This Day in Automotive History

[Landrover]

August 11th 1965
The Ford Bronco, intended to compete against Jeep's CJ-5 and International Harvester's Scout, was introduced on this day, feeding the burgeoning four-wheel-drive market. The first Broncos were very simple, without options such as power steering or automatic transmission. The classic Bronco was manufactured for 12 years, with 18,000 produced in 1966 alone. The Bronco's small size (92 in wheelbase) made it popular for off-roading and some other uses, but impractical for such things as towing. The Bronco was Ford's first compact SUV.


August 11th 1966
The first Chevy Camaro drove out of the manufacturing plant in Norwood, Ohio, on this day in 1966. The 1967 Camaro coupe was named just weeks before production. General Manager Elliot Estes, when publicly announcing the name saying, "I went into a closet, shut the door and came out with the name." Camaro is actually French for "comrade, pal, or chum." The Camaro was a hit with the public, sporting a base price of only $2,466 for a six-cylinder engine and three-speed manual transmission.

1966 Ford Bronco


First generation Chevrolet Camaro

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia​

 

[sgirish]

@Landrover Let's not forget that there were two types of Broncos manufactured. Are you talking about the full-sized ones that were based on its F-series design or the other one? I'm not exactly sure about which came first.
As for the Chevy, that was one of the best muscle cars ever built. Although I must admit, I'm still a Mustang fan all the way. The latest Chevy, that came out this year, is a poor imitation of the original. Actually, it doesn't look like that gorgeous machine at all. Very disappointing.

 

[Landrover]

@Landrover Let's not forget that there were two types of Broncos manufactured. Are you talking about the full-sized ones that were based on its F-series design or the other one? I'm not exactly sure about which came first.
As for the Chevy, that was one of the best muscle cars ever built. Although I must admit, I'm still a Mustang fan all the way. The latest Chevy, that came out this year, is a poor imitation of the original. Actually, it doesn't look like that gorgeous machine at all. Very disappointing.

Bronco ran for 5 generations. and a concept, retro version of the original that was launched in early 2004. This may go on full production.

first version was SWB with 92 inch wheel base. I think you are talking about '78 version, or second generation that had, I guess 105 inch wheel base.

 

[Landrover]

August 12th 1901
Charles A. Yont and W.B. Felker completed the first automobile trip to the summit of Pikes Peak, Colorado, on this day, driving an 1899 locomobile steamer. Climbing 14,110 feet to the top was quite a feat for the little steamer. Pikes Peak is well known because of its commanding location and easy accessibility. Today, an ascent to the top is made easy by a graded toll road.

August 12, 1908
Henry Ford's first Model T, affectionately known as the "Tin Lizzie," rolled off the assembly line in Detroit, Michigan. The Model T revolutionized the automotive industry by providing an affordable, reliable car for the average American. Prior to the invention of the Model T, most automobiles were viewed as playthings of the rich. Ford was able to keep the price down by retaining control of all raw materials, as well as his use of new mass production methods. When it was first introduced, the "Tin Lizzie" cost only $850 and seated two people. Though the price fluctuated in the years to come, dipping as low as $290 in 1924, few other changes were ever made to the Model T. Electric lights were introduced in 1915, and an electric starter was introduced as an option in 1919. Eventually, the Model T's design stagnancy cost it its competitive edge, and Ford stopped manufacturing the "Tin Lizzie" in 1927.
The Ford Model T car was designed by Childe Harold Wills and two Hungarian immigrants named Joseph A. Galamb and Eugene Farkas. Also, Harry Love, C. J. Smith, Gus Degner and Peter E. Martin were part of the team.

