This Day In Automotive History

[SirAlec]

November 15, 1965
Craig Breedlove, driving his jet-powered Spirit of America--Sonic 1 vehicle, raced to 600.601 mph over the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, and set a new land-speed record. Breedlove, a four-time land-speed record holder, was also the first driver to break the 400 mph and 500 mph land-speed barriers, in 1963 and 1964 respectively. Five years later, Gary Gabelich, in his Blue Flame rocket-powered vehicle, would break Breedlove's record by reaching 622.407 mph over the Bonneville Salt Flats.

November 15, 1977
On this day, at the Mahwah plant in New York, workers completed the 100,000,000th Ford to be built in America: a 1978 Ford Fairmont four-door sedan. The Fairmont series was introduced at the beginning of the 1978 model year, to replace the discontinued Ford Maverick. Several Fairmont models were available in the first year of the series, and the available power ran from a 140 cubic-inch, four-cylinder engine to a 302 cubic-inch V-8. The most popular Ford Fairmont was the Sporty Coupe, which was introduced midway through the 1978 model year, and featured styling reminiscent of the Thunderbird. The vehicle was two inches longer than the other Fairmont models, and featured quad headlights and a unique roof design featuring a decorative wrap-over. In the 1979 model year, the Fairmont Sporty Coupe became the Fairmont Futura Sport, and, by 1980, was available as a four-door sedan in addition to the original two-door coupe. By 1981, the Fairmont Futura series was more of a high-trim automobile than its original manifestation as a sporty vehicle, and a Futura station wagon became available. At the end of the 1983 model year, the entire Fairmont line was discontinued.

Ford Fairmont, The production of the 100 millionth Ford car, a '78 Fairmont Futura coincided with the company's 75th anniversary.

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia

[SirAlec]

November 16, 1916
On this day, Dario Resta, driving a Peugeot, won the last Vanderbilt Cup race, held in Santa Monica, California. In the same year, Resta also won the sixth Indianapolis 500 race. The Vanderbilt Cup, an early example of world-class motor racing in America, was organized in 1904 to introduce Europe's best automotive drivers and manufacturers to the U.S. Named after the event's founder, William K. Vanderbilt Jr., the grand prize of the race was the elegant Vanderbilt cup, crafted by Tiffany & Company, the famous American jewelers. Dozens of automotive pioneers traveled across the Atlantic to participate in the first major international racing competition held in the United States. The race, a 10-mile lap course over a 30-mile circuit, was held in Hicksville, New York, and had 18 entries. George Heath, a Frenchman, won the first Vanderbilt Cup in a Panhard automobile, edging out his competition with a brisk average speed of 52.2mph. French-built cars continued to dominate the Vanderbilt Cup until 1908, when daredevil George Robertson drove a 90hp Locomobile, known as "Old 16," to victory in the fourth Vanderbilt Cup. It was the first major international racing victory for an American car, and served notice that the U.S. could compete in motor racing and automobile production. The original Vanderbilt Cup event was held a total of 11 times between 1904 and 1916, at which point the demands of World War I brought an end to the tradition.

November 16, 1929
Enzo Anselmo Ferrari founded Scuderia Ferrari, an organization that began as a racing club but that by 1933 had absorbed the entire race-engineering division at Alpha Romeo.

Dario Resta




Enzo with SF drivers


Scuderia Ferrari's traditional logo


Scuderia Ferrari's 2007 and current logo

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia

[SirAlec]

