Random - Interesting Facts - part two.

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The first car race seen in the USA was held in Chicago on Thanksgiving Day of 1895. The track ran from Chicago to Evanston, Illinois and back. The winner of this Times-Herald newspaper sponsored race, as well as one of the early pioneers of car industry was J. Frank Duryea. The average speed of his automobile then was 5 miles per hour - In comparison, an average running speed for a human is around fifteen mph. This race lasted for ten hours.

There were five entrants in addition to Duryea; two of them were electric cars and three were gasoline powered Benz machines, imported from Germany.

In the end, J. Frank Duryea took home a winning prize of 2,000 dollars, which is somewhere near 45,000 dollars today.

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The first ever auto insurance policy was issued in Ohio.

In 1897, Gilbert J. Loomis, Dayton, Ohio resident, bought a liability insurance policy from the Travelers Insurance Company for the sum of one thousand dollars. This policy protected Gilbert L. in case his car injured or killed someone or if it damaged someone’s property.

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Enzo Ferrari was at one point awarded an honor from the Fascist regime, the “ Knight of the Order of the Crown of Italy”, and elevated to the rank of Commendatore. Ferrari was bestowed with these honors because he had won,in Mussolini’s eyes, numerous races for Italy . 

In 1947, after World War II, Enzo designed the first car that would carry his name (Ferrari 125 S), it was powered by a V12 engine.

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No, first James Bond car was not the Aston Martin DB 5! It was in fact a Sunbeam Alpine convertible, driven by Sean Connery in “Dr. No” (1962), - and it didn't have a single alteration made on it that could help Bond catch, or run away from bad guys. This flaw was corrected in the second movie. In “Goldfinger” (1964), 007’s Aston Martin Silver Birch was fully integrated with gadgets from Q’s laboratory. It had machine guns, bullet proof windshield, oil slick dispensers, smoke screen, a freakin radar and the legendary - passenger ejector seat.

Random - Interesting Facts - part one.

The engines for the early Ford cars were made by the Dodge brothers - before they finally decided to establish their own automobile company in 1914.

 

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The Queen Mary - the grandest cross oceanic vessel of her day - had many of her vital components made by the Czech car manufacturer Skoda.

 

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Henry Ford produced the model T in 1908 in black color only - because the black paint available at the time dried the fastest. 

Ford’s model T, (a.k.a. Tin Lizzie), is regarded as “the first affordable automobile in history”.

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Almost 85 percent of all car parts are recyclable! In fact, automobiles are the most recycled consumer product today. 

Car engines, doors, transmissions, and many other parts are completely re-manufactured or "rebuilt" to fit new cars. Tires are often recycled to become brake pedals and even floor mats. Steel found in just six cars is enough to build a brand new house when recycled, the steel framing, of course. 

This industry is huge, it accounts for 25 billion dollars in revenue each year.