August 12, 1988
On this day in 1988, director Francis Ford Coppola's critically acclaimed biopic "Tucker: The Man & His Dream" premieres in U.S. theaters, starring Jeff Bridges as the brash Chicago businessman-turned-car-designer Preston Tucker who shook up 1940s-era Detroit with his streamlined, affordable "Car of Tomorrow."
Remembered by some as a visionary and others as a flamboyant but failed opportunist, Preston Tucker was inspired to build cars by his friendship and pre-World War II business partnership with the race car driver and auto designer Harry Miller. In the renewed prosperity following the war, Tucker believed that Americans were ready to take a chance on a new kind of car, and that he, as an independent entrepreneur, was in the position to take risks that the big, established car companies were unwilling to take. He hired a skilled team including designer Alexander S. Tremulis and chief mechanic John Eddie Offuttas and leased an old Dodge aircraft engine plant in Chicago with plans to design and produce his dream cars.
Based on clay mock-ups built to scale, the Tucker team produced a metal prototype, dubbed the "Tin Goose," in June 1947. The following spring, the teardrop-shaped, 150-horsepower rear-engined Tucker "Torpedo" began rolling off the line, accompanied by the memorable advertising slogan "Don't Let a Tucker Pass You By." Among the Torpedo's innovations were a padded dashboard, a pop-out windshield and an innovative center-mounted headlight.
Despite rave reviews in the automotive press, Tucker's company fell under harsh scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), who investigated the automaker for mail fraud and other charges. The investigation caused a flood of negative publicity for the company, while Tucker struggled to keep producing cars with a fraction of his staff. His efforts were in vain; in March 1949 the company fell into receivership and its assets were seized.
Tucker was ultimately acquitted of all charges, but his dream car would never rise again; only 51 were produced after that initial prototype. Forty-seven of those still exist, and a number of them were used in the making of Coppola's movie, which revived interest in the Tucker '48 and the story of the man behind it. At the time of his death in 1956, Preston Tucker was working on plans for a sports car, the Carioca, to be produced in Brazil.

View of Pikes Peak, from Woodland Park


Pikes Peak Highway


Henry Ford along with 'Tin Lizzie'


Tucker: The Man and His Dream poster

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia​

 

[Landrover]

13th August

August 13th 1898
After a visit to the Winton plant with his brother William, James W. Packard purchased a Winton automobile #12. However, the car turned out to be a poor purchase. Dissatisfaction with it would prompt Packard to build his own car and establish the Packard Motor Car Company. Packard Motor Car Company would later be acquired by Studebaker, and lagging sales eventually led to the discontinuation of the Packard in 1958.

August 13, 1902
The German engineer Felix Wankel, inventor of a rotary engine that will be used in race cars, is born on August 13, 1902, in Lahr, Germany.
Wankel reportedly came up with the basic idea for a new type of internal combustion gasoline engine when he was only 17 years old. In 1924, Wankel set up a small laboratory where he began the research and development of his dream engine, which would be able to attain intake, compression, combustion and exhaust, all while rotating. He brought his knowledge of rotary valves to his work with the German Aeronautical Research Establishment during World War II, and to a leading German motorcycle company, NSU Motorenwerk AG, beginning in 1951. Wankel completed his first design of a rotary-piston engine in 1954, and the first unit was tested in 1957.
In other internal-combustion engines, moving pistons did the work of getting the combustion process started; in the Wankel rotary engine, an orbiting rotor in the shape of a curved equilateral triangle served this purpose. Fewer moving parts created a smoothly performing engine that was lightweight, compact, low-cost and required fewer repairs. After NSU officially announced the completion of the Wankel rotary engine in late 1959, some 100 companies around the world rushed to propose partnerships that would get the engine inside their products. Mazda, the Japanese automaker, signed a formal contract with NSU in July 1961, after receiving approval from the Japanese government.
In an attempt to experiment with the rotary engine and perfect it for use in its vehicles, Mazda formed an RE (Rotary Engine) Research Department in 1963. The Cosmo Sport, which Mazda released in May 1967, was the planet's first dual-rotor rotary engine car. With futuristic styling and superior performance, the Cosmo wowed car enthusiasts worldwide. Mazda began installing rotary engines in its sedans and coupes in 1968, and the vehicles hit the U.S. market in 1971. In the wake of a global oil crisis in 1973-74, Mazda continually worked on improving its rotary engines to improve fuel efficiency, and by the end of that decade its sports cars had become popular in both Europe and the United States In addition to Mazda, a number of other companies licensed the Wankel engine during the 1960s and 1970s, including Daimler-Benz, Alfa Romeo, Rolls Royce, Porsche, General Motors, Suzuki and Toyota.
Meanwhile, Wankel continued his own work with the rotary piston engine, forming his own research establishment in Lindau, Germany, in the mid-1970s. In 1986, he sold the institute for 100 million Deutschmarks (around $41 million) to Daimler Benz, maker of the Mercedes. Wankel filed a new patent as late as 1987; the following year, he died after a long illness.


