This Day in Automotive History

[Landrover]

October 11, 1928
Spanish racer Don Alfonso Cabeza de Vaca y Leighton, Carvajal y Are, the 17th Marquis de Portago and 13th Conde de la Mejorada, was born on this day in London, England. Better known as Marquis Alfonso de Portago, the Spanish nobleman became interested in motor racing as a young man, soon finding his way into some of the world's most prestigious and dangerous racing events, owning more to his social standing than his racing skills. For a two-year period beginning in 1956, the reckless Marquis Alfonso drove for the Lancia Ferrari team, managing to rack up four points in five Grand Prix starts, but failing to win any race. In 1957, Alfonso brought tragedy to the classic Mille Miglia event, a 1,600-kilometer race from Brescia to Rome and back, when he lost control of his Ferrari and plunged into a crowd of spectators. Alfonso, his co-driver Ed Nelson, and 10 spectators died in the accident, bringing to an end the 30-year tradition of the Mille Miglia. Twenty years after the Marquis' tragic run along the course, the event was revived, and to this day the Mille Miglia attracts thousands to the streets of Italy to watch a nostalgic run of classic racing cars.

October 11, 1967
David Starr, a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver was born in Houston, Texas. He made his first start in 1998 and got his first win in 2002 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on his way to his best points finish, 5th. He grabbed 2 more wins in 2004. He currently drives for Red Horse Racing the #11 Toyota Tundra.

Alfonso Antonio Vicente Eduardo Angel Blas Francisco de Borja Cabeza de Vaca y Leighton marquis of Portago, a.k.a. Alfonso de Portago.

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia​

 

[Landrover]

October 12, 1932
Ned Jarrett, two time NASCAR champion was born October in Newton, North Carolina. Jarrett was best known for his calm demeanor, and he became known as "Gentleman Ned Jarrett".

October 12, 1940
Tom Mix, the highest-paid actor in silent films during the 1920s, and unquestionably the best-known cowboy star of the era, perished in a car accident in Arizona. Driving at about 80mph, Mix lost control of his car after hitting a dirt detour, and was instantly killed. Many took solace in the fact that Mix died in the Old West that he had depicted in film so many times, still wearing his cowboy costume from a performance the previous day.

October 12, 1993
The Camry was first introduced by the Toyota Motor Company in 1983 as a replacement for its Corona Sedan. Hoping to follow in the path of the popular Toyota flagship, the Cressida, the roomy and durable Camry immediately proved a best-seller, faring well against the likes of the Honda Accord and domestic U.S. compacts. In the late '80s, the Camry, now Toyota's most popular model, saw an upsized redesign, boasting a new twin-cam 2.0 liter 4-cylinder engine with 16 valves and a much greater horsepower potential than the previous model. In 1992, the Camry was again stylishly redesigned, approaching mid-size while maintaining its original efficiency. On this day, a decade after it was first introduced, the one-millionth Camry rolled off a Toyota assembly line. Four years later, in 1997, the Toyota Camry became the best-selling car in America.

Ned Jarrett

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia​

 

[Landrover]

13th October

October 13, 1953
The "Artmobile," a novel way of exposing fine art to the public, was conceived of and designed by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts located in Richmond, Virginia. On this day the Artmobile, the world's first mobile art gallery, began touring Virginia with an exhibition of art objects, making its first stop in Fredericksburg. The Artmobile was an all-aluminum trailer, measuring over 30 feet in length with an interior height of nearly 80 feet.

