On This Day

Olds Motor Vehicle Co, which would later become Oldsmobile, was founded. The reliable, light, and fairly powerful curved-dash Oldsmobile was the first American car to be produced using the progressive assembly-line system, and the first to become a commercial success. In its 107-year history, Oldsmobile produced over 35 million vehicles, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory. Continue Reading →

The first Pierce steam vehicle was tested without success - subsequent problems led the company to abandon steam power in favour of gasoline.

America’s first transcontinental motor race, stretching from New York City to San Francisco, finished. It was won by Tom Fetch and M. C. Continue Reading →

Barney Oldfield broke five world records, pushing his Benz to new speeds on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. However, the record-breaking feat was marred by tragedy. Three other drivers died on the same track as 20,000 spectators watched in disbelief, and the three-day meet was ended early.

Barney Oldfield - 1909

The Fisher Body Corporation was established by merging the assets of the Fisher Body Company, Fisher Closed Body Company and the Fisher Body Company of Canada Ltd.

Fisher Body Corporation

The Packard Eleventh Series was introduced.

Rudolf Caracciola in a Mercedes-Benz W154/38 won the Swiss Grand Prix at Bremgarten.

Rudolf Caracciola

Ettore Bugatti, the Italian-born and naturalised-French car manufacturer, died at the age of 65. Bugatti specialised in racing and luxury motor vehicles and his factory in Molsheim, France, turned out some of the most expensive cars ever produced. The best-known Bugatti car was Type 41, known as the ‘Golden Bugatti’ or ‘La Royale’. Continue Reading →

Ettore Bugatti

San Francisco’s first parking meter was installed at Bush and Polk streets. It was shortly after the end of WW II, with San Francisco’s population exploding, that the streets had become snarled with traffic. The City also was in need of a cash infusion in order to continue to provide services and a decent quality of life for its 120,000 new residents since the beginning of the war. Continue Reading →

San Francisco's first parking meter - 1947

Rex White started from the pole and posts a wire-to-wire victory at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, US. Glen Wood finished second, 10 seconds behind on the flat quarter-mile oval. Lee Petty took third, two laps down in the 200-lap main event. Continue Reading →

Rex White

The Mazda Cosmo 110S, featuring a Wankel rotary engine, made its racing debut at the Nurburgring in Germany

"Auto Union GmbH" merged with "NSU Motorenwerke AG" to become "Audi NSU Auto Union AG”. The company was renamed "Audi AG" on 1st January 1985.

Klaus Ludwig and Tom Coconis drove a front-engined Ford Mustang GTP to victory in the IMSA Camel GT Budweiser 500 at Elkart Lake, Wisconsin, USA. It was the first race and only win for the car.

Ford Mustang GTP

The final section of the 2,900 mile (4,666 km) coast-to-coast Interstate 80 (San Francisco, California, to New York City) was dedicated on the western edge of Salt Lake City, Utah, making I-80 the world's first contiguous freeway to span from the Atlantic to Pacific ocean and, at the time, the longest contiguous freeway in the world. The section spanned from Redwood Road to just west of the Salt Lake City International Airport. At the dedication it was noted that coincidentally this was only 50 miles (80 km) from Promontory Summit, where a similar feat was accomplished 120 years prior, with the laying of the golden spike of the United States' First Transcontinental Railroad.

Interstate 80 is a major urban freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area

Future F1 driver Johnny Herbert's career was thrown in doubt after he was caught up in a huge accident at Brands Hatch in an F3000 race. Herbert's legs took the brunt of the impact and he was lucky not to lose one of his feet. He astonished doctors with his determination to recover and despite still struggling to walk properly, he finished a heroic fourth on his F1 debut for Benetton in Brazil in 1989.

Al Teague in Spirit of ’76 achieved the highest speed by a wheel driven car, with a peak speed of 432.692 mph (696.331 kmph) at Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, USA.

Spirit of 76 (Speed-O-Motive) streamliner

Ford sold its first natural gas taxis to New York City.

Ex-Stone Roses drummer Alan Wren was jailed for seven days after being rude to a top Manchester Magistrate. He appeared before the court for having no car insurance and lost his temper after being quizzed about his earnings.

A biography of Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone was pulled from publication after legal wrangles and allegations against the author by Ecclestone, according to a report in London's Times newspaper. Among several claims made in the book, is that the donation of one million pounds to the British Labour Party before the last election was an attempt to ensure Formula One was exempted from the banning of tobacco advertising, a claim which Ecclestone denies: "I gave the money because I was asked to by a third party," said Ecclestone. "I've always been Tory, though I actually think now that all Blair has been as prime minister is watered-down old Conservatism."

As part of a commitment to safety, Ford introduced a series of initiatives including the Ford VIRTTEX Driving Simulator, CamCar blind spot eliminator and SensorCar system that predicts impacts before they occur.

A Ford GT production car was sold for $557,500 at a Christie’s auction.

Istanbul Park, also known as the Istanbul Racing Circuit or initially Istanbul Otodrom, a motor sports race track near İstanbul, Turkey staged the first Turkish Grand Prix. Because of the nature of the circuit the 2005 Turkish Grand Prix weekend saw exciting on-track action, with many drivers spinning off throughout the weekend due to pushing too hard, particularly at Turn 8 where Juan Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes) ran wide with two laps to go following a tangle with the Jordan of Tiago Monteiro. This allowed Fernando Alonso (Renault) to take second place behind Kimi Räikkönen (McLaren-Mercedes) an event which had a significant bearing on their battle for the World Championship headed towards its culmination.

Istanbul Park

A 1967 Ferrari 275 GTS/4 NART Spyder was sold by Gooding & Company at Pebble Beach, California for $4.0 million. This was a niche car aimed at the American market. The first of ten produced, and one of two built with a lightweight aluminium body, it took second in class at the 1967 12 Hours of Sebring, made an appearance in 'The Thomas Crown Affair' and served as a 'Road & Track' test car.