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TheBMW M1 Procar Championship, sometimes known simply asProcar, was aone-makeauto racing series which featured professional drivers from theFormula One World Championship,World Sportscar Championship,European Touring Car Championship, and other international series, using identically modifiedBMW M1sports cars. It was created byJochen Neerpasch, head ofBMW Motorsport GmbH, the racing division of automobile manufacturerBMW.

Billed as an opportunity to see a mix of drivers from various motorsport disciplines, the championship served as support races for various European rounds of the1979 Formula One season, with Formula One drivers earning automatic entry into the Procar event based on their performance in their Formula One cars.AustrianNiki Lauda won the inaugural championship. In 1980, the series held some events outside of Formula One schedule, and was won byBrazilianNelson Piquet. BMW chose not to continue the championship in 1981 to concentrate on their entrance into Formula One. (Full article...)

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Crude ideas and designs ofautomobiles can be traced back to ancient and medieval times. In 1649,Hans Hautsch ofNuremberg built a clockwork-driven carriage. In 1672, a small-scalesteam-powered vehicle was created byFerdinand Verbiest; the first steam-powered automobile capable of human transportation was built byNicolas-Joseph Cugnot in 1769. Inventors began to branch out at the start of the 19th century, creating thede Rivaz engine, one of the firstinternal combustion engines, and an earlyelectric motor.Samuel Brown later tested the first industrially applied internal combustion engine in 1826. Only two of these were made.

Development was hindered in the mid-19th century by a backlash against large vehicles, yet progress continued on some internal combustion engines. The engine evolved as engineers createdtwo- andfour-cycle combustion engines and began usinggasoline. The first modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use—and the first car in series production appeared in 1886, whenCarl Benz developed a gasoline-powered automobile and made several identical copies. In 1890,Gottlieb Daimler, inventor of the high-speed liquid petroleum-fueled engine, andWilhelm Maybach formedDaimler Motoren Gesellschaft. In 1926, the company merged withBenz & Cie. (founded by Carl Benz in 1883) to formDaimler-Benz, known for itsMercedes-Benz automobile brand. (Full article...)

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Schweitzer in 1994

Louis Schweitzer (8 July 1942 – 6 November 2025) was a French businessman who was achairman of the board ofGroupe Renault, first taking the post on 27 May 1992, succeedingRaymond Lévy. He was alsoCEO from 1992 to 2005. He was in addition Chairman ofAstraZeneca until 8 June 2012 where he was appointed a Director on 11 March 2004. He was a non-executive director ofBNP Paribas,Electricité de France,Veolia Environnement,Volvo AB andL'Oréal, and Vice-Chairman of the Supervisory Board ofPhilips Electronics NV. (Full article...)

On this dayNovember 25

1844 —Karl Benz is born

1920 —Gaston Chevrolet is killed in a racing accident inBeverly Hills, California

Did you know...

• ...that the racing version of theDauer 962 Le Mans, winner of1994 24 Hours of Le Mans, is a roadcar converted from aPorsche 962 racecar, which dominatedLe Mans,Group C andIMSA during the 1980s?
• ...that the 25 MillionthVW Golf rolled off the production line inWolfsburg in March 2007? The first Golf started production in 1974, 33 years later the 1.4 litre TSI version became the 25 Millionth car.
• ...that the2011Ford Crown Victoria was the last car to offer acassette tape player as an option?
• ...that the first productionturbocharged cars wereGeneral Motors'A-body 1962Chevrolet Corvair andOldsmobile F-85?
  
• ...thatJeep introduced the 1993Grand Cherokee and 2007Wrangler in the same way — by driving them through a plate glass window?
• ...that a small number ofRenault 20s, badged asDacia 2000, were made in the 1980s byDacia inRomania for Romaniancommunist dignitaries of that time?
• ...that theAutobianchi Primula was theFiat's firstautomobile with thefront-wheel drive,transverse engine setup andrack and pinion steering?
• ...that thePlymouth Sundance is aliftback, even though the outside appearance might suggest that it is asedan?
• ...that the nameVolvo really means 'I Roll?' That's how Volvo rolls.

Selected quote of the day

It was Holden working at its best, doing a lot with a little. Some of the subterfuge we got up to to make things happen was probably more risky than we realised, but it was worth it.

