Old Car Trivia


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 Valiant
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 it's 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 V16
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: What autos were the first to use a standardized production key-start system?
A: The 1949 Chryslers
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 itlooked like a number 1)
Q: What car company was originally known as SwallowSidecars (aka SS)?
A: Jaguar, which was an SS model first in 1935, and ultimatelythe 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 chiefengineer, 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 namedfor a theatrical version of a 1920's film seen by Harley Earlwhile designing the body, What's that name?
A: The "Madam X", a custom coach designed by Earland built by Fleetwood. The sedan featured aretractable landau top above the rear seat.
Q: Which car company started out German, yet becameFrench after WWI?
A: Bugati, founded in Molsheim in 1909, became Frenchwhen Alsace returned to French rule.
Q: In what model year did Cadillac introduce the firstelectric sunroof?
A: 1969
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
Q: Where was the first drive-in movie theater opened, and when?
A:Camden, NJ in 1933