1922 – William C. Durant Buys Locomobile
William C. Durant, the founder of General Motors and later Durant Motors, became the sole bidder for the Locomobile Company at a receivership sale on July 28, 1922. Locomobile had once been one of America’s most prestigious automobile manufacturers, known for expensive, finely built luxury cars and early success with steam power before moving into gasoline automobiles. Durant saw value in adding the respected nameplate to his expanding Durant Motors empire, hoping Locomobile could serve as a high-end companion to his more affordable makes. However, the company’s best years were already behind it, and the luxury market proved difficult for Durant’s reorganized business. Locomobile survived only a few more years under Durant control before fading from the American automotive landscape.
1924 – Italian Racing Driver Luigi Musso Is Born
Italian racing driver Luigi Musso was born in Rome on July 28, 1924. Musso became one of Italy’s leading drivers during the dangerous and glamorous 1950s Grand Prix era, racing for Maserati and later Ferrari. He earned his lone Formula One World Championship victory at the 1956 Argentine Grand Prix, sharing the winning Ferrari with Juan Manuel Fangio, and became part of Ferrari’s powerful but deadly lineup of the late 1950s. Musso was known for his speed, style and intense rivalry with teammates Mike Hawthorn and Peter Collins. He died from injuries suffered during the 1958 French Grand Prix at Reims, cutting short a career that had placed him among the most talented Italian drivers of his generation.
1973 – Bonnie and Clyde’s Death Car Sells at Auction
The bullet-riddled 1934 Ford V-8 associated with the deaths of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow was sold at auction on July 28, 1973, reportedly bringing $175,000. The Ford had already become one of the most infamous automobiles in American history after the outlaw couple was ambushed and killed by law officers near Sailes, Louisiana, on May 23, 1934. In the decades that followed, the car became a traveling attraction, displayed to curious crowds as a grim relic of Depression-era crime. Its high auction price reflected both the public’s fascination with Bonnie and Clyde and the growing market for historically significant automobiles, even when that history was dark and violent.
1973 – Watkins Glen Hosts the Summer Jam
Watkins Glen Grand Prix Raceway hosted the Summer Jam on July 28, 1973, bringing an estimated 600,000 people to the New York road course for one of the largest rock concerts ever staged. The event featured the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers Band and The Band, turning a venue best known for motorsport into a massive counterculture gathering. Although not an automobile event in the traditional sense, Summer Jam remains part of Watkins Glen’s broader history as a place where cars, crowds and American culture collided. The sheer scale of the gathering showed how racing facilities could become major entertainment landscapes, long before modern speedways routinely hosted concerts, festivals and non-racing spectacles.
2017 – Tesla Launches the Model 3
Tesla held its first Model 3 customer handover event at its Fremont, California, factory on July 28, 2017, delivering the first 30 production cars to company employees. The Model 3 had been previewed the previous year, but this event marked the beginning of Tesla’s attempt to move from a low-volume premium electric automaker into a mass-market manufacturer. Positioned as a smaller and more affordable sedan than the Model S, the Model 3 carried a promised starting price of $35,000 and quickly became central to Tesla’s future. The launch also brought pressure, as Elon Musk warned of the “manufacturing hell” ahead. Despite those challenges, the Model 3 went on to become one of the most important electric vehicles ever built.