October 13, 1997
Less than three weeks after breaking the elusive 700mph land-speed barrier, British fighter pilot Andy Green set a new land-speed record in the Thrust SuperSonic vehicle, jet-powering through the sound barrier along a one-mile course in Nevada's Black Rock Desert. Coached by previous land-speed record-holder and Thrust team leader Richard Noble, Green roared across Black Rock Desert at 764.168mph, or 1.007 percent above the speed of the sound. An hour later, Green flashed across the dusty desert floor again, moving 1.003 percent faster than the speed of sound. The second run was required before the feat could be officially entered into the record book, a requirement that may have prevented past records. In 1979, at Edwards Air Force Base, American Stan Barrett is reputed to have reached 739.666mph, or Mach 1.0106, in a rocket-engined three-wheeled car called the Budweiser Rocket. But the speed was unsanctioned by the United States Air Force, and the official record remained unbroken until Green's historic run. Appropriately, the first official breaking of the sound barrier by a land vehicle came on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the first supersonic flight, achieved by American pilot Chuck Yeager in 1947.

Andy Green

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia​

 

[Landrover]

October 14, 1857
Automotive pioneer Elwood Haynes was born on this day in Portland, Indiana. After training as an engineer and a chemist at John Hopkins University, Haynes returned to his native Indiana and began experimenting on a carriage powered by an internal engine. In 1894, he completed construction on one of America's earliest automobiles, a one-horsepower, one-cylinder vehicle, and on Independence Day of that year drove it through the streets of Kokomo, Indiana, on its trial run. Today, this automobile is preserved in the Smithsonian Institution as the oldest U.S. automobile in existence. For the next few decades, Haynes continued to make improvements to the new science of automobile manufacturing, including a successful carburetor, the first use of aluminum in automobile engines, and the first muffler.

October 14, 1909
Bernd Rosemeyer, a German racing driver was born in Lingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. He used to race for Auto Union.
He was killed at an early eage of 28, during a world speed record attempt on the Autobahn between Frankfurt and Darmstadt, on January 28th 1938.

Elwood Haynes in his first car in 1894

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia​

 

[Landrover]

October 15, 1964
While trying to set a new one mile land-speed record, Craig Breedlove inadvertently set another kind of record after he lost control of the Spirit of America jet-powered car on the Bonneville Salt Flats testing area in Utah. The vehicle began a skid moments into the run, taking nearly six miles to decelerate from an initial speed of well over 400mph. When the dust cleared, Breedlove emerged shaken from the vehicle as the not-so-proud record-holder for the longest skid marks ever recorded. Nevertheless, Breedlove, who already held the land-speed record, did manage to break the 500mph speed barrier that year, just as he had broken the 400mph barrier the year before, and just as he would surpass 600mph in the year following.

October 15, 1978
Lee Iacocca was ousted from Ford.

October 15, 1978
On this day in 2004, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rules that hearse manufacturers no longer have to install anchors for child-safety seats in their vehicles. In 1999, to prevent parents from incorrectly installing the seats using only their cars' seat belts, the agency had required all carmakers to put the standardized anchors on every passenger seat in every vehicle they built. Though it seemed rather odd, most hearse-builders complied with the rule and many thousands of their vehicles incorporated baby-seat latches on their front and back passenger seats.
However, the year after the agency issued the rule, one of the largest "funeral coach" manufacturers in the United States petitioned for an exemption. "Since a funeral coach is a single-purpose vehicle, transporting body and casket," the petition said, "children do not ride in the front seat." In fact, typically that seat is empty—after all, most people do try to avoid riding in hearses. On October 15, the agency agreed: All funeral coaches (now officially defined as "a vehicle that contains only one row of occupant seats, is designed exclusively for transporting a body and casket and that is equipped with features to secure a casket in place during the operation of the vehicle") were permanently exempt from all child-safety provisions. According to this formulation, those rare hearses that do have rear seats are not technically funeral coaches; therefore; they are subject to the same child-restraint rules as every other carmaker.

