Auto Trivia

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Some fun questions and answers about autos, along with some great pictures.

Q: What was the first official White House car?

A: A 1909 White Steamer, ordered by President Taft.

Q: Who opened the first drive-in gas station?

A: Gulf opened up the first station in Pittsburgh in 1913.

Q: What city was the first to use parking meters?

A: Oklahoma City, on July 16, 1935.

Q: Where was the first drive-in restaurant?

A: Royce Hailey's Pig Stand opened in Dallas in 1921.

Q: True or False? The 1953 Corvette came in white, red and black.

A: False. The 1953 'Vetted' were available in one color, Polo White.

Q: What was Ford's answer to the Chevy Corvette, and other legal street racers of the 1960's?

A: Carroll Shelby's Mustang GT350.

Q: What was the first car fitted with an alternator, rather than a direct current dynamo?

A: The 1960 Plymouth Valian.

Q: What was the first car fitted with a replaceable cartridge oil filter?

A: The 1924 Chrysler.

Q: What was the first car to be offered with a "perpetual guarantee"?

A: The 1904 Acme, from Reading, PA. Perpetuity was disturbing in this case, as Acme closed down in 1911.

Q: What American luxury automaker began by making cages for birds and squirrels?

A: The George N. Pierce Co. of Buffalo, who made the Pierce Arrow, also made iceboxes.

Q: What car first referred to itself as a convertible?

A: The 1904 Thomas Flyer, which had a removable hard top.

Q: What car was the first to have its radio antenna embedded in the windshield?

A: The 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix.

Q: What car used the first successful series-production hydraulic valve lifters?

A: The 1930 Cadillac 452, the first production V1.

Q: Where was the World's first three-color traffic lights installed?

A: Detroit, Michigan in 1919. Two years later they experimented with synchronized lights.

Q: What type of car had the distinction of being GM's 100 millionth car built in the U.S. ?

A: March 16, 1966 saw an Olds Tornado roll out of Lansing, Michigan with that honor.

Q: Where was the first drive-in movie theater opened, and when?

A: Camden, NJ in 193.

Q: What autos were the first to use a standardized production key-start system?

A: The 1949 Chrysler.

Q: What did the Olds designation 4-4-2 stand for?

A: 4 barrel carburetor, 4 speed transmission, and dual exhaust.

Q: What car was the first to place the horn button in the center of the steering wheel?

A: The 1915 Scripps-Booth Model C. The car also was the first with electric door latches.

Q: What U.S. production car has the quickest 0-60 mph time?

A: The 1962 Chevrolet Impala SS 409. Did it in 4.0 seconds.

Q: What's the only car to appear simultaneously on the covers of Time and Newsweek?

A: The Mustang.

Q: What was the lowest priced mass produced American car?

A: The 1925 Ford Model T Runabout. Cost $260, $5 less than 1924.

Q: What is the fastest internal-combustion American production car?

A: The 1998 Dodge Viper GETS-R, tested by Motor Trend magazine at 192.6 mph.

Q: What automaker's first logo incorporated the Star of David?

A: The Dodge Brothers.

Q: Who wrote to Henry Ford, "I have drove fords exclusively when I could get away with one. It has got every other car skinned, and even if my business hasn't been strictly legal it don't hurt anything to tell you what a fine car you got in the V-8"?

A: Clyde Barrow (of Bonnie and Clyde) in 1934.

Q: What car was the first production V12, as well as the first production car with aluminum pistons?

A: The 1915 Packard Twin-Six. Used during WWI in Italy, these motors inspired Enzi Ferrari to adopt the V12 himself in 1948.

Q: What was the first car to use power operated seats?

A: They were first used on the 1947 Packard line.

Q: Which of the Chrysler "letter cars" sold the fewest amount?

A: Only 400, 1963, 300J's were sold (they skipped "I" because it looked like a number 1.

Q: What car company was originally known as Swallow Sidecars (aka SS)?

A: Jaguar, which was an SS model first in 1935, and ultimately the whole company by 1945.

Q: What car delivered the first production V12 engine?

A: The cylinder wars were kicked off in 1915 after Packard's chief engineer, Col. Jesse Vincent, introduced its Twin-Sis.

Q: When were seat belts first fitted to a motor vehicle?

A: In 1902, in a Baker Electric streamliner racer which crashed at 100 mph. on Staten Island.

Q: In January 1930, Cadillac debuted it's V16 in a car named for a theatrical version of a 1920's film seen by Harley Earl while designing the body, what's that name?

A: The "Madam X", a custom coach designed by Earl and built by Fleetwood. The sedan featured a retractable landau top above the rear seat.

Q: Which car company started out German, yet became French after WWI?

A: Bugatti, founded in Molsheim in 1909, became French when Alsace returned to French rule.

Q: In what model year did Cadillac introduce the first electric sunroof?

A: 196.

Q: What U.S. production car had the largest 4 cylinder engine?

A: The 1907 Thomas sported a 571 cu. in. (9.2liter) engine.

Q: What car was reportedly designed on the back of a Northwest Airlines airsickness bag and released on April Fool's Day, 1970?

A: 1970 Gremlin, (AMC.

Q: What is the Spirit of Ecstasy?

A: The official name of the mascot of Rolls Royce, she is the lady on top of their radiators.

Q: What was the inspiration for MG's famed octagon-shaped badge?

A: The shape of founder Cecil Kimber's dining table. MG stands for Morris Garages.

Q: In what year did the "double-R" Rolls Royce badge change from red to black?

A: 1933