This Month in Automotive History
January 1
1919 Edsel Takes Dad’s Job
Edsel Ford succeeded his father, Henry Ford, as president of the Ford Motor Company. That same day, the company announced that it would increase its minimum wage to $6.00 per day. Henry Ford made history in 1914 by increasing the minimum wage in his factories to $5.00 per day, far more than his competitors were paying.
January 2
1994 Chrysler’s Neon Hits The Road
The Chrysler Corporation introduced the Neon compact car on this day. The Neon, a sporty plastic-bodied economy car, quickly became a popular car, particularly among young drivers.
January 3
1899 A Name For The Horseless Carriage
An editorial in the New York Times made a reference to an "automobile" on this day. It was the first known use of the word.
1926 Pontiac is Born
General Motors introduced the Pontiac brand name on this day. The new Pontiac line was the descendant of the Oakland Motor Car Company, acquired by General Motors in 1909.
January 4
1955 New Packards Roll Out
The 1955 Packards were introduced to the public on this day. Corvettes and Thunderbirds were upping the horsepower ante, and Packard struck back with the Packard Caribbean, the first V-8 Packard and the debut of highly stylized cathedral taillights. The era of the mighty tailfin was beginning.
January 5
1914 Ford Sets Record Wages
Henry Ford established a minimum wage of $5.00 per day in his automobile factories. These wages were twice what Ford had paid the year before, and much more than Ford’s competitors were paying. The lofty minimum wage was made possible by Henry Ford’s manufacturing breakthrough: the constant-motion assembly line, which carried moving cars past lines of workers. The first modern assembly line, Ford’s process allowed him to build cars faster and cheaper than anyone else could. The profits rolled in, and Ford’s workers shared in the wealth: an ironic beginning for an auto company that would go on to be a notorious enemy of labor in the 1930s and 1940s.
January 6
1980 Chrysler Saved
Jimmy Carter signed a bill authorizing $1.2 billion in federal loans to save the failing Chrysler Corporation. It was the largest federal bailout in history. The "Big Three" American car makers (Ford, GM, and Chrysler) had suffered through the 1970s, as Japanese competitors led by Honda and Toyota outperformed them in quality and price. Chrysler, which lacked the vast cash reserves of GM and Ford, was brought to the brink of bankruptcy by 1980. The federal bailout, which required Chrysler to find billions in private financing in order to receive the federal money, brought Chrysler back from the brink. Lee Iacocca, the charismatic executive largely responsible for Ford’s successful Mustang, joined Chrysler in late 1979, and engineered the company’s return to profitability during the 1980s.
January 7
1989 Viper Has Bite
The Dodge Viper was introduced at the North American International Automobile Show. The Viper, a modernized tribute to the classic Shelby Cobra, won such rave reviews that the company delivered a production version in 1992, just three years later. The production Viper has a V-10 plant that delivers 450 horsepower at 5,200 rpms. The car is capable of a top speed of over 190 mph, and holds numerous production-car performance records.
January 8
1944 William K. Vanderbilt Dies
William Vanderbilt, a great patron of early automobile racing who is said to have maintained a personal garage of more than 100 cars and 20 mechanics, died in New York City at the age of sixty-five. At the turn of the century, cars were still beyond the financial means of most citizens, and car racing was a spectacle nurtured by society’s elite. Men like William K. Vanderbilt, equipped with their own private fortunes, raced and equipped their own cars. In 1902 Vanderbilt became the first American to enter the land speed record books when he ran a mile in 47.32 seconds at an average speed of 76.086 miles per hour. Vanderbilt’s impact off the racetrack left a more enduring legacy. In 1904 he staged the first Vanderbilt Cup in order to introduce Europe’s best automotive drivers and manufacturers to the U.S. The first major international race held in the U.S., the Vanderbilt Cup ran thirty miles over a ten-mile lap course in Hicksville, New York. Growing steadily in popularity in each year of its existence, the Vanderbilt Cup would eventually draw as many as 250,000 spectators. Cars exceeding speeds of 100 miles per hour whizzed past crowds closely huddled at the roadsides with not even a fence to protect them. Predictably, race tragedies occurred, ultimately forcing Vanderbilt to cancel the event in 1916. William K. Vanderbilt is also credited with having constructed America’s first private or "toll" highway. He built the Long Island Expressway to circumnavigate restrictions with which the local authorities hampered his car races. Car races can’t have speed limits--not ones than anyone is likely to attend anyway; so Vanderbilt built his own road. In the early years of automotive racing he fostered the growth of automotive racing and, in doing so, extended the dream of owning an automobile to countless Americans.
