September 24, 1948 – Honda Motor Company incorporates
In 1937 Soichiro Honda founded a manufacturing company to produce piston rings for Toyota, but during WWII one of Honda’s factories was bombed and the other collapsed in an earthquake in 1945. He sold off salvageable parts and machinery directly to Toyota and used the funds he received to
September 23, 1972 – The last race at the Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace circuit, a motor racing circuit in Crystal Palace Park in south London, England, saw its final professional organized race on this day in 1972. Club events would continue through 1974 before the track officially closed. The circuit opened in 1927 with a motorcycle race on May
September 22, 1893 – The first American car
On this day in 1893 brothers Frank and Charles Duryea debuted the first operational personal automobile in the United States on the streets of Springfield, Massachusetts. In the first attempt to publicly drive the car it came to a sudden halt after just a few hundred feet, as the
September 21, 1903 – Preston Tucker is born
On this day in 1903 American car designer and inventor Preston Tucker was born in Capac, Michigan. Preston is perhaps best known for the Tucker 48, but his legacy in the auto industry reaches far beyond that revolutionary vehicle. Tucker got his start in the auto industry as an
September 20, 1962 – The MGB goes to press
Just three years after introducing the MGA, the folks at MG began work on its replacement. That fact alone makes it a miracle that the MGB, which was first publicized on this day in 1962, would remain in production for 18 years following its release. Aside from the limited
September 19, 1932 – Driving 12 cylinders for 24 hours straight
Piece Arrow came up with a grand marketing plan to promote the reliability and power of its new 12-cylinder cars for 1932: drive one for 24 hours straight. The luxury automaker called on race car driver and development engineer Ab Jenkins to pilot a 1932 Model 53 Roadster on
September 18, 2004 – BMW releases the 1 Series
To replace the 3 Series Compact, BMW launched the 1 Series in Europe on this day in 2004 as a five door hatchback. The smaller Bimmer shares as much as 60 percent of its components with the E90 3 Series, as the two were developed at the same time,
September 17, 1909 – GM legend Ed Cole is born
On this day in 1909 GM executive Ed Cole was born in Marne, Michigan. Though the son of a dairy farmer, Cole wasn’t much interested in the cows. He spent his youth designing, building and selling homemade radios. His first job in the auto industry was manning the counter