August 13, 1907
The first taxicab took to the streets of New York City on this day, marking the beginning of the love-hate relationship between New Yorkers and their cabbies. Motorized taxicabs had actually begun appearing on the streets of Europe in the late 1890s, and their development closely mirrors that of the automobile. The taxi is named after the taximeter, a device that automatically records the distance traveled or time consumed and used to calculate the fare. The term cab originated from the cabriolet, a one-horse carriage let out for hire.

August 13, 1955
Racer Hideo Fukuyama was born on this day in Owase, Japan. A NASCAR racer, he has contributed to the growing popularity of racing in Japan.

Felix Wankel


Wankel engine, type DKM54 (1957)


Hideo Fukuyama

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia​

 

[Landrover]

August 14th 1893
On this day, the world's first automobile license plates were issued in Paris, France. However, plates were not issued in the United States for a few more years, when they were finally instituted as a safety measure. The city of Boston was the first to require its motorists to hold a license and register their vehicle--the owner would make his own plate with the corresponding registration numbers. The rest of Massachusetts soon followed the trend and began issuing registration plates made of iron and covered with a porcelain enamel.

August 14th 1912
The first double-decker bus appeared on the streets of New York on this day, travelling up and down Broadway. The double-decker originated in London as a two-story horse-drawn omnibus. The vehicles eventually added roof seating. Two-story buses can still be seen in the Big Apple, usually carrying a busload of tourists.

August 14th 1935
Mrs. M.S. Morrow of Whitestone, New York, had the last U.S.-built Rolls-Royce Phantom I delivered to her home on this day. Manufactured at the Rolls-Royce plant in Springfield, Massachusetts, the U.S.-built Phantom I made its debut one year after its British counterpart. It featured elegant proportions and well-engineered coachwork, suitable for the successor of the Silver Ghost--the model that earned Rolls-Royce a reputation as "the best car in the world." A total of 1,241 Phantoms were produced.


August 14th 1912
As part of a yearlong celebration of its 100th anniversary, a redesigned version of the Michelin Man, Bibendium, the corporate symbol of one of the world's largest tire manufacturers, makes an appearance at the Monterey Historic Automobile Races in Monterey, California, beginning on this day in 1998.
The history of Michelin dates back to 1889, when two brothers named Edouard and Andre Michelin took over a struggling rubber factory in the French industrial city of Clermont-Ferrand. The Michelins later became France's leading producer of pneumatic (inflatable) bicycle tires, and in June 1895 they entered the first car to be equipped with pneumatic tires in the historic Paris-Bordeaux-Paris auto race.
As the story goes, their now-iconic corporate symbol originated with Edouard Michelin's observation that a stack of tires resembled a human figure. A cartoonist named Maurice Rossillon, who signed his work O'Galop, created a series of sketches based on this idea. One depicted a man made of tires raising a glass of champagne and declaring "Nunc est bibendum" ("Now is the time to drink"). The figure's white color mirrored the pale hue of rubber tires at the time, before manufacturers began using carbon black as a preservative around 1912. The symbol subsequently became known as Bibendum (sometimes Bibidendum or Mr. Bib), or the Michelin Man.
The original poster, produced from 1898 to 1914, was followed by a variety of other posters and signs featuring Bibendum smoking a cigar, wearing gladiator garb, riding a bicycle and carrying a load of tires, among other activities. Ubiquitous in France, the logo's fame spread along with the popularity and success of Michelin tires around the world. In 1923, the Michelin Man was redesigned, losing some of his rings to reflect the introduction of wider, low-pressure tires. During the 1980s, he grew slimmer to conform to the healthy-living trend, a process that continued with the 1998 redesign. By that time, Bibendum was one of the oldest and most recognized advertising symbols in the world.
On January 1, 1998, the Michelin Man kicked off his centennial celebration by appearing on his own birthday float at the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. The Monterey Historic Automobile Races, held at the Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey that August 14-16, welcomed the Michelin Man as part of its own 25th anniversary celebration. Two years later, an international jury of 22 designers, advertising executives and branding experts voted Bibendum the winner of a competition co-sponsored by The Financial Times, proclaiming him the "greatest logo in history."

