On this day in…
1897
125 years ago
Emil Jellinek of Nice, France took delivery of a belt-driven Daimler, leading to his association with the marque and its name change to Mercedes Read more…
1899
123 years ago
The Literary Digest declared that ‘the ordinary horseless carriage is at present a luxury for the wealthy; and although its price will probably fall in the future, it will never, of course, come into as common use as a bicycle’ Read more…
1905
117 years ago
Following the success of the 1904 Vanderbilt Cup Race, the second race was held Read more…
1911
111 years ago
The eighth Glidden Tour began in New York City, with a planned route through Atlanta, Georgia to Jacksonville, Florida Read more…
1911
111 years ago
The first road race staged in Santa Monica, California, the 220 mile Free For All, was won by Harvey Herrick in a National Read more…
1927
95 years ago
Prince William of Sweden was presented with a new Nash Advanced Six by Scandinavian-ancestry employees of the Nash Motor Company Read more…
1933
89 years ago
Johnny Gerber competed in and won his last race in Bel Air, Maryland, US Read more…
1938
84 years ago
The first contracts were awarded for construction of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, US Read more…
1939
83 years ago
Appearing for sale in the classified ads in Autocar were a Jaguar 3 Read more…
1951
71 years ago
A total of 106 cars competed in the NASCAR Modified and Sportsman race at Langhorne Speedway, Pennsylvania, US Read more…
1956
66 years ago
Curtis Turner was declared the winner of the scheduled 100-mile NASCAR Convertible race at Asheville-Weaverville Speedway when a 14-car crash wiped out all but one car running in the event Read more…
1962
60 years ago
Washington State racer Pat Pigott died from race-incurred injuries at Riverside International Raceway when suspension failure of his Lotus 23 sent the car wedging under the guard rail at turn 9 Read more…
1962
60 years ago
Glenn “Fireball” Roberts won the National 400 NASCAR stock car race at Charlotte, North Carolina, US Read more…
1965
57 years ago
The 1966 Oldmobiles were introduced, including the new front-wheel-drive Tornado Read more…
1965
57 years ago
The 1966 Cadillac model range were introduced Read more…
1968
54 years ago
The Morris 1800S, MG 1300 Mk II, Riley Kestrel 1300 Mk II and Wolseley 1300 Mk II were launched Read more…
1968
54 years ago
One of the most expensive cars ever built, the US Presidential 1969 Lincoln Convertible Executive, was delivered to the US Secret Service Read more…
1969
53 years ago
The Triumph 2000 MkII and Triumph 2 Read more…
1969
53 years ago
The government of Japan allowed foreign investment up to 50% in Japanese automobile companies Read more…
1970
52 years ago
The Ford Cortina Mk lll was launched at the 1970 Earl’s Court Motor Show Read more…
1971
51 years ago
The Queen formally opened the 107 mile trans-Pennine section of the M62 to complete the coast-to-coast link between Liverpool in Merseyside and Hull in East Yorkshire; 7 miles (11 km) of the route is shared with the M60 orbital motorway around Manchester, England Read more…
1973
49 years ago
Jackie Stewart announced his retirement from motor racing Read more…
1980
42 years ago
Henry Ford II married Kathy DuRoss in Carson City, Nevada, US Read more…
1985
37 years ago
27 students crammed into a Ford Sierra at the University of Nottingham to establish a new world record Read more…
1992
30 years ago
The original US Interstate Highway system was proclaimed to be complete with the opening of I-70 through Glenwood Canyon in Colorado Read more…
1994
28 years ago
Ford and Mahindra & Mahindra Limited (India) established a joint venture to assemble vehicles in India Read more…
1995
27 years ago
The foundation stone laid in Smartville, a purpose-built factory complex in Hambach, France, established as a joint venture of Daimler-Benz and the Swiss watch manufacturer Swatch to produce the Smart car Read more…
1997
25 years ago
Toyota launched the Prius, a hybrid-powertrain vehicle combining a 1 Read more…
2000
22 years ago
NASCAR Craftsman Truck series driver Tony Roper (35) died in a crash during the O’Reilly 400 at Texas Motor Speedway in Ft Read more…
2000
22 years ago
Chengdu City of Sichuan Province staged the first ever “Car Free Day” in the People’s Republic of China Read more…
2004
18 years ago
Eric Clapton was suspended from driving in France after being caught speeding at 134 mph in his Porsche 911 Turbo near Merceuil Read more…
2004
18 years ago
The battery-powered Buckeye Bullet, designed and built by engineering students at the Ohio State University, set a BNI (non-FIA) international land-speed record for electric cars of 271 Read more…
2005
17 years ago
The 1 Read more…
2006
16 years ago
Almost 35 years to the day of the last race held at Langhorne Speedway, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission dedicated a historical marker at 1939 E Read more…
2009
13 years ago
The inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame was announced in Charlotte, North Carolina Read more…
2012
10 years ago
Colin Furze achieved a top speed of 53 Read more…
2013
9 years ago
Britons Robert Belcher and Stephen Cooper driving a Land Rover Discovery arrived at the Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town to set a new world record for driving from London to Cape Town, making the 10,000-mile journey in 10 days, 3 hours and 16 minutes Read more…