November 17, 1906
On this day, Honda Motor Company founder Soichiro Honda was born the son of a blacksmith in Hamamatsu, Japan, about 150 miles southwest of Tokyo. Honda, who displayed remarkable mechanical intuition even at a young age, began working in an auto repair shop in Tokyo at age 15. In 1928, Honda returned to Hamamatsu to set up another branch of the repair shop, and also began pursuing his youthful passion for motor car racing. In 1936, Honda won his first racing trophy at the All-Japan Speed Rally, but nearly died when his car crashed shortly after setting a speed record. After a prolonged recovery, Honda left racing, and during World War II constructed airplane propellers for his country. When the war was over, Japan's industry was in shambles, and Honda saw an opportunity to beat swords into plowshares by starting an automotive company of his own. He bought a surplus of small generator engines from the military at a bargain price and began attaching them to bicycle frames. Honda's fuel-efficient vehicles were popular in a time when fuel was scarce, and in September of 1948, with only $1,500, Honda formed the Honda Motor Company in Hamamatsu. The company began building a full line of powerful and well-made motorcycles that by 1955 led motorcycle production in Japan. Honda proved as effective a company manager as he was a talented engineer, and by the early 1960s, Honda was the world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles. From this immense success, Honda was inspired to begin automobile production in 1962. Honda's first vehicle, the pint-size S-360, failed to make a dent in the American market, and it was not until 1972, and the introduction of the Civic 1200, that Honda became a serious contender in the industry. The fuel crisis of 1973 was the catalyst that thrust Honda and other Japanese auto manufacturers into the forefront of the international market. Cars like the Honda Civic proved far more durable and fuel efficient than anything being produced in Detroit at the time, and American consumers embraced Japanese-made automobiles. In 1973, Soichiro Honda retired from the top position at Honda, but the company he founded went on to become an industry leader, establishing such successful marques as the Accord, which by 1989 was the best-selling car in America.

November 17, 1970
First wheeled-vehicle on the moon. An unmanned Soviet lunar probe, Luna 17, soft-landed in the Sea of Rains on the surface of the moon on this day. Hours later, Lunokhod 1, a self-propelled vehicle controlled by Soviet mission control on earth, rolled out of the Luna landing probe, and became the first wheeled vehicle to travel on the surface of the moon. Lunokhod, which explored the Mare Imbrium region of the Sea of Rains, sent back television images and took soil samples. Despite this notable space first, the Soviet space program was trailing considerably behind the U.S. program which, in 1969, had succeeded in putting an American on the moon with the Apollo 11 lunar mission. In August of 1971, during the fourth manned lunar landing, the United States achieved another first: astronauts David R. Scott and James B. Irwin drove the Lunar Rover--the first manned lunar automobile--on the surface of the moon.


Soichiro Honda


Lunokhod 1

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia

[SirAlec]

November 18, 1960
Chrysler limits DeSoto production. The Chrysler DeSoto was a hit even before the first model was built in the summer of 1928. When Walter P. Chrysler announced that his Chrysler Corporation intended to build a mid-priced vehicle boasting six-cylinders, dealerships signed on immediately, and in the first 12 months of production the DeSoto set a sales record that stood for 30 years. The automobile, named after Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto, was a large and powerful vehicle marketed to the average American car buyer. The innovative designs of the DeSotos of the 1930s were as daring as their namesake--1934 saw the introduction of America's first affordable automobile with aerodynamic styling, and the 1937 DeSoto was hailed for its safety innovations. In the late 1930s, lackluster U.S. sales prompted Chrysler to introduce a more conservative line of DeSotos. The large and gracious 1940 DeSoto was advertised as "America's Family Car," and the American family agreed, giving DeSoto its best sales in the first few years after World War II. During the 1950s, the DeSoto became adventurous again, and the 1955 DeSoto featured power styling to match its powerful engine. By 1956, DeSoto was 11th in the industry, but the dynamics of its demise were already in motion at Chrysler. Disorganization in the management of the Chrysler Corporation, along with general quality issues in Detroit in the late 1950s, led to several years of popular but flawed DeSotos. In 1958, DeSoto's designers introduced their most flamboyant cars ever, the Firesweeps, Firedomes, and Fireflites, but the public failed to embrace these new models, and all but the Fireflite was dropped in 1959. In 1960, William C. Newberg, the new president at Chrysler, decided to limit the DeSoto program, and the uninspired 1961 DeSoto was doomed for failure. On this day, just two weeks after the 1961 DeSoto was introduced to an uninterested market, Chrysler announced the termination of the DeSoto marque.


November 18, 1987
On this day, a special edition 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO hardtop was sold for $1,600,000 at an automobile auction in Italy, setting a new public auction record. Enzo Ferrari first introduced the GTO in 1954, and public demand for the series was so great that Ferrari was motivated to build its first assembly line. The 250 series, the most popular of which were the Testa Rossa and the GT Spyder, made Ferrari a legend. The 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO was a limited edition variant on the 1962 GTO. The engine featured a 12-cylinder engine with a maximum power output of 290bhp at 7,400rpm. The 1963 GTO variant featured larger tires and the hardtop design, and was significant because of its release during the 250 GTO's last major year of production.

