On this day in…

1881

142 years ago

Vincent Hugo Bendix, the American inventor and industrialist who founded the Bendix Corporation of Chicago in 1907 to manufacture Bendix Buggies, was born Read more…

1905

118 years ago

Terry Stafford was issued with a United States patent for his solid-unit drive train Read more…

1906

117 years ago

The first Brooklands Automobile Racing Club meeting was held in England with Lord Lonsdale as President Read more…

1912

111 years ago

Herbert M Dawley applied for a US patent for his fender-mounted headlights design that would become a hallmark of the pierce-Arrow marque Read more…

1916

107 years ago

The Studebaker Corporation, a leading auto maker that began as the world’s biggest manufacturer of horseless carriages, began construction of a new factory in South Bend, Indiana Read more…

1922

101 years ago

The Flower City Specialty Company of Rochester, New York was issued a US patent for its Self Closing Monkey Links tyre chain repair kit Read more…

1923

100 years ago

The 1,000,000th Dodge automobile was produced Read more…

1925

98 years ago

Arthur Heineman, who coined the term ‘motel’, opened the Motel Inn (originally known as the Milestone Mo-Tel) in San Luis Obispo, California Read more…

1928

95 years ago

The House of Lords approved a Bill making driving tests compulsory in Britain Read more…

1944

79 years ago

Ford’s Dagenham plant built its 250,000th wartime V8 engine Read more…

1949

74 years ago

Regular production of cars at the Saab factory in Trollhättan, Sweden began Read more…

1951

72 years ago

William D Allison was contracted by the Packard Motor Car Company to develop torsion bar suspension Read more…

1951

72 years ago

Russell A Read more…

1953

70 years ago

NASCAR president Bill France disclosed plans for a 2 Read more…

1955

68 years ago

The Ford Foundation made the biggest donation to charity the world had ever seen: $500,000,000 to hospitals, medical schools, and colleges Read more…

1959

64 years ago

At 22 years and 104 days of age, Bruce McLaren became the youngest driver to win a Grand Prix race as he earned first place at Sebring, Florida Read more…

1960

63 years ago

Berkeley Car’s poor cash flow forced the company into liquidation Read more…

1961

62 years ago

The Auto-Magic Car Park, Lee Circle, Leicester (UK), one of the oldest multi-storey car parks in Europe, was opened Read more…

1964

59 years ago

William Rootes (70), 1st Baron Rootes GBE, Coventry motor manufacturer, died Read more…

1966

57 years ago

Leyland Motors Corporation (LMC) announced that they were buying Rover Cars for £25 million Read more…

1973

50 years ago

Jackie Stewart, who had recently retired after securing his third world championship, was named the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, the second Formula One driver to win the accolade after Stirling Moss in 1961 Read more…

1977

46 years ago

Chrysler Europe announced its new Horizon range of five-door front-wheel drive hatchbacks, to be built in Britain as a Chrysler and France as a Simca Read more…

1987

36 years ago

A bus collided with a train at a railroad crossing in Egypt, killing 57 children and injuring 58 Read more…

1988

35 years ago

Howard Less of Autocar and Motor magazine in a Ferrari Testarossa broke the record for the fastest lap on a UK circuit by a production car, 171 mph, with a peak speed of 174 mph at Millbrook Proving Ground, Bedfordshire Read more…

2000

23 years ago

General Motors (GM) declared that it would begin to phase out the 103-year-old Oldsmobile, the oldest automotive brand in the United States Read more…

2000

23 years ago

Vauxhall announced that its Luton car plant would close in 2002, with the final vehicle being made in March 2002, but production would still continue at the plant in Ellesmere Port Read more…

2007

16 years ago

Ryton manufacturing plant located in Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Warwickshire, England produced its last car, a Peugeot 206 Read more…

2008

15 years ago

The White House and the Treasury said they were considering diverting money from the Wall Street rescue fund to stave off bankruptcy filings among US carmakers Read more…

2017

6 years ago

Singapore launched an electric car-sharing service, the latest transport innovation aimed at encouraging people away from owning vehicles and keeping gridlock at bay in the space-starved city-state Read more…