from the first nine races of the season.

Start if the 2006 Canadian Grand Prix, Montreal

Honda's next-generation FCX Concept fuel cell vehicle made its European driving debut at the Gotland Ring in Sweden. The vehicle was highly efficient, with an energy efficiency of around 60 percent; approximately three times that of a petrol-engine vehicle and twice that of a hybrid vehicle.

Honda FCX Concept

Swedish car maker Volvo, a unit of US auto giant Ford, said it planned to cut 2,000 jobs worldwide, most of them in Sweden.