1963 Ferrari 250 GTO

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia

[SirAlec]

November 19, 1954
The first automatic toll collection machine was placed in service at the Union Toll Plaza on New Jersey's Garden State Parkway on this day. In order to pass through the toll area, motorists dropped 25¢ into a wire mesh hopper and then a green light would flash permitting passage through the toll. The automatic toll collection machine was an important innovation for America's modern toll highway, which first appeared in 1940 with the opening of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. For a three-hour reduction of travel time between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, the turnpike asked travelers to pay tolls, creating revenues that helped cover the roadway's high construction and maintenance costs. The Pennsylvania Turnpike was a tremendous success, leading to the construction of toll highways across the country, including the Garden State Parkway, which opened its first toll section in early 1954, and was completed in 1955. However, a non-automotive toll road first appeared in the United States in 1795, when people traveling through the Blue Ridge Mountains along the Little River Turnpike found their way blocked by toll gates at Snicker's Gap, where they were asked to pay a toll.

November 19, 1993
On this day, Toyota and General Motors signed an historic agreement to sell the Chevy Cavalier in Japan as the Toyota Cavalier. In a sense, the U.S.-built but Japanese-inspired Cavalier was returning home. The popular Cavalier, which was first introduced in 1981, was Detroit's answer to Japan's fuel-efficient and well-made compacts. Japanese automakers had taken the U.S. automobile market by storm during the 1970s, largely due to consumer demand for fuel efficiency and durability during a time of oil crises and recession. It took a decade for the Big Three to bounce back from the blow, finally gaining ground in the early 1980s with Japanese-inspired compacts like the Chevy Cavalier. The Cavalier was the best-selling Chevy model in modern history, and the top-selling U.S. car in 1984. By the late 1980s, Detroit's relationship with Japanese automakers had stabilized--major Japanese plants opened across the United States and the Japanese government relaxed its tariff laws to allow free competition from American automakers. During the 1990s, cooperation became the rule of thumb, and cars can no longer be considered strictly "Japanese" or "American," as most automobiles today are constructed in any number of countries from parts made all around the world.

New Jersey's Garden State Parkway

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia

[SirAlec]

November 20, 1907
McLaughlin Motor Car Company Limited formed in Ontario with capital of 5,000 shares valued at C$100 each with R.S. "Sam" McLaughlin as President and signed manufacturing agreement with Billy Durant, a partner in Buick Motor Company.


November 20, 1923
African-American Garrett A. Morgan, of Cleveland, OH, received patent for a "Traffic Signal"; automatic traffic signal to make streets safer for motorists and pedestrians (had seen an automobile crash into a horse-drawn carriage); sold technology to General Electric Corporation for
$40,000.

November 20, 1959
British Anglia comes to America. In 1911, the Ford Motor Company, which had been importing Ford Model Ts for several years, opened its first overseas plant at Trafford Park in Manchester, England. In 1920, after a decade of brisk sales in Britain and all over Europe, Ford was faced with a crisis--a new British law established higher tax penalties for larger-engine cars, and Ford's market share was suffering. Ford of England responded by developing several prototypes for a Ford automobile small enough to avoid British tax penalties. Designers also predicted that the citizens of dense European cities would prefer a car smaller than the standard American Ford. The resulting Model Y Ford "8" went into production in 1932, and after a strong first year Ford's British market share began to rapidly expand. In 1938, the Ford E93A Prefect was introduced, the first marque in the United States--the first British Ford to be marketed to Americans on a large scale. Internally, the compact 105E Anglia had a brand new overhead-valve engine and a four-speed gearbox, and externally, it was like nothing else on the road with it distinctive rear-sloping back window, frog-like headlights, and stylish colors: light green and primrose yellow. Despite appreciation for the well-designed car by a few automobile enthusiasts in America, the Anglia, which was a best-seller on the world's markets, failed to make a noticeable impact in the general U.S. market.

