On this day in…
1888
134 years ago
Car enthusiast William Steinway (of Steinway piano fame) concluded licensing negotiations with Gottlieb Daimler, gaining permission to manufacture Daimler cars in the US Read more…
1908
114 years ago
General Motors purchased the Buick Motor Company for about $3,750,000, in effect a sale from and to William Durant to become the cornerstone of the new corporation Read more…
1908
114 years ago
William A Besserdich and Bernard A Mosling were issued with a United States patent for their Locking Device for Differential Gears, an invention that forms the basis of modern four-wheel drive mechanisms Read more…
1913
109 years ago
Inventor of the engine that bears his name, Rudolf Diesel (55), disappeared from the steamship Dresden while traveling from Antwerp, Belgium to Harwick, England Read more…
1929
93 years ago
The Packard 734 Speedster Eight was introduced Read more…
1929
93 years ago
Walter C White (53), President of the White Motor Company, was killed in an automobile accident near Cleveland, Ohio, US Read more…
1929
93 years ago
Ernst Henne riding a 750 cc BMW sets a new motorcycle record, reaching a speed of 134 Read more…
1935
87 years ago
The Czech Grand Prix was the last major event of the season and with Mercedes staying away, it was a straight battle between Auto Union and Scuderia Ferrari Read more…
1952
70 years ago
Speed ace John Cobb, who held the World Land Speed Record died aged 52, when his jet-engined speed boat, “Crusader” disintegrated in Loch Ness, Scotland Read more…
1953
69 years ago
A groundbreaking ceremony for the 12-story Ford World Headquarters building was held in Dearborn, Michigan, US Read more…
1953
69 years ago
The automotive press got their hands on the Chevrolet Corvette for test and review, as the Corvette was officially released Read more…
1955
67 years ago
The Mahwah, New Jersey, Ford manufacturing plant was dedicated Read more…
1960
62 years ago
The Ford Econoline series, including van, pickup and station wagon bus, was introduced Read more…
1963
59 years ago
Ron Fry won the Oxford M Read more…
1965
57 years ago
Aston Martin launched the 150 mph DB6 Read more…
1966
56 years ago
The first-generation Chevrolet Camaro appeared in dealerships for the 1967 model year on a brand-new rear-wheel drive GM F-body platform and was available as a 2-door, 2+2 seat, coupe or convertible with a choice of six-cylinder and V8 powerplants Read more…
1967
55 years ago
The last Alvis, a TF21 was built Read more…
1968
54 years ago
Pedro Rodriguez and Lucien Bianci won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Gulf Ford GT40 Read more…
1973
49 years ago
The Insurance industry announced that motor racing drivers were more prone to accidents than the general public Read more…
1974
48 years ago
Earl Ross of Canada became just the second driver born outside the United States to win at NASCAR’s highest level, winning the Old Dominion 500 at Martinsville Speedway, Virginia, US Read more…
1976
46 years ago
The Ford Cortina Mark IV was launched Read more…
1983
39 years ago
Henry Ford II, grandson and namesake of Henry Ford, joined his grandfather as a member of the Automotive Hall of Fame in Midland, Michigan Read more…
1987
35 years ago
Driving a GMC Sierra K3500 4-wheeled drive pick up truck powered by a 6 Read more…
1987
35 years ago
John Foulston, who a year earlier had bought Brands Hatch, Oulton Park and Snetterton for £5 Read more…
1987
35 years ago
Henry Ford II, longtime chairman of Ford Motor Company, died in Detroit at age 70 Read more…
1991
31 years ago
Nigel Mansell won the Spanish Grand Prix despite twisting his ankle days before the event playing football Read more…
1992
30 years ago
Pierre Lartigue and Michel Périn completed a 16,000 km (9,940 mile) adventure to win the first Paris-Moscow-Beijing rally with a Citroën ZX Rallye Raid Read more…
1993
29 years ago
The Bill Clinton administration initiated the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) program that involved Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, USCAR, the DoE, and other various governmental agencies to engineer the next efficient and clean vehicle Read more…
1994
28 years ago
Contour and Mystique, North American versions of Ford’s new global cars, arrived in dealer showrooms Read more…
1995
27 years ago
The Plonsk (Poland) plant began production of Escort cars and Transit vans Read more…
1996
26 years ago
Jeff Gordon racked up his 10th win of the year in the Tyson Holly Farms 400 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Carolina (US) Read more…
1997
25 years ago
For car and motorcycle drivers a minimum wait of 10 days between driving tests of the same category was introduced for unsuccessful candidates Read more…
1998
24 years ago
Land Rover Discovery Series II was launched at the Paris Motor Show Read more…
2002
20 years ago
Rubens Barrichello won the US Grand Prix by 0 Read more…
2004
18 years ago
Mazda’s four-door, four-seat rotary-powered sports coupe the Mazda RX8 reached a significant production milestone: number 100,000 rolled off the Ujina No Read more…
2006
16 years ago
Satisfied with his motorsport creation, A1GP World Cup of Motorsport Founder and Chairman Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum released his stake in a multi million dollar transaction to permit a broadening of the institutional shareholder base ahead of a planned initial public offering Read more…
2008
14 years ago
Top Gear Australia, an Australian-British motoring television series based on the BBC series Top Gear, premiered on SBS One at 7:30 pm AEST, with its first season consisting of 8 episodes Read more…
2018
4 years ago
It was announced that Tesla and CEO Elon Musk had agreed to pay a total of $40 million and made a series of concessions to settle an SEC lawsuit alleging Musk had duped investors with misleading statements about a proposed buyout of the company Read more…
