New London Bridge (19th century) was opened to traffic with great splendor by King William IV, accompanied by Queen Adelaide, and many of the members of the royal family. The old bridge continued in use while the new bridge was being built, and was demolished after the latter opened. New approach roads had to be built, which cost three times as much as the bridge itself. Continue Reading →

New London Bridge in the late 19th century.

Gottlieb Daimler joined Deutz AG to work with Nikolaus A Otto and Eugen Langen in the design and construction of gasoline engines.

Dugald Clerk received a British patent for his two stroke engine. The Clerk cycle engine uses a similar valve arrangement to the four stroke cycle diesel engine, with both exhaust and inlet valves in the cylinder head and operated by a camshaft. At the end of the power stroke, both exhaust and inlet valves open, and the cylinder is filled with fresh air supplied by a supercharger, which replaces or scavenges the exhaust gas. Continue Reading →

Dugald Clerk

The National Motor Carriage Company was incorporated in New Jersey, US with Ernest E Lorrilard as President, General O Howard as Vice President, Arthur S Winslow as Secretary, David Allen Reed as Treasurer and J W Howard as Consulting Engineer.

The streets of Dover, England were packed for the first stage of the latest crusade by the leader of the Salvation Army, General Booth. The motor crusade, accompanied by newspaper reporters lasted a month and 9 days. Its aim was to encourage the troops and spark a new countryside wave of religious enthusiasm.

Frank Newton driving a Napier won the August International Plate at Brooklands.

North America’s first driver-licensing law came into effect in the state of New York, though it initially applied only to professional chauffeurs.

The Ford Motor Company announced that Model T sales for the previous twelve months were 308,213 units, and that they will honour their rebate offer by mailing $50 “Profit Sharing” checks to each buyer for a total payout of $15,410,650. While Chrysler has been credited with (or blamed for) giving the auto industry its own version of the “cents-off coupon” in January 1975, Ford really was the first company to use customer rebates more than 60 years before Chrysler.

Edsel Ford married Eleanor Lowthian Clay.

William C Durant officially became President of General Motors, succeeding Charles W Nash who had left two months earlier to form the Nash Motors Company.

The Olds Motor Works became a Division of General Motors rather than a separate company owned by General Motors.

The 1920 Winton Model 24 and Model 25 were introduced, the marque’s first totally redesigned cars since 1916.

Hungarian inventor of the carburettor for the stationary engine, Donát Bánki (63) died. The invention of the carburettor helped the development of automobiles, as previously no method was known to correctly mix the fuel and air for engines. Some sources say that the idea of the carburettor came from a flower girl. Continue Reading →

Donát Bánki

The 1924 Buicks were introduced on "Buick Day", staged to commemorate the 25th anniversary of David D Buick's Buick Auto-Vim and Power Company which would evolve into the Buick Motor Company in 1904.

Alexander Y. Malcomson (58), a coal dealer from Detroit, Michigan who bankrolled Henry Ford's first successful foray into automobile manufacturing, the Ford Motor Company, died.

The first prototype Ruxton front-wheel-drive car was completed. The car was the brainchild of William Muller and was built in the Board Machine plant in Philadelphia, Moon Motor Car factory in St. Louis, Missouri, and Kissel Motors of Hartford, Wisconsin, who also produced the car's transmission unit. Continue Reading →

1929 Ruxton

The last Rolls Royce Phantom II Continental was completed.

Rolls Royce Phantom II Continental

Parade magazine called it "the Army's most intriguing new gadget - a tiny truck which can do practically everything." During World War I, the U.S. Continue Reading →

Willy's Jeep

Ferdinand Porsche, arrested for war crimes 2 years earlier, was released from a French prison after his children Ferry and Louise paid 1,000 francs to the French government.

Austin raised their car prices. The A40 went up £31 to £641.

The German Grand Prix at Nürburgring was won by 1951 World Champion, Juan Manuel Fangio driving a Mercedes-Benz W196. Ferrari 625 drivers Mike Hawthorn (in a shared drive with José Froilán González) and Maurice Trintignant finished second and third, respectively, for Scuderia Ferrari. The race was lengthened from 18 to 22 laps, bringing the German Grand Prix up to the approximately 500 kilometre race distance used by the majority of Formula One Grands Prix at the time. Continue Reading →

A packed grandstand watches Juan Manuel Fangio at the German Grand Prix in 1954.

The first Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia convertible was produced. Coachbuilder Karmann came up with the idea of producing a new Beetle-based coupe. The new small Volkswagen had a wonderfully simple and adaptable floorpan, and the German specialist realised that it would be comparatively easy to built special bodies for it. Continue Reading →

Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia

The Bristol Motorcycle and Light Car Club (BM&LCC) organised the first race meeting in conjunction with the Bristol Corporation at the then disused airfield at Whitchurch, Shropshire, England. The course was 1.0625 miles long, almost flat, and rectangular in shape with four corners known as Dundry, Hangar, Knowle, & Goram. Continue Reading →

Jean Behra (38) was killed driving for Porsche in a Formula 2 support race at the German Grand Prix. Behra could have been France's first title winner, but despite having the talent never won a world championship grand prix. A fighter in the Gilles Villeneuve mould, with courage and car control to spare, he became a national hero leading the Gordini team after winning the non-championship Grand Prix de la Marne at Reims in 1952. Continue Reading →

Jean Behra

"Big Daddy" Don Garlits became the first drag racer to run the 1/4 mile at over 200 mph. He drove his Swamprat dragster to 201.34 mph at Island Dragway in New Jersey.