1920 McLaughlin Motor Car Company ad. Featuring the Master Six K-45 Extra Special.


McLaughlin Model 41 Touring 1912


Garrett A. Morgan


Garrett A. Morgan traffic light


105E Anglia

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia

[SirAlec]

November 21, 1937
On this day, Howard E. Coffin, who founded the Hudson Motor Company along with Joseph L. Hudson in 1909, died from an accidental gunshot wound at Sea Island Beach in Georgia at the age of 64. Coffin served as vice president and chief engineer of Hudson from 1909 to 1930, and was responsible for a number of Hudson's important automotive innovations, including the placement of the steering wheel on the left side, the self-starter, and dual brakes. Under Coffin's influence the Hudson Essex was introduced in 1919, a sturdy automobile built on an all-steel body that sold for pennies more than Ford's Model T. Coffin's last production year with Hudson was also the company's most prosperous--Hudson production peaked in 1929 with over 300,000 units.

November 21, 1970
On this day, the rarest of Ford Mustangs--the Boss 351--debuted at the Detroit Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. Ford first introduced the Mustang marque in 1964 and the car was an instant success, appearing on the covers of both Time and Newsweek. The car, known as a "pony car" for its small size, had the appearance of a sports car. However, the Mustang was far more reasonably prized than the average sports car, and it possessed a rare popular appeal that made it one of the greatest automotive success stories of the 1960s. By 1970, the Ford Mustang had grown considerably in size, and the Boss 351 could better be described as a "muscle car" than a "pony car." The car featured a powerful 8-cyclinder engine built on Ford's new "Cleveland" block, and was factory rated at 300bhp. The Boss 351 was also unquestionably the rarest Mustang ever released--it was manufactured for just a single production year, 1971, and only 1,806 units were made--compared with the 500,000 Mustangs manufactured and sold by Ford in 1965 alone.

November 21, 2005
General Motors Corp. announced it would close 12 facilities, lay off 30,000 workers in North America.

Ford Mustang Boss 351

[SirAlec]

November 22, 1985
On this day, Lee Iacocca, the chief executive officer of the Chrysler Corporation, presided over the largest swearing-in ceremony for new U.S. citizens in American history. At the end of six days of rallies around the country, Iacocca, the son of Italian immigrants himself, lead 38,648 people in a swearing of allegiance to the United States. Iacocca served as president of the Ford Motor Company during the 1970s, and was largely responsible for the extremely profitable Mustang marque. After a falling out with Henry Ford II in 1978, Iacocca moved to the struggling Chrysler Corporation, and steered the company back to profitability as president and later as CEO. Iacocca was also one of the most charismatic and influential men Detroit had ever known. After making massive but necessary cuts to Chrysler's workforce, Iacocca elected to pay himself only $1 for his first year as CEO, explaining that everyone had to make sacrifices in order for Chrysler to survive. He also appeared in Chrysler's commercials as himself, wrote a best-selling autobiography, and entertained the possibility of running for president of the United States. A self-made son of immigrants, America's immigration and ethnic heritage was always important to Iacocca. Three years before presiding over the record-breaking swearing-in ceremony, Iacocca helped form the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1982 to raise funds for the restoration and preservation of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Iacocca later became chairman emeritus of this organization.

November 22, 1927
Carl Eliason of Sayner, Wisconsin, was granted the first patent ever given for a snowmobile design on this day. Eliason had actually completed his first working prototype three years before--a small vehicle with a front-mounted liquid-cooled 2.5 HP Johnson outboard engine, slide rail track guides, wooden cleats, rope-controlled steering skis, and running boards made out of two downhill skis. Eliason built his first snowmobile in a small garage behind his general store over a two-year period, and used everything from bicycle parks to a radiator from a used Model T Ford. During the 1930s, Eliason founded Eliason Motor Toboggan, continued improving on his snowmobiles, and the company was soon known around the world. A major purchaser of Eliason snowmobiles in the early years of the company was the U.S. Army, which ordered 150 all-white Eliason Motor Toboggans for use in the defense of Alaska during World War II.