Original 1898 poster featuring Bibendum


New revamped Michelin Man

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia​

 

[*Arkin_Young*]

The 1st poster is real hilarious, I must say!

 

[Landrover]

15th August

August 15th 1899
Henry Ford resigned as chief engineer at the main Detroit Edison Company plant in order to concentrate on automobile production. On call at all times, Ford had no regular hours and could experiment in his free time. His tinkering was fruitful, for he completed his first horseless carriage by 1896. After turning to automobiles full time, he would revolutionize the automotive industry with the Model T, also known as the "Tin Lizzie."

August 15th 1945
World War II gasoline rationing in America ended on this day. Rationing was just one of the special measures taken in the U.S. during wartime. Civilian auto production virtually ceased after the attack on Pearl Harbor, as the U.S. automotive industry turned to war production. Automotive firms made almost $29 billion worth of military materials between 1940 and 1945, including jeeps, trucks, machine guns, carbines, tanks, helmets, and aerial bombs. After the war, rationing ended and the auto industry boomed.

August 15th 1947
On 3 June 1947, Viscount Louis Mountbatten, the last British Governor-General of India, announced the partitioning of the British Indian Empire into a secular India and a Muslim Pakistan. At midnight, on 15 August 1947, India became an independent nation. This is largest mass mobilization of people in India.

Photo of a railway station in Punjab. Many people abandoned their fixed assets and crossed newly formed borders.

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia​

 

[*Arkin_Young*]

The way people had to commute around Aug 15, crossing the newly formed borders was terrible, and in some cases, barbaric, I must say.

 

[AMG]

The way people had to commute around Aug 15, crossing the newly formed borders was terrible, and in some cases, barbaric, I must say.

Lets not comment on things that we havent seen.
Tales can be exaggerated and biased.

 

[Shynish M]

Well, there is a clear difference between Tales and history!

 

[*Arkin_Young*]

Well, there is a clear difference between Tales and history!

Indeed. I can start a separate thread about this if needed.

 

[Landrover]

August 16th 1937
Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, became the first school to institute graduate study courses in traffic engineering and administration.

