On this day in…
1872
151 years ago
The British Government passed the first legislation clamping down on drunk-drivers Read more…
1893
130 years ago
Rudolf Diesel’s first prototype diesel compression-ignition engine, a single 10-foot iron cylinder with a flywheel at its base, ran on its own power for the first time Read more…
1897
126 years ago
The Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland was founded by C Harrington Moore and Frederick Simms, and held its first meeting at Whitehall Court in London Read more…
1907
116 years ago
Prince Borghese of Italy won the 8000 mile, 62-day Peking-to-Paris motor race Read more…
1913
110 years ago
President Woodrow Wilson, a strong supporter of improved roads, purchased Membership Certificate No Read more…
1927
96 years ago
Edsel B Ford officially announced that a “new Ford automobile is an accomplished fact”, referring to the pending replacement of the Model T with the Model A Read more…
1929
94 years ago
Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Viscount Byng, announced that Scotland Yard’s elite Flying Squad would be equipped with the latest mobile radios and a fleet of high performance cars (1 Read more…
1932
91 years ago
The first 8-bhp Ford Model Y (the ‘Baby Ford Popular’), the first Ford to be designed specifically for the British market, rolled off the production line at the newly opened Dagenham works in east London Read more…
1933
90 years ago
Midget car racing was officially born at the Loyola High School Stadium in Los Angeles (US) as a regular weekly program under the control of the first official governing body, the Midget Auto Racing Association (MARA) Read more…
1937
86 years ago
The first 1937 Pontiac Deluxe Eight was produced Read more…
1938
85 years ago
Czech automotive pioneer, co-founder of what is now Škoda Auto, Václav Klement (70), died Read more…
1940
83 years ago
The last Alexandria Bay (New York) Round the Houses race was won by Alfa Romeo Read more…
1946
77 years ago
The first post-war race in Britain, the Ulster Trophy run at Ballyclare was won by ‘Bira’ driving a ERA C-Type at 78 Read more…
1954
69 years ago
Workers at the Studebaker auto plant in South Bend, Indiana (US) agreed to take pay cuts from $20 to $12per week in an attempt to help the faltering automaker Read more…
1956
67 years ago
The 1957 Hillman Husky was introduced in the US Read more…
1958
65 years ago
Ray Lemke opened the first independent Datsun dealership in the US Read more…
1958
65 years ago
William V C Ruxton, namesake of the 1929 front-wheel-drive Ruxton, died in New York, at the age of 67 Read more…
1964
59 years ago
Mick Jagger was fined £32 in Liverpool, England for driving without insurance and ‘breaking the speed limit’ Read more…
1965
58 years ago
The Ford Bronco, intended to compete against Jeep’s CJ-5 and International Harvester’s Scout, was introduced, feeding the burgeoning four-wheel-drive market Read more…
1967
56 years ago
Italian industrialist and President of Fiat from 1946 to 1966, Vittorio Valletta (83) died Read more…
1968
55 years ago
David Pearson sidestepped Richard Petty near the midway point and led the rest of the Myers Brothers 250 at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, US Read more…
1978
45 years ago
Peugeot-Citroen announced it had purchased Chrysler’s European operation for an undisclosed sum Read more…
1978
45 years ago
Three teenage girls died after their 1973 Ford Pinto was rammed from behind by a van and bursts into flames on a highway in Indiana, US Read more…
1986
37 years ago
The first Formula One Grand Prix was held behind the Iron Curtain Read more…
1990
33 years ago
The final section of coast-to-coast Interstate 10 (Santa Monica, California, to Jacksonville, Florida) was dedicated, the Papago Freeway Tunnel (Deck Park Tunnel) under downtown Phoenix, Arizona Read more…
1995
28 years ago
Jacques Villeneuve announced he was leaving CART to race for Williams in Formula 1 Read more…
1997
26 years ago
Jacques Villeneuve driving for the Williams team won the Hungarian Grand Prix Read more…
2001
22 years ago
An overcrowded bus fell into a river in Xinjiang, China, while traveling from Urumqi to Xinhe County, killing 34 people Read more…
2007
16 years ago
Founder of the French automotive brand Alpine, Jean Rédélé (84), died Read more…
2011
12 years ago
The record for longest distance riding a motorcycle in 24 hours of 3,249 Read more…