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia

[SirAlec]

November 23, 1897
On this day, Ransom Eli Olds of Lansing, Michigan, is issued a U.S. patent for his "motor carriage," a gasoline-powered vehicle that he constructed the year before. In 1887, when he was only 18, Olds built his first automobile, a steam-propelled three-wheeled vehicle. However, Olds soon recognized the advantages of an engine powered by gasoline, an abundant fuel source that was safer and more reliable than steam. Two months before receiving his patent, Olds had formed the Olds Motor Vehicle Company, a company that grew into the Olds Motors Works, in 1899, with the assistance of private investor Samuel L. Smith. After designing a number of prototypes, Olds and his company finally settled on the Olds Runabout in 1901. The Runabout was a small, motorized buggy with a curved dashboard and lightweight wheels, and was powered by a one-cylinder engine capable of reaching 20mph. Perhaps out of financial necessity, Olds contracted with other companies to construct various parts for the Runabout, a production technique that differed from the current industry practice of individually handcrafting each vehicle. Olds' new production method, a prototype of assembly line production, proved a great success, and Olds Motor Works sold 425 Oldsmobile Runabouts in the first year of business, 2,500 in the next, and peaked in 1904 with sales in excess of 5,000 vehicles.

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia

[SirAlec]

November 24, 1849
John Froelich, the inventor of the first gasoline-powered farm tractor, was born in Froelich, Iowa, on this day. Froelich's tractor, completed in 1892, featured a Van Duzen one-cylinder gasoline engine mounted on wooden beams to operate a threshing machine. Froelich manufactured several more tractors of this type during the year, and in September shipped one of his engine-powered tractors to a farm in Langford, South Dakota, where it was employed in agriculture activity for the first time. Froelich established the Waterloo Gasoline Traction Engine Company in Waterloo, Iowa, in 1893, and began to manufacture tractors on a larger scale. In 1918, the Waterloo Traction Engine Company was purchased by the John Deere Plow Company. John Deere, a long-established plow company, mass-produced gasoline-powered tractors based on Froelich's designs. During the 1920s and 1930s, tractors rapidly changed the face of agriculture in America, and many traditional farmers were pushed off their land by the encroachment of large agricultural interests who utilized the efficient new farming technology.

November 24, 1900
On this day, the first gasoline-powered Pierce automobile was taken on a test drive through the streets of Buffalo, New York. George N. Pierce first founded the Pierce Company in 1878 as a manufacturer of household items, but in the late nineteenth century shifted to bicycle production. Pierce bicycles became known for their high quality, and after achieving a substantial capital base, Pierce and his company decided to try their hand in automobile production. The first few Pierce prototypes involved steam power, but in 1900 the designers shifted to gasoline engines. The first production Pierce, test driven on this day, featured a modified one-cylinder deDion engine capable of producing nearly three horsepower. The automobile would be christened the Pierce Motorette, and between 1901 and 1903 roughly 170 Pierce Motorettes were made. In 1903, Pierce began manufacturing its own engines, and later in the year, the Pierce Arrow was introduced, followed by the Pierce Great Arrow in 1904. By 1905, the George N. Pierce Company was producing some of the biggest and most expensive automobiles in America, with prices in excess of $5,000. In 1908, the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company was officially launched, and in 1909 U.S. president William Howard Taft ordered two of the prestigious automobiles, a Brougham and a Landaulette, for use by the White House.

John Froelich


John Froelich and his thrashing crew


Froelich Tractor in Froelich, Iowa


Rare Froelich replica, one of only three in existence, other are at the Smithsonian Institute and John Deere Company



Rear view of a gas station attendant filling up a 1900 Pierce-Arrow, (Huttington Library archive)

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia

The Froelich Tractor - The First Gasoline Tractor
superstock.com

[SirAlec]

November 25, 1920
Gaston Chevrolet, the younger brother of famous automobile designer and racer Louis Chevrolet, was killed during a race in Beverly Hills, California, on this day. Gaston, born in La-Chauz-de-Fonds, Switzerland, came to America in the early nineteenth century to join his brothers Louis and Andre in the establishment of a racing car design company: the Frontenac Motor Corporation. Frontenac replaced Louis' earlier racing car design company, the Chevrolet Motor Company, which he sold to William C. Durant in 1915. After some initial success, the Chevrolet brothers were faced with obsolete vehicles after World War I, and not enough financial resources to make them competitive again. However, in 1920, the new management at the Monroe Motors Company asked Louis to run his racing team. The Chevrolets moved their operations to Indianapolis, and rapidly made the Monroe racers ready for the 1920 Indy 500, the first to be held since 1914. During the 1920s, the Indy 500 was the most important racing event in America, and Gaston Chevrolet, driving a Chevrolet-adapted Monroe, won the first post-war competition with an average race speed of 86.63mph. The Chevrolet brothers did not have long to enjoy their success, however, because just a few months later Gaston was killed along with his riding mechanic Lyall Jolls during the Beverly Hills race.

