Weird and Wonderful Autos: All the Things You Didn’t Know

If you’ve been hanging out with us here at eTags for a while, you probably know that we’re a little obsessed with cars. Not just cars, but motor vehicles in general.  We like to get into all sides of these wonderful creations, from style and performance to cost and value, from buying and selling to collectibles and autonomous jobbies. We want to know about gas mileage and resell value, about top speed and safety features.  And of course it is literally our business to know all the ins and outs of the technical stuff – the paperwork and documentation requirements of buying and selling automobiles.

But sometimes it’s fun to take a minute and marvel at the rich history of the motor vehicle industry.  There are over 100 years of changes and innovations behind our modern cars, trucks, and SUV’s, and along with all these developments come a host of strange and amusing facts.

Today we’re going to veer from our usual informative program here on the blog, and share with you a bunch of truly entertaining details from the automotive world.

1. The first ever car was built way back in 1789 by Frenchman Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, using water and steam pressure to move the machine.
2. The word “car” is derived from the Latin carrum, meaning “wheeled vehicle.”
3. The first electric vehicle was actually created in 1832 by Robert Anderson, but since so many rural areas did not have electricity, the invention was laid to rest and attentions returned to gasoline-powered cars.
4. Cruise control was invented in 1948 by a blind man named Ralph Teetor. His invention was born of the frustration he experienced being driven around by his lawyer, who could not keep his speed steady. Ralph was determined to remedy that, and he did!
5. The phrase “tune up” was coined by Henry Ford. He found that the coils in his vehicles were working properly, they would hum. And when they were off-balance, the buzz was missing. And so when repairing or adjusting the coils, he called it a tune-up.

6. Back in 1922, Chevrolet introduced the first car radio. The government tried to ban it on the grounds of distraction but were wholly vetoed. By 1963, car radios were a standard item.

7. Before BMW became the powerhouse it is, it was actually an aircraft engine manufacturer. The three letters didn’t become synonymous with luxe driving until the company bought a small automobile outfit in 1928.
8. The heftiest speeding fine ever issued was for a whopping one million euros. The ticket was given to a man in Sweden who was cruising at a swift 180mph. In Sweden, traffic violations are levied against income…and the cops knew the speedster could pay.

9. The first ever speeding ticket was given to a driver in 1902 for the scandalous speed of 45mph.

10. The top selling car of all time is….wait for it….the Toyota Corolla. Since its first incarnation in 1966, Toyota has sold over 45 million of these babies.

11. And given the popularity of the Corolla, it’s no surprise that Toyota churns out around 13,000 new vehicles per day. Per day!
12. On the other hand, Ferrari keeps their daily production to only 14 cars per day. Hence the exclusivity.
13. The average car will only spend about 5% of its life on the road. The other 95% you ride remains parked.
14. That said, the average human will spend around two weeks of their life sitting at red lights, and 99 days in traffic. That’s 38 hours in traffic every year. Unless you live in Los Angeles, then you’re more apt to see number up to 119 hours per year. In traffic. Sitting. In traffic. Yikes.

15. The average car contains 30,000 different parts.
16. So it’s no wonder that average yearly maintenance on a vehicle is $400.
17. Only a half an ounce of fuel is required to start a car engine.
18. The last of the Mohicans, uh, er, we mean cars to offer a cassette player was the 2011 Ford Crown Victoria.

19. If there were some sort of galactic bridge, you could ostensibly drive your car to the moon in under a month, maintaining speeds of at least 60pmh.

20. Volkswagen has a massive, quiet monopoly in the car industry, owning: Audi, Seat, Skoda, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Ducati, Scania, and MAN.

21. A standard Formula 1 car can drive upside down in a tunnel at 120mph.
22. The world’s fastest car is the Bugatti Chiron Supersport, which boasts a zippy 304.7mph capacity.
23. The world’s fastest police car belongs to the Dubai Police Department. They own a fleet of Bugatti Veyron vehicles, which can fly down those streets up to 253mph.
24. Cars did not receive the gas gauge until 1922. So….you just had to guess and hope.
25. Most vehicle horns honk in the key of F. In case you have perfect pitch and want to sing along.
26. Across the world, the most popular color for a car is white.

27. The highest mileage ever recorded in a car is 3,250,257 on a Volvo P1800S, belonging to a man named Irv Gordon. He racked up all those miles over a 52-year period, and has yet to be outdone. That’s more than 100 trips around the globe!

28. The fastest engine replacement ever completed was done by a group of British Marines, who managed the feat in 42 seconds back in 1985. Their time has never been beaten.
29. The largest car collection in the world belongs the Sultan of Brunei. It contains over 7,000 vehicles and is worth an estimated $5 billion.

30. That “new car smell” so many folks love – well, it’s the product of over 50 volatile components that are actually harmful for humans to inhale. Vehicle manufacturers are actively working to eliminate to chemicals that produce this odor.

And there you have it. Weird, true, interesting, and occasionally shocking facts about cars and the automotive industry in general.  We loved compiling this list…and you can thank us later after you’re the hit at your next dinner party.