8 Amazing Auto Facts
It’s the beginning of spring and the end of March – and unbelievably the first quarter of the year as well! Can you believe how fast 2013 is flying by? We’ve been busy and working hard here at Ulmer’s Auto Care Center, so maybe it’s time to take a little break and share with you some fun and amazing car facts. We know that April Fool’s Day is right around the corner, but these eight auto facts are no joke, and that’s what makes them amazing!
1. The first speeding ticket was given in 1904 for 12 mph. Harry Myers of Dayton, Ohio was issued the first speeding ticket documented in paper in 1904. He was flying at the lightning speed of 12 mph through town. Bonus fact: the largest speeding ticket fine ever given was presented a man in Switzerland for driving 180 mph and it cost him a whopping $1,000,000. Speeding fines in Switzerland are based on the speed and salary of the driving.
2. Leonardo da Vinci designed the first car. The first working automobiles weren’t completed until the late 1800s, but in 1478 Leonard da Vinci sketched drawings for a self-propelled vehicle. Talk about being hundreds of years ahead of your time!
3. We spend two weeks waiting at traffic lights. On average, we spend at least two weeks of our entire lives waiting for a traffic light to change. It may seem like a waste of time, but traffic lights also save lives.
4. The cheapest new car sold in the US cost $10,690 in 2010. In 2010, the Hyundai Accent Blue came to the US and you could buy it new for only $10,690. This economy car didn’t come with an automatic transmission, air conditioning or even a radio, but it was still a new car.
5. The United States has the same amount of cars as and people. According to a Department of Transportation study, there were 254.4 million registered passenger vehicles in the United States in 2007. That’s one car for every person – including babies! In 1895 there were only 4 registered passenger vehicles in the US.
6. Lamborghini used to manufacture tractors. When Lamborghini was founded in 1963, it first built tractors for several years. The owner of Lamborghini drove a Ferrari, but was having trouble with his clutch, so he decided to fix it himself and start manufacturing cars instead of tractors.
7. The winner of the first car race in the US won going only 71.5 mph. The first automobile race in the United States took place in Chicago in 1895. Frank Dureyea won the race with an average speed of only 71.5 mph.
8. Electric cars have been around for more than 185 years. In 1828, Hungarian Anyos Jedlik created a model car with a small electric engine. Electric-powered taxis were even introduced in New York City in 1897. But electric cars lost interest in the 1920s when improvements were made to the internal combustion engine for gas-powered cars.
Feel free to use these amazing auto facts to wow your friends at your next dinner party! Or maybe you could use them to entertain your passengers next time you are stopped at a stoplight.
