Auto manufacturers do occasionally have senses of humor, and many of them use April Fool’s Day to show it off. Here are a few examples: As an April Fool’s joke, Audi once advertised a car with a built-in rice cooker in Japan. Volkswagen’s Extra Tiny Van, 2015 The German brand proposed the Caddy Maxi Mini, […]
In 1986, ’60 Minutes’ ran a scathing exposé…
In 1986, ’60 Minutes’ ran a scathing exposé on the Audi 5000, alleging it could wildly accelerate on its own. However, their on-air demonstration used a rigged car to show falsified results. Gov’t tests later vindicated Audi but their sales had already plummeted. ’60 Minutes’ never apologized. The “60 Minutes” whitewash of Audi wasn’t the […]
Hummer drivers were statistically the worst drivers on…
Hummer drivers were statistically the worst drivers on the road, averaging 5x more traffic violations than any other vehicle.
From 1969 to 1977, Ford Motor Company produced the Pinto…
From 1969 to 1977, Ford Motor Company produced the Pinto with full knowledge of a design flaw that frequently caused the fuel tank to catch fire during rear collisions, which would have cost $11 per vehicle to fix. The tag line in radio ads was, “Pinto leaves you with that warm feeling.”
Volkswagen was sued by Czechoslovakian car maker Tatra before WWII…
Volkswagen was sued by Czechoslovakian car maker Tatra before WWII because the original Beetle was so similar to the Tatra T97. After Germany invaded Czechoslovakia in 1938 the lawsuit was cancelled by the Nazis.
Nissan used the number 23 in racing because the number 2 translates…
Nissan used the number 23 in racing because the number 2 translates to ni. And, the number 3 translates to san. 23 translates to ni-san.
There are only 8 active Wienermobiles in the United States and only college seniors…
There are only 8 active Wienermobiles in the United States and only college seniors who are about to graduate are eligible to become drivers.
World War II broke out before the VW Bug could go into production, so the Germans used Volkswagen…
World War II broke out before the VW Bug could go into production, so the Germans used Volkswagen parts to produce the Volkswagen Kübelwagen and the “Schwimmwagen” instead. The Schwimmwagen was basically an amphibious military version of the Beetle, and over 14,000 of them fought in WWII.
The last car to have a cassette deck come standard was…
The last car to have a cassette deck come standard was the Lexus SC430, in 2010.