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January 23, 1914 – Alex Tremulis, Cord, Duesenberg & Tucker designer, is born
23Jan By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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January 23, 1914 – Alex Tremulis, Cord, Duesenberg & Tucker designer, is born

Alex Tremulis with his Ford Thunderbird Mexico 3/8 scale concept. Designing a successful, timeless automobile is no simple feat. It takes intuition, vision, a steady hand and an incurable desire for perfection. Automobile designer Alex Tremulis, who was born on this day in 1914, appeared to have all that -- and so much more. His ability to adapt to changing tastes resulted in the design of numerous iconic cars built between the 1930s and 1980s. It all started when a 19-year-old Tremulis landed, who was born in Chicago to Greek immigrants, landed a design job at Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg. The catch? He had no formal training in the art of automobile design. The lack of education perhaps was a gift for Tremulis, who applied his own vision and techniques to the projects that he was assig...
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January 16, 1948 – Ford F-Series trucks go on sale
16Jan By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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January 16, 1948 – Ford F-Series trucks go on sale

Up until 1948, Ford's cars and trucks had shared the same platform and styling queues. That all changed when Ford launched the Ford F-Series trucks, which went on sale on this day in 1948. Badged F-1 through F-8 in order of ascending capabilities, the new trucks proved to be extremely popular. Starting with the 1/2 ton F-1, with a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,700 pounds, up to the F-8 with a 22,000 pound GVWR, there was an F-Series for every driver and every job. Above: 1965 Ford F-100. By Sicnag - CC BY 2.0. Top: 1949 Ford F-3. By Vauxford -CC BY-SA 4.0. The first generation remained in production through 1952 before being replaced by the larger second gen trucks. The third generation, introduced in 1957, saw cab overs become their own line and in house four wheel drive pro...
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January 12, 2015 – Hyundai Santa Cruz concept debuts at NAIAS
12Jan By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
This Day, Videos

January 12, 2015 – Hyundai Santa Cruz concept debuts at NAIAS

Hyundai Santa Cruz concept at the 2015 NAIAS (www.autoguide.com) With the opening of the 2015 North American International Auto Show on this day in 2015, a number of exciting new concept and production vehicles made their debut. One model in particular stood out as a fan favorite, the Hyundai Santa Cruz. Wait, a Hyundai? In an era when small pickup trucks no longer existed, the Santa Cruz catered to a forgotten market left behind with the extinction of the small Ford Ranger and Chevrolet S-10 class trucks. Ultimately the compact truck that's not really a truck, would enter production in 2022, along side competition from the Ford Maverick. 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz - By Elise240SX - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0 When first introduced in 2015, Hyundai made it known that they were not attemp...
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January 10, 2020 – Bullitt Mustang sells for $3.74 million
10Jan By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
This Day, Videos

January 10, 2020 – Bullitt Mustang sells for $3.74 million

1968 Ford Mustang GT. The Bullitt Mustang (Mecum) There are some cars that just leave a mark on society. Then there's the 1968 Ford Mustang driven by Steve McQueen in the film Bullitt. It left a fat rubber streak that stretched across San Francisco and all the way to Kissimmee, Florida, where it sold for $3,740,000 at Mecum Auctions on this day in 2020. What made this Mustang so cool, besides being driven by the King of Cool himself? For one, it set the standard for Hollywood car chases. The ten minute chase through the hills of SF saw McQueen outracing a Dodge Charger R/T driven by a pair of dubious hit men. Second, the car itself is bad, in the best way possible. Watch the chase scene here. Article continues below. Get it here. What is the Bullitt Mustang? The star car of th...
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December 30, 1940 – C. Harold Wills, Ford Model T designer, passes away
30Dec By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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December 30, 1940 – C. Harold Wills, Ford Model T designer, passes away

Henry Ford and C. Harold Wills Despite many claims to fame, most vehicles are not designed by one particular person. It takes a team to bring such ambitious visions to life. In the case of the Ford Model T, a pack of inventive minds came together to build the car that would put the world on wheels. Among them, Henry Ford, of course, as well as József Galamb. But the man who rightfully receives much of the credit for the design and engineering of the most successful car of the era and beyond is Childe Harold Wills, better known as C. Harold or C.H. C. Harold Wills and the Model T 1910 Ford Model T WIlls was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1878 and grew up in Detroit, where is father worked as a toolmaker. At age 17 he began an apprenticeship at his father's place of work, beginn...
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December 29, 1991 – Alex Tremulis, designer of Duesenbergs and Subarus, dies
29Dec By Brian CoreyNo Comments
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December 29, 1991 – Alex Tremulis, designer of Duesenbergs and Subarus, dies

