1900 – Firestone Tire & Rubber Company Is Founded
Harvey S. Firestone (above) founded the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio, on August 3, 1900. Akron was already becoming a center of American rubber manufacturing, and Firestone entered the young automobile age at exactly the right moment. The company first supplied solid rubber tires for carriage and wagon use before becoming closely associated with pneumatic automobile tires. Firestone’s friendship and business relationship with Henry Ford helped the company grow rapidly, as Ford Motor Company became one of its most important customers. Over the decades, Firestone became one of America’s best-known tire brands, deeply connected to everyday motoring, racing, trucking and the rise of mass automobile ownership.
1928 – Shelby Designer John Chun Is Born
Automotive designer John Chun was born on August 3, 1928. Born in Korea, Chun later came to the United States and became best known for his work with Shelby American during the late 1960s. After joining Shelby in 1967, he contributed to the design of the 1968 and 1969 Shelby Mustang GT350 and GT500 models, helping give the cars a more aggressive and distinctive appearance as the Shelby Mustang evolved beyond its original competition-focused roots. Chun is also credited with refining Shelby’s cobra emblem, giving the famous snake logo a more detailed and dramatic look. Though less widely known than Carroll Shelby, Chun helped shape the visual identity of some of the most collectible Shelby Mustangs ever built.
1958 – Ferrari Driver Peter Collins Dies After the German Grand Prix
English racing driver Peter Collins died on August 3, 1958, after crashing during the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring. Driving for Ferrari, Collins went off at the fast and dangerous Pflanzgarten section while pursuing Tony Brooks’ Vanwall. His Ferrari struck an embankment, overturned and threw him from the car. Collins was taken to a hospital in Bonn, where he died from his injuries. He was only 26 years old. A close friend and teammate of Mike Hawthorn, Collins had been one of Britain’s most talented Grand Prix drivers and had won three Formula One World Championship races. His death came during one of the sport’s most dangerous eras and added to Ferrari’s heavy toll in 1950s racing.
1960 – Lee, Richard and Maurice Petty Race Against Each Other
Lee Petty and his sons Richard and Maurice competed against one another for the first and only time on August 3, 1960, during a NASCAR Grand National race at Dixie Speedway in Birmingham, Alabama. The Petty family already occupied an important place in stock car racing, with Lee established as a three-time NASCAR champion and Richard beginning the career that would eventually make him “The King.” Maurice, who became better known as the engine-building genius behind Petty Enterprises, made his top-level NASCAR debut in the event. Richard finished second, Lee placed third and Maurice came home eighth, creating a rare full-family snapshot from the early years of NASCAR’s most famous dynasty.
1977 – The Spy Who Loved Me Brings the Lotus Esprit to America
The Spy Who Loved Me reached U.S. theaters on August 3, 1977, giving American audiences one of the most famous movie cars of all time: James Bond’s white Lotus Esprit S1. In the film, the wedge-shaped Lotus transforms into a submarine, complete with underwater weapons and gadgetry, after Bond drives it off a pier during a chase. Nicknamed “Wet Nellie,” the car became one of the defining automotive images of the Roger Moore Bond era and introduced the Giorgetto Giugiaro-designed Esprit to a massive audience. Like the Aston Martin DB5 before it, the Lotus proved that a movie appearance could turn a sports car into a permanent pop-culture icon.