November 25, 1973
On this day, in response to the 1973 oil crisis, President Richard M. Nixon called for a Sunday ban on the sale of gasoline to consumers. The proposal was part of a larger plan announced by Nixon earlier in the month to achieve energy self-sufficiency in the United States by 1980. The 1973 oil crisis began in mid-October, when 11 Arab oil producers increased oil prices and cut back production in response to the support of the United States and other nations for Israel in the Yom Kippur War. Almost overnight, gasoline prices quadrupled, and the U.S. economy, especially its automakers, suffered greatly as a result. The Sunday gasoline ban lasted until the crisis was resolved in March of the next year, but other government legislation, such as the imposing of a national speed limit of 55mph, was extended indefinitely. Experts maintained that the reduction of speed on America's highways would prevent an estimated 9,000 traffic fatalities per year. Although many motorists resented the new legislation, one long-lasting benefit for impatient travelers was the ability to make right turns at a red light, a change that the authorities estimated would conserve a significant amount of gasoline. In 1995, the national 55mph speed limit was repealed, and legislation relating to highway speeds now rests in state hands.

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia

[SirAlec]

November 26, 1927
On this day, the Ford Motor Company announced the introduction of the Model A, the first new Ford to enter the market since the Model T was first introduced in 1908. The hugely successful Model T revolutionized the automobile industry, and over 15,000,000 million copies of the "Tin Lizzie" were sold in its 19 years of production. By 1927, the popularity of the outdated Model T was rapidly waning. Improved, but basically unchanged for its two-decade reign, it was losing ground to the more stylish and powerful motor cars offered by Ford's competitors. In May of 1927, Ford plants across the country closed, as the company began an intensive development of the more refined and modern Model A. The vastly improved Model A had elegant Lincoln-like styling on a smaller scale, and used a capable 200.5-cubic-inch four-cylinder engine that produced 40hp. With prices starting at $460, nearly 5,000,000 Model As, in several body styles and a variety of colors, rolled onto America's highways until production ended in early 1932.

November 26, 1980
Peter DePaolo, who won a dazzling victory at the 1925 Indy 500, died at the age of 82 on this day. DePaolo, who was the nephew of racing legend Ralph DePalma, first started racing for Duesenberg in the 1920s. During the first half of the 1920s, Fred and August Duesenberg's expertly crafted racing cars were dominant competitors at the Indianapolis 500. In 1922, a Duesenberg engine won the event, and in 1924 a complete Duesenberg, featuring cutting-edge centrifugal superchargers, blew the competition away. For the 1925 Indy, racing car designer Harry Miller showed up with a dramatic new supercharged front-drive Miller Junior Eight, and Peter DePaolo, who was set to drive for Duesenberg, had his work cut out from him. However, DePaolo had set a promising 135mph record on the Culver City boards that same year, and as the race got underway, he took an early lead over racer Dave Lewis in the Miller Junior Eight. By the halfway point of the race, the blisters on DePaolo's hands had become intolerable, and Fred Duesenberg replaced him with Norman Batten. When DePaolo returned from the track hospital, he learned with horror that Batten had fallen to fifth place, and Dave Lewis was leading in the Miller. DePaolo reentered the race, and slowly but surely, DePaolo fought his way to the front of the pack again. When the dust cleared on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Peter DePaolo had prevailed. It was a great victory for the Duesenberg team, made greater by DePaolo's passing of the 100mph Indy speed barrier with an average speed of 101.13mph.

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia

[SirAlec]

November 27, 1901
Clement Studebaker died in South Bend, Indiana on this day. He was the co-founder of H & C Studebaker Company, which built Pennsylvania-German conestoga wagons and carriages during his lifetime, and automobiles after his death.

November 27, 1979
Ricky Carmichael a former professional motocross and supercross racer was born in Clearwater, Florida. He is now transitioning to a stock car career as a development driver with Ken Schrader. While racing pro motocross and supercross, his nickname was GOAT (Greate st of All Time).