Craig Breedlove

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia​

 

[Landrover]

October 16, 1951
In 1948, Hudson launched its new Monobuilt design, an innovation that is still found in most cars to this day. The Monobuilt design consisted of a chassis and frame that was combined in a unified passenger compartment, producing a strong, light-weight design, and a beneficial lower center of gravity that didn't affect road clearance. Hudson coined this innovation "step-down design" because, for the first time, passengers had to step down in order to get into a car. Most cars today are still based on the step-down premise. On this day in 1951, Hudson introduced the Hornet, and put some sting into the step-down design. The Hornet was built with a 308 cubic-inch flat head in-line six cylinder motor, producing generous torque and a substantial amount of horsepower. And it was with this popular model that Hudson first entered stock car racing in 1951. After ending their first season in a respectable third place, Hudson began a three-year domination of the racing event. In 1952 alone, Hudson won 29 of the 34 events. A key factor in Hudson's racing success was the innovative step-down design of their cars. Because of their lower centers of gravity, Hornets would glide around corners with relative ease, leaving their clunky and unstable competitors in the dust.
The Hornet "dominated stock car racing in the early-1950s, when stock car racers actually raced stock cars." During 1952, Hornets driven by Marshall Teague, Herb Thomas and Tim Flock won 27 NASCAR races driving for the Hudson team. In AAA racing, Teague drove a stock Hornet that he called the Fabulous Hudson Hornet to 14 wins during the season. This brought the Hornet's season record to 40 wins in 48 events, a winning percentage of 83%.
Overall, Hudson won 27 of the 34 NASCAR Grand National races in 1952, followed by 22 of 37 in 1953, and 17 of 37 in 1954 — "an incredible accomplishment, especially from a car that had some legitimate luxury credentials."
The original Fabulous Hudson Hornet can be found today fully restored in Ypsilanti, Michigan at the Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum. It is also depicted in the movie 'CARS' as Doc Hudson.

October 16, 1958
Chevrolet introduced the El Camino on this day, a sedan-pickup created to compete with Ford's popular Ranchero model. Built on the full-size Chevrolet challis, the big El Camino failed to steal the Ranchero's market and was discontinued after two years. But four years later, in 1964, the El Camino was given a second life as a derivative of the Chevelle series, a line of cars commonly termed "muscle cars." The Chevelles were stylish and powerful vehicles that reflected the youthful energy of the 1960s and early 1970s, and sold well. The Chevelle Malibu Super Sport was the archetypal muscle car, featuring a V-8 as large as 454 cubic inches, or 7.4 liters. Chevelles came in sedans, wagons, convertibles, and hardtops, and, with the reintroduction of the El Camino in 1964, as a truck. The station wagon-based El Camino sedan-pickup had a successful run during its second manifestation as a Chevelle, and proved an attractive conveyance for urban cowboys and the horsey set.
Many El Caminos are still used as daily drivers, and some are used in various racing venues. The 1980s version is the most common of any of that generation of body styles, though the late 60s command the highest prices and inspire the most replicas from Hot Wheels, Matchbox and Johnny Lightning.
The Discovery Channel program Monster Garage once turned an El Camino into a Figure-8 racer (dubbed the "Hell-Camino").
The drift team Bubba Drift uses a 1986 El Camino as the only drifting truck. It is unusual in that it uses an automatic transmission instead of a manual transmission.
On a production note, it has been constantly rumored for years now that GM may bring back the El Camino. During the 1995 model year, GM had a concept El Camino based on the full-size Caprice station wagon using the grille of a 1994-96 Impala SS; this concept was destined for production but terminated due to GM's profitable SUV sales. GM already has a vehicle ready in Australia in the form of the Holden Ute.

Hudson Hornet

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia​

 

[Landrover]

October 17, 1902
The first Cadillac was completed on Oct. 17, 1902 and was given its maiden test drive by Alanson P. Brush, the twenty-four-year-old Leland and Faulconer engineer who had contributed substantially to the car's design and who would later build the Brush Runabout.

