This Day in Automotive History: November 15

1930 – Moon Motor Company Put Under Receivership

A stockholder’s lawsuit tipped the scales on November 15, 1930, when Seneca C. Taylor was appointed temporary receiver and took charge of the Moon Motor Car Company amid allegations of mismanagement. Court opinions and receivers’ reports later described the difficult task facing Taylor: sorting creditor claims, overseeing assets, and steering the company through liquidation proceedings that followed the receivership. Moon’s factories and inventories, once part of a hopeful small-car maker, became subjects of judicial accounting rather than production plans. The appointment crystallized the company’s slide from competitor to a legal estate under court control, a fate documented in subsequent judicial opinions.

1965 – Breedlove Tops 600 mph in Spirit of America

At the Bonneville Salt Flats Craig Breedlove took the jet‑powered Spirit of America (Sonic I) past a threshold no driver had crossed before, averaging 600.601 mph for a two‑way run on November 15, 1965. The sleek, low‑slung car, powered by a J79 turbojet, blistered the salt track and produced the first ratified land‑speed record over 600 mph—an achievement recorded by both contemporary accounts and later FIA compilations. Breedlove’s run concentrated attention on pure thrust‑driven speed efforts and set a benchmark that reshaped the targets challengers would chase in subsequent salt‑flat campaigns.

1977 – Ford Rolls Out Its 100,000,000th U.S.-Built Vehicle

A 1978 Ford Fairmont Futura coupe emerged from Mahwah, New Jersey, on November 15, 1977, carrying a milestone badge: it was the 100,000,000th Ford vehicle assembled in the United States. The Mahwah plant finished the coupe and the car went on a promotional tour before being preserved, a symbolic celebration for a company that had mechanized mass production across the 20th century. The Fairmont Futura—an era‑typical compact coupe—served as a convenient, readily produced model to mark the round figure and gave Ford a photographic centerpiece for the milestone.

2004 – Citroën Launches the C4 in the UK

Citroën’s first‑generation C4 arrived in United Kingdom showrooms on 15 November 2004, where dealers began offering the model to British buyers in mid‑November. The C4 presented a modern compact silhouette and was promoted across Europe as part of Citroën’s renewed small‑family‑car line-up; UK press road tests and dealer listings of the time note the mid‑November availability. For Citroën the C4 replaced the older models in a segment where compact styling and interior innovation mattered, and the UK market launch on this date marked the car’s official entry into that national market.

2020 – Hamilton Wins in Turkey to Secure a Seventh World Title

Lewis Hamilton crossed the line at Istanbul Park on November 15, 2020, to win the Turkish Grand Prix and, in doing so, clinched his seventh World Drivers’ Championship—matching Michael Schumacher’s all‑time record. The race result and championship confirmation were recorded in the official classifications, and Hamilton’s victory on a wet, demanding circuit secured the points needed for the title even as teammates and rivals battled behind him. The achievement placed Hamilton alongside Schumacher in the statistics of championships won and became a headline moment in a season shaped by unusual schedules and varied conditions.