The automotive industry is a complex and fascinating world. Even the most basic research can lead you into deep rabbit holes of car craziness.
The rich history of motor vehicles entices so many people to become fans, from history nerds to mechanic buffs.
What makes the automotive industry so interesting? We’re glad you asked.
Here are the top nine weirdest and most intriguing facts about cars.
1. Humans Needed Speed Right Away
The first car was sold in 1886. Exactly ten years later, the first speeding ticket was written.
A man was driving four times the city limit, a whopping 8mph. Luckily, the police officer was still able to catch that speed demon on his bicycle.
2. Speedsters Keep Records
The world record for fastest recorded car speed was 268.8mph, achieved in 1938. The driver was in a Mercedez Benz W125.
It wasn’t until 2018 that someone finally surpassed this record in a Koenigsegg Agera RS3.
3. Just The Good Parts
There are over 30,000 parts inside the average car. Every piece has an interesting fact to go along with it, too. For example, enjoy these 7 auto glass industry trends that you may not know.
4. Roadtrip to the Moon
Whenever space travel becomes possible, consider traveling by car! Any mathematician can discover that it would take less than one month to reach the moon in a car when driving at 60mph.
5. Thank Bad Drivers
If you’ve ever used your car’s cruise control function, you have a bad driver to thank for that!
As the story goes, there was a blind man who hitched a ride from his lawyer. The lawyer was such a terrible driver that the man feared for his life. He immediately went home and invented cruise control.
6. Pit Crew Speeds
The world record for taking out a car engine and replacing it is 42 seconds. It takes us longer to back up into a parking spot than to fix an engine!
7. First Car Accident
Our records of car accidents date back even further than speeding tickets. The first accident was in 1891. Considering there were no stop signs, traffic lights, or even lane lines, we’re shocked the crash didn’t happen sooner.
8. A Volkswagen Monopoly
That little VW Beetle you see puttering through your neighborhood is the symbol of a humongous business conglomerate.
VW owns twelve other popular car brands, like Audi, Bentley, Porsche, and Lamborghini (to name a few).
9. Traffic Time is Ticking
According to a recent study, the average American will spend around 54 hours of their precious life waiting around in traffic.
That’s over two whole days you could be spending sipping lemonade by the pool or touring the Italian countryside. At least podcasts exist, right?
More Facts About Cars
There you have it, nine of the most interesting facts about cars and the automotive industry in general. There is a lot to know about car facts!
We hope these fun car facts gave you a new appreciation for how far this industry has come over the last 100 odd years. We’re just glad traffic lights exist today for our modern cars and trucks.
Keep browsing our fact finding blog for more exciting transportation and automotive news. We publish a wide variety of helpful articles on vehicles, trucking, and shipping each month here on Everything Entrepreneur.