October 17, 1973
On this day, 11 Arab oil producers increased oil prices and cut back production in response to the support of the United States and other nations for Israel in the Yom Kippur War. The same day, OPEC, (The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), approved the oil embargo at a meeting in Tangiers, Morocco. Almost overnight, gasoline prices quadrupled, and the U.S. economy, especially its automakers, suffered greatly as a result. The U.S. car companies, who built automobiles that typically averaged less than 15 miles per gallon, were unable to satisfy the sudden demand for small, fuel-efficient vehicles. The public turned to imports in droves, and suddenly Japan's modest, but sturdy, little compacts began popping up on highways all across America. Even after the oil embargo crisis was resolved, American consumers had learned an important lesson about the importance of fuel efficiency, and foreign auto manufacturers flourished in the large American market. It took years for the Big Three to bounce back from the blow; eventually they gained ground with the introduction of their own Japanese-inspired compacts in the 1980s.

October 17, 1994
Taxicab driver Jeremy Levine returned to London, England, from a round-trip journey to Cape Town, South Africa, on this day. Passengers Mark Aylett and Carlos Aresse paid 40,000 pounds, or approximately $65,000, for the 21,691-mile trip, setting a world record for the longest known taxicab ride. The route, through Eastern Europe, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, and down into Africa, was recently adopted by the Historic Endurance Rallying Organization for their London to Cape Town Classic Reliability Trial. The race, held for the first time in 1998, is a competitive event for all types of classic and historic cars made before 1978. Divided into six age categories, from vintage to '70s, the event challenges racers to brave demanding terrain and conditions as they witness some of the most dramatic and breathtaking scenery in the world.

Cadillac prototype

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia​

 

[Landrover]

October 18, 1919
On this day in 1919, Rolls-Royce America, Inc., was established, and their luxurious motor cars would prove a favorite means of transport for America's elite during the roaring 1920s.

October 18, 1939
Group of men who had dedicated their lives to the progress of the motor vehicle industry, met in New York City to create an organization that would perpetuate the memories of the early automotive pioneers as well as the contemporary leaders in the industry. From the beginning, this organization – originally called "Automobile Old Timers" -- was dedicated to honoring automotive people from all industry segments and from around the world. Now its more famously known as Automotive Hall of Fame. Over 200 individuals have been inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame. Dedicated to: Recognizing outstanding achievement in the automotive and related industries; Preserving automotive heritage; Educating future generations of industry participants.

October 18, 1977
On September 5, Hanns Martin Schleyer, a Daimler-Benz executive and head of the West German employers' association, was kidnapped in Cologne by the Red Army Faction (RAF) during an assault in which his driver and three police were killed. The Red Army Faction was a group of ultra-left revolutionaries who terrorized Germany for three decades, assassinating at least 30 corporate, military, and government leaders in an effort to topple capitalism in their homeland. Six weeks after the kidnapping of Schleyer, Palestinian terrorists, who had close ties with the RAF, hijacked a Lufthansa airliner to Somalia, and demanded the release of 11 imprisoned RAF members. On October 17, after the pilot was killed, a German special forces team stormed the plane, releasing the captives and killing the hijackers. The RAF's imprisoned leaders responded by committing suicide in their jail cell in Stammheim, and Schleyer's murder was ordered. The next day, October 18, Hanns Martin Schleyer was found dead in Alsace, France.

Automotive Hall of Fame building, in Dearborn, Michigan

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia​

 

[Landrover]

October 19, 1920
Harley-Davidson Motor Co. registered "Harley-Davidson" trademark first used in June 1906 for motorcycles, bicycles, side cars and parcel cars.

October 19, 1958
Briton Mike Hawthorn, driving a Ferrari Dino 246, clinched the Formula One World Championship at the Moroccan Grand Prix at Ain-Diab near Casablanca on this day. But the triumph of Britain's first World Championship was marred by the death of British driver Stuart Lewis-Evans, who died a few days later from injuries sustained during an accident in the race, and by the tragic death of Hawthorn himself, who died in a road accident just two months later