Jim Clark in his Lotus-Climax, took pole position, the fastest lap, and led every lap of the German Grand Prix. This was his 6th win in 7 races. The victory ensured that Clark won the World Drivers' Championship with three races left to go. Continue Reading →

JIm Clark

The last Ferrari Superfast Type 500 was completed.

Gerhard Mitter (33) died during qualifying session for the 1969 German Grand Prix with BMW's 269 F2 project. Suspension or steering failure was suspected.

George Follmer drove a Ford-powered Lotus 70 to victory in the L&M Continental Formula A race at St. Jovite, Quebec, Canada.

Richard Petty won his 134th race in the Dixie 500 at Atlanta International Raceway (now Atlanta Motor Speedway). With the win, he became the first NASCAR driver to top $1 million in career earnings.

Richard Petty won the NASCAR Winston Cup Talledega 500 in a Dodge Charger.

Austrian World Champion Niki Lauda was seriously burned in an accident during the German Grand Prix. His great rival, British driver James Hunt, won the race in a McLaren-Cosworth M23. The highly-charged 1976 season continued at the Nurburgring a fortnight after James Hunt's disputed victory at Brands Hatch. Continue Reading →

Niki Lauda crash - 1976 German Grand Prix

Patricia Montgomery was named Cadillac's Director of Public Relations, the first woman to hold such a position in any General Motors Division.

The financially stressed Automobili Ferruccio Lamborghini was placed under the "controlled administration" of the Italian government official Alessandro Artese.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip edged Buddy Baker by a car-length at Talladega Superspeedway (Alabama, US) to become the first repeat winner of the Talladega 500. Waltrip started second and led 107 of the 188 laps — including the final 17 — in a Junior Johnson-owned Buick. Baker led 12 laps in his runner-up effort, and Richard Petty wound up third. Continue Reading →

1982 Talladega 500

Q registration plates were introduced in Britain for vehicles of indeterminate age, such as kit cars or rebuilds using new components.

Brian ‘Club’ Keene and James ‘Wilbur’ Wright began an epic 37 day journey driving their Chevrolet Blazer 9031 miles in reverse through 15 US States and Canada, Though it was prominently named ‘Stuck In Reverse’, police officers in Oklahoma refused to believe it and insisted they drove in reverse reverse, that is, forwards out of the State.

Robert Stempel took charge at General Motors.

Patrick Depailler (35) died during Alfa Romeo free practice, ten days before the German Grand Prix.

Ford introduced its new small coupe, the Puma, in the UK. The cost for a new Puma in the UK from a dealer was between £12,280 and £22,945 depending on the accessories, styling, and model chosen.

Ford Puma

Construction of the Bedford Autodrome (England), a modern, purpose-built, private facility, owned by Jonathan Palmer, was completed. Built on the northern section of the former site of the Royal Aerospace Establishment, Bedford airbase it took five years to convert to a track using the latest in track laying techniques to provide a quiet and smooth surface. It was designed for high performance road cars. Continue Reading →

Aerial view of Bedford Autodrome

Although Hakkinen took McLaren’s 100th pole, Eddie Irvine won the German Grand Prix for Ferrari.

The Boycott the Pumps campaign, also referred to as Dump the Pumps, was organised in the UK, with motorists being urged not to visit petrol stations. Support for the day was reported to be patchy, with forecourts in the North-West being hit the hardest, some reporting a 50% drop in business.

An original Citroën 2CV prototype appeared as the centrepiece at the opening of an exhibition at the Design Museum in London exploring the work of the flamboyant Italian and former Citroën designer Flaminio Bertoni. The 2CV was displayed alongside a Traction Avant, a DS and a model of a DS at the exhibition, which was titled ‘When Flaminio Drove to France – Flaminio Bertoni’s Designs for Citroën’.

Citroën 2CV prototype

Market share of Detroit auto companies fell to 52% in July 2006, its lowest point in history (52.2% in October 2005). Auto sales figures showed that Toyota passed Ford Motor Company to rank as the second-biggest-selling auto company in the US. Continue Reading →

Citibank opened China's first drive-through automated teller machine (ATM) at the Upper East Side Central Plaza in Beijing. Like those of drive-through restaurants and drive-in movies, the origins of drive-through banking can be traced to the United States. Some sources say that Hillcrest State Bank opened the first drive-through bank in Dallas, Texas, in 1938; others claim the honour belongs to the Exchange National Bank of Chicago in 1946. Continue Reading →

Stockholm congestion tax came into use on a permanent basis after a successful seven month trial period. The City Centre is within the congestion tax zone. All the entrances and exits of this area have unmanned control points operating with automatic number plate recognition. Continue Reading →

Congestion Tax in Stockholm varies over time according to pre-established fare schedule

Full-scale car manufacturing resumed at the historic Longbridge plant, in the West Midlands, with the production of the two-seater MG TF LE500 sports car. The facility in Birmingham was mothballed when MG Rover collapsed three years earlier with the loss of 6,000 jobs. The company's Chinese owners, Shanghai Automotive (SAIC), said nearly half of the 700 MG TFs costing £16,400, it hoped to produce by the end of the year had already been sold.

Longbridge plant, West Midlands