On this day in…
1911
113 years ago
Earl Howard of the Cadillac Motor Company delivered a new Cadillac to Delco to facilitate development of the self-starter by Charles F Kettering and associates Read more…
1917
107 years ago
US marque Studebaker unveiled the ‘Gold Car’, which featured 8,000 parts finished in pure gold at the New York Auto Show Read more…
1920
104 years ago
Walter P Chrysler joined Willys-Overland Company as Executive Vice President and General Manager Read more…
1925
99 years ago
Eleven prominent pioneers of the United States automobile industry were given silver medals during the Silver Anniversary Dinner of the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce’s “The Decoration of the Pioneers” Read more…
1929
95 years ago
E L Cord drove the prototype Cord L29 Read more…
1930
94 years ago
The first US diesel-engine road trip was completed Read more…
1930
94 years ago
The Graham-Paige Motors Corporation of Dearborn, Michigan, US registered its logo as a trademark Read more…
1934
90 years ago
The Graham Custom Eight Model 69 was introduced as a Second Series 1934 offering, featuring a supercharger designed by F F Kishline Read more…
1935
89 years ago
The Packard 120 was introduced on the Lawrence Tibbett radio show Read more…
1942
82 years ago
The first Mercury 305 cid Series H V8 engine was produced Read more…
1952
72 years ago
Allen Heath won the 40 lap Pacific Coast AAA Sprint Car race at the Carrell Speedway, Gardena, California, US Read more…
1953
71 years ago
Earl S MacPherson was issued with a US patent for his vehicle wheel suspension system Read more…
1954
70 years ago
Featuring a fibreglass body, a three position convertible top and unique sliding doors, the Kaiser Darrin roadster went on sale and deliveries began shortly after Read more…
1954
70 years ago
The 1954 Fords were introduced featuring three new models, the Crestline Skyliner, Crestline Sunliner, and the Ranch Wagon, plus the marque’s first OHV V-8 engine Read more…
1956
68 years ago
‘Packard’ script was added to all Clipper trunks, ending the attempt to establish Clipper as a separate marque Read more…
1957
67 years ago
Louis S Clarke (90), who cofounded the Autocar Company of Admore as the Pittsburgh Motor Vehicle Company 1897, died in Florida, US Read more…
1959
65 years ago
Vincenzo Florio (75), Italian industrialist in the wine industry of Sicily, famous for establishing the the Targa Florio road race, died in Epernay, France Read more…
1959
65 years ago
Work began on the 7-mile Mont Blanc road tunnel between France and Italy Read more…
1968
56 years ago
Chris Amon became the second New Zealander to win his country’s Grand Prix when he averaged nearly 103 mph for 58 laps of the Pukekohe short circuit and brought home his Formula 2-based V6 Ferrari well clear of Frank Gardner’s Brabham-Alfa Romeo V8 Read more…
1968
56 years ago
The Hixon rail crash occurred when a low-loader transporter carrying a 120-ton electrical transformer was struck by an express train on a recently installed automatic level crossing at Hixon, Staffordshire in England Read more…
1968
56 years ago
Jean-Pierre Beltoise in a Matra-Ford MS7 won the Cape South Easter Trophy held at Killarney in South Africa Read more…
1972
52 years ago
Colonel Robert Samuel McLaughlin, CC, ED, CD, LLD, an important Canadian businessman, philanthropist and founder, in 1907, of the McLaughlin Motor Car Co Read more…
1973
51 years ago
A Mercedes-Benz 770K saloon, supposedly Adolf Hitler’s parade car, was sold at an Arizona auction for $153,000, the most money ever paid for a car at auction at that time. Read more…
1978
46 years ago
The F1CA, soon to be rename FOCA, named Bernie Ecclestone the President of Administration and Chief Executive, Enzo Ferrari the President of Sport, and Max Mosley the Legal Advisor Read more…
1978
46 years ago
Herbert James “Burt” Munro (68), a New Zealand motorcycle racer, famous for setting an under-1,000 cc world record (183 Read more…
1980
44 years ago
Thomas Raymond Mays (80), long-time racer and developer of BRM race cars, died in Bourne, England Read more…
1980
44 years ago
Jimmy Carter signed a bill authorising $1 Read more…
1984
40 years ago
A minibus skidded off a road 125 miles southwest of Kathmandu, Nepal, killing 15 people Read more…
1984
40 years ago
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders announced that a record 1 Read more…
1987
37 years ago
After a gap of 29-years, the Ford Thunderbird was again presented with the Motor Trend Car of the Year Award Read more…
1989
35 years ago
American racer Jim Hurtubise died in Port Arthur, Texas Read more…
1993
31 years ago
The Mercedes-Benz CLK was presented at the “North American International Auto Show” in Detroit, US Read more…
1993
31 years ago
Ford Taurus was named best-selling U Read more…
1997
27 years ago
Chevrolet unveiled the 1997 Corvette, dubbed the “C5”, powered by a new small block V-8 engine, the LS1, with 345 hp and 10:1 compression ratio Read more…
1998
26 years ago
In one of the sport’s more bizarre stories, German prosecutors announced it was possible Michael Schumacher would face charges of the attempted murder of his rival Jacques Villeneuve Read more…
2000
24 years ago
Indy Racing League driver Sam Schmidt (35) was seriously injured when his Treadway Racing G Force Aurora race car spun out of control and hit the retaining wall at Walt Disney World Speedway in Buena Vista, Florida Read more…
2000
24 years ago
Ford donated more than $12 million to four Detroit organizations: Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Zoo, Detroit Science Center and Henry Ford Academy Read more…
2000
24 years ago
Veteran F1 commentator Murray Walker, 76, signed a one-year deal with ITV despite earlier insisting he was ready to quit Read more…
2003
21 years ago
The Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer of trucks and buses and a subsidiary of German car manufacturer Daimler AG, was founded Read more…
2003
21 years ago
The Lincoln Navicross concept car, featuring suicide doors which according to Ford, give “unrestricted ingress and egress to the luxurious interior, was introduced at 2003 North American International Auto Show Read more…
2004
20 years ago
Celebrating 50 years of Ferrari in North America, the Italian marque showed its newest sports car, the all-new 612 Scaglietti for the first time worldwide at the North American International Auto Show Read more…
2005
19 years ago
A truck and a bus collided on a highway in Fujian province, China killing 28 and injuring 19 Read more…
2005
19 years ago
Thieves broke into a German car showroom and stole only the coffee machine Read more…
2006
18 years ago
The production line Audi Q7, a full-size luxury crossover SUV, which shared its platform with the Volkswagen Touareg and Porsche Cayenne, was unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show Read more…
2006
18 years ago
British marque Morgan presented a special model to commemorate the seventieth anniversary of its iconic 4/4 Read more…
2007
17 years ago
A bus traveling from Dhaka to Chittagong in Bangladesh ran off the road into a ditch and burst into flames igniting the fuel tank, which exploded Read more…
2007
17 years ago
The 29th Dakar Rally started in Lisbon, Portugal and passed through Spain, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Mali and Senegal Read more…
2014
10 years ago
A driver set a British record for the wrong reasons after being allowed to keep his licence despite accruing 45 penalty points Read more…
2015
9 years ago
Japan-based Toyota announced that i would give away thousands of patents for its fuel-cell cars, in an effort to encourage other automakers into the new industry Read more…
2015
9 years ago
South Korea-based Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s fifth-largest automaker, announced plans to spend 81 trillion won ($73 Read more…
