July 1st


On this day in…

1860

163 years ago

Charles Goodyear (59), American inventor of vulcanised rubber, died a pauper Read more…

1898

125 years ago

German-Austrian inventor and automobile pioneer, Siegfried Samuel Marcus (66), died Read more…

1899

124 years ago

Mme Labrousse, believed to be the first woman to compete in an automotive speed event, finished fifth in the Paris-Spa race Read more…

1900

123 years ago

Vincenzo Lancia made his racing debut, winning a speed trial at Padua, Italy in a 6-hp Fiat Read more…

1904

119 years ago

The first Rover prototype 8hp was completed Read more…

1905

118 years ago

The Office of Public Roads (OPR) was established in the US, successor to the Office of Road Inquiry created in 1893 Read more…

1907

116 years ago

The Welseley Tool and Motor Car Company Limited in Birmingham, England, issued an internal order to build three race cars to be run in the Coppa Florio in Italy, later in the year Read more…

1909

114 years ago

A contract was signed by William C Durant and Henry M Leland leading to the acquisition of the Cadillac Motor Car Company by General Motors Read more…

1910

113 years ago

Maryland (US) state-issued license plates were introduced Read more…

1911

112 years ago

Charles Kettering announced his invention of the self-starter for automobiles Read more…

1913

110 years ago

The Lincoln Highway Association decided to call its coast-to-coast highway the Lincoln Highway, and it was officially incorporated as the Lincoln Highway Association Read more…

1920

103 years ago

The 500,000th Dodge automobile was produced Read more…

1924

99 years ago

UK Police warned cyclists to avoid roads heavily used by cars, following a steep rise in fatal accidents Read more…

1925

98 years ago

Ground breaking ceremonies were held for the Ford Motor Company of Australia, PL factory in Geelong, Victoria Read more…

1927

96 years ago

Production of Protos cars ended after 27 years Read more…

1929

94 years ago

The Hudson Motor Car Company introduced the Dover light commercial vehicles, based on the Essex chassis Read more…

1930

93 years ago

Carl Wickman’s bus empire Northland Transportation Company extended its bus service across the United States and became known as The Greyhound Corporation and adopted the running dog as its trademark Read more…

1931

92 years ago

The first Canadian-built Graham Prosperity Six was produced Read more…

1931

92 years ago

An era ended on the New York City subway system as the nickel ride came to an end when there was a 100 percent increase to a dime Read more…

1933

90 years ago

Albert Russel Erskine (62), Studebaker’s President from 1915 until it the firm encountered severe financial problems in 1933 committed suicide by shooting himself Read more…

1934

89 years ago

The French Grand Prix (formally the XX Grand Prix de l’Automobile Club de France) held at Montlhéry over 40 laps of the 12 Read more…

1935

88 years ago

Lord Nuffield (Sir William Norris) sold the MG Car Company Ltd and Wolseley Motors Ltd to the public corporation Morris Motors Ltd Read more…

1935

88 years ago

Neoplan Bus GmbH, the German automotive company that manufactures buses, trolleybuses and coaches, was founded Read more…

1941

82 years ago

Australian adventurer, Francis Edwin Birtles (61), who set many long-distance cycling and driving records, including becoming in 1927 the first man to drive a car from England to Australia, died Read more…

1946

77 years ago

The Master Tire and Rubber Company changed its name to the Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Read more…

1948

75 years ago

Italian racing driver Archille Varzi (43) died during practise for the Swiss Grand Prix Read more…

1951

72 years ago

Round 4 four of the 1951 World Drivers’ Championship, the French Grand Prix was won by Juan Manuel Fangio and Luigi Fagioli driving an Alfa Romeo 159 Read more…

1952

71 years ago

The first NASCAR Grand National event staged outside the U Read more…

1953

70 years ago

Packard introduced air conditioning as a $625 option, and hired Ray Powers of LIncoln-Mercury as Vice President for manufacturing Read more…

1956

67 years ago

The Highway Revenue Act of 1956 was put into effect by Congress, outlining a policy of taxation with the aim of creating a fund for the construction of over 42,500 miles of interstate highways over a period of 13 years Read more…

1956

67 years ago

Peter Collins showed his win at Spa was no fluke with a thrilling victory over Ferrari team-mate Eugenio Castellotti at the French Grand Prix, a result which gave him a four-and-a-half point lead in the drivers’ championship Read more…

