This Day In Automotive History

[SirAlec]

24th July 1938
Dick Seaman, driving a Mercedes-Benz 154 to victory at the German Grand Prix at Nurburgring, Germany, became the first Briton to win a major Grand Prix since Malcolm Campbell did it 15 years earlier. The race turned out to be a showdown between Mercedes--with their driving team of Seaman, Caracciola, von Brauchitsch and Lang; Auto Union--with newly acquired Italian great Tazio Nuvolari; and Alpha--with their team of Tartuffi and Farina. Mercedes qualified all three first row positions with Seaman in his British green helmet on the outside. After the typical lengthy Nazi parading, the race got underway in front of over 400,000 spectators. Midway through the race, in spite of Nuvolari's noble efforts, it was clear the race would be decided among the Mercedes drivers and that von Brauchtitsch and Seaman were the men to beat. Von Brauchtitsch led the race until he came into pit for tires and fuel. The crowd buzzed to see how fast the crew could change him, but in their rush the fuel tank was overfilled. The portable starter ignited the engine, the tank sucked in air and then shot a massive flame into the sky, igniting the back half of the car. Seaman pulled away unscathed, taking the lead for the first time. Von Brauchtitsch eventually returned to the race only to let his foul mood get the best of him as he took a corner too fast and crashed into a ditch. He is said to have walked back to the pits, black in the face, holding his detachable steering wheel that he claimed came off in the turn. His mechanic denied the possibility. Meanwhile, Seaman steamed to a comfortable victory ahead of Lang, Stuck, and Nuvolari.

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia

[SirAlec]

July 25th 1945
Henry Kaiser and Joseph Frazer announced plans to form a corporation to manufacture automobiles on this day in 1945. The two men formed an unlikely pair. Frazer had great contacts in the auto industry and Kaiser had initial capital and experience with huge government contracts.

Kaiser logo


Kaiser Manhattan 4-Door Sedan 1953


1953 Kaiser Darrin sports car in 3D Anachrome. Body design by Dutch Darrin and Bill Tritt


1953 Kaiser Darrin in Anachrome 3D. Note that the innovatinve doors slide into the front fender.


1949 Kaiser Virginian

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia

[SirAlec]

July 26th 1932
Frederick S. Duesenberg died in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, of complications from injuries suffered in an automobile accident on July 2, 1932. Frederick and his brother Augie created the Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company. Born in Lippe, Germany, Frederick moved to the U.S. in 1885. In 1897 he started a bicycle business, and in 1899 he built a highly efficient gasoline engine to be used for motorcycles. This was the beginning of his automotive career. He took a job with the Rambler Motor Company and worked there, learning the business, until 1905, when he convinced his brother Augie to go into business selling engines. The two brothers designed the Mason engine, with its famous "walking beam" overhead valve design, and started the Mason Motor Car Company. When they sold the business in 1913, they were mature players in the automotive industry.

Dusenberg Brothers (Fred Duesenberg, left)


Dusenberg logo

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia

[Dussey]

Originally Posted by SirAlec

July 26th 1932
Frederick S. Duesenberg died in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, of complications from injuries suffered in an automobile accident on July 2, 1932. Frederick and his brother Augie created the Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company. Born in Lippe, Germany, Frederick moved to the U.S. in 1885. In 1897 he started a bicycle business, and in 1899 he built a highly efficient gasoline engine to be used for motorcycles. This was the beginning of his automotive career. He took a job with the Rambler Motor Company and worked there, learning the business, until 1905, when he convinced his brother Augie to go into business selling engines. The two brothers designed the Mason engine, with its famous "walking beam" overhead valve design, and started the Mason Motor Car Company. When they sold the business in 1913, they were mature players in the automotive industry.


Dusenberg Brothers (Fred Duesenberg, left)
Attachment 32456

Dusenberg logo
Attachment 32457

Source:
The History Channel

Wikipedia

I am an admirer of Auburn/Cord/Dussenberg hence my pseudo name
" Dussey". Dussenbergs were famous as the Hollywood actors and actresses of yesteryear used to atend award functions in their Dussenbergs.

[SirAlec]

July 27th 1888
Philip W. Pratt demonstrated first electric automobile in Boston; tricycle powered by six Electrical Accumulator Company cells, weighed 90 pounds.

