ED DANAHUE

1982

Arnold Schwarzenegger was nicknamed the "Austrian Oak"
in his bodybuilding days, "Arnie" or "Schwarzy" during his
acting career, and "the Governator" (a portmanteau of
"Governor" and "Terminator") during his political career.
He’s 77 years old today.

1984

1938

On May 28, 1937, the government of Germany—then under the
control of Adolf Hitler of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party—
formed new state-owned automobile company, then known
as Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens
mbH. Later that year, it was renamed simply Volkswagenwerk,
or “The People’s Car Company.”

Originally operated by the German Labor Front, a Nazi
organization, Volkswagen was headquartered in Wolfsburg,
Germany. In addition to his ambitious campaign to build a
network of autobahns and limited access highways across
Germany, Hitler’s pet project was the development and mass
production of an affordable yet still speedy vehicle that could
sell for less than 1,000 Reich marks (about $140 at the time).         
        

VW logo during the 1930s, initials surrounded by a stylized cogwheel and a spinning propeller that looked like a
swastika.

The Land Rover, a British-made all-terrain vehicle that will soon
earn a reputation for its use in exotic locales, debuted at an auto
show in Amsterdam on April 30, 1948.

The first Land Rover, known as the Series 1, was the brainchild
of Maurice Wilks, the head designer for the British car company
Rover, of which his brother Spencer Wilks was the managing
director.

Maurice Fernand Cary Wilks
(19 August 1904 – 8 September 1963)

On April 29, 2004, the last Oldsmobile came off the assembly
line at the Lansing Car Assembly plant in Michigan, signaling
the end of the 106-year-old automotive brand, America’s oldest.

Ransom Eli Olds (June 3, 1864 – August 26, 1950)