On this day in…
1843
180 years ago
Vulcanised rubber was patented in England by Thomas Hancock, 8 weeks before Charles Goodyear in the US (30 January 1844) Read more…
1904
119 years ago
Motorised omnibuses replaced horse-drawn cars in Paris, France Read more…
1919
104 years ago
The Fox Motor Company was organised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Read more…
1927
96 years ago
Time magazine put the week-old Holland Tunnel on its cover Read more…
1927
96 years ago
The first Dodge Victory Six was produced in honour of the 10th anniversary of World War I Read more…
1929
94 years ago
The Mercer Motor Corporation was incorporated in Delaware to revive the Mercer marque but only one car, a 1931 convertible with a body by the Merrimac body Company, was built Read more…
1937
86 years ago
Howard E Read more…
1939
84 years ago
Clarence W Spicer (64), builder of the prototype 1903 Spicer while a student at Cornell University, New York and later the inventor of the first practical driveshaft and a manufacturer of universal joints, died in Miami (US) Read more…
1942
81 years ago
The 1,700-mile Alaska Highway, connecting the contiguous United States to Alaska through Canada, was formally opened Read more…
1951
72 years ago
Racer Carlos Panini was killed near Oaxaca, Mexico during the Pan-American Road Race Read more…
1953
70 years ago
Felice Bonetto (50) died in Silao Mexico Read more…
1955
68 years ago
The radical Bugatti Type 251 Grand Prix racer, with a straight-8 engine mounted transversely behind the driver, made its press debut Read more…
1958
65 years ago
Work began on the construction of the Forth Road Bridge in Scotland Read more…
1964
59 years ago
The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge across the entrance to New York City harbour between Brooklyn and Staten Island was opened to traffic Read more…
1970
53 years ago
The rarest of Ford Mustangs, the Boss 351, debuted at the Detroit Auto Show in Michigan Read more…
1973
50 years ago
Timo Makiinen and Henry Liddon won the RAC Rally with a Ford Escort RS 1600 Read more…
1979
44 years ago
Hannu Mikkola and Ame Hertz won the RAC Rally with a Ford Escort RS 1800 Read more…
1980
43 years ago
Henri Toivonen and Paul White won the RAC Rally with a Talbot Sunbeam Lotus Read more…
1982
41 years ago
Tim Richmond capped a dominating day at Riverside (California, US) International Raceway with his second victory in NASCAR’s top series as Darrell Waltrip finished third to clinch his second straight championship Read more…
1993
30 years ago
F3000 driver, Stephane Proulx (28) died in Montreal, Canada of complications resulting from AIDS Read more…
1995
28 years ago
The Citroën Saxo was unveiled to the press prior to its launch in February 1996 Read more…
2000
23 years ago
Giancarlo Fisichella had his road licence confiscated for speeding after he was caught driving at 148kph (92mph) in a 60kph (37mph) zone in Rome Read more…
2002
21 years ago
The Ford Thunderbird was named Motor Trend magazine’s Car of the Year for a record fourth time Read more…
2004
19 years ago
Roush Racing hit the jackpot as Greg Biffle won the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (US) and Kurt Busch finished fifth to claim the 2004 “Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup” championship Read more…
2004
19 years ago
France’s Alexandre Premat won the Macau Grand Prix, bringing his ASM Dallara-Mercedes home ahead of Robert Kubica and Lucas di Grassi at the end of a battle-scarred race which ended after 13 laps due to a multiple pile-up Read more…
2004
19 years ago
A new era in NASCAR commenced as the first Chase for the NEXTEL Cup came to its exciting conclusion Read more…
2005
18 years ago
General Motors Corp Read more…
2005
18 years ago
Formula 1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella had his road licence confiscated for speeding after he was caught driving at 148kph (92mph) in a 60kph (37mph) zone in Rome Read more…
2017
6 years ago
Bloomberg stated that “over the past 12 months, the electric-car maker (Tesla) has been burning money at a clip of about $8,000 a minute (or $480,000 an hour)” preparing for Model 3 Read more…
