On this day in…
1908
116 years ago
The Everitt-Metzger-Flanders Company was founded by Barney Everitt, William E Read more…
1910
114 years ago
The Hon Charles Rolls (32), joint founder of Rolls-Royce Ltd, made the first non-stop double crossing of the English Channel by plane Read more…
1911
113 years ago
The first Pierce-Arrow truck was sold to the International Brewing Corporation Read more…
1934
90 years ago
Mannin Moar (formally known as II Mannin Moar), a Grand Prix that was held at a street circuit in Douglas, Isle of Man, United Kingdom Read more…
1935
89 years ago
The 2,000,000th Ford V-8 was produced Read more…
1936
88 years ago
The American Bantam Car Company was incorporated with Roy S Evans as President Read more…
1952
72 years ago
A plaster model of the original Chevrolet Corvette was completed Read more…
1954
70 years ago
The first Volvo sports car, the two-door, two-seater, open-top P1900, produced for export only, was unveiled with great fanfare at Torslanda Airport near Gothenburg, Sweden Read more…
1956
68 years ago
Future stockcar great Junior Johnson and his father were arrested for making moonshine whiskey Read more…
1962
62 years ago
Dennis Taylor (40) was killed in the Formula Junior race at Monte Carlo Read more…
1967
57 years ago
Jim Paschal stormed to the 24th of his 25 wins in NASCAR’s top series, leading 111 laps of the Asheville 300 at New Asheville (North Carolina, US) Speedway Read more…
1967
57 years ago
Vanden Plas (England) 1923 Ltd lost its status as a subsidiary company when it officially became the Vanden Plas division of BMC, sitting within the Austin-Morris group Read more…
1969
55 years ago
Changes to the driving test in Great Britain were introduced: • vehicles used in the test must not have dual accelerator control unless this had been made inoperable • a separate driving licence group for automatic vehicles was introduced • candidates were required to produce their driving licence to the examiner at the test and sign the examiner’s attendance record – examiners could refuse to conduct a test if these requirements were not met Read more…
1970
54 years ago
New Zealand race-car designer and manufacturer Bruce McLaren died at the age of 32, after crashing at the Goodwood Circuit in Sussex Read more…
1988
36 years ago
The publishers of Consumer Reports magazine called for a ban on the Suzuki Samurai, a popular sport utility vehicle that the magazine said tended to roll over in sudden turns Read more…
1990
34 years ago
Construction began on the National Corvette Museum, in Bowling Green, Kentucky Read more…
1991
33 years ago
Nigel Mansell decided to wave to his fans during the last lap of the 1991 Canadian Grand Prix as he cruised to what seemed to become yet another dominant win Read more…
1996
28 years ago
The Spanish Grand Prix was held in Barcelona Read more…
1997
27 years ago
The Road Traffic Act (New Drivers) 1997 came into force in the UK, introducing a two year probationary period for newly qualified drivers Read more…
1998
26 years ago
At the Retromobile Show in Paris, Citroën displayed three unique pre-war 2CV models from a series corresponding to the vehicle approved in 1939 Read more…
1999
25 years ago
Employees at AutoAlliance International Inc Read more…
1999
25 years ago
A 49-year-old grandfather bettered the British land-speed record broken by himself earlier in the day Read more…
2002
22 years ago
The FIA Top Fuel class at the Santa Pod Raceway saw its first side-by-side fours and its first 300mph runs, in the same race! Qualifying saw Barry Sheavills clock a 4 Read more…
2003
21 years ago
Official UK on-sale launch of Citroen’s funky C3 Pluriel Read more…
2003
21 years ago
A life-size painting of Kylie Minogue wearing gold hot pants caused traffic chaos in Brighton, as motorists stopped to take a second look at the picture artist Simon Etheridge had placed in the window of his Art Asylum gallery. Read more…
2004
20 years ago
Romania’s President Ion Iliescu unveiled the new Logan sedan, a joint venture between Renault and Romania’s Dacia Read more…
2008
16 years ago
The sale of Jaguar to Tata was completed at a cost of £1 Read more…
