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  One of the commercials I noticed during the Super Bowl was announcing Cadillac's entrance into the world of F1 racing. This will be the first true American team, but there have been others involved. Ford became an official engine supplier in 1967, beginning a partnership with Cosworth, a British automotive engineering company.  They introduced the Ford-Cosworth DVF engine, which won on its debut.  Ford has had 176 Grand Prix wins. In 2014, George Haas started the first American-licensed team, being the first American constructor to submit an F1 entry.  Their cars are designed by Italian manufacturer, Dallara. The 2026 season begins in March, with a double header race in Australia. Drivers: Sergio Perez, from Mexico, has won six races, previously with Red Bull. Valtteri Bottas, from Finland, has won ten races, previously with Mercedes.   Team

 On this day in 1896, Henry Ford test-drove the first automobile he ever designed. He was working as chief engineer at the main plant of the Edison Illuminating Company when he started on the Quadricycle - a horseless carriage with a gas powered engine. Ford followed the American Machinist  magazine, and saw when Charles King built his own vehicle (out of wood) with a four-cylinder engine, which could travel up to five miles per hour.  Thus Ford was inspired to create something lighter and faster. He enlisted the help of King, as well as others, and used a light metal frame with 4 bicycle wheels, along with a two-cylinder, four-horsepower engine.  The quadricycle had two driving speeds, no reverse, no brakes, rudimentary steering, and a doorbell for a horn. Ford's chief assistant, James Bishop, bicycled ahead of the new craft to alert carriages and pedestrians on Detroit's Grand River Avenue.  Reaching 20mph, he had achieved his goal.

  On this day in 1953, Chevrolet unveils the Corvette at the GM Motorama show. Henry Earl, head designer, wanted a two seat sportscar, as European automakers were dominating the market. With an all fiberglass body and a red interior, the car ran at 150 horsepower and cost $3,500.  GM initially marketed to VIP customers, but decided to open the floor when sales were disappointing. In 1954, they only built 3,600 of the planned 10,000, and almost a third remained unsold by 1955. 1955 is the year Ford launched their Thunderbird, so GM decided to keep the Corvette in production and make some performance enhancements.  Once Zora Arkus-Dontov became head engineer, the car would be transformed. The 1955 Corvette had 195 horsepower.  1956 had 240, and 1957 had 283.  By now, the Corvette was setting speed records on the racing circuit. In 1963, the second generation was introduced with the Stingray. In 1977, the 500,000th Corvette was built.

  On this day in 1933, architect/engineer Buckminster Fuller, unveiled his Dymaxion Car #1. A made-up word combining dynamic, maximum and ion, it was the first three-wheeled, multi-directional vehicle.  Fuller lived his life with the intent of experimenting and contributing to "changing the world and benefiting all humanity." The sketches began in 1927 and included wings that could inflate.  Production began in early 1933, using a steel chassis and a body made of ash wood, covered with an aluminum skin and topped with a painted canvas roof.  It was designed to reach a speed of 120mph and average 28 miles per gallon. Fuller sold the car to Gulf Oil, and it was put on display at the Century of Progress expo in Chicago. However, in October professional driver Francis Turner was killed when the Dymaxion turned over during a demonstration.  The vehicle was cleared, but investors were concerned. Fuller also created a Dymaxion house, which used tension suspension from ...

  In 1948, a hand-built prototype labeled "No. 1" becomes the first car to bear the name Porsche. But it wasn't a first for Ferdinand Porsche. Born in 1875 in Bohemia, he was 11 years old when the automobile was invented, and as a young child, he was greatly interested in electricity. Shortly before 1900 he started working with Jacob Lohner and created the world's first gasoline-electric hybrid automobile using wheel hub motors.  In 1900, it took the World's Fair by storm. Porsche became general director of the Austro-Daimler Company until Daimler merged with Benz in the 1920's.  He was responsible for designing some of the great Mercedes racing cars of the decade. In 1931, he formed his own company and was later called by Hitler, asking him to create a small "people's car."  He designed the prototype for the original Volkswagen, kdF, in 1936. Porsche was later accused of war crimes, and his son Ferry built a Grand Prix car for an Italian industr...

On this day in 1958, Chevy releases their El Camino. I personally think the name is used more widely than the Ranchero, which Ford released two years before. Ford was the first car/truck to be sold in the United States, but this wasn't a new concept for them - "Utes" had been used in Australia since the 1930's. The story goes that a farmers wife wrote to Ford Australia and asked for a car that could take her to church on Sunday and take her husband's pigs to market on Monday.  Lewis Brandt is the engineer who first created the "utility coupe" but soon every company in Australia had a version. The Ranchero was mostly a hit, but the El Camino was not.  Chevy actually discontinued manufacturing after two years - until 1968 when it was redone with the SS engine and became a huge success. Production officially ended in 1987, and now all you can get are the classics.  I can't say I've seen many of the 50's versions ...