On this day in…
1847
176 years ago
Moses G Farmer of Dover, New Hampshire demonstrated his ‘electromagnetic locomotive’, the ancestor of the electric automobile Read more…
1858
165 years ago
Peugeot Freres registered its “lion with or without arrows” trademark, a logo widely used in later years on its automobiles Read more…
1903
120 years ago
A Winton driven by Dr Horatio Nelson Jackson and Sewall K Read more…
1908
115 years ago
At 6.15 pm the German car, Protos, driven by Lt Koeppen crossed the Paris finishing line in the race from New York via Alaska and Peking Read more…
1913
110 years ago
Bob Burman, driving his Blitzen Benz in Vancouver, British Columbia, established a Canadian record for the flying mile of 50 Read more…
1916
107 years ago
The Studebaker Series 18 was introduced Read more…
1916
107 years ago
Dave Lewis drove a Crawford to victories in the 5 mile and 50 mile events at Des Moines Speedway in Des Moines, Iowa, US Read more…
1921
102 years ago
Jimmy Murphy driving Duesenberg won the French Grand Prix at Le Mans at 78 Read more…
1924
99 years ago
The last South Harting hill climb (now the B2141 road) event was held Read more…
1925
98 years ago
Antonio Ascari (36) died on the way to the hospital after he crashed his Alfa Romeo P2 during the French Grand Prix at Montlhery Read more…
1926
97 years ago
Ernest C Kanzler resigned from the Ford Motor Company six months to the day after his memo to Henry Ford recommended replacing the Ford Model T Read more…
1930
93 years ago
Charles Creighton and James Hargis left New York City driving their Ford Model A 1929 roadster 3340 miles in reverse, arriving in Los Angeles 17 days later without once stopping the engine Read more…
1932
91 years ago
Creator of the Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company, Frederick S Read more…
1936
87 years ago
Bernd Rosemeyer driving an Auto Union Typ C won the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring Read more…
1937
86 years ago
Racer Ernst von Delius (25) died from injuries suffered the previous day when his Auto Union collided with Richard Seaman during the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring Read more…
1948
75 years ago
The 3 mile (4 Read more…
1952
71 years ago
Hubert K Dalton (86), one of the designers of the original Chevrolet car in 1911 and later a manufacturer of automotive tools, died in Honolulu, Hawaii Read more…
1955
68 years ago
Lancia quit racing and gave all their racing cars and equipment to Ferrari Read more…
1963
60 years ago
A new 50 mph speed limit was introduced in Great Britain for all roads, except motorways, for the five weekends of the peak holiday season from 26 July to 25 August Read more…
1964
59 years ago
Francis Richard Henry Penn Curzon (80) racer for Sunbeam and Talbot in the 1920s and later a Member of Parliament, died in Buckinghamshire, England Read more…
1969
54 years ago
Racer Leon Dernier (57) was killed when his Mazda R100 crashed during a race in Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium Read more…
1976
47 years ago
Lee Kunzman, John Martin, Roger McCluskey, Dick Simon, and George Snyder tested the new pavement at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a 10-lap “race” during the Governors Conference Read more…
1976
47 years ago
George Sounders (73), winner of the 1927 Indianapolis 500, died Read more…
1986
37 years ago
The Lockington rail crash occurred at Lockington, Humberside (now in the East Riding of Yorkshire), England, when the 09:33 passenger train from Bridlington to Hull on the Yorkshire Coast Line hit a Ford Escort van on a level crossing Read more…
1987
36 years ago
Bill Elliott stormed to victory from the pole position to win the Talladega 500 at Talladega (Alabama, US) Superspeedway, marking the last race at the 2 Read more…
1987
36 years ago
The German Grand Prix at Hockenheim was won by eventual 1987 World Champion, Nelson Piquet driving a Williams FW11B Read more…
1992
31 years ago
Contested over 45 laps of Hockenheim, the German Grand Prix was won by Williams driver (and polesitter) Nigel Mansell Read more…
1998
25 years ago
A mixed-up grid resulted from a wet/dry qualifying session, with Giancarlo Fisichella taking his first pole position at the Austrian Grand Prix at the A1-Ring Read more…
1998
25 years ago
The U.S Read more…
2003
20 years ago
Vauxhall/Opel began a 24-hour run of the ECO-Speedster concept car, powered with the new 1.3 CDTi diesel engine Read more…
2005
18 years ago
The Lexus (Luxury Edition for the United States) marque was introduced to the Japanese market, becoming the first Japanese premium car marque to launch in its country of origin Read more…
2006
17 years ago
Popular broadcaster and former NASCAR champion Benny Parsons began treatments for lung cancer Read more…
2009
14 years ago
AC/DC singer Brian Johnson appeared as the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car on the BBC television programme Top Gear Read more…
2009
14 years ago
Jaime Alguersuari (Spain, b Read more…
2010
13 years ago
China’s Geely Holding Group received final government approval to acquire Volvo Cars from Ford Motor Co Read more…
2011
12 years ago
A 1948 Tucker sedan was featured in NBC’s It’s Worth What? television show Read more…
2013
10 years ago
The last vehicle was produced at Ford’s Southampton motor vehicle assembly plant, ending Ford’s 100 plus year vehicle assembly history in the UK Read more…
2017
6 years ago
It was reported that Britain would ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2040 in an attempt to reduce air pollution that could herald the end of over a century of reliance on the internal combustion engine Read more…
