There are a lot of car junkies, parts maniacs, and horsepower obsessed people out there. Regardless if you love or hate cars, almost everybody relies on them for transportation. This means brushing yourself up on interesting and enlightening car facts will make you more informed for your next trivia night or customer walking in your shop.
25 Random and Interesting Car Facts
- There are 289.5 million cars in the United States alone with California, Texas and Florida being the top 3 states.
- 93.3% of US households said they have access to at least one car/vehicle
- Tesla makes up over 70% of the electric vehicle vehicles registered in the United States. However, the mainstays and startups are coming for them.
- MotorSupplyCo saves customers 46% on average compared to the leading competitors
- Windshield wiper blades should be changed 2 times a year
- The first speeding ticket was issued in 1896. The speed? A whopping 8 MPH.
- The average car spends 95% of its time parked.
- All filters should be inspected every 15,000 miles and should be changed every 30,000.
- Nearly 70 million cars are manufactured every year.
- Irvin Gordon drove more than 3,000,000 miles in his 1966 Volvo. Longest ever recorded.
- The majority of speeding tickets are for going over 15 mph over the speed limit. But don’t count on your grace period, thousands of tickets are written each year for driving 8 mph or less over the speed limit.
- 18% of the US Car owning population change their own oil. Although men are much more likely to change their oil than women.
- Modern lubricants recommend changing oil every 5,000 miles.
- 16% of car owners admit to never washing their cars. Mindboggling.
- The average car spends 95% of its time parked. How much did you pay for your car again to sit?
- In 1900, 38% of cars were electric. So it’s not a new thing.
- The co-founder of Chevrolet, Louis Chevrolet, died poor. Hard to believe as many Chevy’s as you see on the road.
- The average car contains over 30,000 unique parts. Most now resemble software instead of a car.
- The man who invented cruise control was blind. Well, someone had to do it, might as well have been Ralph Teetor
- The odds of dying in a car accident are around 1 in 5,000. Please, wear your seatbelt.
- The top 5 motor oil companies in 2022 were; Mobil, Valvoline, BP Castrol, AC Delco, and Shell (Keep your eye out for AmazonBasics they are in pursuit)
- There are 234,700 auto repair and maintenance centers in the US. Seems right, sure feels like there is one on every corner.
- Leasing vehicles is growing in popularity going from 1 million to over 4.5 million in just 7 years. This Means less Maintenace and repair work for those 234,700 shops
- The Ferrari 458 Spider is the most car accident-prone car in the world. If you can afford the price tag of $250k, surely you can afford the repairs.
- Industry standards say you should replace tires every 6 years, but most people do it every 3 to 4.