On this day in…
1897
125 years ago
Evelyn Ellis and his daughter Mary, James Critchley and Johann van Toll drove a Daimler motor car to the top of Worcestershire Beacon (1,395 ft) in the Malverns, England Read more…
1903
119 years ago
The National Automobile & Motor Company of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, US was liquidated Read more…
1911
111 years ago
Sir William Crossley (67), co-founder of Crossley Brothers Ltd (later Crossley Motors Ltd), died Read more…
1912
110 years ago
Riding mechanic Tony Scudelari died from injuries suffered 12 days earlier when the Fiat driven by David Bruce-Brown crashed during practice for the Grand Prize race in Milwaukee, US Read more…
1920
102 years ago
Construction of the Holland Tunnel began Read more…
1928
94 years ago
Racer Fred Comer (35), who was born in Topeka Kansas in 1893, died from injuries sustained in a racing accident at Rockingham Park in New Hampshire, US Read more…
1929
93 years ago
First running of the BRDC 500-mile race at Brooklands Read more…
1933
89 years ago
The Rover 10 was launched at the London Motor Show at Earls Court Read more…
1935
87 years ago
Regular production of the Rolls Royce Phantom II ceased Read more…
1936
86 years ago
The Vanderbilt Cup (formally known as I George Vanderbilt Cup) was a Grand Prix was held at the Roosevelt Raceway near Westbury, Long Island, New York City, US Read more…
1937
85 years ago
Lord Nuffield (William Morris) gave £1,000,000 to Oxford University for a new College Read more…
1937
85 years ago
Samuel Arbuckle (52), inventor of double filament headlight and tail light bulbs, died in New York City Read more…
1940
82 years ago
Tom Mix, the highest-paid actor in silent films of the 1920s, and unquestionably the best-known cowboy star of the era, perished in a car accident in Arizona (US) at the age of 60 Read more…
1946
76 years ago
Driving an open-wheel car, Ted Horn won the first race at the Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds, Richmond, Virginia (US) on a ½-mile dirt track Read more…
1946
76 years ago
Ettore Bugatti married Genevieve Delcuze as his second wife after fathering two children by her Read more…
1948
74 years ago
Midget racing great Johnny Ritter was fatally injured while changing a tire on his midget at the Medford Bowl in Massachusetts, US Read more…
1948
74 years ago
Production of the ‘step down’ 1948 Hudson began Read more…
1948
74 years ago
The first Morris Minor car in Britain went on sale, costing £382 including taxes Read more…
1950
72 years ago
The Society of Motion Picture Art Directors named the 24th Series Packard (1951 model year) as ‘the most beautiful car of the year’ Read more…
1950
72 years ago
The 500,000th car was produced by the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation, a 1951 Kaiser-Frazer Deluxe saloon Read more…
1954
68 years ago
Hershel McGriff drove an Oldsmobile to victory in the 100-mile NASCAR Grand National race at Macon, Georgia, US Read more…
1956
66 years ago
The first MGA coupe prototypes were completed Read more…
1957
65 years ago
Only 900 spectators watched Fireball Roberts wheel his Ford to victory in the 100-mile NASCAR Grand National race at Newberry Speedway in South Carolina, US Read more…
1958
64 years ago
Chuck Daigh won the USGP for sports cars at Riverside, California, driving a Scarab MkII Read more…
1960
62 years ago
Toyo Kogyo Company Ltd Read more…
1961
61 years ago
The Morris Oxford Series VI, MG Magnette MkIV, Riley 4/72 and Wolseley 6/110 were launched Read more…
1961
61 years ago
The Riley Elf and Wolseley Hornet were launched Read more…
1967
55 years ago
Prime Minister Harold Wilson opened Ford’s Research & Engineer Centre at Dunton (England), Europe’s largest automotive development complex Read more…
1967
55 years ago
The Triumph 13/60 was launched Read more…
1969
53 years ago
Bruce McLaren won and Denny Hulme finished second, both driving McLaren M8B-Chevrolets, in the Laguna Seca, California, USA, Can-Am race Read more…
1975
47 years ago
Don Prudhomme set an NHRA Funny Car elapse time record of 5 Read more…
1977
45 years ago
The US Supreme Court ruled that communities had a right to prevent commuters from parking in residential neighbourhoods Read more…
1979
43 years ago
The final section of the Canada to Mexico freeway, Interstate 5, was dedicated near Stockton, California Read more…
1981
41 years ago
British Leyland announced the closure of three factories – a move which cost nearly 3,000 people their jobs Read more…
1986
36 years ago
A bus swerved into a ditch in northern Punjab, India, killing 11 people Read more…
1986
36 years ago
Benneton recorded its first Formula 1 win, with Gerhard Berger at the Mexican Grand Prix Read more…
1993
29 years ago
A decade after it was first introduced, the one-millionth Camry rolled off a Toyota assembly line Read more…
1997
25 years ago
Terry Labonte took the lead in the final two laps and edged his younger brother Bobby at the finish line in the DieHard 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Alabama, US Read more…
2005
17 years ago
Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire agreed to pay $240 million to the Ford Motor Company to settle claims related to the tyremaker’s 2000 recall of defective tyres Read more…
2007
15 years ago
Florida football defensive back Michael Guilford (19) died in a motorcycle accident Read more…
2011
11 years ago
Joel “Taz” DiGregorio (67), keyboardist for the Charles Daniel Band, was killed in a single car accident on Interstate 40 in Cheatham County, Tennessee, US Read more…
2014
8 years ago
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N Read more…
2017
5 years ago
Britain’s university city of Oxford unveiled plans to ban petrol and diesel cars from its center from 2020 as part of the most radical set of proposals so far in Britain to curb pollution Read more…