Clement Studebaker


Ricky Carmichael

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia
studebakerhistory.com

[SirAlec]

November 28, 1890
Max Duttenhofer, managing director of Köln-Rottweiler Pulverfabrik, Wilhelm Lorenz and Gottlieb Daimler formed Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft, joint-stock company. Wilhelm Maybach joined as chief engineer. He however left on February 11, 1891 over terms of contract.

November 28, 1895
The "Great Chicago Race", first automobile race first race featuring gasoline-powered automobiles, organized by Chicago Times-Herald Publisher Herman H. Kohlstaat, took place between Chicago and Waukegan, IL; six vehicles competed: two electric cars, three German Benz automobiles, one American-made two-cylinder Duryea automobile; $5,000 in prizes, first-place prize of $2,000; Frank Duryea = winner in 10 1/2 hours with no other car in sight, average speed of 7.5mph; 2nd place - German Oscar Mueller, completed the race an hour and a half later.

November 28, 1942
On this day, the first production Ford bomber, the B-24 Liberator, rolled off the assembly line at Ford's massive Willow Run plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Two years before, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had urged an isolationist America to prepare for its inevitable involvement in the war, declaring that U.S. industry must become "the great arsenal of democracy." Roosevelt established the Office of Production Management (OPM) to organize the war effort, and named a former automotive executive co-director of the OPM. Most Detroit automobile executives opposed the OAW during its first year, and were dubious of the advantages of devoting their entire production to war material. However, on December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and American citizens mobilized behind the U.S. declaration of war against the Axis powers. Since profit ruled Detroit, the government made Ford and America's other automakers an economic offer they could not refuse. For their participation in the war effort, automakers would be guaranteed profits regardless of production costs, and $11 billion would be allocated to the building of war plants--factories that would be sold to private industry at a substantial discount after the war. In February of 1942, the last Ford automobile rolled off the assembly line for the duration of the war, and soon afterward the Willow Run plant was completed in Michigan. Built specifically for Ford's war production, Willow Run was the largest factory in the world. Using the type of assembly line production that had made Ford an industrial giant, Ford hoped to produce 500 B-24 Liberator bombers a month. After a gradual start, that figure was reached in time for the Allied invasion of Western Europe, and by July of 1944, the Willow Plant was producing one B-24 every hour. By the end of the war, the 43,000 men and women who had worked at Ford's Willow Run plant had produced over 8,500 bombers, which unquestionably had a significant impact on the course of the war.

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia

[SirAlec]

November 29, 1948
On this day, Australian Prime Minister Ben Chifley and 1,200 hundred other people attended the unveiling of the first car to be manufactured entirely in Australia--an ivory-colored motor car officially designated the 48-215, but fondly known as the Holden FX. In 1945, the Australian government had invited Australia's auto-part manufacturers to create an all-Australian car. General Motors-Holden's Automotive, a car body manufacturer, obliged, producing the 48-215, a six-cylinder, four-door sedan. The 48-215 was an instant success in Australia, and 100,000 Holden FXs were sold in the first five years of production. During the next few decades, General Motors-Holden's Automotive went on to introduce a number of other successful marques, including the Torana and the Commodore. Four million Holdens, with their trademark "Lion-and-Stone" emblem, were sold in Australia and exported around the world by the 1980s. In 1994, General Motors-Holden's Automotive finally adopted Holden as its official company name, and today Holden continues its mission of meeting Australia's unique motoring needs.

November 29, 1996
Volkswagen executive Jose Ignacio Lopez resigned on this day under charges of industrial espionage from General Motors, his former employer. As part of a major lawsuit against Volkswagen, GM charged that Lopez, its former worldwide chief of purchasing, had stolen trade secrets from the company in 1993 when he defected to Volkswagen along with three other GM managers. Lopez's resignation was likely a result of pressure from the German carmaker, which sought to reach a settlement before the scheduled lawsuit began under U.S. jurisdiction. In January 1997, VW and GM announced a settlement in which Volkswagen would pay General Motors $100 million and agree to buy at least $1 billion in parts from GM. VW also confirmed that the three other former GM managers accused of industrial espionage had all either resigned or were due to take administrative leave. In return, GM agreed to drop all legal action.


Launch of the Holden 48-215 by Prime Minister Ben Chifley

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia