Calendar page: January 28 - February 3

We invite you to look into the history of automotive events, the anniversary of which falls on this week.

January 28.01.1999, XNUMX | Ford takes over Volvo

Since the late 1989s, Ford has been purchasing in Europe. He first took over Jaguar and Aston Martin (1999), and in '28 he took another costly step. This time the choice fell on Volvo's passenger car division, which acquired Ford on January 1999 at 6,45 billion dollars. This was another step towards strengthening our position in the premium segment. Of the more prestigious brands, Ford only had Lincoln.

Thus began a ten-year history of the development of the Swedish brand using the technologies of the Ford concern. During this period, the production of the first Volvo small car (Volvo C30) was launched, as well as completely new cars in all segments: S40, S60, S70 and C70, the first coupe since the early 90s. the stock XC90 and then the smaller XC60.

The Swedish manufacturer remained in the hands of Ford until March 2010, when the company was sold to the Chinese concern Geely.

January 29.01.1932, XNUMX | The first GAZ car

Ford had a large share in the construction of the Soviet car industry, which decided to sell a license to manufacture its cars in the USSR, and also took part in the construction of the GAZ plant in Gorky (today Nizhny Novgorod), a city located about 400 km east of Moscow.

An agreement between the USSR and Ford was signed in 1929, and in 1932 the construction of a new plant was completed. The official start of production took place on January 29, 1932, when the NAZ-AA car, later known as GAZ-AA, was built. It was an exact license copy of the Ford Model AA, a light truck produced in the USA since 1927 based on the Model A passenger car.

Thus began the history of the GAZ brand. At the end of 1932, a Russian passenger car, GAZ A, began to be produced under the license of Ford Model A. In 1936, it was replaced by the M1 model.

30.01.1920/XNUMX/XNUMX | Mazda is born

Mazda continued commercial vehicle development with pickups based on the R360 solutions as well as larger pickups such as the B1500 pickup (1961).

Today, Mazda produces more than 1,5 million vehicles a year, making it one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world.

January 31.01.2003, XNUMX | Premiere Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII

On the last day of January 2003, the Japanese premiere of the Lancer Evolution VIII model took place, which replaced its predecessor, which was produced only since 2001. Compared to it, the car featured a slightly refreshed front apron, a new short-shift six-speed transmission (available as an option), and improved all-wheel drive with improved traction control.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII went on sale in three versions (GSR, RS and RS with 6-speed gearbox), and the manufacturer expected sales of 5 units. Production of this evolution continued until 2005. After the Japanese premiere, Mitsubishi prepared the car for the European and American markets.

February 1.02.1968, XNUMX | Mitsuoka brand created

We stay on the topic of Japanese motorization, but move on to a slightly lesser-known brand that was born on February 1, 1968 by Susumu Mitsuoka. From the very beginning, the company was associated with the automotive industry, but did not produce its own cars until 1981. In 1982 the first project was completed. It was a single, small craft, aptly named the Bubu 501, powered by a small 50cc engine, packaged in a strange capsule-shaped case. It only got better later. Mitsuoka began producing replicas and later cars stylistically inspired by the British automotive industry of the 3s and 50s.

The most famous model is undoubtedly the Viewt, whose front end is reminiscent of classic Jaguars. The car, produced since 1993, is based on the Nissan Micra - first K11, later the newer K12.

In her story, Mitsuoka even had an episode with a supercar. Orochi, as befits a product of this brand, has an unforgettable style, and the Toyota drive system is responsible for trouble-free operation. From 2006 to 2014 it was built in small numbers. It is estimated that around 400 examples were made.

Today, Mitsuoka is still in the hands of the founding family and is doing quite well: it introduces new models, including models based on the classic Morgan or Corvette.

February 2.02.1923, XNUMX | Ethylene sales started

Carol Kettering, the famous American inventor thanks to whom we have, among other things, the electric starter, worked in the 2nd years to increase the compression ratio of engines and eliminate detonation. Together with Thomas Midgley, he concluded that adding tetraethyl lead would increase the octane number of the fuel and eliminate detonation. The resulting fuel was named ethylene and made its market debut on February 1923 at a station in Dayton, Ohio.

Ethylene was widely used over the following decades. In Poland, it was sold until the nineties, when it was replaced by unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 94.

February 3.02.1994, XNUMX | End of Nisa production

In 1958, the production of a delivery vehicle began in Nysa, which, together with the Żuk in Lublin, became an important element of the Polish automotive landscape. It has been used in law enforcement, agriculture and industry. Like Zhuk, it was based on FSO Warszawa decisions.

Nisa's production grew year by year. The car received new body options and technical upgrades, including the overhead valve C-21 engine. In 1969, the first major modernization took place - this is how the Nysa 521 and 522 were created. It was the car in this body variant that was actually produced to the end and did not receive a serious stylistic modernization.

The popularity of Nysa has been declining since the 1989s, and after 2 years of transformations, the obsolete delivery vehicle completely disappeared from sale. Production dropped from a few thousand cars a year to a few thousand. Production ended on 1994 February 380 with car number 575.

After the production of "Nysa" was completed, the factory was not closed. The Polonez truck was produced in Nysa, Citroen C15 and Berlingo were assembled. Vehicle production ended in 2003.