Sept 18 - This day in the Automobile-History.

Parking-lot record

1981. On this very day the Canadian West Edmonton Mall parking lot made "The Guinness Book of World Records" as the parking lot which is largest in the world where 20’000 vehicles were parked.

Sept 17 - This day in the Automobile-History.

Amphibious vehicle sailed across the English Channel

1965. On this very day the only mass produced vehicle “Amphicar” arrived at the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany having crossed the English Channel driven by four adventurous Englishmen. It took them about seven hours to do it.

Sept 16 - This day in the Automobile-History.

General Motors

1908. On this very day William Crapo Durant, the head of the Buick Motor Company, spent $2’000 on incorporation of the General Motors in NJ.

Sept 15 - This day in the Automobile-History.

“The Italian Job”

1969. On this very day there was a premiere of the classic British ‘burglarize’ movie “The Italian Job” in Swedish movie-theaters. Michael Caine starred as Charlie Croker who was the boss of a thieves gang wanted to steal a 4-million-pound delivery of gold to a bank in Turin, Italy from China. Three Mini Coopers--a blue, a red and a white one were featured in the movie as get-away vehicles.

Sept 14 - This day in the Automobile-History.

Isadora Duncan - a car accident

1927. On this very day, a famous dancer, Isadora Duncan, got killed in a car accident in Nice, France when the huge scarf made of silk she was wearing got enlaced in the rear wheel cap of her convertible.

Sept 13 - This day in the Automobile-History.

Oprah  & Huge Give-Away

2004. On this very day, Oprah Winfrey gives away 276 cars (a brand-new sedan Pontiac G6, priced in $28,500) to everybody in her studio audience. It was called as "one of the great promotional stunts in the history of television" by some media experts.

Sept 12 - This day in the Automobile-History.

A floating bridge in Seattle

1993. On this very day Lacey V. Murrow Bridge over Lake Washington opened in Seattle. This new bridge connected the eastern suburbs and the city. The Murrow Bridge (the first float concrete bridge in the world) was replaced by it. The original one was crashed by a flood in November of 1990.

Sept 11 - This day in the Automobile-History.

 “By Motor to the Fair”

1915. On this very day, the essay (the second of three) called as "By Motor to the Fair" written by a not-well-known-yet writer Emily Post was published in Collier's magazine. The series was about 27-day travel to the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco from New York City told by Emily.

Sept 10 - This day in the Automobile-History.

The Londoner George Smith - driving drunk

1897. On this very day George Smith, a cab-driver from London, slammed his taxi into a building. It was the first case when somebody was arrested for drunk driving. The fine was 25 shillings.

Sept 9 - This day in the Automobile-History.

The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act.

1966. On this very day the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act was signed the President Lyndon Johnson. He also signed the Highway Safety Act right after. The enforcing and setting standards of safety for cars and roads became the federal government responsibility according to those two bills.

Sept 8 - This day in the Automobile-History.

The first “Nissan's” factory in Europe.

1986. On this very day the first “Nissan's” European factory was opened by Margaret Thatcher, the British Prime Minister, and the president of the Nissan Motor Company, Yutaka Kume, in Sunderland, Britain.

Sept 7 - This day in the Automobile-History.

US. The very first race was won by an electric vehicle.

1896. On this day an electric vehicle which was constructed and built by the Riker Electric Motor Company won the first car race in Cranston, Rhode Island, the US. This event took place at the Narragansett Trotting Park which was usually used for horse-racing. This park is a mile-long dirt track of an oval shape at the state fairgrounds.

Sept 6 - This day in the Automobile-History.

Volkswagen in Virginia

2007. On this very day it was announced about moving of ‘Volkswagen of America’ headquarters to Herndon in Virginia from Auburn Hills in Michigan. As it was declared by the company the move was made to be closer to the East coast where traditionally the most of cosumers of its vehicle live. And Stefan Jacoby, Volkswagen CEO, told to the Washington Post:"You want to work in an environment where you see your customers".

Sept 5 - This day in the Automobile-History.

"On the Road" got a rave review from The New York Times

1957. On this very day Gilbert Millstein, the writer of New York Times, made a rave review to "On the Road" which was the second novel of Jack Kerouac (nobody could remember the first one right away). Jack was 35-year-old guy from Columbia who "woke up famous" after Millstein’s article as it was said to reporters by Kerouac's girlfriend.

Sept 4 - This day in the Automobile-History.

‘Edsel’

1957. This very day was named as the "E-Day" in concordance with the advertising campaign of ‘Edsel’ model built by the Ford Motor Company. It was the first new car brand made by one of the “Big Three” car companies since 1938. (a lot of people called this vehicle as "Ford Edsel" though the ‘Edsel’ was a separate division like ‘Mercury’ or ‘Lincoln’.) There were four different modifications of ‘Edsel’ offered for sale: the larger Corsair and Citation; the smaller Ranger and Pacer.

Sept 3 - This day in the Automobile-History.

The debut of Charles Wisner's “Buzz-Wagon”

1900. On this very day the first vehicle ever produced in Flint, Michigan appeared in the town's ‘Labor Day’ parade. The car was designed and built by Charles H. Wisner who was a county judge and a jack-of-all-trades. It was one car of many built in Flint which did not end up being produce by GM.

Sept 2 - This day in the Automobile-History.

The compact car ‘Falcon’ was presented by Ford

1959. On this very day Henry Ford II introduced the all-new vehicle produced by his company – ‘Falcon’ at the news conference which was broadcasted in 21 different cities by a cable TV. This car’s engine could make up to 90 h/p with the fuel consumption of just 30 mpg. The Falcon was called as "the small car with the big car feel". It was a real success. The car hit the market that October 8 and already by October 9, dealers had bought up all 97’000 cars of the first batch.

Sept 1 - This day in the Automobile-History.

Airbags became mandatory

1998. On this very day the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 came into effect eventually. According to this law all cars and light trucks, which were sold in the US, would be required to be equipped with air bags on both sides of the front-row seat.

Aug 31 - This day in the Automobile-History.

William Cobb. The demonstration of the first solar-powered vehicle.

1955. On this very day William G. Cobb from the General Motors Corp. (GM) presented his  "Sunmobile" at the General Motors Powerama car show in Chicago, Illinois. It was the first solar-powered vehicle in the world. 

Aug 30 - This day in the Automobile-History.

Global Warming Solutions Act

2006. On this very day the Assembly Bill (AB) 32, also known as the Global Warming Solutions Act got passed in the California State Senate. California became the first state whithin the US, because of this law, to cut the carbon dioxide and some other green-house types of gas, including some which were found in car emissions.