July 27th 1904
On this day in 1904, Dr. Herbert Hills of Flint, Michigan, purchased the first Buick automobile ever to be sold. Founder David Buick initially made his mark as an inventor and mechanic in the plumbing industry, but had sold out of his business in order to pursue building motor cars. Buick was a man with an innate gift for inventing and tinkering, but who cared little for financial matters. He reputedly was unable to sit still unless he was concentrating on some kind of mechanical problem. None of his contemporaries would have been surprised that his company eventually became more successful than he did. In 1902, after years of fiddling with an automobile design, Buick agreed to a partnership with the Briscoe Manufacturing Company, wherein Briscoe would write off Buick's debts while in turn establishing a $100,000 capitalization for Buick's car company. Buick ceded $99,700 of the company's stock to Briscoe until he repaid his standing debt of $3,500, at which point he could buy controlling interest in the stock. Still, Buick had yet to complete an automobile. When it became clear to Briscoe that Buick would neither be able to pay his debts nor complete his vehicle soon, they sold their interest in the company to the Flint Wagon Works for $10,000. Buick and his son were given stock, but their managerial roles shrunk. Finally, in July of 1904, the first Buick made its initial test run. During the test run, the Buick averaged 30mph on a trip around Flint, going so fast at one point that the driver "couldn't see the village six-mile-an-hour sign." Sixteen Buicks were sold in the next few months, but Flint Wagon Works remained troubled by the Buick venture. They had purchased the company in order to help the city of Flint adjust to a new economy of automobile production, but Buick was already heavily in debt to a number of Flint banks. At this point, David Buick owned only a small share of stock and held none of the business responsibilities, and the Wagon Works decided to bring in Flint whiz kid William Durant to turn the business around. Durant kept Buick on as a manager, a position he held with little impact until 1908. Durant turned Buick into a major player in the automotive industry before incorporating it into his General Motors project

Dr. Herbert Hills with his first Buick


Buick Logo

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia
Promotex Online - The Real Ghost in Buick's Past

[SirAlec]

July 28th 1973
Bonnie and Clyde's bullet-riddled 1934 Ford V-8 sedan was sold at auction for $175,000 to Peter Simon of Jean, Nevada. The Ford V-8 model succeeded the new Model A, and it was well received due to its speed and power, perhaps this is why it seemed most popular among the criminal element. Henry Ford first received a personal letter congratulating him on the car's performance from famed outlaw gunman John Dillinger.

Ford V8


More Details on the Car
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/839542-post43.html (This Day In Automotive History)

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia

[SirAlec]

July 29th 1909
Buick Motor Company acquired Cadillac Motor Company on behalf of General Motors for $4.5 million. Cadillac was born from the ashes of the Henry Ford Company, a business organized by William Murphy to produce a car by Henry Ford. Murphy had been one of the original backers of the Detroit Automobile Company, which had dissolved in 1901 after Ford had failed to build a car he was willing to put to market. Such faith did Murphy have in Ford that he gave him another chance in the Henry Ford Company, opting to use Ford's name due to the recognition he had received from his recent racing ventures. Ford was so wrapped up in racing that he again failed to produce, and Murphy fired him. He then asked Henry Leland, a partner in Detroit's successful Leland and Faulconer Machine shop, to appraise the business before he sold it. Leland persuaded Murphy and his partners to stay in business, promising them that he could design a car successful enough to make it profitable.
In August 1902, they formed the Cadillac Car Company. Leland gradually took control of Cadillac's daily operations, and by the end of 1903 2,500 Cadillacs had been produced. The founding of Cadillac helped solidify Detroit's position as the center of the automobile industry, and in 1904 Leland became president and general manager of Cadillac and agreed to merge Cadillac with Faulconer and Leland. Sales continued to rise and Cadillac established a reputation for exacting quality under Leland's detail-oriented supervision. In a triumphant demonstration of the interchangeability of Cadillac's parts, in 1908 three Cadillacs were disassembled by the Royal Automobile Club in England, reassembled at random, and driven away by the mechanics. In November 1908, Benjamin Briscoe made a bid for Cadillac, but he was unable to generate enough backing to carry the deal. William Durant seized the opportunity to add the valuable brand to his newly formed General Motors Corporation, and arranged a deal of stock transfer with the Lelands, but the Lelands ultimately refused it--they wanted cash. Finally, Durant got the cash together and purchased Cadillac, through Buick, on behalf of General Motors. Durant kept the Lelands on as management, saying, "I want you to continue to run Cadillac exactly as though it were still your own. You will receive no directions from anyone."

Cadillac logo


Cadillac factory


First Cadillac, Smithsonian Inst.