January 9
1958 Japanese Cars Arrive in California
The Toyota and Datsun (later Nissan) brand names made their first appearances in the United States at the Imported Motor Car Show in Los Angeles, California. Previously, these auto makers had sold in the U.S. only under American brand names, as part of joint ventures with Ford and GM.
January 10
1942 Ford Makes Jeeps
The Ford Motor Company signed on to make Jeeps, the new general-purpose military vehicles desperately needed by American forces in World War II. The original Jeep design was submitted by the American Bantam Car Company. The Willys-Overland company won the Jeep contract, however, using a design similar to Bantam’s, but with certain improvements. The Jeep was in high demand during wartime, and Ford soon stepped in to lend its huge production capacity to the effort. By the end of the war, the Jeep had won a place in Americans’ hearts, and soon became a popular civilian vehicle. And that catchy name? Some say it comes from the initials G.P., for "General Purpose." Others say it was named for Jeep the moondog, the spunky and durable creature who accompanied Popeye through the comics pages.
January 11
1913 World’s First Hardtop
The world’s first closed production car was introduced: Hudson Motor Car Company’s Model 54 sedan. Earlier automobiles had open cabs, or at most convertible roofs.
January 12
1904 New Speed Record
Racing driver Barney Oldfield set a new speed record in a stripped-down Ford automobile. Driving across the frozen surface of Lake St. Clair, he reached a top speed of 91.37 miles per hour. Not bad, considering that the automobile was only invented a few years earlier. Oldenfield chose the frozen lake because it was wide and flat, and there was nothing to crash into. Luckily, the ice didn’t break.
January 13
1942 Automobiles in Plastic
On this day in 1942, Henry Ford patented a plastic-bodied automobile. The car was 30 percent lighter than ordinary cars. Plastic, a relatively new material in 1942, was revolutionizing industry after industry in the United States. Today most car bodies are still made of metal, but plastic parts are becoming more and more common.
January 14
1954 New Auto Giant: AMC
The Hudson Motor Car Company merged with Nash-Kelvinator, an auto maker formed in turn by the merger of the Nash automobile firm and the Kelvinator kitchen-appliance company. The new concern was called the American Motors Corporation.
January 15
1909 Highway To The Hereafter
A motorized hearse was used for the first time in a Chicago funeral procession by funeral director H.D. Ludlow. It was a sharp break with tradition: stately horse-drawn hearses had been in use for centuries.
January 16
1953 And Now...The Corvette
The Chevrolet Corvette was introduced at a show car at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The car became an American classic almost instantly. Its sporty fiberglass body didn’t look like anything else on the road, and although some car buffs criticized the sportscar for being underpowered, that didn’t stop Corvettes from speeding off the showroom floors.
January 17
1949 German Bug Invades America
The first Volkswagen Beetle in the U.S. arrived from Germany. The little Volkswagen ("people’s car") was a sturdy vehicle designed by Ferdinand Porsche at the request of Adolf Hitler. The car was meant to be a durable workhorse car for the common German. After the defeat of the Nazi government in Germany, the VW Beetle remained a popular car, and its reputation for affordable reliability made it a profitable export.
January 18
1919 Bentley Motors Founded
Bentley Motors was established in London, England. A manufacturer of sports cars and luxury automobiles, Bentley was acquired by Rolls-Royce in November, 1931. From that point forward, the Bentley line acquired more and more features of the Rolls-Royce, until the two makes became nearly indistinguishable.
January 19
1954 GM Spends A Billion
General Motors announced a $1 billion plan to expand its automobile operation. GM, like other major auto makers, had deep pockets due to the postwar boom in car sales, though sales were slackening in 1953.
January 20
1946 Kaiser Cars Unveiled
The first Kaiser-Frazer automobiles were introduced at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The Kaiser-Frazer Corporation was formed after World War II by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and Joseph W. Frazer, president of the Graham-Paige Motor Company. They produced several successful cars, most notably the 1951 Kaiser two-door. In 1953, however, the company was renamed the Kaiser Motors Corporation, and soon abandoned the passenger car business in favor of manufacturing commercial and military vehicles.
