65% of 2004 passenger cars have a data recorder built into them.
Event Data Recorders (EDRs) are similar to the "black box" of an airplane and record important information about the car in case of an accident. Metrics such as speed, braking, and other forces are recorded as often as every 5 seconds.
AAA reports that there were 260,000 car fires in the US last year resuting in 520 deaths.
Suprisingly, 75% of those car fires are caused not by an accident but by bad maintenance. At least six flammable fluids under a car's hood can leak onto hot surfaces and start a fire. So AAA suggests fluid lines, hoses, caps and filters be inspected and maintained to prevent leaks.
The Volvo XC90 is one of the top 10 least expensive cars to insure! Others on the list include the Pontiac Montana, Ford Thunderbird, and Buick LeSabre.
25 years ago, the average vehicle accelerated to 60 miles an hour in 14.4 seconds. Today, average 0-60mph time is 9.9 seconds.
Vehicle weight now averages about 4,100 pounds, up from about 3,200 in the early 1980's... The increase in vehicle acceleration and weight alone has raised emissions of carbon dioxide in the United States by about 5 percent.
The 2006 Cadillac STS-V, which can reach 60 m.p.h. in less than five seconds, is one of many cars that now have more than enough horsepower to pull an 18-wheeler.
The famed German highways without a speed limit actually have a lower death rate than US highways.
About half of the German Autobahn has no speed limit - even though there is a suggested maximum speed limit of about 80 mph (130 kph). In 1973, photo radar units were installed and the accident rate reduced 18-fold. These days, deaths on the Autobahn account for only 10% of national traffic fatalities.
BMW stands for Bayersiche Motoren Werke (Bavarian Motor Works). Although BMW made its first car in 1928, they made their first aircraft engine in 1917.
The current BMW logo, introduced in 1920, was based on the circular design of a white aircraft propeller on a blue background.
Mercedes-Benz has been around for 111 years and sold 222,000 vehicles in America last year.
The company was created by merging the companies of Gottlieb Daimler, inventor of the gasoline internal combustion engine in 1883, and Carl Benz, inventor of the first gasoline-powered motor vehicle. In 1900, they designed a new car for Emil Jellinek, consul general of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Daimler named the new car "Mercedes" in honor of Jellinek's daughter, Mercedes. Ever since then, they have been known as Mercedes-Benz.
There are over 6.3 million auto crashes each year, resulting in an injury every 11 seconds, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The United States consumes over 20 million barrels (840 million gallons) of petroleum products each day, almost half of it in the form of gasoline used in over 200 million motor vehicles which travel over 7 billion miles per day.
It's more fuel efficient to drive with air conditioning than with the windows down (if you're on a highway).
The Mythbusters tested a 2004 Ford Explorer going 55mph and got 11.7mpg with windows up and AC on. The mileage dropped to 11.3mpg with windows down and AC off.
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Source: Wired Magazine