August 16th 1984
After close to 30 hours of deliberation, a jury of six men and six women unanimously acquits the former automaker John Z. DeLorean of eight counts of drug trafficking in Los Angeles, California, on this day in 1984.
A Detroit native and the son of an autoworker, DeLorean began working for the Packard Motor Company as an engineer in 1952. He rose quickly at Packard and later at General Motors (GM), where he moved in 1956. At GM, he managed both the Pontiac and Chevrolet divisions before becoming a vice president in 1972. DeLorean's flashy style and self-promotional ability distinguished him in the staid culture of the auto industry, while his ambition and appetite for innovation seemed never to be satisfied: He claimed to hold more than 200 patents and was credited with such developments as the lane-change turn signal, overhead cam-engine and racing stripes.
In 1975, DeLorean left GM to found the DeLorean Motor Company and follow his dream of building a high-performance and futuristic but still economical sports car. With funds from the British government, DeLorean opened his car plant near Belfast in Northern Ireland in 1978 to manufacture his eponymous dream car: Officially the DMC-12 but often called simply the DeLorean, it had an angular stainless-steel body, a rear-mounted engine and distinctive "gull-wing" doors that opened upward. After skyrocketing production costs caused the DMC-12's price tag to top $25,000 (at a time when the average car cost just $10,000) sales were insufficient to keep the company afloat. Following an investigation into suspected financial irregularities, the British government announced the closing of the DeLorean Motor Company on October 19, 1982. That same day, John DeLorean was arrested and charged with conspiring to obtain and distribute $24 million worth of cocaine.
The prosecution's seemingly airtight case centered on a videotaped conversation about the drug deal between DeLorean and undercover FBI agents. If convicted, DeLorean faced up to 60 years in prison. DeLorean's defense team argued that he had been entrapped, or lured into a situation that made it look like he had committed a crime. On August 6, 1984, the jury issued its surprising acquittal verdict. Over the next 15 years, DeLorean saw his dream car shoot to Hollywood stardom (in the "Back to the Future" film trilogy) even as he battled nearly 40 legal cases relating to his failed auto company. He declared bankruptcy in 1999 and died in 2005, at the age of 80.


August 16th 1985
The last episode of the television show Dukes of Hazzard aired on this day, concluding a successful five-year run. Aside from Bo (John Schneider), Luke (Tom Wopat), and Daisy (Catherine Bach), the star of the show was General Lee, a 1969 Dodge Charger. The specially customized car became a favorite of fans as a large portion of each show was devoted to car chases and jumps. Several changes were made to the car, including custom orange paint, new manifolds, a special exhaust system, and a grill guard. Also, the stock horn was replaced by a special horn that played the first 12 notes of "Dixie."
On August 5, 2005, the General Lee made its big-screen debut in the release of the action comedy The Dukes of Hazard. The "Duke Boys," Bo (Seann William Scott) and Luke (Johnny Knoxville) Duke, elude authorities in the famed car while trying to help Daisy (Jessica Simpson) and moonshine running Uncle Jesse (Willie Nelson) save the family farm from being destroyed by Hazzard County's corrupt commissioner Boss Hogg (Burt Reynolds).

John DeLorean

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia​

 

[Landrover]

17th AUgust

August 17th 1890
Ralph R. Teetor, inventor of the cruise control, was born in Hagerstown, Indiana, on this day in 1890. A mechanical engineer with a degree from the University of Pennsylvania, Teetor began working at the Light Inspection Car Company. This family business eventually evolved into the Perfect Circle Company, of which Teetor became president. Teetor had a knack for invention and continued to work on new ideas after his retirement. His accomplishments are even more remarkable because he was blinded at the age of six, but never let his handicap keep him from his dream of becoming an inventor.

