5 Wild Facts About Cars That You Wouldn’t Believe!

It’s 2020, and it’s safe to say everyone has traveled at least once in a car. If not, you must have been on some form of a vehicle, like a bus or a truck. However, things weren’t always this way, and the automobile industry took quite some time to evolve into the form we know today.

If you are a car freak and geek, here are a few car facts that you can quote at the next to get together to make your friends awe-struck.

The Car Industry Was Dominated by France

Yes, you read it right! Though the first car was made by the German engineer Karl Benz, the car industry was inundated by manufacturers in France in 1886. Not America, not Japan, neither Germany itself, but France. Americans started excelling in the car industry only after 1907.

Unsplash |Who would’ve thought France was the birthplace of auto vehicles?

Volvo Failed in Its First Launch

As impossible as it sounds, Volvo called back its very first model known as the Jakob (OV4), the very moment it exited the workshop for its debut tour on 14^th April 1927. The reason is hilarious! The axle of the car was assembled such that it had four gears to go in reverse and one gear to propel forward—a sure way to crash back into the wall.

The World’s First Speeding Offence

The world’s first speeding charge was made in 1902 for a driver driving past the maximum speed. Wait, the offense was not that great if you measure it through the modern lens because he was driving at a speed of 45 mph only.

The World’s Oldest Car Magazine

The world’s oldest car magazine dates back a century to 1895. The car magazine we now revere as ‘The Autocar’ has been in circulation and providing essential news about the automotive industry since that year, without a break.

Unsplash |125 years and counting for the Auto Car magazine

Samsung Produced Cars

As strange as it sounds, Samsung, the company we recognize for its range of cell phones, smart TVs and washing machines, etc., once explored the realm of cars, too. In 1994, it started the production of cars but met a major failure in the form of the 1998 financial crisis that shook Asia. The vehicle manufacturing unit of the Korean company was then purchased by Renault.

Unsplash |How far ahead would have Samsung be as compared to its competitors today?

As old as the invention of cars, the strange facts linked to it are as plenty.

A Bonus Fact!

When Adolf Hitler committed suicide in April 1945, his body was burnt with the fuel acquired by emptying his car’s fuel tank.

Strange are the tales linked with this strange invention that took the world by storm and changed the form of travel for many, and made faraway lands very accessible.