Chief Pontiac (48 - 49), legendary Indian leader and namesake of the General Motors marque, was murdered at Cahokia, Illinois, US. The Odawa war chief who became noted for his role in Pontiac's War (1763–1766), an American Indian struggle against British military occupation of the Great Lakes region and named for him. It followed the British victory in the French and Indian War, the North American front of the Seven Years' War. Continue Reading →

Chief Pontiac

Ernest Estcourt took delivery of the first ‘production’ car from the Daimler Motor Company, Coventry and drove it home to Hampstead in London. His journey took 10.5 hours, including stops for meals, water and fuel. Continue Reading →

Daimler 4HP - 1897

The first British Motor Cycle Club race was held at Brooklands, Surrey, England.The attendance at Brooklands motorcycle events was initially quite small, being mostly knowledgeable enthusiasts, and lacking the ‘Society’ element of the car racing crowd. However, an established pattern of race meetings emerged, speeds rose, the reliability of machines improved and a growing audience became attracted to motorcycle races. Continue Reading →

The first and only Corsican Grand Prix was staged to commemorate the centenary of the death of Napoleon Bonaparte. The winner was Albert Guyot driving a Bignan-Sport, and the event is often cited as the birth of sports car racing.

Corsican Grand Prix - 1921

The Packard Single Six Series 126 and 133 were introduced.

Famed racing legend Peter DePaolo, nephew of racer Ralph DePalma, recorded his first racing victory with a win at the Culver City, California, board track. Racing for the Duesenberg family, DePaolo ran an impressive 135mph on average at the Culver City race. Having earned the first driving spot on the Duesenberg team with his 1924 results, DePaolo achieved historic success in the 1925 Indy 500. Continue Reading →

Clessie L Cummins, driving a diesel-powered Packard roadster at Daytona Beach, Florida, reached 80.398 mph to establish a land speed record for this type of vehicle.

Achille Varzi driving a Alfa Romeo P2 won the Brordino Circuit race held at the Alessandria circuit near Torino, Italy.

Matilda Dodge Wilson, the widow of John Dodge, was named on the board of the Graham-Paige Motors Corporation. She was the first woman board member of a major car manufacturer.

Delage & Cie was forced into receivership.

The Edwards R-62 made its racing debut, competing without success in the Pebble Beach (California, US) road race. Also making its debut at this race was the modified Porsche driven by Johnny von Neumann that inspired the production of the Porsche Speedster of 1954.

Taking the lead when Gober Sosebee's Cadillac broke a spindle with 7 laps to go, Bill Blair won the 100 mile NASCAR Grand National race on the 1 mile dirt Lakewood Speedway, Georgia, US. Ed Samples was 2nd to give Olds 88s a 1-2 finish. Roscoe Thompson replaced the injured Fonty Flock in the Frank Christian Olds. Continue Reading →

Bill Blair

In 1954, the First All-Japan Motor Show opened at Hibiya Park in Tokyo, presided over by H.I.H. Continue Reading →

(20th-29th)The first All Japan Motor Show was held at Hibiya Park, Tokyo. H.I. Continue Reading →

Peugeot unveiled the 403. For the first time, Peugeot called on the services of the Turin-based Italian designer, Pininfarina, to design one of its models. This marked the beginning of a fruitful collaboration that still continues. Continue Reading →

Peugeot 403

The third Toyko Motor Show opened. Vehicles were exhibited by type, and the center of popularity shifted to passenger cars. These characteristics indicated the birth of a full-scale motor show. Continue Reading →

Bob Welborn survived a late race spin that erased his big lead, going on to win the NASCAR GN 'Virginia 500' at Martinsville Speedway. Welborn started 20th in the 47 car field on the 1/2 mile paved oval. Leader Jimmy Massey, relief driving Glen Wood's Ford, blew a tire & crashed on lap 396 to give Welborn a lead he wouldn't lose. Continue Reading →

Bob Welborn

"Jiggs" Peters drove the John Fray car to victory in the 30 lap USAC Eastern Division Sprint Car feature on the 1/2 dirt oval at the Reading Fairgrounds, Pennsylvania, US.

The last Key System train left San Francisco for Oakland. Ferry service from the San Francisco Ferry Building ended when the Southern Pacific "Eureka" made its last crossing to Oakland. Train tracks were taken off the lower deck of the Bay Bridge and the lanes were paved in for car traffic.

Cotton Owens took the lead when Ned Jarrett ran out gas with 4 laps to go and went on to win the 100 mile NASCAR GN race on the 1/2 mile dirt Columbia Speedway, South Carolina, US. Owens win gave Pontiac 8 wins in the 15 GN races held to that point in 1961.

The Sunbeam Rapier Series IIIA was announced. The first of the Sunbeam Rapiers was launched in 1955, as a four-seater sports saloon despite becoming more widely known as a tuned two-door Hillman Minx. The Rapier was a typically intelligent creation plucked from the Rootes Group parts bin – and sold in large numbers as a result. Continue Reading →

Sunbeam Rapier Series IIIA

Bobby Allison used what he termed a "shot in the dark" last minute chassis set-up on the Mario Rossi Dodge to win the NASCAR GN 'Gwyn Staley Memorial' on the .625 mile paved North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Carolina, US. Allison passed Buddy Baker on the 299th lap, leading the rest of the way to take the checkered 8 seconds ahead of LeeRoy Yarbrough in the Junior Johnson Mercury. David Pearson finished third & Buddy Baker fourth, all four on the lead lap.

