25 Kickass and Interesting Facts About Cars

Here are 25 Kickass and Interesting Car facts.

1-5 Interesting Car Facts

1. The Lincoln Town car is the last US luxury car to still use body-on-frame construction, as opposed to a unibody frame, which allows it to be easily lengthened, explaining the car’s full domination of the limousine market. – Source

2. Norway has very strict rules on advertising cars as “green,” saying “cars can do nothing good for the environment except less damage than others.” – Source

3. When Oprah gave the audience cars back in 2004, they were not really free. They had to pay about $6,000 in federal and income taxes. Some people paid the taxes by taking out car loans; others traded their new Pontiacs for cheaper, less souped-up cars. – Source

4. A Greek taxi driver has the highest recorded mileage to date (2.9 million miles) on a Mercedes. He donated his car to the museum, and he was gifted a new car. – Source

5. Mr. Rodgers’ car was once stolen. The thief returned it back to him after he realized whose car it was. – Source

6-10 Interesting Car Facts

6. Honda Prelude was the first mass produced car that featured a mechanical 4-wheel steering system. In its debut year it beat every car in the slalom test, including Porsche and Ferrari. – Source

7. The Soviet Union allowed theaters to play The Grapes of Wrath because of its depiction of the plight of the poor under capitalism, but it was later withdrawn because Russian audiences were amazed that even the poorest Americans could afford a car. – Source

8. In 2002 a car was reported running off the road in Surrey, England by multiple witnesses. Police arrived, but found no signs of a crash. After a careful search the car and driver were finally found but it was determined the accident occurred 5 months earlier. – Source

9. In 2007, 20-year-old Florida kid named Ryan Holle was sentenced to life without parole for lending his car to a friend, who then murdered an 18-year-old girl. – Source

10. Residents of Churchill, Canada leave their cars unlocked to offer an escape for pedestrians who might encounter polar bears on Main Street. – Source

11-15 Interesting Car Facts

11. Little Tikes, red and yellow Cozy Coupe toy car reached 6 million units in sales by its 25^th anniversary in 2004, and was called the “world’s best-selling car for much of this decade” by The New York Times in 1998, outselling the Honda Accord and Ford Taurus. – Source

12. It is legal in California to drive a motorcycle between two cars in their lane (lane splitting) and only 53% of state residents know that it is legal. – Source

13. The first car to use a rear-view mirror was driven by inaugural Indy 500 winner Ray Harroun in 1911 to see the cars catching up behind him. – Source

14. In 1941, more than three million cars were manufactured in the United States. Only 139 more were manufactured during World War 2. – Source

15. In many states in USA, you can be charged with a DUI even if the car is parked and you’re sleeping while drunk. – Source

16-20 Interesting Car Facts

16. During the 1978 Formula One, there was a car named BT46B “fan car.” Fans were used to suck air out from under the car. Air-tight ‘hover-car like’ skirts allowed the fans to develop negative pressure beneath the chassis. This effectively allowed the car to ‘stick to the road’. It won its only race before being banned. – Source

17. The US gas guzzler tax that was designed to discourage fuel-inefficient vehicles only applies to cars, but not SUVs, trucks, and vans, since they were rarely used as passenger cars when the law was passed in 1978. The law has since not been updated to reflect modern times. – Source

18. In Sweden, your car headlights have to be on at all times when driving, even in broad daylight – Source

19. About 75% of the cars that Rolls Royce has ever produced are still on the road. – Source

20. In 2006, the Indy Car Series switched over to Honda engines and since then, there have been no Indy Car engine failures. – Source

21-25 Interesting Car Facts

21. South African residents can legally attach small flamethrowers to the side of their cars to provide defense against carjackers. – Source

22. You can instantly cool down a car that has been sitting under the sun by rolling down the window on one side and opening and closing the door on the other side five to six times.

23. Bridget Driscoll received instant notoriety when she stepped off the curb and into the history books on August 17th 1896. Mrs Driscoll, a 44 year old housewife, who was travelling from Old Town, Croydon to a folk-dancing display in Crystal Palace, became the first pedestrian in the UK to be killed by a car. She was hit by a demonstration car travelling at 4mph. She died within minutes of receiving a head injury – Source

24. Your car remote can lose synchronization with the car and become useless if a button is pressed more than 256 times when the remote is out of range. – Source

25. The ignition on all Porsches is located on the left side of the wheel. This is because back when Porsche was primarily a racing team, the driver could save a fraction of a second by starting the car with his left hand, while simultaneously switching the car into gear with his right hand. – Source