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Author: Automotive History

March 24, 1999 – Mont Blanc Tunnel Fire
24Mar By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
This Day

March 24, 1999 – Mont Blanc Tunnel Fire

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA The Mont Blanc Tunnel that connects Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France with Courmayeur, Aosta Valley, Italy, via European route E25 through the Alps, was the scene of a fatal fire that took the lives of 38 people on this day in 1999. A cargo truck carrying flour and margarine caught fire while passing through the tunnel and when the driver stopped his truck to try and extinguish the flames he was quickly overwhelmed by the heat. Authorities stopped additional traffic from entering the vehicle once the emergency was reported, but as many as 10 personal vehicles and 18 trucks were stuck inside. The toxic fumes prevented people from escaping and the intense heat melted wiring, turning the tunnel into a dark, smoke-filled void that made fighting the flames nearly imp...
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March 22, 1983 – AM General wins HUMVEE contract
22Mar By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
This Day

March 22, 1983 – AM General wins HUMVEE contract

In 1979, the U.S. Army drafted specifications for a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or HMMWV for short, better known as Humvee. They released them to the public in hopes of finding a company to build the new military troop transports. A total of 61 companies initially showed interest in the project, but when the deadline for prototypes hit, only three had submissions, Chrysler, Teledyne Continental and AM General. After putting more than 600,000 miles on the prototypes during testing in conditions ranging from arctic to desert, the US Armed Forces awarded AM General the government contract for 55,000 vehicles on this day in 1983.  The Humvee would first see combat during the US invasion of Panama in 1989 before seeing heavy action in the Gulf War two years later. A...
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March 21, 1923 – The one millionth Buick
21Mar By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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March 21, 1923 – The one millionth Buick

Originally founded in 1899 as the Buick Auto-Vim and Power Company, it became Buick Motor Company in 1903 under founder David Dunbar Buick. Growing up in Detroit, Buick developed a passion for building engines, which led to the car company with his name on it. Buick faced numerous capital challenges in its early days and the company nearly went bankrupt several times. Staring down the end of the line, Buick brought in businessman William C. Durant as a controlling investor in 1904, who became the first president of the automotive company. Durant's excellent business skills and marketing strategies helped to turn the company around. 1923 Buick Touring (not the one millionth made). By Lars-Göran Lindgren Sweden - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 Buick continued to innovate in the years th...
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Top 5 Craigslist Cars (Week of March 20, 2023) Cheap Corvette Edition
20Mar By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
Cheap Classic Cars, Videos

Top 5 Craigslist Cars (Week of March 20, 2023) Cheap Corvette Edition

Let's face it, we all want to find that iconic car listed for dirt cheap on Craigslist or wherever else, but the hunt is tough, it's long and it's often fruitless. I'm here to tell you that the chances of finding that super sweet deal are slim, but not impossible. That said, a relatively cheap Corvette for sale is not hard to come by. While these deals aren't going to make anyone run to the bank waving their arms in the way, but they may stir some thoughts. Like, "Oh, dang, I can drive that for under $10,000?" Heck yes! The beauty of Corvettes is that they are affordable four-wheel fun. While there are some big dollar ones, many Corvettes are somewhat affordable, even in running and driving condition. Let's take a look at a few Craigslist Corvettes, all of which are equipped with ...
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March 20, 1928 – James Packard, Founder of Packard Motor Car Company, dies
20Mar By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
This Day

March 20, 1928 – James Packard, Founder of Packard Motor Car Company, dies

James Packard and his wife Elizabeth Gillmer in a Packard James Packard, co-founder of the Packard Motor Car Company, passed away on this day in 1928. At the time of his death, Packard ran with the top selling luxury brands in the world. Building such a company started with James' purchase of a Winton Automobile in 1898, changing the course of automotive history forever. Packard found himself dissatisfied with his new vehicle, which one has to admit is a bit bogus, considering the number of comparable automobiles in an existence barley reached one. Having done business with a Winton investor for his existing electrical company, Packard was able to take his complaints directly to Alexander Winton, the founder of the automaker. Winton waved off any suggestions Packard offered telling him...
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March 19, 2005 – John DeLorean dies
19Mar By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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March 19, 2005 – John DeLorean dies

