On this day in…
1903
120 years ago
Henry Ford accepted his first order from Chicago Dentist Ernst Pfenning for an $850 two-cylinder Model A automobile Read more…
1908
115 years ago
The first Model T was sold Read more…
1908
115 years ago
Clarence E Bonner of Chrisman, Illinois, US introduced the Bonner six-cylinder touring car by making a promotional drive to Paris, Illinois, but production was limited to this prototype and possibly one additional unit Read more…
1911
112 years ago
Jake DeRosier, on an Indian, defeated Charlie Collier, on a Matchless, in a 10 lap (22 mile) motorcycle race at Brooklands, England Read more…
1914
109 years ago
Dodge Brothers, Inc Read more…
1916
107 years ago
The Unites States Army ordered 150 Dodge cars for use in the Mexican campaign Read more…
1920
103 years ago
The Fuel Research Board in London initiated research into alternatives to petrol, stating that Britain would have 0.75 million cars by 1921. Read more…
1922
101 years ago
The Bugatti Type 30 made its racing debut, with Pierre de Vizcaya and Pierre Marco taking second and third places at the French Grand Prix in Strasbourg Read more…
1922
101 years ago
The first all-steel Dodge brothers 4-door saloon body was completed by Edward G Budd Manufacturing Company of Philadelphia, US Read more…
1922
101 years ago
The first 24-hour road race run in Europe, the Bol d’or at Sainte-Germain, was won by Andre Morel in a 1,100cc Amilcar at 37 Read more…
1928
95 years ago
The Mercedes-Benz SS made its racing debut at the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring and occupied the top three places – Halle in an Amilcar and Vinzenz Junek in a Bugatti were killed in accidents during the race Read more…
1928
95 years ago
Francis Birtles driving a 14 hp Bean, arrived in Sydney to complete the first overland trip from England to Australia by car Read more…
1939
84 years ago
Carl Fisher (65), the founder of both the Indy 500 and Miami Beach, died in Miami Read more…
1943
80 years ago
During the night of 15 to 16 July, RAF Lancaster planes bombarded Peugeot car-manufacturing factories at Sochaux, near Montbéliard, France Read more…
1957
66 years ago
Full-scale production of the Ford Edsel began Read more…
1958
65 years ago
John Lennon’s mother, Julia, was struck and killed by a Standard Vanguard car, driven by an off-duty constable, PC Eric Clague, whilst crossing Mendlove Road in Liverpool Read more…
1959
64 years ago
The first Jaguar Mark 2 saloon was produced Read more…
1961
62 years ago
Following a wet weekend, with torrential rain affecting both qualifying and the race start, the British Grand Prix at Aintree was ultimately dominated by Scuderia Ferrari, with their drivers taking all three podium positions Read more…
1967
56 years ago
Jim Clark kick-started his faltering season with victory in the British Grand Prix Read more…
1971
52 years ago
Richard Petty led all the way in the Islip 250, the final race for NASCAR’s top series at Islip (New York, US) Speedway, in an event shortened by 20 laps because of scoring confusion Read more…
1972
51 years ago
Emerson Fittipaldi won an eventful British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch Read more…
1983
40 years ago
The last International truck, a Transtar conventional semi-tractor, was completed at Fort Wayne, Illinois, US plant as all production was shifted to the Springfield, Ohio plant Read more…
1989
34 years ago
England international footballer Laurie Cunningham (33), was killed in a car crash in Madrid Read more…
1990
33 years ago
Alain Prost secured his third successive win at the British Grand Prix to move ahead of Ayrton Senna in the drivers’ championship Read more…
1993
30 years ago
The last Cadillac Allante was produced Read more…
1996
27 years ago
The one millionth Porsche rolled off the assembly line, a Carrera for the Swabian police force Read more…
1998
25 years ago
Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer narrowly escaped serious injury as his Ferrari convertible was destroyed when a leak in the gas tank hose caused the fuel to ignite at a gas station near his Scituate, Massachusetts home Read more…
1999
24 years ago
A car designed by the Microjoule Team from Toulouse, France, achieved a performance of 9,845 mpg at the Shell Eco Marathon at Silverstone in Northamptonshire Read more…
2000
23 years ago
Two men caught on camera for dangerous driving in Britain escaped prosecution Read more…
2001
22 years ago
Rookie Kevin Harvick held off Robert Pressley to win the inaugural race at Chicagoland Speedway, Illinois, US Read more…
2001
22 years ago
In his period of dominance, the British Grand Prix was a rare failure for Michael Schumacher as he failed to win despite taking pole, the victory going to Mike Hakkinen Read more…
2003
20 years ago
Following extensive wind tunnel testing, the final design of the first A1GP race car was shown in public for the first time at the Farnborough International Air Show in the UK Read more…
2006
17 years ago
A supercar set a new land speed record for central London of 175 Read more…
2009
14 years ago
Luxury carmaker Jaguar, owned by India’s Tata Motors, announced it would end Liverpool production of its X-Type car by the end of the year with the loss of up to 300 jobs Read more…
2011
12 years ago
The first all-new model from MG in the UK for 16 years, the MG 6, was officially launched Read more…
2013
10 years ago
Nissan launched a new Datsun in India, three decades after shelving the brand that helped win Western acceptance of Japanese autos Read more…
2014
9 years ago
A Toyota GT86 set the world record for the longest drift Read more…
2018
5 years ago
The Chinese built Noi EP9 became the fastest electric production car to ascend the hill climb in front of the Goodwood House, West Sussex, England Read more…
