On this day in…
1902
120 years ago
The Ohio Automobile Company reorganised as the Packard Motor Car Company, with James Packard remaining as President and Henry B Joy joining the firm as a major inventor Read more…
1915
107 years ago
James Couzens resigned as Vice President and Treasurer of the Ford Motor Company, but retained his 11% ownership and seat on the Board of Directors Read more…
1916
106 years ago
General Motors Corporation was incorporated under Delaware law and acquired all stock of General Motors Company Read more…
1918
104 years ago
Barney Oldfield, driving the “Golden Submarine” for Will Pickens, raced in his last competitive event, an IMCA sanctioned race on the dirt track in Independence, Missouri, US Read more…
1923
99 years ago
Alvis made its racing debut at Brooklands, with Major Maurice Harvey winning the 200-mile race at a record 93 Read more…
1927
95 years ago
Britain’s first Veteran Car Rally, organised by the Daily Sketch took place in London, with 43 starters Read more…
1933
89 years ago
The last Invicta car was produced Read more…
1934
88 years ago
The Brooklands Mountain Championship was won by Willard Whitney-Straight, driving a Maserati 8CM Read more…
1938
84 years ago
Morris Series E Saloon and BMW 335 3-litre were launched at the 1938 London Motor Show Read more…
1949
73 years ago
The first Borgward Hansa 1500 was produced by the Bremen based auto-manufacturer Carl F Read more…
1953
69 years ago
The “Artmobile,” the world’s first mobile art gallery, began touring Virginia with an exhibition of art objects, making its first stop in Fredericksburg Read more…
1954
68 years ago
The first Hudson Rambler was produced at the Kenosha, Wisconsin factory Read more…
1956
66 years ago
Jaguar Cars Ltd announced its withdrawal from motor racing Read more…
1956
66 years ago
Edward R Dye (59), the inventor of the ‘cloverleaf’ highway interchange and an advocate of seat belts died in Orchard Park, New York Read more…
1957
65 years ago
The Edsel Show, a one-hour TV special to promote the Ford Edsel range of cars, hosted by Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong and Rosemary Clooney was aired on CBS in the US Read more…
1962
60 years ago
Both Carrol Shelby’s Cobra and the Corvete Stingray Z06 made their race debuts at Riverside, California Read more…
1963
59 years ago
Junior Johnson soared to a dominant victory in the National 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, North Carolina, US leading 209 of 267 laps for his 34th win in NASCAR’s premier series Read more…
1964
58 years ago
Craig Breedlove drove his “Spirit of America” on the Bonneville Salt Flats to a new World Land Speed Record of 468 Read more…
1964
58 years ago
The Austin 1800 (BMC ADO17) was launched Read more…
1966
56 years ago
The Jaguar 420 (pronounced “four-twenty”) was introduced at the London Motor Show and produced for two years as the ultimate expression of a series of “compact sporting saloons” offered by Jaguar throughout the 1960s, all of which shared the same wheelbase Read more…
1968
54 years ago
The first race staged at the two-mile (3 Read more…
1973
49 years ago
The Alpine Renault A110 of Jean-Luc Therier and Jacque Jaubert won the San Remo Rally Read more…
1981
41 years ago
French Grand Prix motor racing driver Philippe Etancelin (84) who joined the new Formula One circuit at its inception, died Read more…
1982
40 years ago
The Ford Sierra was released Read more…
1982
40 years ago
The British Post Office issued four commemorative stamps featuring a vintage and current Austin, Ford, Jaguar and Rolls Royce Read more…
1991
31 years ago
Nissan’s Geoff Brabham captured an unprecedented fourth consecutive IMSA GTP title Read more…
1996
26 years ago
Damon Hill won the World Championship in Suzuka, Japan and became the first and only son of a Formula One world champion to win the title Read more…
1998
24 years ago
The first episode of Driven, a motoring television programme, was broadcast on Channel 4 as a rival to the successful and long-running BBC series Top Gear Read more…
1998
24 years ago
The Automobile Hall of Fame set up in 1939 in Michigan to commemorate the history of the automobile and pay tribute to the figures who have ensured its enduring success, welcomed André Citroën into the fold, where he joined Henry Ford, Karl Benz and Rudolf Diesel amongst others Read more…
2001
21 years ago
Jean Daninos (94) constructor of Facel Vega luxury cars, died from cancer Read more…
2002
20 years ago
Jamie McMurray, making his second start since replacing the injured Sterling Marlin, led the final 31 laps for a stunning upset in Charlotte’s UAW-GM Quality 500, North Carolina, US Read more…
2008
14 years ago
The Hyundai Genesis Coupe, a rear-wheel drive sports coupe from Hyundai Motor Company, was released for the Korean market Read more…
