On this day in…
1899
125 years ago
The five Opel brothers acquired the rights to the Lutzmann automobile, and began production in in Russelheim, Germany Read more…
1901
123 years ago
The first Paris Motor Show was held at Grand Palais Read more…
1911
113 years ago
Twenty-three cars from 11 different locations around Europe converged on the tiny Principality of Monaco to compete in the first Monte Carlo car rally Read more…
1912
112 years ago
A B C Hardy succeeded William H Read more…
1918
106 years ago
Emil Jellinek (64), whose daughter was the “Mercedes” in Mercedes-Benz, died in Geneva, Switzerland Read more…
1921
103 years ago
Ralph Mulford, driving a Paige roadster at Daytona Beach, Florida, set a new Class B stock car record by covering a mile at 102 Read more…
1932
92 years ago
The Automobile Club of America folded – a victim of the depression Read more…
1947
77 years ago
Ford truck production at the Highland Park Plant resumed after an absence of nearly 20 years Read more…
1954
70 years ago
General Motors revealed the first concept turbine-powered vehicle, the Firebird XP-21, designed by Harley Earl, which was essentially a jet airplane on wheels Read more…
1957
67 years ago
Edsel’s General Manager Richard Krafve predicted “The new Edsel line of cars will surpass the originally announced first-year sales goal of 200,000 units Read more…
1962
62 years ago
General Motors’ Chairman, Frederic Donner issued a policy memo, re-iterating the company’s compliance with 1957 AMA company-sponsored racing ban Read more…
1964
60 years ago
The Strand Underpass that connects Waterloo Bridge to Kingsway near Holborn in London was officially opened Read more…
1964
60 years ago
Mini driver Patrick (Paddy) Hopkirk, and his navigator, Henry Liddon, piloted a Mini Cooper S, (Car No Read more…
1966
58 years ago
The Monte Carlo rally ended in uproar over the disqualification of British cars Read more…
1968
56 years ago
Overcoming a blown tyre and a resultant long pit stop, Dan Gurney won the NASCAR Grand National Motor Trend 500 at Riverside International Raceway for the fifth time Read more…
1969
55 years ago
The Ford Capri was previewed by selected members of the motoring press in Bonn, Germany, but Ford had requested that nothing about the new car be published until its official launch at the Brussels Motor Show a few days later Read more…
1973
51 years ago
Mark Donohue drove Roger Penske’s AMC Matador to victory in the NASCAR Grand National Western 500 at Riverside International Raceway Read more…
1978
46 years ago
Round 1 of the FIA Cup for Rally Drivers, the 46th Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo (29 stages, 570 km) began Read more…
1979
45 years ago
Jacques Laffite dominated the season-opening Argentina Grand Prix, taking pole position, fastest lap and the win in his Ligier Ford even though he was briefly headed by Patrick Deppailler Read more…
1981
43 years ago
The first DeLorean 150-bhp DMC-12 rolled off the production line at the DMC factory in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland Read more…
1981
43 years ago
Former British racing driver, Thomas Cuthbert Harrison (74) died Read more…
1989
35 years ago
At 11 minutes and 56 seconds past 3:00 a Read more…
1989
35 years ago
Robby Gordon won the Grand National sport truck race in the season opener of the Mickey Thompson Off-Road Championship Grand Prix series at the Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California, US Read more…
1990
34 years ago
The 200 mph, 492 bhp mid-engined Lamborghini Diablo was presented to the public at the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo Read more…
1994
30 years ago
Basil Assad (31), son of Syrian President Hafez Assad and head of the presidential security apparatus, was killed when his Mercedes collided with a motorway roundabout Read more…
1998
26 years ago
Jean-Martin Folz unveiled the new organization of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group, illustrated by the slogan “two marques, one group” Read more…
2006
18 years ago
The new Mercedes-Benz S-Class was been heralded as 2006’s Best Luxury Car by the motoring magazine What Car? Read more…
2007
17 years ago
In India Tata Motors broke ground on a new factory at Singur in West Bengal that took the land or jobs of at least 14,000 farmers and sharecroppers Read more…
2007
17 years ago
The 29th Dakar Rally, which started in Lisbon, Portugal on 6th January and ran through Europe and Africa, finished Read more…
2007
17 years ago
A1 Team New Zealand made the best ever finish of any home team at the series’ first visit to Taupo Read more…
2007
17 years ago
The 1966 Shelby Cobra 427 Super Snake made history when it was sold for $5.5 million at the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction Read more…
2008
16 years ago
NASCAR announced that they would donate fine money collected from teams and drivers to the NASCAR Foundation, which supported charities, instead of adding it to the season-ending point fund Read more…
2009
15 years ago
General Motors reported an 11% drop in 2008 vehicle sales, relinquishing its crown as the world’s biggest auto maker to Toyota after 77 years Read more…
2010
14 years ago
General Motor Co Read more…
2011
13 years ago
Toyota recalled 2 Read more…
2012
12 years ago
The fastest unimotorcycle drag race elapsed time of 2 Read more…
2016
8 years ago
In China General Motors Co Read more…
2020
4 years ago
San Francisco-based Cruise unveiled a robot taxi called Origin Read more…
