Auto-history.tv -motoring history film archive

Fascinating, pioneering two-part documentary following famous Belgium adventurer Armand Davis travelling across Africa in a Dodge truck and car in the 1930s. With his small team, he literally goes where no vehicle has ever been before and encounters virtually every type of terrain known to man.

Fascinating, pioneering two-part documentary following famous Belgium adventurer Armand Davis travelling across Africa in a Dodge truck and car in the 1930s. With his small team, he literally goes where no vehicle has ever been before and encounters virtually every type of terrain known to man.

Excellent documentary featuring the new Ford V8 cars for 1935. It shows all the new features of the cars, both inside and out, as well as seeing the cars being put through "two years of driving in just two hours."

A film showing the gala events that GM organized for the day it built its 50 millionth car which was finished in gold.

For something completely different -a hotel on wheels. This newsreel shows what looks like a regular bus pulling a standard trailer, except when it's stationery, the trailer is metamorphosed into a mobile hotel, complete with bedrooms and a dining area. Not the Savoy perhaps, but certainly caravan comfort for a large travelling group.

Film of a futuristic moon vehicle being demonstrated in a look-a-like lunar landscape in Long Island, New York.

Film of a 1960s English invention which enables a standard car to drive on its own special rail car on country railway tracks is demonstrated as more and more railway branch lines are closed down.

Film showing how important the automobile has become in America after World War 2, not just in terms of providing transportation, but also in providing jobs and supporting the economy.

Noted period social commentator, Bert Bacharach (father of the legendary song writer), provides a number of auto tips to help ensure drivers both look after themselves, and their car.

Great period footage of cars and city streets of the 1930s in this road safety film featuring the development of traffic signals and other controls in cities across the US.

Feature by feature look at a number of Ford concept cars from the early 1960s. The film shows a number of clever ideas which have sadly never been adopted by the major manufacturers.

An informative film showing the opportunities offered in the rapidly developing automotive world -from garage mechanic to service manager.

Film of a novel race between a car driver and ice boat racer.

Chevrolet dealers demonstrate a new device to test petrol consumption.

Brief film showing a Chevrolet car driving over fords and rough tracks to reach one of America's remotest villages in the 1930s.

A film from the mid 1930s showing a newly introduced parking meter at work.

Newsreel of an old-time car owner who receives a free new car from Chevrolet having successfully driven his original 1915 Chevy for more than 20 years and 250,000 miles.

A film about motor trailers and trailer parks in Florida in the late 1930s. It features trailers of every size and shape.

A lavish presentation of General Motors' futuristic dream cars of the mid 1950s, plus a preview of the ideal highway network of the future.

Brief film of Ford's new English electric car in the late 1960s.

A California inventor adds a working fifth wheel to the rear of a car to enable it to be maneuvered into tight parking spots more easily. Clearly a good idea, but one which obviously never caught on.

The giant Sikorsky and Greyhound companies combine in a new initiative to transport out-of-town commuters into city centres in this new air-ground service.

In 1967, Sweden became the last major country in the world to switch from driving on the left to the right. The film shows the remarkable calm in which the transition was achieved.

A brief documentary showing how convertible cars had come back into fashion in America by the end of the 1980s. Following the safety fears of the early 1970s, drivers across the country were again buying these fun cars in significant numbers.