Harry B Coleman and Peggy Larson in a Volkswagen Camper, after setting out in August 1976 completed the longest continuous motor caravan trip ever reported – 143,716 miles, through 113 countries.

Roger Penske and Kaiser announced the construction of a racetrack on the site of the abandoned Kaiser Steel mill in Fontana, California, US. A day after the announcement CART announced it would hold an annual race at the speedway. Three months later NASCAR President Bill France, Jr. Continue Reading →

Jeff Gordon captured his second consecutive and fourth win in the opening eight races of the season in the Goody’s Headache Powder 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Gordon led 431 of the 500 laps, including the final 125 to take the win over Bobby Hamilton. The win was Gordon’s second of nine career wins at the .526-mile oval.

Bobby Hamilton dominated the Goody’s Headache Powder 500 at Martinsville Speedway leading 387 laps en route to his third (of four) NASCAR Cup Series career win. Hamilton started from the pole in the No. 4 Chevrolet and led the final 63 laps and won by 6. Continue Reading →

Bobby Hamilton's dominating performance netted an overwhelming victory in the Goody's 500 at Martins­ville Speedway, Virginia, US. Hamilton finished 6.3 ­seconds ahead of runner-up Ted Musgrave to score his third career NASCAR Winston Cup victory.

Lexus announced that it would introduce its first convertible, the SC 430 based on the Lexus Sport Coupe Concept car, which debuted at the 1999 Tokyo Motor Show.

Lexus SC430

Jason Keller scored the win in the NASCAR Xfinity (Busch) Series Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway when he was one of three drivers left on the lead lap. A 27-car accident on Lap 15 eliminated a majority of the field. Stacy Compton finished second, followed by a distant Tim Fedewa. Continue Reading →

Michael Schumacher driving a Ferrari F2002 won the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola. Kimi Räikkönen, driving for McLaren, finished second with Rubens Barrichello third in the other Ferrari. The remaining points-scoring positions were filled by Ralf Schumacher (Williams), David Coulthard (McLaren), Fernando Alonso (Renault), Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams) and Jenson Button (BAR). Continue Reading →

The Caparo T1, a British mid-engine, rear-wheel drive, two-seat supercar built by Caparo Vehicle Technologies, was officially unveiled by His Serene Highness The Sovereign Prince of Monaco, at the Top Marques auto show in Monaco. The show car unveiled was a prototype, painted orange as historic McLaren cars were due to the nature of the T1's designers being ex-McLaren engineers, had a maximum speed of 205 miles per hour (330 km/h). From a standing start, it had an estimated 0–100 kilometres per hour (0–62 mph) time under 2.5 seconds and onto 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph) in 4.9 seconds.

Caparo T1 at the British Motor Show

A vet who rammed into other motorists before threatening drivers with a stethoscope and an umbrella was banned from driving for two years. Felice Nieddu, 47, of Norwich, had admitted dangerous driving, assaulting a police officer and common assault.

Clint Bowyer held off Matt Kenseth and teammate Jeff Burton to win the NASCAR Xfinity (Busch) Series Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix Raceway. Bowyer, who was driving for Richard Childress Racing, scored his first win of 2007, with his last series victory coming in September 2006 at Dover. Bowyer and Kenseth put on a torrid battle over the closing laps of the race, trading the lead several times. Continue Reading →

Kyle Busch picked up his third consecutive NASCAR Xfinity (Nationwide Series) victory when he won his first race "South of the Border" in the Corona Mexico 200 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Busch passed Scott Pruett with nine laps-to-go and then pulled away for his 14th career win and first on a road course. With six laps-to-go, Marcos Ambrose passed Pruett for second and tore the bumper cover of Pruett’s No. Continue Reading →

Danica Patrick rewrote motor sport history at the Motegi Twin-Ring in Japan by winning the third round of the 2008 IndyCar-Series and becoming the first woman to win a monoposto race on international level.

Danica Patrick

With the 34th Toyota Grand Prix in Long Beach an era came to end. Will Power won the last ever Champcars race, the last single-seater category to feature turbocharged engines.

Citroën expanded its range in China, presenting two new vehicles at the Shanghai International Motor Show: the C-Quatre saloon, a world preview, and the new C5 to be built at Wuhan.

At the Shanghai Motor Show Rolls Royce CEO Tom Purves announced that the company's new model would be called 'Ghost'.

Matt Crafton held off Joey Coulter in a closing laps battle to score his first NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series win of the season in the SFP 250 at Kansas Speedway. Crafton’s win was his first since he took the checkered flag at Iowa Speedway in 2011. The veteran driver finally made it to Victory Lane in his 13th career Kansas start. Continue Reading →

For The Love Of Cars, a one-hour automotive show, presented by actor and car enthusiast Philip Glenister and renowned designer and restoration expert Ant Anstead, was first broadcast on Channel 4. Each show begins with a quick discussion of the car that is to be featured in that episode. Some of the history, and why it is important to British motoring is covered. Continue Reading →

For the Love of Cars with Philip Glenister, left, and Ant Anstead

Japan-based Mitsubishi Motors admitted that it had used improper methods to test the fuel economy of cars sold in Japan for 25 years.

Christopher Bell scored his first NASCAR Xfinity Series win of the season in the ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway. Bell led the final 79 laps and held off his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Noah Gragson, who was making his series debut, to become the eighth different winner in as many races that season – first time that has happened since 2006. Overall, Bell led three times for 120 laps. Continue Reading →