Indian Autos blog

September 1, 1950: First Porsche completed A new chapter in Porsche history began today, with the company’s return to Zuffenhausen, Germany, and the completion of the first Porsche. The first car to bear the Porsche name had actually been built two years earlier by Ferry Porsche and his design team, but this Porsche was the first car to boast a Porsche-made engine. Porsche became an independent automobile manufacturer during this  [ Read More ]

30th August 1916: Studebaker announced the release of the Heaslet Special, a semi-custom touring car. The car was named in honor of Studebaker’s vice president of engineering, James G. Heaslet. 30th August 1945: A pale green Super Six coupe rolled off the Hudson Company’s assembly line, the first post-World War II car to be produced by the auto manufacturer. Like all other U.S. auto manufacturers, Hudson had halted production of  [ Read More ]

August 28th 1921 Erection of the Paragon Motor Company factory began in Cumberland, Maryland. The company’s production was limited to just four prototypes, and the factory was never finished. August 28th 1922 The famed Autodromo, an automobile-racing track, was opened in Monza, Italy, on this day. Set in a active industrial center along the Lambro River, this track, with its elliptical shape and concrete banked curves, is said to be  [ Read More ]

August 27th 1904 Newport, Rhode Island, imposed the first jail sentence for a speeding violation on this day. This was a severe sentence in 1904 since traffic laws were still comparatively new-the first traffic laws wasn’t brought about until 1903, when New York instituted a two-page book of rules. Early traffic regulations varied significantly from state to state, some having no speed limits at all. August 27th 1938 Captain George  [ Read More ]

August 20th 1946 World War II civilian truck confinements were taken off in the U.S. Truck restrictions were only the beginning of special regulations during the war. Civilian auto production more or less stopped after the assault on Pearl Harbor as the U.S. automotive industry turned to war production, and gas rationing began in 1942. August 20th 1991 The Mazda Motor Corporation of Japan declared on this day that it  [ Read More ]

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 now and is very distinct. 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  [ Read More ]

August 17th 1915 Charles F. Kettering of Detroit, Michigan, patented the electric automobile self-starter on this day. Kettering, along with Edward A. Deeds, established Delco (Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company). Kettering and his company invented countless enhancements for the automobile, including lighting and ignition systems, lacquer finishes, antilock fuels, and leaded gasoline. The Cadillac was the first car to use the electric starter, and Delco would subsequently become a subsidiary of  [ Read More ]