October 19, 1982
John DeLorean began his automotive career with Packard in the 1950s, and was recruited to Pontiac in 1959. A rising star at Pontiac, DeLorean pioneered the successful GTO and Grand Prix, and by the late 1960s had risen to the top position in a company that was behind only Chevrolet and Ford in sales. In 1970, DeLorean was moved to manage the Chevrolet Division, and by 1973 Chevy was selling a record 3,000,000 cars and trucks, with DeLorean seeming a top candidate for General Motors' (GM) next presidency. But in late-1973, he walked away from his $650,000 job at GM, boasting he was "going to show them how to build cars." After raising nearly $200 million in financing, DeLorean formed the DeLorean Motor Company in 1974, and constructed a car factory in Northern Ireland. Interest in DeLorean's sleek and futuristic DMC-12 car was high, but by the early 1980s the company was in serious financial trouble. Failing to find additional investors, the proud DeLorean became involved in racketeering and drug trafficking in a desperate attempt to save his beleaguered company. On this day in 1982, after being caught on film during an FBI sting operation trying to broker a $24 million cocaine deal, DeLorean was arrested on charges of drug trafficking and money laundering. But two years later a federal jury ruled that he was a victim of entrapment, and DeLorean was acquitted of all charges. Nevertheless, the debacle ruined his credibility, and John DeLorean's fall from the top of the automotive industry was complete. He died from a stroke at the age of 80, on March 19, 2005.

Mike Hawthorn

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia​

 

[Landrover]

October 20, 1965
On this day in 1965, the last PV544 was driven off the Volvo assembly line at its Lundy plant in Sweden by longtime Volvo test driver Nils Wickstrom. Gustaf Larson, the engineer who had co-founded Volvo with businessman Assar Gabrielsson in 1927, was present at the ceremony. An impressive total of 440,000 Volvo PV544s had been produced during its eight-year run, over half of which had been exported. The Volvo PV544 was first introduced in 1958 as an updated version of its popular predecessor, the PV444. Like the PV444 with its laminated windscreen, the PV544 featured an important safety innovation--it was the first car to be equipped with safety belts as standard fitting. But the PV544 was also a powerful automobile, boasting a 4-speed manual transmission option and power up to 95bhp. Shortly after its introduction, the 544 became one of the most successful rally cars, dominating rally racing into the 1960s. Yet, the PV544 was also affordably priced, and its first-year sales put Volvo over the 100,000-exported automobiles mark. The PV544 was successfully reintroduced every year until 1965, when it was decided by Volvo that production of the model would cease.

A 1962 Pv544

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia​

 

[jalex]

October 13, 1997
Less than three weeks after breaking the elusive 700mph land-speed barrier, British fighter pilot Andy Green set a new land-speed record in the Thrust SuperSonic vehicle, jet-powering through the sound barrier along a one-mile course in Nevada's Black Rock Desert. Coached by previous land-speed record-holder and Thrust team leader Richard Noble, Green roared across Black Rock Desert at 764.168mph, or 1.007 percent above the speed of the sound. An hour later, Green flashed across the dusty desert floor again, moving 1.003 percent faster than the speed of sound. The second run was required before the feat could be officially entered into the record book, a requirement that may have prevented past records.

I remember reading about Andy Green in the Auto India back in the late nineties. I still have that issue treasured with me. It was a new information for me back then that automobiles can go that fast.
And that red Volvo looks very nice.

 

[Landrover]

October 21, 1891
On this day, a one-mile dirt track opened for harness races at the site of the present-day Tennessee State Fairgrounds in Nashville. Harness racing proved a popular event at the annual Tennessee State Fair, but it was nothing compared to the excitement generated by the fair's first automobile race, held at the fairgrounds in 1904. For the next 50 years, motor racing events were the highlight of the annual state fair, drawing top American drivers to compete, and launching the careers of others. In 1956, the track was paved and lighted, and the tradition of weekly Saturday night racing at the fairgrounds was born. And in 1958, NASCAR came to Nashville with the introduction of the NASCAR Winston Cup to be run on a brand-new half-mile oval. The legendary driver Joe Weatherly won the first Winston Cup, beating the likes of Fireball Turner, Lee Petty, and Curtis Turner in the 200-lap event. Between 1958 and 1984, the fairgrounds hosted 42 NASCAR Winston Cups, and Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip were the overall leaders in victories, with nine and eight Winston Cups respectively. The last Winston Cup race to descend onto the Tennessee State Fairgrounds was a 420-lap event won by driver Geoff Bodine. But despite the departure of the Winston Cup, the Nashville Speedway continued to improve on its racetrack, and illustrious racing events such as the Busch Series are held on the historic track every year.

