Car brands have shaped the way we travel, innovate, and even think about technology. From iconic models to quirky design choices, these companies have some fascinating stories behind them. Whether you’re a car enthusiast or just curious, here are 50 surprising facts about some of the world’s most famous car brands that you probably didn’t know. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!
1 BMW Introduces Heated Seat Subscription
In 2022, BMW introduced subscription options for customers in the U.K., allowing them to use heated front seats for £15 per month or a heated steering wheel for £10 per month.
2. The best-selling single model-year vehicle in American history is the 1965 Chevrolet Impala, with 1,074,925 units sold in one year-a record that remains unbroken. Of those, 200,000 included the SS package.
3. Major car brands often produce “halo cars” to represent their brand and enhance public perception, with little intention of generating profit. Examples of halo cars include Dodge’s Viper and Ford’s GT series.
4. The 2010 Lexus SC 430 was the last car sold in the United States to feature a cassette deck.
5. For over ten years, the Honda S2000 sports car engine held the highest specific power output for any mass-produced naturally aspirated piston engine, until the 2010 Ferrari 458 surpassed it.
6 Rolls Royce Chauffeur Training Program
Rolls Royce offers a “White Glove” driver training program, where if you own a Rolls Royce, you can send your chauffeur to their headquarters in Goodwood, England, to be trained in driving a Rolls Royce.
7. Just before an unavoidable crash, new Mercedes-Benz cars emit a brief blast of white or pink noise, triggering the occupant’s ears to shut off momentarily and helping to prevent hearing loss from the crash or airbags.
8. During Dukes of Hazzard production, filmmakers destroyed so many ’68-’70 Dodge Chargers that they had to conduct aerial searches among the populace to find replacement cars.
9. Although Toyota is headquartered in the city of Toyota, Japan, the company did not take its name from the city. Instead, in 1959, the city (formerly Koromo) renamed itself after the company due to Toyota’s fame.
10. Butzi Porsche, the designer of the Porsche 911, faced expulsion from industrial design school in his first year due to his apparent lack of talent. After joining his father’s company, Porsche’s design director rejected his ideas, so Butzi had the 911 prototype built by an outside contractor.
11 Toyota Reverse-Engineered American Jeep
The Toyota Land Cruiser originated when the Imperial Japanese Army captured an American Jeep during World War II and ordered Toyota to reverse-engineer it.
12. Unlike Chrysler and GM, Ford did not require a bailout during the 2008 financial crisis.
13. At the height of the 2008 financial crisis, Volkswagen briefly became the most valuable company in the world for one day, despite being on the verge of bankruptcy.
14. A 2020 study identified the most dangerous and safest cars. The Ford Fiesta and Hyundai Accent had the highest death rates, while the Volkswagen Golf tied with five other vehicles for the lowest death rate. Regular cars showed the highest mortality rate, whereas minivans had the lowest.
15. Some Jeep models feature hidden “Easter Eggs”-designs of animals or other symbols-concealed around the vehicle, such as on the windshield, dashboard, under seats, or near the gas cap.
16 Audi Strengthens Horns For India
Audi had to install more durable horns in Indian-market cars because their standard horns couldn’t withstand the frequent honking that Indian drivers do.
17. Toyota built only two convertible 2000GTs, specifically for a James Bond movie, as Sean Connery was too tall to fit in the standard model.
18. The “60 Minutes” whitewash of Audi wasn’t the first time a major news network rigged an automotive test. In 1992, NBC did the same to Chevrolet, but a firefighter at the test revealed the truth, forcing NBC to issue an on-air apology.
19. In 2006, Honda sent a letter to all their dealers instructing them to stop selling unnecessary maintenance services and explained that certain services, like coolant and transmission flushes, could actually harm customers’ vehicles.
20. In the 1990s, Subaru discovered it had a strong following among lesbians and decided to create a subtle but targeted campaign, which helped move gay and lesbian advertising from the fringes into the mainstream.
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
21 Rolls Royce Uses Bull Leather Exclusively
Rolls Royce uses 15 to 18 bulls of leather for each car, raising them in cold climates to prevent insect bite marks. They avoid using cows due to the potential for stretch marks from pregnancies.