American automotive engineer and industry executive John Z. DeLorean passed away on this day in 2005 at the age of 80. While he is most famous for founding the DeLorean Motor Company, which produced the DMC-12, he worked for a number of other automakers prior to starting his own company. After receiving a degree in engineering, he sold life insurance for a stint. He then enrolled in Chrysler's master's in automotive engineering program. Upon his graduation in 1952, the automaker offered him a job. John DeLorean with DMC-12 Prototype Less than a year after joining Chrysler he would move to Packard where he made substantial improvements to the company’s new automatic transmission. This effort gained him notoriety in the auto industry, causing him to catch the eye of numerous vete...
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March 18, 1933 – Studebaker goes bankrupt
18Mar By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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March 18, 1933 – Studebaker goes bankrupt

In 1920, under the presidency of Albert Erskine, Studebaker finally fully committed to the auto industry after building its last horse drawn wagon. Though it had been building cars for about two decades, the company had a 60 year history of wagon building. Throughout the 1920s Erskine led Studebaker through the acquisition of luxury automaker Pierce-Arrow and the launch of two short lived, more affordable automobile lines, Erskine and Rockne. Following the stock market crash of October 1929, Studebaker fell into a tailspin. The money troubles mounted, leading Studebaker to the company going into receivership on this day in 1933. The financial crisis resulted in Erskine being ousted from his role as president. Riddled with personal debt and numerous health problems, the newly unemp...
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March 17, 1948 – Hells Angels MC is founded
17Mar By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
This Day

March 17, 1948 – Hells Angels MC is founded

The Bishop family formed the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club in Fontana, California on this day in 1948. Composed of members from a number of other local clubs, the Angels' name is supposedly inspired by WWII fighter pilots. Another possible origin could be Howard Hughes’ 1930 film “Hell’s Angels” about WWI fighter pilots. Internal club messaging states the name came from Arvid Olson, an associate of the club founders. During WWII he was a Squadron Leader of the 3rd Pursuit Squadron “Hells Angels” American Volunteer Group. Olson himself never became a member of the club. A Hells Angels clubhouse in New York City. By Beyond My Ken - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0 Early knowledge of the Hells Angels is somewhat unclear, but some of the first chapters began in San Francisco, Fontana and Oakl...
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March 16, 1958 – The 50,000,000th Ford
16Mar By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
This Day

March 16, 1958 – The 50,000,000th Ford

In 1913, just 10 years after the founding of Ford Motor Company, the 1,000,000th Ford, a Model T of course, left the assembly line. At that time, production was on cruise control thanks to innovations in the manufacturing process. By the early 1920s, Ford could produce more than one million vehicles per year. When Model T production in 1927, more than 15,000,000 Fords had left the factory. This massive scale production led to the fifty millionth Ford, a Thunderbird, leaving a Dearborn, Michigan assembly line on this day in 1958. Above: Ford assembly line in 1913.Top: 1958 Ford Thunderbird by Pom' CC2.0. (Not the fifty millionth Ford) The Thunderbird initially competed with Corvette, outselling it as a two-seater from 1955 to 1957. The personal luxury car, as it was branded, the...
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March 15, 1968 – Construction begins on highest tunnel in the US
15Mar By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
This Day

March 15, 1968 – Construction begins on highest tunnel in the US

At the time of its completion the Eisenhower–Johnson Memorial Tunnel, about 60 miles west of Denver, Colorado, was the world’s highest tunnel with a maximum elevation of 11,158 ft (3,401 m). Construction of the 1.693 mile (2.72 km) tunnel, a part of Interstate 70, broke ground on this day in 1968, starting with the westbound bore named after President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Above: Eastern portal, named for Edwin C. Johnson - By Patrick Pelster - CC BY-SA 3.0Top: West portal, named for Dwight D. Eisenhower, in 1978 - By Seattleretro - CC BY-SA 3.0 The eastbound bore, named for Edwin C. Johnson, a Colorado governor and U.S. Senator who lobbied for an Interstate Highway to be built through Colorado, was initiated in August of 1975, about a year and a half after the first bore was o...
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This Day in Automotive History is a transportation history, car history and general automotive history website dedicated to providing informative and entertaining content. Our goal is to enlighten our readers by producing and publishing automotive content on a wide range of topics, including famous cars, important automotive inventors and engineers and other historic automobile related events, places and people. We encourage you to share our page and connect with us on Facebook or sign up for our automotive history newsletter at the top of this page. If you have any questions about the content we publish, including our car videos and car history pictures and text and the use of them, please don’t hesitate to contact us using the below email address. On occasion we post classic cars for sale from Craigslist, Facebook and other online marketplaces. We utilize imagery from those ads in a fair use fashion. This includes barn finds for sale, muscle cars for sale, vans for sale, station wagons for sale, trucks for sale and other affordable old cars for sale. If you’d like your car featured, reach out to us!

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