On this day in…
1687
336 years ago
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, North American explorer and namesake of the 1927-40 General Motors automobile, was murdered in present-day Texas, US Read more…
1861
162 years ago
Jean-Joseph Etienne Lenoir was issued a patent for his “Air Engine”, an important ancestor of the modern internal combustion engine Read more…
1900
123 years ago
The new Fiat plant in Turin, Italy was officially opened by the Duke of Genoa Read more…
1900
123 years ago
The first race in Savannah, Georgia, US, the 342 mile Challenge Trophy for stock cars, was won by Lewis Strang in an Isotta-Fraschini Read more…
1911
112 years ago
Teddy Tetzlaff, driving a 46 hop Lozier defeated the 90 hp Fiat of Ralph DePalma in a match staged at the Playa del Rey Motordrome in Los Angeles, California, US Read more…
1925
98 years ago
The International Motor Racing Federation in Paris decided to institute a World Motor Racing Championship. Read more…
1928
95 years ago
The first set of permanently installed traffic signals in Scotland commenced operation in Edinburgh, at the York Place – Broughton Street junction. Read more…
1932
91 years ago
The Sydney Harbour Bridge was officially opened Read more…
1941
82 years ago
Matteo Ceirano (71), Italian automobile businessman, died Read more…
1952
71 years ago
The 1,000,000th Jeep was produced Read more…
1957
66 years ago
Giuseppe Calnago won the Italian Motorcycle Championship race at Siracusa, the first victory for the Moto Guzzi V8 engine Read more…
1958
65 years ago
After sharp recession that hit the U Read more…
1960
63 years ago
Jim Clark drove a Ford-Cosworth powered Lotus 18 to victory in the Formula Junior race at Goodwood, England Read more…
1967
56 years ago
David Pearson outran Cale Yarborough down the stretch to score his first win at Bristol International Speedway in the Southeastern 500 Read more…
1972
51 years ago
Emerson Fittipaldi drove his Lotus to victory in the non-championship F1 ‘Race of Champions’ at Brands Hatch Read more…
1977
46 years ago
The last Rover P6 (named 2000, 2200, and 3500 for its engine displacements) rolled off the production line after 14 years Read more…
1985
38 years ago
Ford launched the third generation of its Granada Read more…
1992
31 years ago
Jet Harris from The Shadows was banned from driving for three years and fined £120 for drunk driving Read more…
1995
28 years ago
South African driver Trevor Blokdyk died of a heart attack at the age of 59 while working as a farmer Read more…
1998
25 years ago
The signs all was not well in Tony Blair’s administration surfaced when he admitted to breaking House of Commons rules by failing to declare a £1500 “freebie” from Bernie Ecclestone Read more…
1999
24 years ago
Ford established the Premier Auto Group consisting of Aston Martin, Jaguar and Lincoln [Volvo would later be included in this group]. Read more…
1999
24 years ago
Toyota opened its theme park, the Mega Web, in Tokyo, Japan Read more…
2004
19 years ago
The Konginkangas bus disaster was a major traffic accident outside the Konginkangas housing estate in Äänekoski, Finland Read more…
2005
18 years ago
John DeLorean, an innovative auto industry executive and founder of the DeLorean Motor Company, died in New Jersey at the age of 80 Read more…
2006
17 years ago
The Malaysian Grand Prix held at Sepang was won by Giancarlo Fisichella driving a Renault R26, who took the final of his three victories in Formula One Read more…
2020
3 years ago
Anthony Levandowski, a former Google and Uber engineer, pleaded guilty to stealing trade secrets from Google Read more…