On this day in…
1888
138 years ago
American inventor Philip W. Pratt demonstrated the first electric automobile… Read more…
1902
124 years ago
The first of the classic Italian Susa-Mont Cenis hillclimb meeting was held, over a timed 16 Read more…
1904
122 years ago
Dr Herbert Hills of Flint, Michigan, purchased the first Buick car…. Read more…
1908
118 years ago
The fifth Glidden Tour ended in Saratoga Springs, New York and was won by E A Renting in a Pierce-Arrow Read more…
1917
109 years ago
Ford introduced its first truck, the Model TT, available for just $600, the most radically different Ford Model T variant ever produced Read more…
1924
102 years ago
The first Lewes Speed Trial (England) took place on “a private road near Lewes” Read more…
1926
100 years ago
A circular ’roundabout’ traffic system came into operation at Piccadilly Circus in central London Read more…
1928
98 years ago
The ‘last’ 4-cylinder Dodge was produced, at least until the introduction of the sub-compact Omni in 1978 Read more…
1933
93 years ago
After 134 days a Citroën 8CV driven by Petite Rosalie at Montlhéry race track completed 300,000 kilometres at the Montlhéry race track, at the average speed of 58 mph (93 km/h) Read more…
1938
88 years ago
Hupmobile and Graham acquired the dies, jigs, fixtures and other assets of the bankrupt Auburn Automobile Company, including spare body, fender and frame stampings for the Cord 810/812 that would be used to produce the Hupmobile Skylark and the Graham Hollywood Read more…
1945
81 years ago
Alfred James Dobbs (73), British Labour Party politician and trade unionist was killed in a car accident Read more…
1947
79 years ago
Charles Van Acker drove the Offenhauser-powered Tucker Partner Special to victory in the AAA Championship race in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US Read more…
1948
78 years ago
(Joel) Woolf Barnato (53), winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1928, 1929 and 1930 in his only three entries in the race, and Director of both Bentley Motors Ltd and Bentley Motors (1931) Ltd, died following a medical operation Read more…
1950
76 years ago
The 5,000,000th Oldsmobile was produced, a Holiday 4-door hardtop Read more…
1952
74 years ago
The 500 cc class record was broken three times in successive runs by Les Leston in a Cooper-Norton at Prescott hillclimb Read more…
1955
71 years ago
The 5,000,000th Oldsmobile was produced, a Holiday 4-door hardtop Read more…
1956
70 years ago
Studebaker-Packard Corporation, seeking cash, entered a joint management agreement with Curtiss-Wright Corporation, who agreed to fund the cash-short corporation Read more…
1958
68 years ago
Fan’s of rock & roll music were warned that tuning into music on the car radio could cost them more money Read more…
1963
63 years ago
Mario Andretti entered his first road race Read more…
1964
62 years ago
The A1 Newark (Nottinghamshire, England) bypass was opened in by Ernest Marples, Read more…
1969
57 years ago
Denny Hulme drove his McLaren M8B to victory in the Can-Am race in Edmonton, Canada Read more…
1969
57 years ago
Moises Solana (33) died when his McLaren M6B crashed during the hillclimb at Valle de Bravo-Bosencheve in Mexico Read more…
1969
57 years ago
Richard Petty outran David Pearson for a one-car-length win at Smoky Mountain Raceway in Maryville (Tennessee Read more…
1978
48 years ago
Benson Ford (59) died, suffering a heart attack while aboard his cruiser Onikaon Lake Huron off the coast of Cheboygan, Michigan, US Read more…
1980
46 years ago
Neil Bonnett drove his Mercury to a narrow decision over Buddy Baker to win the Coca-Cola 500 at Pocono, Pennsylvania, US Read more…
1981
45 years ago
A 1971 Liberty Class B military truck was donated to the Smithsonian Institution by Paul W Mowrey of Edina, Minnesota, US Read more…
1986
40 years ago
Nelson Piquet in a Williams-Honda FW11 won the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim Read more…
1987
39 years ago
Freeway shooting incidents were the talk of Los Angeles Read more…
1990
36 years ago
The Musee National de l’Automobile in Mulhouse, France unveiled the ‘seventh’ Bugatti Royale, a recreation of the Armand Esders roadster mounted on a chassis made largely from spare parts Read more…
1990
36 years ago
At 4:00 pm the last Citroen 2CV rolled off the production line at the company’s plant in Mangualde, Portugal Read more…
1997
29 years ago
Contested over 45 laps, the German Grand Prix was won by Gerhard Berger for the Benetton team, from a pole position start Read more…
2004
22 years ago
Blackpool-based sports car company TVR was sold to a 24-year-old Russian investor Read more…
2005
21 years ago
German sports and luxury carmaker Porsche announced the investment of 1bn euros (£691m; $1 Read more…
2008
18 years ago
The Car of Tomorrow was used for the first time at Indianapolis Read more…
2014
12 years ago
In Malaysia a car crash involving a faulty air bag killed a pregnant woman Read more…
