On this day in…
1908
115 years ago
The first powered flight by the British aviator Algenen Vernon Roe took place along the Finishing Straight of the Brooklands circuit, Surrey, England Read more…
1912
111 years ago
Englishman W Read more…
1923
100 years ago
The Hercules Motors Corporation was incorporated in Ohio to succeed the Hercules Motor Manufacturing Company which had started in 1915 Read more…
1931
92 years ago
The last 75,510 Plymouth Model 30-U’s was produced Read more…
1938
85 years ago
President Franklin D Read more…
1947
76 years ago
Jean-Pierre Wimille won the Swiss Grand Prix in an Alfa Romeo 158 Read more…
1947
76 years ago
Inventor of the electromagnetic transmission and a pioneer of the early automobile industry, Justus Bulkley Entz (79) died Read more…
1948
75 years ago
Dr Ferdinand “Ferry” Porsche test-drove the hand-built aluminium prototype two-seater Porsche roadster, proudly bearing the chassis number 356-001, in Gmünd, Austria Read more…
1950
73 years ago
Tickets went on sale for the first 500-mile stock car race at the new Darlington Raceway, South Carolina Read more…
1952
71 years ago
Tim Flock outran his brother Fonty to win a 100-lap main event at Occoneechee Speedway in Hillsborough, North Carolina, US posting the third win of an eight-win season that culminated in his first NASCAR title Read more…
1958
65 years ago
The 1,000,000th Plymouth V-8 engine is produced Read more…
1959
64 years ago
Leslie Johnson (47), British racing driver who competed in rallies, hill climbs, sports car races and Grand Prix races died Read more…
1968
55 years ago
Ludovico Scarfiotti (34) died at a hillclimbing event on the Roßfeldhöhenringstraße near Berchtesgaden, in the German Alps Read more…
1970
53 years ago
Rock band, Deep Purple had their van and equipment impounded by East German police while on an European tour, after mistakenly driving too close to the border Read more…
1975
48 years ago
The sixth Swedish Grand Prix run over 80 laps of the 4 km Scandinavian Raceway, was won by Niki Lauda in a Ferrari 312T Read more…
1975
48 years ago
Keith Parnell made the first eight second pass (8 Read more…
1978
45 years ago
Philip Caldwell became deputy chief executive officer of Ford Read more…
1980
43 years ago
Darrell Waltrip passed Neil Bonnett on the final lap to win the 400-kilometer race on Riverside’s road course in Moreno Valley, California Read more…
1983
40 years ago
The Corvette plant produced a new 1984 model Corvette, with build order “DE 9163 ZORA 1” Read more…
1986
37 years ago
Volkswagenwerk AG obtained a majority interest in “Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo, SA” (SEAT), initially with 51 % of the share capital Read more…
1986
37 years ago
Tim Richmond won the first of his seven Winston Cup Series races of the year, a total that vaulted him to third place in the Series point race and solidified his reputation as one of NASCAR’s greatest drivers Read more…
1997
26 years ago
Jeff Gordon passed Ted Musgrave with 16 laps remaining and sprints to a narrow victory over Jeff Burton, registered his sixth triumph of the season in the Pocono 500 in Pennsylvania (US) Read more…
2005
18 years ago
SsangYong’s model renewal moved up a further gear with the Korean unveiling of the Kyron Read more…
2007
16 years ago
George Michael was sentenced to 100 hours of community service and banned from driving for two years at Brent Magistrates court, north London Read more…
2009
14 years ago
Van maker LDV was placed in administration after the collapse of a rescue deal by Malaysian firm Weststar Read more…
2009
14 years ago
Gabon President Omar Bongo, the world’s longest-serving president, died at a hospital in Spain Read more…
2010
13 years ago
General Motors Co Read more…
2014
9 years ago
Mercedes’ run of dominance at the Canadian Grand Prix came to an end when both cars developed issues with their MGU-K at around half distance Read more…
2014
9 years ago
The Autry National Center in Los Angeles opened an exhibition about the fact and fiction of US 66, which ran through to January 4, 2015 Read more…