October 21, 1891
On this day in 1929, the 50th birthday of the incandescent light bulb, Henry Ford throws a big party to celebrate the dedication of his new Thomas Edison Institute in Dearborn, Michigan. Everybody who was anybody was there: John D. Rockefeller Jr., Charles Schwab, Otto H. Kahn, Walter Chrysler, Marie Curie, Will Rogers, President Herbert Hoover—and, of course, the guest of honor, Thomas Edison himself. At the time, the Edison Institute was still relatively small. It consisted of just two buildings, both of which Henry Ford had moved from Menlo Park, New Jersey and re-constructed to look just as they had in 1879: Edison's laboratory and the boarding-house where he had lived while he perfected his invention. By the time the Institute opened to the public in 1933, however, it had grown much more elaborate and today the Henry Ford Museum (renamed after Ford's death in 1947) is one of the largest and best-known museums in the US.
Ford's museum was an epic expression of his own interpretation of American history, emphasizing industrial and technological progress and the "practical genius" of great Americans. Its collection grew to include every Ford car ever built, along with other advances in automotive and locomotive technology. There were also farm tools, home appliances, furniture and industrial machines such as the printing press and the Newcomen steam engine. On a 200-acre tract next door, Ford built a quaint all-American village by importing historic homes and buildings from across the United States.
Today, there are more than 200 cars on display at the Ford museum, including the 15 millionth Model T, the Ford 999 racer that set the world speed record in 1904, the first Mustang ever produced and a 1997 EV1 electric car made by General Motors. More than 2 million people visit "The Henry Ford," as it's now called, every year.

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia​

 

[Landrover]

October 22, 1903
Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers (ALAM) filed suit against Ford Motor Company as an unlicensed (by ALAM) manufacturer of internal combustion vehicles (controlled 1895 Selden patent); claimed patent applied to all gasoline-powered automobiles; ALAM launched PR campaign, threatened to sue those who bought Ford automobiles.

October 22, 1906
Henry Ford became President of Ford Motor Company.

October 22, 1936
In 1934, German automaker Ferdinand Porsche submitted a design proposal to Adolf Hitler's new German Reich government, calling for the construction of a small, simple, and reliable car that would be affordable enough for the average German. Only about one in 50 Germans owned cars at the time, and the motor industry had only a minor significance in Germany's economy. Nazi propagandists immediately embraced the idea, coining "Volkswagen," which translates as "people's car," at an automobile show later in the year. Hitler himself hoped the "people's car" would achieve the kind of popularity in Germany as Ford's Model T had in the United States, and began calling the Volkswagen the "Strength Through Joy" car. Porsche received a development budget from the Reich's motor industry association, and began working on the Volkswagen immediately. Porsche completed the first prototype in secret in October of 1935. The simple, beetle-shaped automobile was sturdily constructed with a kind of utilitarian user-friendliness scarcely seen in an automobile before. On this day in 1936, the first test-drives of the Volkswagen vehicle began, and employees drove the VW 3-series model over 800 kilometers a day, making any necessary repairs at night. After three months of vigorous testing, Porsche and his engineers concluded, in their final test verdict, that the Volkswagen "demonstrated characteristics which warrant further development." In 1938, the first Volkswagen in its final form was unveiled, a 38-series model that The New York Times mockingly referred to as a "Beetle." However, the outbreak of World War II prevented mass-production of the automobile, and the newly constructed Volkswagen factory turned to war production, constructing various military vehicles for the duration of the conflict. After the war, the Allies approved the continuation of the original Volkswagen program, and, under the leadership of Heinrich Nordhoff in the late 1940s and 1950s, sales of the Volkswagen Beetle began to take off. In the 1960s and early 1970s, sales of the compact Volkswagen Beetle worried even America's largest automakers, as the Third Reich's simple people's car became a popular symbol of the growing American counterculture.