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia
The Cadillac Story

[SirAlec]

July 29th 1904
Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy (J.R.D.) Tata was born in Paris, France to Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata and his French wife Suzanne Briere. Ratanji Tata was a first cousin of Jamsetji Tata.
He was a pioneer aviator and important businessman of India. He was one of the few people who were awarded Bharat Ratna during their life time.
J.R.D.Tata was inspired early by French aviation pioneer Louis Bleriot, and took to flying. In 1929 Tata got the first pilot licence issued in India. He later came to be known as the father of Indian civil aviation. He founded India's first commercial airline, 'Tata Airlines', in 1932, which in 1946 became Air India, now India's national airline.

J.R.D. Tata


J.R.D.Tata Stamp


JRD Tata with his wife on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of his Karachi-Ahmedabad-Bombay flight from Santa Cruz airport.


J.R.D., Pioneer of Indian Aviation

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia
tata.com
tribune.com
onlybombay.blogspot.com

[SirAlec]

July 30th 1898
Scientific American magazine carried the very first automobile advertisement for Winton Motor Car Company of Cleveland, OH; invited readers to "dispense with a horse".

July 30th 2003
The last “classic” Volkswagen Beetle rolled off the production line at VW’s Puebla, Mexico, plant on this day in 2003. The car, part of the 3,000-unit final edition, was sent to a museum in Wolfsburg, Germany, where Volkswagen is headquartered. In true Mexican fashion, a mariachi band serenaded the last car.

Ironically, the car that became a symbol of flower-power Hippies in the 1960s and inspired Disney’s Herbie the Love Bug has its roots in Nazi Germany. In the 1930s, Adolf Hitler commissioned a design from Ferdinand Porsche for an affordable, efficient “people’s car.” After World War II, the Beetle’s popularity began to grow internationally and by 2002 over 21 million cars had been produced.
In the international poll for the award of the world's most influential car of the twentieth century the Beetle came fourth after the Ford Model T, the Mini, and the Citroën DS.

The very first Ad. for Automobile


The final original beetle (No. 21,529,464) at VW Museum, Wolfsburg


The Farewell Ceremony

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia
mitchellarchives.com

[SirAlec]

July 31st 1916
Louise Smith, NASCAR's first female act, was born on this day in 1916. Known as racing's "Good ol' Gal" she competed in stock-car racing during its decidedly "good ol' boy" years. A native of Greenville, South Carolina, Smith raced various Modified, Sportsman, and Grand National series events between 1946 and 1956. Her fearless attitude made her a novelty at a time when most women were homemakers.
She went as a spectator to her first NASCAR race at the Daytona Beach Road Course in 1949. She couldn't stand watching the races, so she entered her family's shiny new Ford coupe in the race and rolled it. Her hometown Greenville, South Carolina paper featured photos of the wreck, and the town knew about it before she got home. The race was the first race to feature three female drivers (Ethel Mobley and Sara Christian). The trio also competed later that season at the Langley Speedway. She raced from 1949 to 1956. She won 38 races in her career in numerous formats: late models, modifieds (28 victories), midgets, and sportsman.


July 31st 1928
The Chrysler Corporation acquired Dodge Brothers, Inc. from Dillon Read for $170 million.

Louise Smith

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia
Louise_Smith

[throttleking]

slightly irrelevant, July 31, 1971 Apollo 15 astronauts take 6 hour electric car ride on Moon

[SirAlec]

August 1st 1903
The first cross-country auto trip, from New York City to San Francisco, was completed on this day in 1903. The trail was blazed by a Packard, which finished in a mere 52 days. Since then, countless Americans have embarked on the cross-country trek, driving from coast to coast.

August 1st 1910
The state of New York issued its first license plates on this day in 1910. Massachusetts, the first state in the nation to issue plates, had been doing so since 1893, when it introduced iron plates with the registration number etched on top. The current New York plate, which features the Statue of Liberty, has been in use since 1986.

August 1st 1941
Jeep is born on this day. Parade magazine called it "...the Army's most intriguing new gadget...a tiny truck which can do practically everything." During World War I, the U.S. Army began looking for a fast, lightweight all-terrain vehicle, but the search did not grow urgent until early 1940. At this time, the Axis powers had begun to score victories in Europe and Northern Africa, intensifying the Allies' need for an all-terrain vehicle. The U.S. Army issued a challenge to automotive companies, requesting a working prototype, fit to army specifications, in just 49 days. Willy's Truck Company was the first to successfully answer the Army's call, and the new little truck was christened "the Jeep." General Dwight D. Eisenhower said that America could not have won World War II without it. Parade was so enthusiastic about the Jeep, that, on this day, it devoted three full pages to a feature on the vehicle.

