On this day in…
1892
131 years ago
Rudolf Diesel filed for a patent at the Imperial Patent Office in Germany Read more…
1914
109 years ago
Ralph DePalma beat his arch-rival Barney Oldfield to win the 9th Vanderbilt Cup in Santa Monica, California Read more…
1915
108 years ago
Italian Dario Resta, driving a Peugeot EX3, won the American Grand Prix race through the streets of San Francisco, California Read more…
1917
106 years ago
The Hudson Six debuted at the Southeastern Automobile Show in Atlanta, Georgia, US, albeit a prototype built at the Puritan Machine Company in Detroit, Michigan,US Read more…
1918
105 years ago
The Fruehauf Trailer Company (now known as Now known as Henred-Fruehauf) was incorporated in Michigan, US by company founder August Charles Fruehauf Read more…
1921
102 years ago
Ralph DePalma won the featured 50 mile AAA Championship race on the 1 Read more…
1927
96 years ago
One of the most bizarre races ever took place inside a six-storey building in Paris Read more…
1939
84 years ago
The Bentley ‘Scalded Cat’, with an experimental straight-8 engine mounted in a standard Mark V chassis, was completed Read more…
1946
77 years ago
George W Read more…
1947
76 years ago
Aeroplane manufacturer Saab formally resolved it would start to manufacture cars Read more…
1948
75 years ago
The US Federal Trade Commission issued a restraining order, preventing the Willys-Overland Company from stating that it had developed the Jeep Read more…
1949
74 years ago
The General San Martín Grand Pix in Mar del Plata was won by Juan Manuel Fangio driving a Maserati 4CLT/48 Read more…
1949
74 years ago
A second experimental Strictly Stock Late Model race was added to the three-event racing card at Broward Speedway, Florida, US Read more…
1954
69 years ago
Francois Picard drove a Ferrari 500 Mondial to a 2-litre class victory in the sports car race at Agidar, Morocco Read more…
1955
68 years ago
Tim Flock was declared the winner of the 160-mile Daytona Beach race when Fireball Roberts’ Buick was disqualified on a technicality Read more…
1960
63 years ago
Racer Ettore Chimeri (35) was killed during a practice run for the Cuban Sports Car Grand Prix, after his Ferrari 250TR crashed through barriers and plunged 150 feet into a ravine Read more…
1961
62 years ago
The Toyo Kogyo Company Ltd of Hiroshima, Japan acquired the license to manufacture Wankel rotary engines Read more…
1965
58 years ago
Ned Jarrett wom the 100-mile race at Spartanburg, South Carolina, US by an incredible 22 laps Read more…
1965
58 years ago
Dennis Wing (25) was killed during a practice run for the Australian Grand Prix in Hobert, Tasmania Read more…
1966
57 years ago
Richard Petty overcame a two-lap deficit to win the Daytona 500 in a runaway Read more…
1967
56 years ago
The United States Rubber Company changed its name to Uniroyal, Inc Read more…
1971
52 years ago
Nick Rescino won the Bay Cities Racing Association indoor midget race at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, Santa Rosa, California, US Read more…
1972
51 years ago
Actor Pat Brady (57), comic sidekick to Roy Rogers in may films and his 1950s TV show, died of a heart attack sustained during a car accident Read more…
1972
51 years ago
Richard Petty took the lead when Bobby Allison ran into a recurring tire problem, going on to win the 500 lap Richmond 500 NASCAR GN race on the Read more…
1982
41 years ago
The 74th Chicago Auto Show opened to the public Read more…
1989
34 years ago
William Clay Ford announced his retirement from the Ford Motor Company Read more…
1994
29 years ago
In Rusty Wallace’s second start in a Ford, he rode to victory in the Goodwrench 500 at Rockingham, South Carolina (US) Read more…
2005
18 years ago
Greg Biffle won the Auto Club 500 at California Speedway (US) Read more…
2007
16 years ago
The Reliant Regal three-wheeler used in the hit TV comedy Only Fools and Horses emblazoned with the sign Trotters Independent Trading Co, was sold at Coys of Kensington, London (UK) specialist car auction for £44,227 – more than double its original estimate Read more…
2007
16 years ago
A bus traveling through western Nepal plunged off a mountain road into a riverbank, killing 13 and injuring more than 30 Read more…
2007
16 years ago
Tough new laws came into force in the UK Read more…
2007
16 years ago
DaimlerChrysler AG, seeking to cut costs and boost sales in North America, said it would start selling Chinese-made cars in that market and western Europe as it tried to meet demand for smaller, more economical vehicles Read more…
2008
15 years ago
Italian tax police busted a ring of auto-body shops involved in creating fake Ferraris using Pontiac Fieros Read more…
2008
15 years ago
Boyd Coddington (63), hot rod designer, the owner of the Boyd Coddington Hot Rod Shop and star of American Hot Rod on TLC, died in southern California, US Read more…
2011
12 years ago
Blues musician Eddie Kirkland (87), died after a car accident in Crystal River, Florida Read more…
2012
11 years ago
The new Routemaster bus began operating in London Read more…
2012
11 years ago
While 2010 was the longest distance, 2012 was the longest time to complete the race Read more…
2018
5 years ago
Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi announced plans to ban diesel cars from the center of the city by 2024 Read more…
2019
4 years ago
Volvo’s electric performance brand Polestar unveiled a battery-powered compact car touted as a rival to Tesla’s Model 3 Read more…