October 22, 1987
Canadian Garry Sowerby and American Tim Cahill completed the first trans-Americas drive on this day, driving from Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in a total elapsed time of 23 days, 22 hours, and 43 minutes. The pair drove the 14,739-mile distance in a 1988 GMC Sierra K3500 four-wheel-drive pickup truck powered by a 6.2-liter V-8 Detroit diesel engine. Only on one occasion did Sowerby and Cahill trust another form of transportation to their sturdy Sierra: the vehicle and team were surface-freighted from Cartagena, Colombia, to Balboa, Panama, so as to bypass the dangerous Darien Gap of Colombia and Panama.

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia​

 

[Landrover]

October 23, 1970
On this day at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, American Gary Gabelich attained a record 631.367mph average speed in The Blue Flame, a rocket-powered four-wheeled vehicle. Momentarily achieving 650mph, Gabelich's vehicle was powered by a liquid natural gas, hydrogen peroxide rocket engine that produced a thrust of up to 22,000 pounds. Gabelich's achievement ended the domination of Craig Breedlove, the American driver who set a series of astounding victories in jet-powered vehicles during the 1960s, breaking the 400mph, 500mph, and 600mph barriers in 1963, 1964, and 1965, respectively. The Blue Flame's land-speed record stood until 1983, when Briton Richard Noble raced to a new record in his jet-powered Thrust 2 vehicle. The Thrust 2, a 17,000-pound jet-powered Rolls-Royce Avon 302 designed by John Ackroyd, reached a record 633.468mph over the one-mile course in Nevada's stark Black Rock Desert.

October 23, 1973
Toyota U.S.A. held its first (three-day) national news conference in Los Angeles, CA to discuss the fuel efficiency of its automobiles (5 days after 11 Arab oil producers increased oil prices and cut back production in response to the support of the United States and other nations for Israel in the Yom Kippur War); American consumers suffered gasoline rationing, a quadrupling of prices, huge lines at gas stations - foreign auto manufacturers flourished in the large American market.


October 23, 1983
On this day, a suicide bomber drives a truck filled with 2,000 pounds of explosives into a U.S. Marine Corps barracks at the Beirut International Airport. The explosion killed 220 Marines, 18 sailors and three soldiers. A few minutes after that bomb went off, a second bomber drove into the basement of the nearby French paratroopers' barracks, killing 58 more people. Four months after the bombing, American forces left Lebanon without retaliating.
The Marines in Beirut were part of a multinational peacekeeping force that was trying to broker a truce between warring Christian and Muslim Lebanese factions. In 1981, American troops had supervised the withdrawal of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from Beirut and then had withdrawn themselves. They returned the next year, after Israel's Lebanese allies slaughtered nearly 1,000 unarmed Palestinian civilian refugees. Eighteen hundred Marine peacekeepers moved into an old Israeli Army barracks near the airport—a fortress with two-foot–thick walls that could, it seemed, withstand anything. Even after a van bomb killed 46 people at the U.S. Embassy in April, the American troops maintained their non-martial stance: their perimeter fence remained relatively unfortified, for instance and their sentries' weapons were unloaded.
At about 6:20 in the morning on October 23, 1983, a yellow Mercedes truck charged through the barbed-wire fence around the American compound and plowed past two guard stations. It drove straight into the barracks and exploded. Eyewitnesses said that the force of the blast caused the entire building to float up above the ground for a moment before it pancaked down in a cloud of pulverized concrete and human remains. FBI investigators said that it was the largest non-nuclear explosion since World War II and certainly the most powerful car bomb ever detonated.
After the bombing, President Ronald Reagan expressed outrage at the "despicable act" and vowed that American forces would stay in Beirut until they could forge a lasting peace. In the meantime, he devised a plan to bomb the Hezbollah training camp in Baalbek, Lebanon, where intelligence agents thought the attack had been planned. However, Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger aborted the mission, reportedly because he did not want to strain relations with oil-producing Arab nations. The next February, American troops withdrew from Lebanon altogether.
The first real car bomb—or, in this case, horse-drawn-wagon bomb—exploded on September 16, 1920 outside the J.P. Morgan Company's offices in New York City's financial district. Italian anarchist Mario Buda had planted it there, hoping to kill Morgan himself; as it happened, the robber baron was out of town, but 40 other people died (and about 200 were wounded) in the blast. There were occasional car-bomb attacks after that—most notably in Saigon in 1952, Algiers in 1962, and Palermo in 1963—but vehicle weapons remained relatively uncommon until the 1970s and 80s, when they became the terrifying trademark of groups like the Irish Republican Army and Hezbollah. In 1995, right-wing terrorists Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols used a bomb hidden in a Ryder truck to blow up the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.


