Some fact you never knew about Cars

Did you know:
It’s rumored the Chevy Nova sold poorly in Mexico because the word “Nova” is close to the Spanish phrase “doesn’t go.” Maybe it didn’t sell because it was a Chevy…or because it was Mexico.

Only FOUR automobiles were registered in the United States in 1895. I guess everybody had to learn to share!

Toll Booths on The Garden State Parkway in New Jersey were supposed to remain until initial construction was paid off, sometime back in the late 1950′s.

Over 90% of car owners admit to singing while behind the wheel.

The first speeding ticket was issued in 1902.

In 1960, you could purchase a brand new Buick La Sabre for under $3000. With that you basically got two-doors, a (manual) steering wheel and an engine.

Early Ford vehicles contained Dodge engines. Some 1980′s Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouths contain Mitsubishi Engines.

Mary Anderson patented the windshield wiper in 1905 after she noticed snow and rain gathering on the fronts of trolley cars and automobile windows.

In 1898, the New York City Police Department used bicycles to pursue speeding motorists.

Japan produced the most passenger vehicles/most total vehicles world wide in 2006.

The World’s Oldest Car was built in France in 1884 for French Count De Dion.

In 2009, New York and New Jersey were surveyed as having the Worst Drivers in America.

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Hot Wheels breaks world record in Life-sized track

When I was my children’s age, I had some neighbors that had those orange flexible tracks for Hot Wheelscars. Try as I might, I never could get one of those cars to go through a loop.

Clearly, I am not the person who planned this jump from Team Hot Wheels. You can watch a video of it after the jump, and see the longest jump by a four-wheeled vehicle on May 29th, 2011 at the Indianapolis 500.

I’m not certain, but it sounds as if this life-sized Hot Wheels vehicle has no engine. I guess they must have just got some giant hand to push it up the ramp before they pushed it down.

The driver is an X-Games veteran and stunt driver Tanner Foust, and the track is a 10-story drop. It went about 332 feet, and I would imagine it would not have gone that far if it had an engine weighing it down.

You will note that the landing look a little rough, and the video editing didn’t really help to see how it worked. Hopefully, the driver was well protected.

Man, if Hot Wheels had a theme park, I would ride this ride. Actually, I would probably chicken out once they got me to the top.

CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO

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Another luxury car coming soon in India- Audi A3 Saloon

Audi has finally confirmed plans of the Audi A3 sedan for India. The concept A3 sedan was first showcased at the Geneva Motor show earlier this year. There has had been a lot of talk about the car coming to India since its first unveiling and now we can confirm, thanks to Autocar, that the new entry-level sedan from Audi will in fact arrive on Indian shores. Audi India’s boss, Michael Perschke said this one the sidelines of the launch of the new Audi A8 W12
The new Audi A3 saloon will one of the products that the company will be launching in India in the entry level premium segment of the market. The Audi Q3 crossover is the other product in this segment that is aimed to rival the BMW X1. According to previous reports, the new Audi A3 sedan could be priced around Rs 20 lakh making it quite an attractive prospect. However, the launch of the Audi Q3 could precede the A3 sedan, we suspect.

The styling as seen on the concept is typical Audi with the huge Audi corporate grille dominating the front. Headlights are similar to those on the new Audi A6 which will be launched in India on August 3rd. The A3 sedan is based on Volkswagen’s new MQB platform and to put things into perspective, the new Audi A3 sedan is 188 mm shorter than the Volkswagen Jetta and 260 mm shorter than the Audi A4.
As far as engines are concerned the 2.0 litre TDI could soon become the best seller once the car is launched. A more powerful engine with Audi’s patent Quattro four-wheel drive system could also be on offer. The announcement from Audi comes as the triad of premium German automakers in India plan to enter the high volumes, entry level premium segment. BMW will be coming with the 1 Series while, Mercedes Benz is preparing the GLC crossover for India.

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Toyota to get top position in world's 'greenest brand'

Toyota has been named the greenest brand in the world in a new ranking by branding experts Interbrand.

The Japanese automaker managed top spot above other global conglomerates such as Siemens, Dell  and Johnson & Johnson, although fellow automakers Volkswagen and Honda also made the top ten list.

Interbrand said that Toyota, which makes the best-selling Prius hybrid, "is a leading example of making the environment a core management priority, while also engaging in a meaningful way with audiences around the world."

Volkswagen also won praise for its 'Think Blue' advertising campaign, green factories and car-sharing initiatives, while Honda was recognized for its green history.

Just outside the top ten was Hyundai in 11th place, BMW in 12th, Mercedes-Benz in 16th and Ford, in 20th place.

Curiously, electric car makers such as Nissan, Mitsubishi and Chevrolet all failed to score a place in the top 50, suggesting that consumers still aren't associating electric vehicles with the "greenness" of a brand.

"As corporate citizenship increasingly becomes the norm, green initiatives may be among the most visible and easiest to claim and yet, can be the most challenging to deliver performance against,” said Interbrand's Jez Frampton.

The survey was conducted among consumers in US, Japan, China, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Brazil, Spain, and India.

Read the survey here: http://www.interbrand.com/en/best-global-brands/Best-Global-Green-Brands/2011-Report.aspx

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Ferrari Roller Coaster- Worlds fastest Roller Coaster in FERRARI WORLD

Theme park season is almost here, and if you look hard enough, your local park might be offering a sneak peek of the upcoming season any day now. No offense to Six Flags, but we’re thinking about planning something a little bigger for 2010. That’s why we are eager to see exactly what’s up with one of the world’s newest theme parks: Ferrari World. Sure, it doesn't yet have an official opening date and it’s a lot further away than Harry Potter’s new home, but driving a Ferrari around the United Arab Emirates sounds like a worthy alternative. Here are just a few things to look forward to when Ferrari World opens in Abu Dhabi later this year.

· GT Rollercoaster
This coaster will bring guests one step closer to actually driving a Ferrari as crazy and quickly as can be imagined. There’s two competing tracks, so you’ll be racing your buddies while sitting in something that resembles the latest in Italian super car design. The cars are replicas of a Ferrari F430 Spider, but they could definitely pass as the real thing if they had an engine. Designers have even included different launch sections which they hope will simulate real racing conditions, but you’ll probably just be trying to hold on as you reach speeds of about 60 mph.

· Yas Hotel
Any above average theme park needs an on-site hotel where visitors can rest up and recharge after a day in the parks. Ferrari World takes it to the next level with their Yas Hotel. It’s a 500-room hotel that surrounds one of the newest Formula 1 race tracks in the world. There’s loads of connectivity options, and they’ll even bring you an Xbox if you ask for one. If there’s a downside to this hotel, it might be that it is just too fancy. We’re not used to five-star lodging after a day of corn dogs and soda, but we’ll probably get used to it even if the place does look like a giant penis.

· F1 Rollercoaster
This thing is going to be the park’s biggest attraction, and that might be why they’re keeping things hush-hush for the time being. We do know that this is going to be the fastest coaster in the world, and it will claim this record by hitting speeds between 125 and 150 mph. We haven’t been able to find a guaranteed top speed, so don’t be surprised to see that things creep a little higher as we approach opening day.

· The Roof
In total there will be about twenty rides and attractions featured at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, all dedicated to everything racing and performance. There’s one of those drop towers to simulate extreme g-forces, but the one here will go over 100 ft in the air and will drop you back through the roof. The whole park is inside a 21-acre, Ferrari-red roof, and it's is topped with the largest Ferrari logo in the world—just so you know how to find it from the sky, we guess.

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