1918 – Ken Miles Born in Sutton Coldfield
Kenneth Henry Jarvis “Ken” Miles arrived in Sutton Coldfield on November 1, 1918, and went on to become one of the most inventive driver‑engineers in postwar sports‑car racing. After moving to the United States he carved out a reputation as a precise test driver and development engineer for Shelby American, shaping the handling and performance of Cobra and Ford GT40 prototypes while also racing them himself. Miles’s combination of mechanical insight and seat‑of‑the‑pants speed made him central to Ford’s Le Mans program in the mid‑1960s; his role testing, tuning, and racing factory entries was widely credited with extracting the cars’ competitive potential before his death in 1966.
1945 – DuPont Hands Indian Motorcycles to Ralph B. Rogers
On November 1, 1945, DuPont Motors formally turned control of Indian’s operations over to a consortium led by Ralph B. Rogers, beginning a new chapter for the storied American marque. Rogers and his group assumed responsibility for postwar production and management at a moment when military contracts and peacetime markets were reshaping the motorcycle industry. The transfer was not simply a change of ownership on paper; it placed day‑to‑day factory direction and product decisions into Rogers’s hands as Indian attempted to regain stability and competitiveness after years of war‑time disruption and financial strain.
1955 – Studebaker Introduces the Hawk Line
Studebaker unveiled the Hawk nameplate to the public on November 1, 1955, rolling out a two‑door personal‑coupe intended to blend sporting appeal with everyday usability. The original Hawk established the visual and mechanical foundation that Studebaker would iterate on through multiple Hawk variants from 1956 into the 1960s, emphasizing a compact wheelbase, distinctive roofline, and a focus on driver engagement rather than outright luxury. Announcing the line as a family of personal coupes allowed Studebaker to market a single, recognizable identity while experimenting with engines, trim, and styling across the subsequent Hawk models.
1972 – Standard Oil of New Jersey Becomes Exxon Corporation
On November 1, 1972, Standard Oil Company of New Jersey officially adopted the name Exxon Corporation, a corporate rebranding that consolidated its consumer identity under a single new brand. The change anticipated a series of related subsidiary renamings that would take effect in early 1973, signaling a deliberate shift away from the old Jersey Standard label toward a modern national brand. The new Exxon name would become synonymous with the company’s refining, marketing, and retail operations across the United States in the years that followed.
1977 – Sandwich, Windsor and Amherstburg Railway Renamed Transit Windsor
The local transit agency took on the name Transit Windsor on November 1, 1977, when the Sandwich, Windsor and Amherstburg Railway was formally renamed under the Sandwich, Windsor and Amherstburg Railway Act, 1977. The changeover included the transfer of a substantial bus roster into the newly named agency and marked the start of operations under the Transit Windsor identity. Presented as a municipal transit reorganization, the renaming codified the city’s move to operate an urban bus system with centralized management and a unified brand for riders across Windsor and its neighboring communities.
