On this day in…
1890
132 years ago
The Daimler-Motoren-Geselschaft, a German engine and later automobile manufacturer, which operated until 1926, was founded by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach Read more…
1895
127 years ago
America’s first race featuring gasoline-powered automobiles was held in Chicago, Illinois, with six vehicles competing: two electric cars, three German Benz automobiles, and one American-made Duryea automobile Read more…
1911
111 years ago
The Briggs-Detroiter Company was incorporated in Michigan, US Read more…
1927
95 years ago
The Ford Motor Company began a massive advertising campaign in advance of the introduction of the Model A scheduled for December 1927 Read more…
1937
85 years ago
Ernst Henne broke the motorcycle land speed record for the 76th and last time with a speed of 279 Read more…
1942
80 years ago
The first production Ford bomber, the B-24 Liberator, rolled off the assembly line at Ford’s massive Willow Run plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan Read more…
1949
73 years ago
NASCAR announced that the victory dinner to honor divisional champions would take place in Daytona Beach on 1 February 1950 Read more…
1963
59 years ago
Lee Wallard (52) died in St Read more…
1965
57 years ago
The Angolan Grand Prix for sports cars is won by David Piper in a Ferrari 365P2 Read more…
1966
56 years ago
John Surtees, the 1964 world champion, signed a 12-month contract to race for Honda Read more…
1977
45 years ago
The new Arrows F1 team moved into their home in Milton Keynes, England Read more…
1982
40 years ago
Ted Field and Danny Ongais drove a Chevrolet-powered Lola T600 to victory in the IMSA three-hour race at Daytona, Florida Read more…
1990
32 years ago
Paco Godia (69) who drove intermittently in Formula One between 1951 and 1958, participating in 14 World Championship Grands Prix and numerous non-Championship races, died Read more…
1992
30 years ago
American racecar driver, Frank Armi (74) whose racing career ended in the mid-1960s, when he became a television and film sound engineer, died Read more…
1993
29 years ago
Steppenwolf drummer Jerry Edmonton (47) died in a car crash in Santa Ynez, California Read more…
1993
29 years ago
Joseph Kelly died in Nelson, Ireland Read more…
1995
27 years ago
President Clinton signed a bill that ended the federal 55 mph speed limit Read more…
1995
27 years ago
Ford conducted its 10,000th crash test, 41 years after the first Read more…
2000
22 years ago
Bill France Jr Read more…
2001
21 years ago
Citroën set a new world record for distance travelled in 24 hours by an electric-only car, when two Saxo Electriques covered 1,064 miles on a closed circuit in France Read more…
2006
16 years ago
The limited-production BMW Hydrogen 7, the world’s first hydrogen-powered luxury saloon car, made its first public appearance at the Los Angeles Motor Show Read more…
2006
16 years ago
The start of Lewis Hamilton’s F1 career came on the test track in Barcelona but lasted two laps before his McLaren broke down Read more…
2009
13 years ago
Media outlets reported that a rare unrestored 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante Coupe had been found in the garage of a British doctor Read more…
