On This Day

The first Napier cars, three 2 cylinder (8 hp) and three 4 cylinder (16 hp), all with aluminum bodies by Mulliners and chain driven, were delivered to customers, at a price of £500.

The first car advertisement to run in a national magazine appeared in the Saturday Evening Post. The W.E. Roach Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ran an advertisement featuring its jingle, "Automobiles That Give Satisfaction."

Daimler produced a revolutionary high performance car for Emile Jellinek, Consul General of the Austro-Hungarian empire in Nice. Called Mercedes after his daughter, the 4-cylinder, water-cooled 5.9 litre engine was capable of 55mph.

Arthur Duray established a new land speed record of 88.76 mph (142.85 km/h) in Nice, France driving a Gobron-Brillié during the 'Paris-Madrid' race. On the same day Louis Rigolly also driving a Gobron Brillié extended the land speed record to 94.78 mph (152.53 km/h).

First experiments with assembly lines began at Ford's Highland Park Plant. Early trials with assembly of components like magnetos and transmissions are followed by development of chassis assembly line in August 1913.

Ford's Highland Park Plant

Walter S. Austin of the Austin Automobile Company in Grand Rapids, MI was issued a United State patent for his two-speed rear axle.

Packard completed their government order for 15,000 war trucks.

Ford announced that Geelong, was to be its Australian headquarters. The first Australian-built Ford was a Model T that came off an improvised production line in a disused Geelong wool storage warehouse in June 1925, while work started on a factory in the nearby suburb of Norlane. In 1928 the factory switched to the Model A and was followed by the Ford V8 in 1932.

The first Australian Grand Prix was run at the Phillip Island circuit in Victoria, Australia. The race was originally to be held on Monday 26 March however rain forced postponement until Saturday 31 March. It was open to "light" cars of up to 2 litre capacity and it attracted 30 entries, of which 17 started. Continue Reading →

1928 Australian Grand Prix - Arthur Waite driving an Austin 7

The Ford Motor Company publicly unveiled its one piece "V-8" flathead engine. Bringing out a pioneering eight-cylinder low-priced car was a bold move in the midst of the most severe economic depression the United States had ever endured. But Henry Ford was determined to build a mass-produced V8, and the world was ready for it. Continue Reading →

Henry Ford - V8 engine - 1932

Pierre Lefaucheux is appointed Director-General of the nationalised Regie Nationale des Usines Renault.

Carlo Abarth founded the Abarth & C. company with Armando Scagliarini (father of Cisitalia racing driver Guido Scagliarini) in Torino, Italy. With a Scorpio as the logo, the company made racing cars, and became a major supplier of high-performance exhaust pipes, that still are in production as Abarth. Continue Reading →

Abarth logo

Ralph DePalma (72) died in South Pasadena. One of the premier racers of the century's second decade and winner of the 1915 Indy 500, is most famous for his rivalry with fellow racing legend Barney Oldfield. During World War I, car racing on a grand scale was not allowed because of the war effort. Continue Reading →

Ralph de Plama in a Packard 905

Los Angeles ended its streetcar service after 90 years. The Los Angeles Streetcar system was primarily operated by Pacific Electric (1901-1961) and developed into the largest trolley system in the world by the 1920′s. This breath of scale enabled residents and visitors alike to routinely traverse the Los Angeles region, and connected many of Southern California’s communities. Continue Reading →

Streetcar circa 1918

BL agreed to sell its MG works at Abingdon to a consortium headed by Aston Martin-Lagonda. The last car to be built there was the MGB, and after the closure of the Abingdon plant, the MG marque was temporarily abandoned. Although many plants were closed by BL, none created such an uproar among workers, dealers, clubs, and customers as this closure did. Continue Reading →

Abingdon - the Spiritual Home of MG

NASCAR Hall of Famer Richie Evans opened the Modified season with a rain-shortened triumph in the Icebreaker at Thompson Speedway, Connecticut, US . Evans led 23 of 47 laps before rain halted the event 28 laps short of the scheduled distance. Pole-starter Jeff Fuller took second with Brian Ross third.

Richie Evans

The state-owned car company BL plc formerly British Leyland, said that it was pursuing two offers for its Land Rover division after negotiations with the General Motors Corporation collapsed. Range Rover of North America, Inc. soon established its headquarters in Lanham, Maryland with Charles R. Continue Reading →

Italian Dante Giacosa (91), an automobile designer whose small, economical cars, particularly the popular Fiat 500, helped motorize Italy in the 1950s, died. He was the head of design for Fiat for more than 40 years and managed the creation of some beloved cars, led by the Topolino. Maybe now that Fiat is returning to the U. Continue Reading →

Dante Giacosa

The Brazilian Grand Prix race was held on Marcat Interlagos, amidst heavy rain. Six different teams scored points, with Damon Hill following up his win at the first round of the season, surpassing his father's tally of 14 grand prix victories. Hill's pole position proved crucial as a downpour hit Interlagos shortly before the start, and that meant he was free from spray which dogged his rivals early on. Continue Reading →

Damon Hill - 1996 Brazilian Grand Prix

Andy Wallace drove a standard McLaren F1 production car at 240.14 mph (386.46 kmh) at the Volkswagen Proving Ground, Wolfsburg, Germany.

McLaren F1

Ford Motor Company purchased Volvo Cars for $6.45 billion, becoming part of Ford's Premier Automotive Group, which also included Aston Martin, Jaguar and Lincoln.

Michael Schumacher in a Ferrari F2002 won the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos. Soccer legend Pele was supposed to wave the chequered flag. However, when the Schumacher brothers arrived to the finish line, Pelé was talking to someone, and forgot to show them the flag. Continue Reading →

Pele (eventually) waves the chequered flag at the 2002 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Invacar, a small vehicle adapted for use by disabled drivers was banned from British roads because of safety concerns. The veteran vehicle could not meet modern-day government regulations, which required approval under the Motorcycle Single Vehicle Approval Scheme as part of a standard set by the European Union. There were still around 200 Invacars in Britain before the 2003 recall and scrapping programme. Continue Reading →

Invacar

The loyalty of the Dutch fans throughout the 2005-06 season was rewarded as A1 Grand Prix announced that Circuit Park Zandvoort would host the first race of its second season. Grandstand tickets sold out in a matter of days and additional seating had to be arranged.

BMW announced its latest milestone in its pursuit of the hydrogen future, the BMW Hydrogen 7 mono-fuel. Based on the BMW Hydrogen 7 bi-fuel version (gasoline and hydrogen), the mono-fuel vehicle's internal combustion engine was optimized to run solely on hydrogen and shared the performance, comfort, and safety qualities of every production BMW 7 Series.

BMW Hydrogen 7

The fastest speed for a car driven blindfolded of 292.89 km/h (182.03 mph), was set by Metin Senturk (Turkey), president of the World Handicapped Foundation, in a Ferrari F430 at Urfa Airport, Urfa, Turkey.

The Driving Standards Agency was abolished and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency took over its responsibilities.

The Model 3, Tesla's third-generation car, was unveiled. The car was originally intended to be called the Model E, but after a lawsuit from Ford that holds the trademark on "Model E", Musk announced on July 16, 2014 that the car would be called "Model 3" instead. The standard Model 3 delivered an EPA-rated all-electric range of 220 miles (350 km) and the long range model delivers 310 miles (500 km).

Tesla Model 3