On This Day in Automotive History: December 7 |
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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.