January 21
1899 Opel Opens For Business
In 1898, the five Opel brothers began converting the sewing-machine and appliance factory of Adam Opel into an automobile works in Russelheim, Germany. On this day in 1899, they acquired the rights to the Lutzmann automobile, and began production. The Opel-Lutzmann was soon abandoned, and in 1902 Opel introduced its first original car, a 2-cylinder runabout. In the decades that followed, Opel became one of the premier forces in the European automobile industry, modernizing its factories relentlessly and adopting the continuous-motion assembly line before its European competitors. Today, Opel is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors. It produces about a quarter of all German cars, and exports heavily to South America and Africa.
January 22
1950 Tucker Declared Innocent
Throughout the twentieth century, independent automobile manufacturers have fallen again and again before the industrial power of the "Big Three"—Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler. Most often, these independent firms are swallowed, bought up, like Nash, Austin, Studebaker, Hudson, Packard, and many others. The story of Preston Tucker is a little darker. Tucker was a Chicago businessman who built fifty extraordinary automobiles in 1947 and 1948. His cars had many modern amenities and remarkable horsepower. But he was indicted on thirty-one counts of fraud, and as he fought for his freedom in court, his company failed. On this day in 1950, Preston Tucker was cleared of all fraud charges against him. But it was too little, too late. The Tucker automobile was history. Many believe that the legal actions against Tucker were sponsored by the Big Three auto makers, who feared his competition.
January 23
1912 Music on the Road
The Aermore Manufacturing Company, a Chicago concern, received a patent for the Aermore Exhaust Horn, a multiple-pipe horn powered by engine exhaust that played a chord like a church organ.
January 24
1860 New Engine Runs on Fire, Not Water
French inventor Etienne Lenoir was issued a patent for the first successful internal-combustion engine. Lenoir’s engine was a converted steam engine that burned a mixture of coal gas and air. Its two-stroke action was simple but reliable--many of Lenoir’s engine were still working after 20 years of use. His first engines powered simple machines like pumps and bellows. However, in 1862, Lenoir built his first automobile powered by an internal-combustion engine--a vehicle capable of making a six-mile trip in two to three hours. It wasn’t a practical vehicle, but it was the beginning of the automobile industry.
January 25
1905 Brit Scorches Daytona Beach
Arthur MacDonald of Great Britain set a new land speed record of 149.875 miles per hour at Daytona Beach. Florida.
January 26
1920 Lincoln Is Born
The Lincoln Motor Car Company was founded on this day. It was acquired by the Ford Motor Company just two years later. Under Ford’s protective wing, the Lincoln brand name flourished and the Lincoln Continental would become one of the world’s most famous luxury makes.
January 27
1904 Internal Combustion Strikes Back
American racer William K. Vanderbilt set a new land-speed record of 76.086 miles per hour in a gasoline-driven Mors automobile at Ablis, France. It was the first major speed record to be set by an internal-combustion car. All previous records had been set by steam- and battery-powered cars.
1899 Steam Prevails
Frenchman Camille Jenatzy captured the land-speed record (49.932 miles per hour) in a battery-powered automobile of his own design.
January 28
1938 All-Time Highway Speed Record
Driver Rudolf Caracciola set a new land-speed record (not recognized by all organizations) of 268.496 miles per hour on the German Autobahn between Frankfurt and Darmstadt. His record remains the highest speed ever achieved on a public road. Later in the same day, a young driver named Bernd Rosemeyer died in a crash on the Autobahn in an attempt to surpass Caracciola’s record.
January 29
1989 Yugo No More
Global Motors, the American company that imported the Yugo, filed for bankruptcy. The Yugo was a Yugoslavian-made economy car that sold for thousands of dollars less than its nearest competitor. Its astonishingly low price made it a popular car for a few years in the mid-1980s, but the car’s flaws soon became apparent. It was underpowered, unreliable, and, famously, you could punch holes in the body with a wooden pencil. The cars were also poorly warrantied, to the dismay of thousands of disappointed Yugo owners.
January 30
1920 Future Mazda-Maker Founded
The Toyo Kogyo Company, Ltd., was founded in Hiroshima on this day. In 1960, the company began manufacturing Mazda automobiles.
January 31
1897 A Race Uphill
The final stage of the Marseille-Nice automobile race posed an unusual challenge: a steep slope that motorists had to climb at speed. It was the first speed hillclimb in auto-racing history. The uphill dash was won by M. Pary in a steam-powered DeDion-Bouton automobile
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