Automotive History

First parking meter appeared 80 years ago in Oklahoma City

(July 16, 2015) On this date in 1935, drivers in Oklahoma City were confronted with America's first parking meter, collecting rent for a space on the corner of First Street and Robinson Avenue.

While local drivers could avoid that single space, they couldn't escape for long. That meter was just the first of many to sprout up in Oklahoma City and across the nation, as millions of ticketed motorists will attest.

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From Canopy to City: Since 1936 Chevrolet means small business

(April 7, 2015) DETROIT — Ever since vendors have peddled produce to passers-by on the streets of busy cities, Chevrolet has provided vehicles that allows them to reach their customers. Beginning in 1936, Chevrolet sold the Chevrolet Canopy Pickup — a vehicle based on the popular FB-series half-ton pickup truck. Owners could upfit these vehicles with an optional canvas canopy top and side-drop curtains. During its first model year, Chevrolet saw truck registrations top 200,000 units for the first time in company history.

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2015 marks 80 years of Chevrolet Suburban, the original SUV

(March 29, 2015) DALLAS — In 1935, the Hoover Dam was completed, Elvis Presley was born, and canned beer first graced backyard barbecues across America. It was also the year the Chevrolet Suburban was introduced.

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Production of cult Volkswagen van began 65 years ago

(March 11, 2015) WOLFSBURG, Germany — Some retire at the age of 65 — but this one is just getting started! Production of the first Volkswagen Transporter began 65 years ago and the ‘Bulli’ is still going strong today.

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A generational thing: Camaro design through the years

(March 2, 2015) DETROIT — As the Camaro rolls through the final year of its fifth generation, Chevrolet asked five designers who have contributed to the sporty car’s design to reflect on the styling legacy that helped create an icon.

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Subaru Boxer engine production hits 15 million

(February 19, 2015) Production of Subaru’s horizontally-opposed  "Boxer" engine has reached 15 million units since the engine was first developed 49 years ago. The Boxer engine has become synonymous with Subaru vehicles all over the world, and remains one the hallmarks of a brand which continues to tread its own path when it comes to engineering.

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Power play — Chevrolet Camaro engines through the years

(February 16. 2015) DETROIT — Chevrolet Camaro has tracked the rise, fall and resurgence of American performance for nearly 50 years, making it a bellwether of horsepower. Since its 1967 introduction, the Camaro’s engine output has ranged from a low of 88 horsepower to a peak of 580, as the pony car rode the highs of the muscle car era in the late-1960s and the lows of the oil embargo-influenced 1970s to the emergence of modern technologies in the 1980s and the unprecedented power and efficiency offered today.

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On this day in 1899 first U.S. traffic fatality occurred in New York City

(September 13, 2014) On this day in 1899 (Saturday, Sept. 13) the first known traffic fatality occurred in the U.S. When Henry Bliss stepped off a streetcar at Central Park West and 74th Street in New York, automobiles were a novelty.  Thus, he didn't look carefully, and was run over by an almost silent electric taxi. 

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Mini turns 55 — A small car with a great history

(August 18, 2014) MUNICH — When the first classic Mini, made in Birmingham, England, went on the market on Aug. 18, 1959, none of the people involved at the time are likely to have imagined that the concept of a revolutionary small car would turn into one of the automotive industry's most impressive success stories stretching over a period of five and half decades.

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The Z Car — A 45-year journey in North America

(May 22, 2014) The journey from the original 240Z to the current 370Z made a number of interesting stops along the past 45 years. Interestingly, the 240Z might not have made the journey to America in the first place, if not for the efforts of one man.

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