Alex Tremulis with his Ford Thunderbird Mexico 3/8 scale concept. Designing a successful, timeless automobile is no simple feat. It takes intuition, future-vision, a steady hand and an incurable desire for perfection in the eyes of the masses. Automobile designer Alex Tremulis, who passed away on this day in 1991, appeared to have all that -- and so much more. His ability to adapt to changing tastes resulted in the design of numerous iconic cars built between the 1930s and 1980s. It all started when a 19-year-old Tremulis landed, who was born in Chicago to Greek immigrants in 1914, landed a design job at Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg. The catch? He had no formal training in the art of automobile design. The lack of education perhaps was a gift for Tremulis, who applied his own vision and ...
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December 11, 1978 – Mafia men use Ford Econoline to steal $5.8m in heist
11Dec By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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December 11, 1978 – Mafia men use Ford Econoline to steal $5.8m in heist

At about 3 a.m. on this day in 1978, six men began what would become the largest heist in US history to date. Though the group expected a haul of about $2 million, the 64 minute Lufthansa heist at JKF International Airport levied a score of nearly $6 million in cash and jewels. The mobsters stuffed the goods in a Ford Econoline van and tore off into the night in it and a Buick. Parnell "Stacks" Edwards had the job of disposing of the van once they transferred the loot to two new vehicles. He decided parking at his girlfriends house was as good a hiding place as any. Hint, it wasn't. Jimmy the Gent The stolen Econoline became the centerpiece of the investigation after its discovery two days later. Feds were able to lift prints from several of the suspected perpetrators. Investiga...
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December 10, 1915 – The 1,000,000th Ford
10Dec By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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December 10, 1915 – The 1,000,000th Ford

Ford Model T c.1915 Henry Ford had one goal: put the world on wheels. To be able to provide the masses with a car both reliable and affordable by the average worker, Henry had to solve two complex problems. First, he had to create the car, in a brand new industry, that was simple to operate and required basic knowledge to care for. Second, he had to make a lot of them. His answer to issue A was the Model T, introduced in 1908. By focusing on one model he was able to enhance the efficiency of production, but the company still struggled to make enough to make them appealing to the average Joe's bank account. In 1909 a hair over 10,000 of the vehicles left the factory. By the end of 1912 Henry had all but perfected automobile manufacturing in a traditional sense. That year 68,773 units...
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December 7, 1931 – The last Ford Model A
7Dec By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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December 7, 1931 – The last Ford Model A

Ford Model A production On this day in 1931 the last Ford Model A rolled out of a Detroit auto plant. Ford introduced the Model A introduced to consumers on December 2, 1927 as the replacement to the Model T, which had been in production for 18 years. The new vehicle sold one million units in just over a year, and hit two million only five months after that. Henry Ford initially resisted developing a new model to replace his beloved Model T, but pressure from his son Edsel and dropping sales figures eventually led him to give in. Edsel led the design team, although Henry would still take most of the credit for the car after it proved successful. Following the end of Model A production, Ford shut it's factories down to retool for all new models. When lines started moving again in Ma...
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November 19, 1959 – Ford announces the end of Edsel
19Nov By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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November 19, 1959 – Ford announces the end of Edsel

Too much money. Too much hype. Too much of the same old thing. Designed to ride alongside Mercury between Ford and its luxurious Lincoln line, Edsel debuted with high expectations on September 4, 1957. Despite all the glitz and glam, including an hour long TV special featuring mega celebrities of the era, the car failed to hit its mark. The press and the public were quick to shrug it off, many left gawking at its odd vertical grill. Above: 1960 Edsel Ranger. By Fletcher6 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0. Sharing numerous cosmetic and mechanical components with other Ford models, Edsels did little to stand out. Aside from their pillarific front end, that is. The 10 years of development and $250 million spent on planning, marketing, manufacturing and distribution did nothing for Ford but...
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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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