—Tony Hyde

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  Image 1TheVélib' inParis, France, is the largest bikesharing system outside China. (fromCar)
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  Image 2The first automobile in Japan, a FrenchPanhard-Levassor, in 1898 (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 3The Selden Road-Engine (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 4Bertha Benz, the first long distance driver (fromCar)
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  Image 51926Bugatti Type 35 (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 6TheFlocken Elektrowagen was the first four-wheeled electric car (fromCar)
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  Image 7Ransom E. Olds foundedOlds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile) in 1897. (fromCar)
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  Image 81929Alfa Romeo 6C (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 91946GAZ-M20 Pobeda, one of the first mass-produced cars with a pontoon design (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 10AStanley Steamer racecar in 1903. In 1906, a similar Stanley Rocket set the world land speed record at 205.5 km/h (127.7 mph) at Daytona Beach Road Course. (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 11Panel for fuses and circuit breakers (fromCar)
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  Image 121982Toyota Camry (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 13Car exhaust gas is one type of pollution
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  Image 14AChevrolet Suburban extended-length SUV weighs 3,300 kilograms (7,200 lb) (gross weight). (fromCar)
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  Image 15Carl Benz, the inventor of the modern car (fromCar)
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  Image 16Volkswagen Beetle (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 17Stuttgart, a cradle of the car withGottlieb Daimler andWilhelm Maybach working there at theDaimler Motoren Gesellschaft and place of the modern day headquarters ofMercedes-Benz Group andPorsche (fromCar)
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  Image 18A roboticVolkswagen Passat shown atStanford University is adriverless car. (fromCar)
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  Image 19The GermanFlocken Elektrowagen of 1888, perhaps the first electric car in the world (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 20The Ford Model T (foreground) and Volkswagen Beetle (background) are among themost mass-produced car models in history. (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 21A replica of Richard Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive 'Puffing Devil' (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 221924Doble Model E (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 23Result of a serious car collision (fromCar)
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  Image 24The weight of the low battery stabilises the car. This is adual-motor, four-wheel-drive layout but many cars only have one motor. (fromCar)
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  Image 25Ford Motor Company automobile assembly line in the 1920s (fromCar)
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  Image 26Trucks' share of US vehicles produced, has tripled since 1975. Though vehicle fuel efficiency has increased within each category, the overall trend toward less efficient types of vehicles has offset some of the benefits of greater fuel economy and reductions in pollution and carbon dioxide emissions. Without the shift towards SUVs, energy use per unit distance could have fallen 30% more than it did from 2010 to 2022. (fromCar)
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  Image 27TheToyota Corolla is thebest-selling car of all-time. (fromCar)
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  Image 281929Austin Seven (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 29Cugnot's steam wagon, the second (1771) version (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 30Steam machine of Verbiest, in 1678 (Ferdinand Verbiest) (fromCar)
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  Image 31TheToyota Corolla is the world'sbestselling nameplate. (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 32The originalBenz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car, built in 1885 and awarded the patent for the concept (fromCar)
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  Image 331987Renault Espace (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 342011Nissan Leafelectric car (fromCar)
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  Image 351974Citroën DS (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 36The second Marcus car of 1888 (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 37Rolls-Royce Phantom III (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 38Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 391959 Morris Mini-Minor (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 40A car being assembled in a factory (fromCar)
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  Image 41Cugnot's 1771fardier à vapeur, as preserved at theMusée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (fromCar)
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  Image 42In theFord Model T the left-side hand lever sets the rear wheel parking brakes and puts the transmission in neutral. The lever to the right controls the throttle. The lever on the left of the steering column is for ignition timing. The left foot pedal changes the two forward gears while the centre pedal controls reverse. The right pedal is the brake. (fromCar)
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  Image 43ATesla Model Y electric car, the world's best-selling electric car, and the best selling nameplate in 2023. (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 44Fiat 4 HP, the first car model produced by Italian manufacturerFiat in 1899 (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 45ThePräsident automobile (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 46Model-T Ford car parked near theGeelong Art Gallery at its launch in Australia in 1915 (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 471955Chevrolet Bel Air convertible (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 481885-builtBenz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use (fromHistory of the automobile)
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  Image 49Audi A4 daytime running lights (fromCar)
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  Image 50Road congestion is an issue in many major cities (pictured isChang'an Avenue inBeijing). (fromCar)

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