1959

64 years ago

The Chrysler Corporation reorganised into three automotive divisions – Chrysler-Imperial, Dodge and Plymouth-DeSoto Read more…

1961

62 years ago

Learner riders in Britain were restricted to machines of 250 cc capacity, to try to reduce motorcyclist fatality figures Read more…

1962

61 years ago

Racer Hugh Randall (29) died when his Vargo Special crashed during the 100-mile USAC Championship Race in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, US Read more…

1965

58 years ago

Matra recorded its first racing victory, with Jean-Pierre Beltoise winning the Formula 3 International Trophy race at Reims, France Read more…

1969

54 years ago

John Lennon and Yoko Ono were hospitalized after a car crash Read more…

1973

50 years ago

Ayrton Senna entered and won his first go-kart race Read more…

1973

50 years ago

Swede Ronnie Peterson in a Lotus-Cosworth 72E, won his first Formula 1 race, the French Grand Prix held at the Paul Ricard Circuit Read more…

1979

44 years ago

The French Grand Prix was held at Dijon Read more…

1980

43 years ago

A consortium headed by Aston Martin-Lagona failed in its attempt to buy British Leyland’s MG Works at Abingdon Read more…

1980

43 years ago

British Leyland (BL) launched the Morris Ital Read more…

1981

42 years ago

Rushton Moreve, bass player with Steppenwolf (1968 US No Read more…

1989

34 years ago

Davey Allison took control when pole-starter Mark Martin runs out of fuel while leading with five laps left to win the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway, Florida, US Read more…

1992

31 years ago

Ford acquired 50 percent of Mazda Motor Manufacturing and renamed the company AutoAlliance International Read more…

1995

28 years ago

Jeff Gordon held off Dale Earnhardt in a one lap dash to the checkers after a late caution to win the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway Read more…

1996

27 years ago

A separate written-theory driving test was introduced in Britain, replacing questions asked about the Highway Code during the practical test. Read more…

1997

26 years ago

Ferrari acquired 50% of Maserati and total managerial control Read more…

1997

26 years ago

The Lincoln Navigator, a full-size luxury SUV marketed and sold by the Lincoln brand of Ford Motor Company was introduced in the United States Read more…

1998

25 years ago

Production of the rear-engined two-door, two-seat mono-box city car, the 2 Read more…

2000

23 years ago

Radiance, a sleek solar car built by the Queen’s University Solar Vehicle Team of Ontario, Canada, began a 29 day, 4,376 Read more…

2000

23 years ago

Jeff Burton held off the competition to win the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway Read more…

2001

22 years ago

Contested over 72 laps, the French Grand Prix at Magny Cours was won by Michael Schumacher driving a Ferrari car, from a second position start Read more…

2002

21 years ago

A bus traveling from Poland to Bosnia flipped over at a roundabout near Lake Balaton in Hungary, killing 19 Read more…

2003

20 years ago

Tesla, Inc Read more…

2004

19 years ago

The Mitsubishi Grandis went on sale in the UK – with prices ranging from £18,499 to £22,999 Read more…

2005

18 years ago

The last Thunderbird (eleventh generation), Ford Motor Company’s iconic sports car, emerged from a Ford factory in Wixom, Michigan, US Read more…

2006

17 years ago

A1 Grand Prix underwent an official branding change and the series officially became known as A1GP World Cup of Motorsport to better convey its nation versus nation concept Read more…

2007

16 years ago

Contested over 70 laps of the Magny-Cours Circuit, the French Grand Prix was won by Kimi Räikkönen for the Ferrari team after starting from third position Read more…

2007

16 years ago

A Vauxhall 30-98, was auctioned by Bonham& Goodman in Sydney, Australia for £176,321(AUD$417,195) including premium Read more…

2007

16 years ago

Talal Ali Mohammad Khouri, a businessman and member of the board of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce, paid £1,491,743 or Dh11 million for the single-digit number plate “7” at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi Read more…

2008

15 years ago

Almost four years after the release of the first Logan, a face-lifted version called the Dacia New Logan was announced Read more…

2009

14 years ago

The US government ‘cash for clunkers’ program began Read more…

2011

12 years ago

Mercedes-Benz USA took over the distribution, sales and marketing of the Smart brand from Penske Automotive Group Read more…

2019

4 years ago

Paris banned all diesel vehicles aged 13 years or over from the city centre, the latest move in a campaign to tackle pollution on the city’s streets Read more…

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