On this day in…
1905
119 years ago
Entrance fee on the opening day of the 1905 Chicago Auto Show was a half a dollar Read more…
1913
111 years ago
A US patent for a “demountable tire-carrying rim”, was issued to Louis Henry Perlman of New York City Read more…
1921
103 years ago
British bicycle and automobile manufacturer, William Hillman (72), died Read more…
1922
102 years ago
The Ford Motor Company purchased the Lincoln Motor Company of Michigan for $8 million Read more…
1927
97 years ago
Malcolm Campbell established a new World Land Speed record Read more…
1929
95 years ago
The 1,000,000th Ford Model A was produced Read more…
1929
95 years ago
The last Plymouth Model Q was produced Read more…
1934
90 years ago
Captain George Eyston drove a modified Panhard 35CV 214 Read more…
1941
83 years ago
Ransom Eli Olds aged 76 received his last automobile patent for an internal combustion engine design Read more…
1942
82 years ago
The last pre-World War II Cadillac was produced Read more…
1945
79 years ago
Founder of the MG marque, Cecil Kimber (56), died Read more…
1945
79 years ago
Marcel Doret (48), holder of various automobile and airplane records, died in Abbeville, France Read more…
1963
61 years ago
Margaret Hunter Read more…
1967
57 years ago
The sport of Rallycross was born at Lydden, Kent, UK Read more…
1968
56 years ago
Porsche recorded a 1-2-3 victory in the Daytona 24 Hours Read more…
1970
54 years ago
Racer Sigmund Haugdahl, often cited as the first to use weights on the wheel rims as a means to balance tyres, died in Jacksonville, Florida, US Read more…
1970
54 years ago
American Motors shareholders approved the acquisition of the Kaiser-Jeep Corporation Read more…
1971
53 years ago
British car maker Rolls Royce declared itself bankrupt. Read more…
1973
51 years ago
Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood drove a Porsche 911 Carrera RSR to victory in the 24 Hours of Daytona, beating the 3-liter prototypes from Ferrari, Matra, and Mirage Read more…
1974
50 years ago
A bomb was detonated on a coach containing off-duty army personnel and family members on the M62 (UK), between Chain Bar (Junction 26) and Gildersome (Junction 27), resulting in the deaths of 12 people and injuries in 38 other people Read more…
1978
46 years ago
Bobby Allen won the 40-lap Southern Sprint Car Nationals phase two afternoon race at the East Bay Speedway, Gibsonton, Florida, US Read more…
1979
45 years ago
Danny Ongais, Hurley Haywood and Ted Field drove a Porsche 935 to victory in the Daytona 24 Hours Sports Car race, round 1 of the World Championship for Makes Read more…
1979
45 years ago
The Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos was won by Jacques Laffite in a Ligier-Cosworth JS11 Read more…
1987
37 years ago
Bruce Jacobi, USAC driver from the 1960s and 70s, died from his injuries after crashing 13 days earlier during a qualifying attempt at Daytona Read more…
1988
36 years ago
Sammy Swindell won the World of Outlaws Sprint Car race at the Florida State Fairgrounds Speedway, Tampa, Florida (US) Read more…
1989
35 years ago
Conrad ‘Connie’ Kalitta became the first man in NHRA history to record a speed greater than 290 mph in the quarter mile when he ran 291 Read more…
1990
34 years ago
Davy Jones, Jan Lammers, and Andy Wallace in a Jaguar XJR-12 won the Daytona 24 Hour Read more…
1992
32 years ago
Ford’s F-Series was named the best-selling US vehicle for 10th consecutive year Read more…
1993
31 years ago
Ford announced plans to develop a natural-gas passenger car. Read more…
1993
31 years ago
A jury in Atlanta found General Motors negligent in the fuel-tank design of a pickup truck Read more…
1996
28 years ago
Despite a late race run by Ferrari 333SP driver Max Papis, the Oldsmobile R&S Mk III of Wayne Taylor, Scott Sharpe, and Jim Pace won the 24 Hours of Daytona Read more…
1998
26 years ago
Ford employees earned record profit sharing averaging $4,400 Read more…
2004
20 years ago
Mini USA announced the debut of the Mini Cooper S MC40 Read more…
2005
19 years ago
Hop like frogs Read more…
2007
17 years ago
A1 Team China made its first ever step on the podium finishing third in the A1GP Sydney, Australia Read more…
2007
17 years ago
Top Gear Read more…
2008
16 years ago
The London Low Emission Zone (LEZ), a traffic pollution charge scheme with the aim of reducing the tailpipe emissions of diesel-powered commercial vehicles in London, came into operation Read more…
2008
16 years ago
British Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton was verbally heckled and otherwise abused during pre-season testing at the Circuit de Catalunya in Catalonia by several Spanish spectators who wore black face paint and black wigs, as well as shirts bearing the words “Hamilton’s familly [sic]” Read more…
2012
12 years ago
Tracy Hines won the 30-lap Sprint Car race at the Canyon Speedway Park in Peoria, Arizona (US) Read more…
