August 10th


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…

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