Random Car Facts

I’ve been toying with an idea for a mystery series that revolves around cars.

Darling Hubby is a car guy so he’s always happy to test drive cars, look at cars, read about cars, talk about cars, wish for a 30-car garage so he could buy all the ones he’s ever wanted, etc. *LOL

Together we looked up some random facts about cars to give me an idea of what I might do with my premise.

I was surprised by some of the information I found from car experts of every persuasion. Here’s some fun facts I discovered.

The Top 5 Greatest Cars Ever Made

1. 1932 Ford V8 was the first performance car a working man could afford. this classic supposedly defined American automotive culture for almost 80 years.

2. 1959 Austin Mini built by Sir Alec Issigonis with a transverse engine and front-wheel drive. (Hubby explained what transverse engine meant. His runabout is said to have been created by a  design that nearly all mainstream modern cars follow.

3. 1955 Chevrolet is the one my Darling Hubby would love to have although he’d take a 57 Chevy in a heartbeat. This pivotal auto had a brand new 265-cubic-inch small-block V8. According to Edmunds, the automotive experts, it looked “like an upright Ferrari…a stunner in every way. The greatest Chevy ever.”

4. 1938 Volkswagen Beetle which was manufactured around the world for 65 years. The air-cooled original Beetle was the first car for generations of drivers. (I never cared for it except for playing the Slug Bug game.)

5. 1964 Porsche 911, oh, yeah! An everyday sports car with a classic silhouette. (My younger brother had one.)

In case you’re curious, here’s a worst car list.

The Top 5 Worst Cars Ever Made

1. 2001 Pontiac Aztek, oh, no! The description was extremely uncomplimentary so I won’t even tell you what it said.

I will tell you my daughter bought a black on black Aztek new and loved it. Totally loaded with everything, great gas mileage, drove great, rode great, and it looked great too. She named it Coco Chanel because it looked so classically elegant—like a little black dress.

2. 1974 Ford Mustang II which was built on the car bomb known as the Pinto.

3. 1955 BMW Isetta, described as “The whole car was a crumple zone.”

4. 1987 Yugo, *giggle* I still remember some of the many Yugo jokes about this Serbian-made version of the Fiat 127.

5. 1971 Chevrolet Vega. Yep. This was my younger brother’s first car. A gorgeous lemon yellow that should have been an omen for the disaster this car was.

Takeaway Truth

Hope you enjoyed this little trip down Automotive History.