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This Day in History: Oregon implements first gas tax

On February 25, 1919, Oregon implemented the nation’s first gasoline tax. The tax added 1 cent per gallon of gasoline, which cost around 25c/gallon at the time. In today’s dollars, that would be a tax...

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This Day in History: Final Model A produced

On February 28, 1932, the final Ford Model A was produced. The successor to the wildly popular Model T, the 40hp Model A was a success in its own right; nearly five million Model As rolled onto...

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This Day in History: Connecticut issues first permanent license plates

On March 1, 1937, Connecticut issued the first permanent license plates. Earlier, license plate colors were changed annually, and plates had to be reissued every year as a result. Connecticut instead...

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This Day in History: Highway commission formed

On March 2, 1925, the Joint Board on Interstate Highways was formed. One of the group’s first acts was to try to standardize the US highway system by ordering named highways to be replaced with...

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This Day in History: Tucker Car Corporation folds

On March 3, 1949, the Tucker Car Corporation folded after producing only 51 cars. The advanced Tucker 48 had been heralded as a leap forward in design, convenience, power, and safety, but production...

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This Day in History: AAA is founded

On March 4, 1902, the American Automobile Association was founded in Chicago to bring together motoring enthusiasts and create a national body to promote automobiles and safe motoring.

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This Day in History: LA Auto Show catches fire

On March 5, 1929, a fire broke out at the Los Angeles Auto Show, destroying four tents and ruining the million-dollar event. According to period reports, one electrician and several firemen were...

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This Day in History: Willys debuts the Aero-Ace

On March 5, 1952, Willys introduced a new compact passenger car, the Aero-Ace. Equipped with the Hurricane six-cylinder, the car was meant to be an economical offering that also boasted an extremely...

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This Day in History: Charles King drives Detroit’s first car

On March 6, 1896, Charles King drove the first automobile on the streets of Detroit. He cruised down Woodward Avenue at 11 p.m. in a vehicle of his own devising, in perhaps an early preview of the...

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This Day in History: GM acquires 80 percent of Opel

On March 7, 1929, General Motors acquired 80 percent of Opel, then Germany’s largest carmarker with a market share of nearly 40 percent. GM paid almost $26 million; it acquired the remaining 20 percent...

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This Day in History: Pontiac Firebird Trans Am debuts

On March 8, 1969, Pontiac unveiled the Firebird Trans Am at the Chicago Auto Show. The high-performance muscle car, which came standard with a 400-cu.in. Ram Air III HO engine making 335hp, was meant...

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This Day in History: First Volkswagen bus produced

On March 8, 1950, the first Volkswagen Type 2 Transporter – better known as the VW Bus – was produced. It was powered by the same engine as the Type 1 (aka Beetle), an air-cooled four-cylinder “boxer,”...

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This Day in History: Oldsmobile factory burns down

On March 9, 1901, a fire burned the Olds Motor Works factory to the ground, destroying all of Ransom E. Olds’s prototypes save for a Curved Dash Olds that two employees managed to wheel out while...

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This Day in History: First Ford Mustang produced

On March 9, 1964, the first Ford Mustang came off the production line. Although it was beaten to market by the Plymouth Barracuda, the hot-selling Mustang would quickly come to define the youthful...

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This Day in History: Disney releases “The Love Bug”

On March 13, 1969, Disney released The Love Bug, a film about a VW Beetle with a mind of its own and a penchant for road racing. The movie cemented the Beetle in the hearts and minds of a generation of...

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This Day in History: Jaguar XK-E debuts

On March 15, 1961, the Jaguar E-Type – also known as the XK-E – debuted at the Geneva Auto Show. It made its American debut in April. The car was originally for export only; domestic models only became...

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This Day in History: Rolls-Royce Limited founded

On March 15, 1906, Rolls-Royce Limited was founded. The partnership between Henry Royce and Charles Rolls had actually been forged in 1904, but they wouldn’t officially incorporate their venture for...

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This Day in History: First Porsche debuts

On March 17, 1949, the first Porsche to carry the family name made its debut at the Geneva Auto Show. The family firm, led by patriarch and motoring pioneer Ferdinand, had been consulting on car design...

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This Day in History: Studebaker enters receivership

On March 18, 1933, Studebaker entered receivership. The company had been struggling with its debts, exacerbated by the problems of the Great Depression, but would manage to make a resurgence. It would,...

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This Day in History: One millionth Jeep is produced

On March 19, 1952, the one millionth Jeep was produced. The post-war model was built by Willys-Overland.

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