Interesting Car Facts We Bet You Didn’t Know

In the beginning of automotive history, car ownership was merely a luxury. The only people to really own cars back then were either royalty or wealthy families of the time. Nowadays, however, just about any driver can save enough money to buy or lease a vehicle. This means, there’s a car out there for everyone and you don’t necessarily have to love cars to appreciate their value. Right now there are 1.4 billion cars currently in use around the world. And it’s said that number is expected to increase to 2 billion by 2040. That’s a lot of vehicles on the road! Whether you’re a gearhead by nature or just your everyday driver, here are some fun and interesting car facts to learn for your next hangout or trivia night with friends.

Let’s get started!

Think you know everything there is to know about cars? Have you mastered what’s under the hood? While learning the mechanics and utility of car ownership is certainly important, there are plenty of unique and interesting car facts to know about the automotive industry. Therefore, we’ve compiled a list of our favorite car facts to date. Some go as far back as the 19th century when car production first began!

15 car facts to learn about

1. Airbags deploy within 40 milliseconds of a collision and at speeds of up to 4,500 MPH.
2. Traffic congestion wastes approximately 3 billion gallons of fuel each year. (Electric is sounding more appealing by the minute. Am I right?)
3. In 1902, law enforcement issued the world’s first speeding ticket to a driver going 45 MPH.
4. The “new car smell” is made of 50 volatile organic compounds (VOC). What most drivers don’t know is that intoxicating smell poses some serious health risks from prolonged exposure.
5. The most popular car color choice is white. (It wins color of choice every year!)
6. Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Ford are the only automakers to still produce car models with CD players, however, those numbers are diminishing by the year.
7. The average vehicle contains 30,000 car parts. (It’s no wonder your vehicle needs so many repairs!)
8. The first car accident occurred in 1891, immediately prompting legislation for better car safety laws.
9. The average car owner spends $400-500 on scheduled maintenance and repairs each year.
10. Americans spend (on average) nearly two weeks of their life sitting at red lights.
11. Drivers originally had to use their hands to operate the first windshield wipers.
12. 65% of world’s population drives on the right side of the road. Interestingly enough, reports show that countries who enforce driving on the left side of the road have considerably fewer accidents.
13. Large cars are typically more profitable than smaller models.
14. The word car derives from the Latin word “carries” meaning “two-wheeled wagon”.
15. The Ford assembly line began so streamlined it once produced a Model T in just 24 seconds. (Talk about impressive!)

In conclusion

The team at Headlights Depot is always on the look out for groundbreaking automotive news. While advanced safety features and impressive electric models typically maintain our interests these days, it’s always fun to look back on some of the more interesting car facts of automotive history. We hope you enjoyed these snippets and save them for your next hangout with car enthusiasts. Who knows, you might just teach a fellow gear head a thing or two!