On This Day In Automotive History


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March 19th

1687

337 years ago

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, North American explorer and namesake of the 1927-40 General Motors automobile, was murdered in present-day Texas, US Read more…

1861

163 years ago

Jean-Joseph Etienne Lenoir was issued a patent for his “Air Engine”, an important ancestor of the modern internal combustion engine Read more…

1900

124 years ago

The new Fiat plant in Turin, Italy was officially opened by the Duke of Genoa Read more…

1900

124 years ago

The first race in Savannah, Georgia, US, the 342 mile Challenge Trophy for stock cars, was won by Lewis Strang in an Isotta-Fraschini Read more…

1911

113 years ago

Teddy Tetzlaff, driving a 46 hop Lozier defeated the 90 hp Fiat of Ralph DePalma in a match staged at the Playa del Rey Motordrome in Los Angeles, California, US Read more…

1925

99 years ago

The International Motor Racing Federation in Paris decided to institute a World Motor Racing Championship. Read more…

1928

96 years ago

The first set of permanently installed traffic signals in Scotland commenced operation in Edinburgh, at the York Place – Broughton Street junction. Read more…

1932

92 years ago

The Sydney Harbour Bridge was officially opened Read more…

1941

83 years ago

Matteo Ceirano (71), Italian automobile businessman, died Read more…

1952

72 years ago

The 1,000,000th Jeep was produced Read more…

1957

67 years ago

Giuseppe Calnago won the Italian Motorcycle Championship race at Siracusa, the first victory for the Moto Guzzi V8 engine Read more…

1958

66 years ago

After sharp recession that hit the U Read more…

1960

64 years ago

Jim Clark drove a Ford-Cosworth powered Lotus 18 to victory in the Formula Junior race at Goodwood, England Read more…

1967

57 years ago

David Pearson outran Cale Yarborough down the stretch to score his first win at Bristol International Speedway in the Southeastern 500 Read more…

1972

52 years ago

Emerson Fittipaldi drove his Lotus to victory in the non-championship F1 ‘Race of Champions’ at Brands Hatch Read more…

1977

47 years ago

The last Rover P6 (named 2000, 2200, and 3500 for its engine displacements) rolled off the production line after 14 years Read more…

1985

39 years ago

Ford launched the third generation of its Granada Read more…

1992

32 years ago

Jet Harris from The Shadows was banned from driving for three years and fined £120 for drunk driving Read more…

1995

29 years ago

South African driver Trevor Blokdyk died of a heart attack at the age of 59 while working as a farmer Read more…

1998

26 years ago

The signs all was not well in Tony Blair’s administration surfaced when he admitted to breaking House of Commons rules by failing to declare a £1500 “freebie” from Bernie Ecclestone Read more…

1999

25 years ago

Ford established the Premier Auto Group consisting of Aston Martin, Jaguar and Lincoln [Volvo would later be included in this group]. Read more…

1999

25 years ago

Toyota opened its theme park, the Mega Web, in Tokyo, Japan Read more…

2004

20 years ago

The Konginkangas bus disaster was a major traffic accident outside the Konginkangas housing estate in Äänekoski, Finland Read more…

2005

19 years ago

John DeLorean, an innovative auto industry executive and founder of the DeLorean Motor Company, died in New Jersey at the age of 80 Read more…

2006

18 years ago

The Malaysian Grand Prix held at Sepang was won by Giancarlo Fisichella driving a Renault R26, who took the final of his three victories in Formula One Read more…

2020

4 years ago

Anthony Levandowski, a former Google and Uber engineer, pleaded guilty to stealing trade secrets from Google Read more…

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