Car Facts Courtesy of Gregg's Automotive!

Need a mechanic around Punta Gorda, FL? Go to Gregg's Automotive! Awesome site, guys! and now, 28 Useless facts to make the work day go quicker.

http://greggsauto.net/2014/02/28-facts-cars/

28 Useless Facts about Cars to Impress Your Friends

POSTED ON FEBRUARY 28, 2014

Cars, just what is this thing that American have that makes us thrive on cars? We own them for transportation, as a utility, as a right to manhood, and for prestige just to name a few.

America has been enamored with the automobile since its inception in 1893, when brothers Charles and James Duryea, of Springfield Mass. They are credited with building the first practical automobile in America. But in Europe the automobile had a 100 year head start.

Automobile, by the way is French, which is translated as self – moving. The first true automobile was invented in France in 1769 by Nicolas Cugnot, a military engineer. It was steam powered and was immediately commissioned to be enlarged to be able to move artillery. Thank God for the war machine!

Accordingly the first car accident was in 1770 when Cugnot knocked down a wall in Paris. This vehicle is still preserved in the Conseratoire Nationale des Arts et Metiers in Paris.

This week’s article is not going to be a long and drawn out history lesson but a light and interesting piece highlighting some neat historical facts and a lot of trivia about America’s sweetheart, the car.

28 Fun Facts about Cars

1. The first cars did not have a steering wheel, they had a single lever somewhat similar to a tiller.

2. Jamshedji Tata was the first person to own a car in India. The company that bears his name produces the cheapest car in the world.

3. The first car to be powered by an internal combustion engine was built in Mannheim, Germany by Karl Benz in 1885.

4. The car that sold more than one million units in one year, a record that still stands to this day is the 1965 Chevrolet Impala.

5. The first auto insurance policy was purchased in 1897 in Westfield Mass.

6. The windshield wiper was invented and patented by Mary Anderson in 1905.

7. A deploying airbag moves at up to 4500mph within the first second. It has a generated force of up to 200g. They are designed to deploy after a collision of over 19mph and the entire cycle from impact to deployment to collapse takes 40miliseconds.

8. In 1924 a Ford cost $265.00.

9. The most expensive vehicle ever sold was a 1931 Bugatti Royale Kellner Coupe which sold for a staggering $8,700,000.00.

10. The first car radio was invented by Paul Gavin.

11. Red cars are prohibited in Shanghai China.

12. After being used in the movie “Gone in 60 Seconds,” the 1967 Shelby Mustang GT-500 as one of the most famous cars ever.

13. The first speeding ticket was issued in 1902.

14. Mr. Allen Swift of Springfield Mass drove his 1928 Rolls Royce Roadster for 82 years.

15. The first traffic death was in 1896.

16. The original dashboard was a piece of wood that was fastened in front of a horse drawn carriage that prevented mud from hitting the driver.

17. The first coin operated parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City in 1935.

18. The world’s record for people crammed in a Smart car is 19.

19. The most expensive speeding ticket in history was in Switzerland where a Swedish man was clocked at 180mph. Fines in Switzerland are proportionate to income. His fine: $1,000,000.00.

20. Ferrari can only produce 14 cars a day.

21. Toyota produces 13,000 vehicles a day.

22. It is compulsory to keep a Breathalyzer kit in your car in France.

23. The “new car smell” is composed of 50 volatile organic compounds. Fortunately they are not toxic.

24. A modern fuel injected vehicle with all of its ABS and Traction control options disabled can drive upside down in a tunnel after reaching 120mph.

25. Steve Jobs found a loophole in California law and never had a license plate issued to him.

26. The height of the world’s lowest street legal car is only 19”.

27. Hong Kong has the most Rolls Royce’s per capita than any other city in the world.

28. There are 60 million vehicles produced every year, that’s 165,000 per day.

With that being said I hope that you enjoyed all of this useless information. But if used correctly it is sure to win you at least one adult beverage in any local pub or maybe a slot on “Do You Want To Be A Millionaire.” In any case enjoy it and next week we’ll get back to business