On this day in…
1897
126 years ago
Olds Motor Vehicle Co, which would later become Oldsmobile, was founded Read more…
1900
123 years ago
The first Pierce steam vehicle was tested without success – subsequent problems led the company to abandon steam power in favour of gasoline Read more…
1903
120 years ago
America’s first transcontinental motor race, stretching from New York City to San Francisco, finished Read more…
1909
114 years ago
Barney Oldfield broke five world records, pushing his Benz to new speeds on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Read more…
1916
107 years ago
The Fisher Body Corporation was established by merging the assets of the Fisher Body Company, Fisher Closed Body Company and the Fisher Body Company of Canada Ltd Read more…
1933
90 years ago
The Packard Eleventh Series was introduced Read more…
1938
85 years ago
Rudolf Caracciola in a Mercedes-Benz W154/38 won the Swiss Grand Prix at Bremgarten Read more…
1947
76 years ago
Ettore Bugatti, the Italian-born and naturalised-French car manufacturer, died at the age of 65 Read more…
1947
76 years ago
San Francisco’s first parking meter was installed at Bush and Polk streets Read more…
1959
64 years ago
Rex White started from the pole and posted a wire-to-wire victory at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, US Read more…
1968
55 years ago
The Mazda Cosmo 110S, featuring a Wankel rotary engine, made its racing debut at the Nurburgring in Germany Read more…
1969
54 years ago
“Auto Union GmbH” merged with “NSU Motorenwerke AG” to become “Audi NSU Auto Union AG” Read more…
1983
40 years ago
Klaus Ludwig and Tom Coconis drove a front-engined Ford Mustang GTP to victory in the IMSA Camel GT Budweiser 500 at Elkart Lake, Wisconsin, USA Read more…
1986
37 years ago
The final section of the 2,900 mile (4,666 km) coast-to-coast Interstate 80 (San Francisco, California, to New York City) was dedicated on the western edge of Salt Lake City, Utah, making I-80 the world’s first contiguous freeway to span from the Atlantic to Pacific ocean and, at the time, the longest contiguous freeway in the world Read more…
1988
35 years ago
Future F1 driver Johnny Herbert’s career was thrown in doubt after he was caught up in a huge accident at Brands Hatch in an F3000 race Read more…
1991
32 years ago
Al Teague in Spirit of ’76 achieved the highest speed by a wheel driven car, with a peak speed of 432 Read more…
1994
29 years ago
Geoff Bodine started on the pole and dominated the Champion Spark Plug 400 at Michigan International Speedway, US Read more…
1997
26 years ago
Ford sold its first natural gas taxis to New York City Read more…
1997
26 years ago
Ex-Stone Roses drummer Alan Wren was jailed for seven days after being rude to a top Manchester Magistrate, England Read more…
2000
23 years ago
A biography of Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone was pulled from publication after legal wrangles and allegations against the author by Ecclestone, according to a report in London’s Times newspaper Read more…
2001
22 years ago
As part of a commitment to safety, Ford introduced a series of initiatives including the Ford VIRTTEX Driving Simulator, CamCar blind spot eliminator and SensorCar system that predicts impacts before they occur Read more…
2003
20 years ago
A Ford GT production car was sold for $557,500 at a Christie’s auction. Read more…
2005
18 years ago
Istanbul Park, also known as the Istanbul Racing Circuit or initially Istanbul Otodrom, a motor sports race track near İstanbul, Turkey staged the first Turkish Grand Prix Read more…
2005
18 years ago
A 1967 Ferrari 275 GTS/4 NART Spyder was sold by Gooding & Company at Pebble Beach, California for $4 Read more…