August 1st 2006
Market share of Detroit auto companies fell to 52% in July 2006, lowest point in history (52.2% in October 2005). Auto sales figures showed that Toyota passed Ford Motor Company to rank as the second-biggest-selling auto company in the U.S. Honda outsold DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler group for the first time. General Motors held a 27% share of the auto market and Chrysler - 10%.

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia
Original WWII Jeep Photograph Archive - AVG Flying Tigers Jeeps in China

[SirAlec]

August 2nd 1950
The Ford Motor Company created the Defense Products Division in order to handle the large number of government contracts related to the Korean War. The conversion from automobile manufacture to weapons production had already been made several times in history, including during World War II, when civilian automobile production in the U.S. virtually ceased as manufacturers began turning out tanks instead.

August 2nd 1987
This fateful day in 1987 witnessed the fastest race in Indy car history to that date, when Michael Andretti won the Marlboro 500 at the Michigan International Speedway with an average speed of 171.490mph. Andretti broke the record previously set by Bobby Rahal at 170.722mph. Incidentally, one of the drivers that Andretti sped past on that day was his father and fellow driver, Mario Andretti.

August 2nd 1990
Sven-Erik Soderman, driving an Opel Kadett at Mora, Sweden, set a world's record in stunt driving on this day in 1990. Soderman reached a speed of 102.14mph while driving his car on two side wheels.

Michael Andretti with his father, legendary Mario Andretti

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia

[SirAlec]

August 3rd 1900
The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company was established in Akron, Ohio, on this day in 1900. Thirty-one-year-old inventor and entrepreneur Harvey S. Firestone seized on a new way of making carriage tires and began production with only 12 employees. Eight years later, Firestone tires were chosen by Henry Ford for the Model T, and Firestone eventually became a household name. Firestone is now owned by Bridgestone.
In May 2000, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration contacted Ford and Firestone about the high incidence of tire failure on Ford Explorers, Mercury Mountaineers, and Mazda Navajos fitted with Firestone tires. Ford investigated and found that several models of 15" Firestone tires had very high failure rates, especially those made at Firestone's Decatur, Illinois plant. This was one of the leading factors to the closing of the Decatur plant.
In a 2001 letter to Ford Motor Company Chief Executive at the time Jacques Nassar, then Chairman / CEO of Bridgestone/Firestone announced that Bridgestone/Firestone would no longer enter into new contracts with Ford Motor Company, effectively ending a 100-year supply relationship.

August 3, 1926
The first traffic lights in Britain were installed at Piccadilly Circus.

August 3rd 1938
The famous English circuit Brooklands hosted its final race on this day in 1938, ending the track's 32-year history. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first oval-style motorsport venue and was also one of Britain's first airfields. Nowadays it plays host to an aviation and motoring museum, as well as various vintage car rallies.

August 3rd 1941
Although the U.S. had not yet entered World War II at this time, gasoline rationing began in parts of the eastern United States on this day in 1941. The rationing would spread to the rest of the country as soon as the U.S. joined the Allied forces, and the production of cars for private use halted completely in 1942. Measures of a similar sort had already taken place in most European countries.

The Firestone Factory


Wreck of one of the controversial Ford Explorer/Firestone.


So called defective high failure rate tyre


Brooklands race track now converted to Museum

Vickers Wellington IA Serial Number N2980

Riley car at Brooklands

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia
Firestone and Ford tire controversy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[SirAlec]

August 4th 1898
On a visit to the Winton plant with his brother James, William D. Packard was taken for a test-drive in one of the company's vehicles, accompanied by George L. Weiss, a Winton executive. Packard ended up purchasing the Winton, to his later regret. The Packards' disappointing experience with the Winton prompted them to build their own car and establish the Ohio Automobile Company in 1900, which would later become the Packard Motor Company.

August 4th 1957
Juan Fangio won his last auto race and captured the world auto driving championship for the fifth consecutive year on this day in 1957. Fangio, born in Argentina and of Italian descent, won the World Championship a record five times, as well as capturing 24 Grand Prix titles. He began his career as a mechanic, but eventually started racing in South America with a car he built himself. After his retirement from racing, Fangio went to work for Mercedes-Benz in Argentina.

August 4th 1971
Jeff Gordon, a stock-car driver known as "The Kid," was born on this day in 1971. Gordon raced onto the NASCAR scene in 1997 by winning the Winston Cup season points championship for a prestigious second time at the age of 26. "The Kid" was also the first driver to win the Southern 500, NASCAR's oldest race, three years in a row. His clean-cut California image was initially disliked by many racing fans, who tended to prefer the gritty personas of traditional stock-car drivers. However, Gordon had talent, an aggressive driving style, and a knack for publicity, which drew many new fans to the sport.

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia