1937 – Cadillac Introduces Its Second-Generation V-16
On October 27, 1937, Cadillac introduced the second generation of its extraordinary V-16. The original Sixteen had debuted in 1930 as one of the world’s most prestigious automobiles, but the Great Depression devastated demand for ultra-luxury cars. Cadillac nevertheless developed a new V-16 for 1938, replacing the enormous 452-cubic-inch engine with a more compact 431-cubic-inch design that still produced 185 horsepower. Production remained extremely limited: Cadillac built only 315 V-16s for 1938, followed by 138 in 1939 and just 61 during the final 1940 model year. In an era when most Americans were still recovering from the Depression, the V-16 represented the extreme upper end of what an American automaker could build. Read more about the second-generation Cadillac V-16.
1955 – Volkswagen of America Is Established
Volkswagens had already reached American buyers through independent importers, but October 27, 1955 marked an important step in turning the strange little German Beetle into a fixture of American roads. Volkswagen of America’s operations officially began that day, establishing a formal organization to handle importing, distributing and supporting the company’s cars in the United States. The timing proved excellent. During the following decade, the Beetle became the defining imported automobile in America, offering inexpensive transportation and an image almost completely opposite Detroit’s increasingly large and powerful cars. Volkswagen’s American organization would eventually support everything from the Beetle and Microbus to the Rabbit, Jetta, GTI and the company’s modern SUV lineup.
1957 – Buck Baker Becomes NASCAR’s First Back-to-Back Champion
Buck Baker entered the final NASCAR Grand National race of the 1957 season with history within reach. On October 27, he battled Lee Petty around the one-third-mile dirt track at Greensboro, North Carolina, eventually taking the lead for good on lap 191 and driving his Chevrolet to victory. The win secured Baker’s second consecutive Grand National championship, making him the first driver in NASCAR history to win the title in back-to-back seasons. Baker had already established himself as one of stock-car racing’s dominant early stars, but the consecutive championships helped cement his legacy. He later opened the Buck Baker Racing School, where future NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon received some of his earliest stock-car experience. Read more about Buck Baker’s 1957 championship.
1968 – Richard Petty Wins the American 500 at Rockingham
Eleven years after Baker’s championship-clinching victory, another NASCAR legend celebrated on October 27. Richard Petty won the 1968 American 500 at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, driving his famous No. 43 Plymouth to his 91st career Grand National victory. Petty led 216 of the race’s 492 laps and finished ahead of David Pearson, who nevertheless clinched his second series championship that day. The victory was particularly significant because Petty had dominated the previous season with an astonishing 27 wins, yet had gone more than a year without a superspeedway victory. Rockingham put the King back on top at one of NASCAR’s fastest tracks and moved him another step toward the record 200 victories that would ultimately define his career.
2006 – The Last Original Ford Taurus Rolls Off the Line
On October 27, 2006, a silver Ford Taurus rolled off the assembly line in Hapeville, Georgia, ending the original 21-year production run of one of the most important American family cars of the modern era. When the Taurus debuted for 1986, its aerodynamic shape and front-wheel-drive layout were radical departures from the boxy sedans Ford had been selling. It quickly became a huge success and by 1992 was America’s best-selling passenger car. More than seven million had been built by the time production ended. The final example went to Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy, whose original restaurant stood across from the Atlanta Ford plant. The Taurus name would return in 2007 on a renamed Ford Five Hundred, but October 27, 2006 marked the end of the car’s original continuous production run—and the closure of the Atlanta plant that had built it.
From Cadillac’s sixteen-cylinder flagship to the end of Ford Taurus production nearly 70 years later, October 27 offers a remarkably broad slice of automotive history. It is also a reminder that automotive history is not simply about the day a famous car debuted; it includes the companies that brought cars to new markets, the drivers who made them famous and the final examples that quietly closed important chapters.
