February 18th


On this day in…

1900

124 years ago

The first circuit motor race, the Course du Catalogue, run over two laps of a 45 mile triangular course at Melun in France, was won by Léonce Girardot in a Panhard.motor Read more…

1918

106 years ago

The Edward G Budd Manufacturing Company of Philadelphia, US produced its 200,000th all-steel body for the Dodge Brothers touring car Read more…

1919

105 years ago

Ralph DePalma, driving Packard ‘905’, powered by a 12 cylinder 905 cubic inch aero-engine, at Daytona Beach, recorded a one-way flying mile at 149 Read more…

1930

94 years ago

Edsel B Ford purchased a MG M-type, possibly the first US sale for this marque, which he used frequently for three years before adding it to the Henry Ford museum collection Read more…

1934

90 years ago

“Stubby” Stubblefield won a 250 mile Stock Car race held on a 1 Read more…

1940

84 years ago

The Buick Town Master, a custom-bodied Brunn town car, was introduced Read more…

1947

77 years ago

A period of one year was granted for holders of wartime provisional driving licences to convert to a full licence, without having to take a test. Read more…

1952

72 years ago

Studebaker Corporation President Garold S Vance drove the 7,130,874th and “Last Vehicle of Studebaker’s First Century”, a 1952 Commander State Starliner Hardtop Coupe, off the assembly line with Walter C Zientowski, the factory’s senior employee, as his passenger Read more…

1955

69 years ago

The UK government concluded following an investigation carried out by the Ministry of Transport the previous 4 months that the Channel Tunnel would unlikely have great value for travelers, either on grounds of comfort or cheapness Read more…

1956

68 years ago

The DeSoto Adventurer, a high-powered 2-door hardtop similar to the Chrysler 300, was introduced as a mid-year model Read more…

1961

63 years ago

The 1961 Chicago Auto Show opened at Chicago’s new McCormick Place Read more…

1962

62 years ago

After 3 years of being the best driver never to win the Daytona 500, Fireball Roberts came to the 1962 edition race of the 500 on a hot roll, he won the American Challenge for winners of 1961 NASCAR events, the pole position for the 500, and the Twin-100 mile qualifier Read more…

1965

59 years ago

The racing division of Alfa Romeo, Autodelta’s first creation, the GTA (the A stood for ‘alleggerita’ (lightened)) was presented at the Amsterdam Motor Show Read more…

1965

59 years ago

The Mercury Cougar design was approved for production Read more…

1968

56 years ago

Billy Vukovich , driving the Doug Caruthers #8, won the 100-lap USAC Midget race at the San Jose Speedway, San Jose, California, US Read more…

1973

51 years ago

Richard Petty, the “King of Stock Car Racing,” won the Daytona 500 before a crowd of over 103,000 spectators, marking the first time a stock car race had drawn over 100,000 spectators Read more…

1979

45 years ago

For the first time in Daytona 500 history, CBS televised the race live flag-to-flag on US national television Read more…

1987

37 years ago

Doug Hoffman won the DIRT South Modified Stock Car feature race at the Big H Speedway, Houston, texas, US Read more…

1988

36 years ago

The Ford Motor Company announced a 1987 net income of $4 Read more…

1990

34 years ago

After years of trying to win it, Dale Earnhardt appeared to be heading for certain victory in the 1990 Daytona 500 until a series of events in the closing laps Read more…

1990

34 years ago

Dale Earnhardt cut a tire on the final lap, allowing for Derrike Cope to post his first NASCAR Winston Cup win in the Daytona 500 Read more…

1996

28 years ago

Dale Jarrett won the Daytona 500 in his # 88 Quality Care/ Ford Credit Ford, Dale Earnhardt finished 2nd in his # 3 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Read more…

1998

26 years ago

As the move to make F1 safer rumbled on and against a backdrop of a trial in Italy following the death of Ayrton Senna four years earlier, the FIA announced it was to fit black boxes to all cars with effect from the start of the season three weeks later Read more…

2000

24 years ago

Ford Motor Co Read more…

2001

23 years ago

Seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt (49), died in a last-lap crash at the Daytona 500 Read more…

2004

20 years ago

A couple from Somerset couple picked up their Ford Streetka roadster, signed by pop star Kylie Minogue, from Brunel Ford in Bristol, after winning the prize during the BBC’s Children in Need charity telethon Read more…

2006

18 years ago

Richard Bright (68), the character actor who played mob enforcer Al Neri in all three Godfather movies, died after being hit by a bus Read more…

2007

17 years ago

Kevin Harvick edged past Mark Martin to win the 2007 Daytona 500 Read more…

2007

17 years ago

Residents of Monte Carlo would have been forgiven for thinking Ferrari had turned up for the Monaco Grand Prix three months early when a Formula One car took to the famous streets in February Read more…

2008

16 years ago

A number plate auction organised by Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) fetched more than Dh25.5 million ($6.94m) Read more…

2008

16 years ago

Lewis Hamilton won a prestigious Laureus Award for his breakthrough season with McLaren in 2007 Read more…

2009

15 years ago

General Motors announced that by 2011 it would need to axe 47,000 jobs around the world in addition to receiving $31 billion in US government aid in order to avoid a complete collapse Read more…

2016

8 years ago

One of the ten DB10 models produced by Aston Martin for the James Bond film Spectre was sold for £2,434,500 at a charity auction Read more…

2018

6 years ago

Twenty years after Dale Earnhardt Sr Read more…

2019

5 years ago

British media reported that Honda would close a car factory in Swindon in 2022 with the potential loss of 3,500 jobs, in another blow to a British economy made jittery by Brexit Read more…

2019

5 years ago

British media reported that Honda would close its car factory in Swindon in 2022 with the potential loss of 3,500 jobs, in another blow to a British economy made jittery by Brexit Read more…

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