August 17th 1915
Charles F. Kettering, co-founder of Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (DELCO) in Dayton, Ohio, is issued U.S. Patent No. 1,150,523 for his "engine-starting device"--the first electric ignition device for automobiles--on August 17, 1915.
In the early years of the automobile, drivers used iron hand cranks to start the internal combustion process that powered the engines on their cars. In addition to requiring great hand and arm strength, this system was not without certain risks: If the driver forgot to turn his ignition off before turning the crank, the car could backfire or roll forward, as at the time most vehicles had no brakes. Clearly a better system was needed, and in 1911 Cadillac head Henry M. Leland gave Charles Kettering the task of developing one.
Before founding DELCO with his partner Edward Deeds in 1909, Kettering had worked at the National Cash Register Company, where he helped develop the first electric cash register. He drew on this experience when approaching his work with automobiles. Just as the touch of a button had started a motor that opened the drawer of the cash register, Kettering would eventually use a key to turn on his self-starting motor. The self-starter was introduced in the 1912 Cadillac, patented by Kettering in 1915, and by the 1920s would come standard on nearly every new automobile. By making cars easier and safer to operate, especially for women, the self-starting engine caused a huge jump in sales, and helped foster a fast-growing automobile culture in America.
United Motors Corporation (later General Motors) bought DELCO in 1916, and Kettering worked as vice president and director of research at GM from 1920 to 1947. Other important auto-related innovations developed during Kettering's tenure were quick-drying automotive paint, spark plugs, leaded gasoline, shock absorbers, the automatic transmission, four-wheel brakes, the diesel engine and safety glass. He helped develop the refrigerant Freon, used in refrigerators and air conditioners, and the Kettering home in Dayton was the first in the country to be air-conditioned. In the realm of medicine, Kettering created a treatment for venereal disease and an incubator for premature infants, and in 1945 he and longtime General Motors head Alfred P. Sloan established the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research in New York City. Kettering died in 1958.

Ralph R. Teetor


Charles Kettering with his invention.

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia​

 

[Landrover]

18th August

August 18th 1905
Newell S. Wright, an attorney, filed to register the Cadillac crest as a trademark. The insignia has adorned Cadillac's luxury car for almost a century.

August 18th 1937
The Toyota Motor Company, Ltd., began as a division of the Toyota Automatic Loom Works, was established on this day. The company underwent huge expansion in the 1960s and 1970s, exporting its smaller, more fuel-efficient cars to countless foreign markets. During this period, Toyota also acquired Hino Motors, Ltd., Nippondenso Company, Ltd., and Daihitsu Motor Company Ltd. Toyota has been Japan's largest automobile manufacturer for several decades.

August 18th 1940
Walter Percy Chrysler, the founder of the American automotive corporation that bears his name, dies on this day in 1940 at his estate in Great Neck, New York, after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. He was 65 years old.
Born in 1875 in Kansas, Chrysler was the son of a locomotive engineer; he began working himself when he was 17, earning seven cents an hour as an apprentice in a railroad machine shop. He worked his way up quickly, becoming a plant manager for the American Locomotive Company by the time he was 33 years old. In the early years of the automobile, Chrysler became fascinated: At a 1905 automobile show in Chicago, he borrowed $5,000 to purchase his own car, taking it apart and putting it back together again before taking a single ride. In 1911, Chrysler accepted a job as a manager at the Buick Motor Company at half his former salary. Within five years, he rose to become the company's president, and to make Buick into the strongest unit of William C. Durant's General Motors (GM).
Durant and Chrysler clashed over policy, however, and Chrysler left GM in 1920 to work with the Willys-Overland Company and with Maxwell Motors Company. A car designed by Chrysler and featuring a high-compression engine sold $50 million worth in its first year replaced the existing Maxwell car. In 1925, he emerged as president of the Chrysler Corporation, consisting of the former Maxwell and Chalmers car companies. After acquiring Dodge in 1928 and introducing the Plymouth that same year, the Chrysler Corporation would go on to become one of the Big Three of American automakers, alongside Ford and GM.
Aside from automobiles, Chrysler was chiefly known for financing the 77-story Art Deco skyscraper in midtown Manhattan (at the corner of Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street) that bears his name. To complete the distinctive ornamentation around the spire of the building, its architects used elements from Chrysler's automobiles, including radiator caps, hubcaps and stainless steel that evoked the chrome shine on a car. When it was completed in 1930, the Chrysler building was the tallest building in the world and the first manmade structure to top 1,000 feet. Surpassed by the Empire State Building a year later, the building remains one of New York City's most distinctive skyscrapers.

Cadillac Crest.


Toyota Motor Company Founder Kiichiro Toyoda.


Replica of the Toyota Model AA, the first production model of Toyota in 1936.

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia​