April 5th


On this day in…

1887

136 years ago

Lucius D Copeland of Phoenix, Arizona, US was issued with a United States patent for his steam-powered bicycle and is sometimes classed as an early motorcycle Read more…

1916

107 years ago

Groundbreaking ceremonies were held for the new Jordan Motor Car Company plant east of downtown Cleveland at 1070 East 152nd Street along the Nickel Plate Railroad tracks Read more…

1921

102 years ago

The Chevrolet Brothers Manufacturing Company was formed by Louis and Arthur Chevrolet to market their Frontenac high performance overhead-valve cylinder head conversion kits Read more…

1923

100 years ago

Firestone Tire and Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio, began balloon-tire production Read more…

1927

96 years ago

The Twin Coach Company was incorporated in Delaware to manufacture buses and other commercial vehicles, and acquired the plant of the Fageol Motors Company in Kent, Ohio, US Read more…

1928

95 years ago

The Howard Motor Internation Corporation of New York City began production of the Howard Silver Horn, but production was very limited during its two year existence Read more…

1934

89 years ago

A Renault team took the 48 hour speed record at Montlhéry with a speed of 115 mph (185 km/h). Read more…

1940

83 years ago

The Buick Y-Job, the auto industry’s first concept car, was unveiled to the press Read more…

1953

70 years ago

Dick Passwater scored an upset victory in the 150-lap race at Charlotte Speedway, North Carolina, US Read more…

1953

70 years ago

The 27 litre Rolls Royce Merlin engine Swandean Spitfire Special, the largest car ever to appear at the Brighton Speed Trial, driven by F W Wilcock, made the slowest run in its class Read more…

1954

69 years ago

Eugene Stenger of Orange Village near Cleveland, Ohio, USA, bought his white 1954 Chevrolet Corvette, and has owned it ever since- the longest car ownership from new Read more…

1955

68 years ago

The 8,000,000th Buick was produced Read more…

1957

66 years ago

Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, an inspiration for a generation of restless spirits, was first published Read more…

1962

61 years ago

Autocostruzioni Societe per Azioni was organised in Milan, Italy by Grino Grini, Lorenzo Bandini, Giancarlo Baghetti and Giotto Bizzarini to produce a small Ferrari-based sports car, the A Read more…

1963

60 years ago

Craig Breedlove became the first person to travel over 400 mph on land Read more…

1963

60 years ago

Richard Petty took the lead from pole-sitter Dave Marcis in the 339th lap and led the rest of the Northwestern Bank 400 at North Wilkesboro (North Carolina, US) Speedway Read more…

1964

59 years ago

Fred Lorenzen, driving the Holman Moody Ford, won the Atlanta 500, becoming the first driver to win the same NASCAR race three years in a row Read more…

1968

55 years ago

Ford Motor Company introduced the all-new Continental Mark III as part of deliberate strategy to build the prestige and owner loyalty of its luxury Lincoln brand Read more…

1976

47 years ago

The new, multi-million dollar Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum was opened to the public, featuring approximately 75 classic cars, motorcycles and racing cars Read more…

1981

42 years ago

Richard Petty captured his 15th win at North Wilkesboro Speedway in the Northwestern Bank 400 Read more…

1983

40 years ago

Elmer Trettr set a record for highest terminal velocity at 201 Read more…

1985

38 years ago

The joint longest traffic jam in Great British motoring history – 40 miles – occurred between Junction 13 (Milton Keynes) and Junction 18 (Rugby) on the M1. Read more…

1986

37 years ago

Morgan Shepherd won the NASCAR Xfinity (Busch Grand National) Series Budweiser 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway Read more…

1987

36 years ago

Jim Richards, driving a BMW M3, won the Australian Touring Car Championship race at Lakeside, Queensland, Australia Read more…

1987

36 years ago

Eight died in a M6 pile-up near Manchester Read more…

1987

36 years ago

Dale Earnhardt dominated the First Union 400 at North Wilkesboro Speedway Read more…

1988

35 years ago

Tracy Chapman released the single “Fast Car” from her self-titled first album Tracy Chapman Read more…

1990

33 years ago

The last Oldsmobile Rocket V8 engine was produced Read more…

1992

31 years ago

A strike that had idled nearly 43,000 General Motors Corp Read more…

1992

31 years ago

Nigel Mansell driving a Williams-Renault FW14B won the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos Read more…

1992

31 years ago

Alan Kulwicki hustled past Dale Jarrett with 27 laps remaining to score a narrow victory in the Food City 500 at Bristol International Race­way, Tennessee (US) Read more…

1994

29 years ago

Production of the Duratec 2 Read more…

1997

26 years ago

Mark Martin got by Jimmy Spencer in the closing laps and went on to win the NASCAR Xfinity (Busch) Series inaugural Coca-Cola 300 at Texas Motor Speedway Read more…

1998

25 years ago

Mark Martin passes Chad Little with 30 laps remaining and motors to a close victory in the Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway (US) Read more…

1999

24 years ago

In Libya, Moammar Khadafy unveiled plans for a new, safe, 5-passenger “Rocket of the Jamahiriya” automobile Read more…

2000

23 years ago

Lee Petty, an early star of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) and the patriarch of a racing dynasty that includes his son, NASCAR legend Richard Petty, died at the age 86 in Greensboro, North Carolina, US Read more…

2001

22 years ago

Perry Wacker, a Dutch lorry driver, was jailed for 14 years for the manslaughter of 58 Chinese illegal immigrants who were found suffocated in his lorry at Dover ferry port in June 2000 Read more…

2003

20 years ago

Dale Earnhardt Jr Read more…

2006

17 years ago

Bill Ford stepped down as CEO of Ford Motor Co Read more…

2007

16 years ago

The US Transportation Dept Read more…

2007

16 years ago

The Lexus LS 460 was named World Car of the Year at the New York Auto Show Read more…

2007

16 years ago

The one millionth Fiat Panda rolled off the production line Read more…

2008

15 years ago

The standard driving UK test charge rose 16.5% to £56.50, with the theory test increasing 5.3% to £30. Read more…

2008

15 years ago

Kyle Busch led 126 of the 200 laps to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series O’Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway Read more…

2009

14 years ago

Jeff Gordon snapped a 47-race winless streak and also scored his first Texas Motor Speedway NASCAR Cup Series win in the Samsung 500 Read more…

2012

11 years ago

Jaguar Land Rover, owned by India’s Tata Motors, announced that it planned to build its new Jaguar F-Type sports car in Britain. Read more…

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