1926 – The First British Grand Prix Is Held at Brooklands
The first British Grand Prix was held at Brooklands on August 7, 1926, bringing Grand Prix racing to Britain’s most important early motor-racing venue. Officially known as the Grand Prix of the Royal Automobile Club, the race was staged on a modified Brooklands course that included artificial sandbank chicanes to slow the cars. Only nine cars started, but the event still marked a major step for British motorsport. The race was won by Robert Sénéchal and Louis Wagner, sharing a Delage 15 S 8. Brooklands would host the British Grand Prix again in 1927, but the 1926 running remains historic as the beginning of Britain’s long relationship with Grand Prix racing.
1937 – The Final Cord Leaves the Factory
The final Cord 812 left the factory on August 7, 1937, marking the end of production for Cord and effectively closing the Auburn Automobile Company. Cord had been one of the most innovative American marques of the 1930s, best remembered for the front-wheel-drive L-29 and the dramatic 810 and 812 models designed under Gordon Buehrig. With hidden headlights, a low “coffin-nose” hood, front-wheel drive and advanced styling, the Cord 810/812 looked unlike nearly anything else on American roads. Unfortunately, innovation was not enough to overcome the economic pressures of the Great Depression and the collapse of E.L. Cord’s automotive empire. The last Cord’s departure closed one of the most creative chapters in American car design.
1944 – Civilian Volkswagen Production Ends During World War II
The last civilian KdF-Wagen, later known to the world as the Volkswagen Beetle, reportedly left the factory on August 7, 1944, as wartime demands and Allied bombing pressure ended any remaining pretense of civilian production. The Volkswagen project had been promoted in the 1930s as a “people’s car,” but World War II transformed the factory’s purpose. Instead of building affordable cars for German families, Volkswagen production focused heavily on military vehicles such as the Kübelwagen and Schwimmwagen. Civilian Beetle production would not truly begin in meaningful numbers until after the war, when British occupation authorities helped restart the damaged Wolfsburg plant. The 1944 halt marked the end of the Beetle’s troubled first chapter before its postwar reinvention.
2001 – Ford and Navistar Create Blue Diamond Truck Company
Ford Motor Company and Navistar International finalized plans on August 7, 2001, to form Blue Diamond Truck Company, a joint venture focused on medium-duty commercial trucks. The partnership brought together Ford’s truck brand strength and Navistar’s experience in commercial vehicles and diesel engines. Blue Diamond was created to produce Class 6 and Class 7 trucks, including vehicles connected to Ford’s F-650 and F-750 lineup. Although not a consumer-car milestone, the joint venture reflected the importance of commercial trucks to the American auto industry. Medium-duty vehicles may not get the attention of Mustangs, Corvettes or supercars, but they are part of the working backbone of transportation.
2004 – Midnight Sun Begins a 9,364-Mile Solar Car Journey
The University of Waterloo’s Midnight Sun solar car team left Ontario, Canada, on August 7, 2004, beginning an ambitious 15,070-kilometer journey through Canada and the United States. Covering approximately 9,364 miles between August 7 and September 14, the trip became one of the longest solar-car journeys ever completed. The project showcased student engineering, renewable-energy experimentation and the potential of lightweight electric mobility long before EVs became a mainstream part of the automotive market. Solar cars are extreme machines built for efficiency rather than practicality, but efforts like Midnight Sun helped inspire broader thinking about aerodynamics, battery use, energy management and the future of transportation.
