2006: Ford unveiled the Ford Escape Hybrid E85, a research vehicle marrying two petroleum-saving technologies, hybrid electric power and flexible-fuel capability, at Washington Auto Show. 2003: Giovanni “Gianni” Agnelli, the glamorous, powerful Italian business tycoon who turned Fiat, his family’s car company, into an international conglomerate, dies at the age of 81. 1991: The US Postal Service issued a four-cent stamp commemorating the Dudgeon Steam Wagon, a steam-powered vehicle built in 1853 by Richard Dudgeon, who astounded New Yorkers by riding it from his home on East Broadway to his place of business at 24 Columbia Street in 1855. When the phototube, mounted on the dashboard, detected approaching headlights, it automatically switched the car’s beams to low until the other lane was clear. 1952: General Motors unveiled the Autronic Eye, the first automatic headlight-dimming system.
GYMKHANA 8 FIESTA RMS DRIVER
He would go on to be the first driver to exceed 200 mph on a closed course. 1941: NASCAR driver Buddy "Leadfoot" Baker is born.
This Day in Automotive History 1/25/ 1905: Arthur Macdonald piloted a Napier six-cylinder racing car named Samson to a new land speed record of 104.65 mph. halted sales of some of its top-selling models to fix gas pedals that could stick and cause unintended acceleration. The accident happened in The Hamptons, NY. The singer lost control of his Mercedes S500 and skidded for 100 yards before crashing. 2003: Billy Joel was airlifted to hospital after his car smashed into a tree. 1996: The three-turn tri-oval 1mile (1.6 km) Walt Disney Track, Florida, US hosted its first car race, a Formula Ford 2000 support race, followed the next day with the Indy Racing League's Indy 200 car race. 1979: "The Dukes of Hazzard" a television comedy about two good-old-boy cousins in the rural South and their souped-up 1969 Dodge Charger known as the General Lee, debuts on CBS. 1947: Red Byron captured the inaugural National Championship Stock Car Circuit event, billed as the "Battle of the Champions," on the Beach-Road course at Daytona. Fred Marriott’s milestone was not beat until four years later, when a Blitzen Benz used a gasoline engine to reach 141. This Day in Automotive History 1/26/ 1906: An American mechanic in the seat of a steam-powered automobile set a land speed record of 127.66 mph. 2013: The fastest motorcycle wheelie on ice of 108.5 mph was achieved by Ryan Suchanek at Lake Koshkonong, WI. It would cut in half current greenhouse gas emission by 2025. 2012: California Air Resources Board approved strict vehicle emissions regulations in a package known as the Advanced Clean Car program. 1994: Production of the Ford Windstar began at Oakville (Ontario) Assembly Plant.
The Shelby GT 350, which featured a 306 horsepower "Cobra Hi-Riser" K-code 289 V-8 engine, remained in production through the end of the 1960s and today is a valuable collector’s item. 1965: The Shelby GT 350, a version of a Ford Mustang sports car developed by the American auto racer and car designer Carroll Shelby, is launched. However, the ultra-modern ‘aero’ styling was too dramatic and too revolutionary for most consumers. 1934: The DeSoto Airflow and Chrysler Airflow caused a sensation on the opening day of the 1934 Chicago Auto Show. This Day in Automotive History 1/27/ 1904: Willie Vanderbilt (1878-1944) reached 92.3 mph in his new German motorcar at the Daytona Beach Road Course at Ormond Beach, Florida, establishing a new land speed record.