If you’re anything like me, you have an appreciation for essentially useless knowledge about vehicles and the auto industry.  I love reading about the history of cars and learning something new that may, or may not shock me.  Here are some interesting auto facts that just might surprise you!

In 1924, a Ford automobile cost was $265.

Most American automobile horns beep in the key of F.

The price of the average American automobile doubled during the ten year period between 1968 and 1978.

For every 50 miles driven in an automobile, a person has a 1 in a million chance of being killed in a motoring accident.

The first auto insurance policy was purchased in Westfield, MA in 11897.

One of the most interesting and fast producing cars of the world has been the 257 mph with SSC Ultimate Aero.  It has stayed in its popularity for a very long time, to the international market.

In 1950, the United States had 70 percent of all the automobiles, buses and trucks in the entire world 

The first automobile race ever seen in the United States was in Chicago in 1895.  The track went from Chicago to Evanston and the winner was J. Frank Duryea, whose average speed was 71.5 mph.

The Buick was the first automobile manufactured by GM Corp and was actually built by a man named David Buick.  He was a plumber by trade and also invented a process where porcelain could be annealed into iron, which made the production of the white porcelain bathtub possible.

In 1905 the Bosco Company of Akron, OH marketed a “collapsible Rubber Automobile Driver”.  It was a figure appearing as a dummy intended to scare off thieves when the car was parked, however was deflated and stored under the seat when not being used.

The worlds longest traffic hold up was 100 miles long, between Paris and Lyon on the French Autoroute in 1980.

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