Gary Gabelich

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia​

 

[Landrover]

October 24, 1908
On this day, the Locomobile Old 16, driven by George Robertson, became the first American-made car to beat the European competition when it raced to victory in the fourth annual Vanderbilt Cup held in Long Island, New York. The Vanderbilt Cup, an early example of world-class motor racing in America, was created in 1904 to introduce Europe's best automotive drivers and manufacturers to the U.S. George Heath won the first Vanderbilt Cup in a French-made Panhard automobile, beginning a French domination of the event that would last until Old 16's historic victory. Old 16 was first built in 1906 by the Connecticut-based Locomobile Company, and showed promise when it raced to a respectable finish in the second Vanderbilt Cup. With some modifications, Old 16 was ready to race again in 1908. Americans pinned their hopes on the state-of-the-art road racer to end the European domination of early motor racing. Designed simply for speed and power, Old 16 had an 1032 cc, 4-cylinder, 120 hp engine with a copper gas tank, and a couple of bucket seats atop a simple frame with four wooden-spoked wheels completed the design. At the fourth Vanderbilt Cup, Robertson pushed Old 16 to an average speed of 64.38 mph, dashing around the 297-mile course to the cheers of over 100,000 rowdy spectators, who lined the track dangerously close to the speeding motor cars. With a thrown tire in the last lap and a frantic fight to the finish against an Italian Isotta, America's first major racing victory was a hair-raising affair. Old 16 is one of the oldest American automobiles still in existence, and is currently on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

October 24, 1944
French automaker and accused Nazi collaborator Louis Renault died on this day in a Paris military prison hospital of undetermined causes. Born in Paris, Renault built his first automobile, the Renault Type A, in 1898. Inspired by the DeDion quadricycle, the Type A had a 270 cc engine (1.75hp), and could carry two people at about 30mph. Later in the year, Renault and his brothers formed the Societe Renault Freres, a racing club that achieved its first major victory when an automobile with a Renault-built engine won the Paris-Vienna race of 1902. After Louis' brother, Marcel, died along with nine other drivers in the Paris-Madrid race of 1903, Renault turned away from racing and concentrated on mass production of vehicles. During World War I, Renault served his nation with the "Taxis de la Marne," a troop-transport vehicle, and in 1918, with the Renault tank. Between the wars, Renault continued to manufacture and sell successful automobiles, models that became famous for their sturdiness and longevity. With the German occupation of France during World War II, the industrialist, who had served his country so well during World War I, mysteriously offered his Renault tank factory and his services to the Nazis, perhaps believing that the Allies' cause was hopeless. The liberation of France in 1944 saw the arrest of Louis Renault as a collaborator, and the Renault company was nationalized with Pierre Lefaucheux as the new director. The 67-seven-year-old Renault, who likely suffered torture during his post-liberation detainment, died soon after his arrest.

Locomobile Old 16

Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia​