By accessing/using The Crittenden Automotive Library/CarsAndRacingStuff.com, you signify your agreement with the Terms of Use on our Legal Information page. Our Privacy Policy is also available there.

On This Day in Automotive History: December 7

On This Day in Automotive History
December 7

Return to the "On This Day..." calendar

December 6 « Go to » December 8

Birthdays: Cornelius Van Ranst (1892), Brian Lewis (1903), Ottorino Volonterio (1917), John Love (1924), Hermano da Silva Ramos (1925), Bob Tullius (1930), Frank Sandlin (1935), John Utsman (1939), Bud Moore (1941), Terry Clattenburg (1944), Dan Perez (1947), Carlos Moran (1949), Bucky Morris (1950), Philippe Roux (1952), Randy Bateman (1953), Jimmy Edwards Jr. (1953), Ted Kennedy (1955), Warren Jonsson (1956), James Koehler (1958), Michael Marden (1960), Christian Philippon (1961), Dave Taylor (1962), Jamie Mosley (1969), Phonsy Mullan (1974), Hugo Vannini (1974), Dany Trepanier (1974), Benoît Tréluyer (1976), Michael Lewis (1978), Ross Fonferko (1981), Nate Monteith (1981), Martin Tomczyk (1981), Robert Kubica (1984), David Michaud (1985), Tommy Joe Martins (1986), Trent Harrison (1988), Cody McMahan (1991), J.B. Fortin (1993), Dylan Lupton (1993), Lasse Soerensen (1996), Cameron Bolin (2004)

1915: OPR completes construction of bituminous experimental roads on the grounds of the Department of Agriculture. Construction involves two wing drives leading from the sheet-asphalt pavement in front of the main building to the sheet-asphalt plaza in the rear. The experiments were designed to study the behavior of cold-application tars and asphaltic oils of the types suitable for surface treating water-bound and penetration macadams. The roads chosen for the experiment were 16 feet wide and had been resurfaced with limestone macadam in the fall of 1911. In June 1912, they were treated with a molasses-lime mixture, but the treatment was followed by 10 days of heavy rain, during which the mixture was entirely washed off and the surface soon became dusty. Although limited to delivery wagons, carriages, and automobiles, the surface had worn perceptibly by the time the bituminous experiments began.

1941: The attack on Pearl Harbor brings the United States into World War II. In the following years American motorsports would be put on pause and automobile production capacity would be shifted to manufacturing weapons of war.

2007: Dodge began taking deposits on the third generation Challenger.

2015: The Petersen Automotive Museum reopens following an extensive remodeling.