22. Mercedes-Benz holds the credit for inventing the first modern automobile. In 1886, co-founder Karl Benz designed the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, widely recognized as the first gasoline-powered car. This three-wheeled vehicle launched the automotive era.
23. A 2011 UC Berkeley study found that drivers of Mercedes and BMWs were nearly five times more likely to cut others off compared to drivers of non-luxury cars.
24. Bill Gates purchased a Porsche 959 that was seized by customs and stored for 13 years. He later helped pass the “Show and Display” law, allowing the legal import of exotic cars that didn’t meet federal safety standards.
25. A team of master craftsmen known as Takumi once hand-assembled every Nissan GT-R in a dust and temperature-controlled clean room. Only five individuals in the world held this prestigious qualification.
RE: Fact #21 (Rolls Royce Uses Bull Leather Exclusively) – It’s cool that those cars are so expensive and unique, they don’t make many of them. It’s really interesting to see how much work goes into them though. This guy does the pin stripes freehand and he’s the only one in the world who does it. If you decide you want them later, they fly him to you.
RE: Fact #30 (Record-Breaking Cannonball Run in 2016) – They tricked people into giving them space by making their car look like a cop car.
RE: Fact #20 (Subaru Targets Lesbian Market Subtly) – Beavis and Butthead’s teacher played this song on the show, “Fly High Lesbian Seagull.” My cousin had a white Subaru back then and we called it the Lesbian Seagull.
RE: Fact #42 (Hood Ornaments Discontinued for Safety) – Rolls-Royce cars still have those fancy hood ornaments, but they’re actually pretty safe. They have this special retractor system that tucks the ornament away super fast if there’s an accident. It’s also there to stop people from swiping the ornament!
Rolls Royce is also not a car company like Jaguar, Cadillac or Dodge.
RE: Fact #30 (Record-Breaking Cannonball Run in 2016) – So you’re saying it wasn’t some random ladies in a fancy car?
They’re not fast enough to escape the radio!
RE: Fact #18 (NBC Caught Rigging Chevy Test) – Good for NBC, sticking to the high road! It’s nice to see they’re not stooping to that kind of behavior.
RE: Fact #32 (1919 Ford Case Shaped Corporate Law) – The worst part? Making the shareholders happy in the short term. So, if you can get more money for them by breaking up the company, selling everything off, and wiping out the pensions, even if it destroys a whole region, that’s what they’ll do.
RE: Fact #4 (2010 Lexus SC 430 Cassette Deck) – Lexus knew who they were selling to. That car could have been amazing, but it ended up being a bunch of compromises.
RE: Fact #20 (Subaru Targets Lesbian Market Subtly) – The ads had slogans like “Get Out. And Stay Out” and “It’s Not a Choice. It’s the Way We’re Built.”
RE: Fact #12 (Ford Survived 2008 Without Bailout) – Alan Mulallay, the Ford CEO back then, was a real rockstar. He ran the Boeing 777 project in the early 90s and nailed it—on time, on budget, and the plane even came in at the right weight. The 777 has been a total winner ever since. He was in line for the CEO job at Boeing, but they chose a Jack Welch wannabe instead.
RE: Fact #34 (Dodge Stealth Example of Rebadging) – Back in the early 90s, they had the Eagle Talon, Mitsubishi Eclipse, and Plymouth Laser – all basically the same car, just with different badges.
RE: Fact #5 (Honda S2000’s High-Power Engine Record) – See you at Race Wars, you’re going down.
RE: Fact #26 (Mercedes-Benz SLR Sets Price Record) – CNN, seriously? One page about the car, fifteen pages of ads, and no pictures? Come on!
RE: Fact #30 (Record-Breaking Cannonball Run in 2016) – The team said they never got stopped by the cops because they had a bunch of people keeping an eye out for them.
RE: Fact #38 (Audi Delayed Airbag Adoption for Procon-Ten) – British cars were super safe, but they had a bit of a problem… they wouldn’t start!