Interesting Auto Facts You Probably Did Not Know

Windshield wipers were invented in 1903 by a woman, Mary Anderson, who was a real estate developer.

The first commercial car radio was brought out by Galvin brothers', with a starting price of $130 or Rs 7033! And this was way back in 1930!

An airbag is designed to deploy within 40 milliseconds of impact and can reach speeds of up to 322 km/h within a second. The force generated sometimes proves lethal, resulting in the death of 1 person for ever 22 lives it saves.

The highest fine ever collected for speeding was 650,000 euros or INR 4,62,84,638, from a Swedish driver who was clocked at 180 mph (289 km/h) in his Mercedes SLS AMG supercar, in Switzerland. Fine amount in the country increases with speed and depends on the financial status of the driver.

Did you know, an estimated 1 million animals are killed everyday by cars in the U.S, 41 million squirrels are killed annually and more dears become victims of roadkill than those killed by hunters.

The Smart ForTwo mini car, measuring 2,690 mm long and 1,560 mm wide is smaller than the Nano. The record for the most number of people crammed inside this compact two seater is 19. The record was achieved by 19 Pakistani girls on 15 December 2010.

While we crib about high fuel prices one should also note that we spend far more money on several other everyday items. This is particularly evident in the U.S where a gallon of Starbucks coffee costs 8-10 times more than a gallon of petrol.

According to some estimates the number of cars is increasing 3 times faster than the number of humans. More than 60 million cars were produced in 2012.

Though this one will never happen, it is still interesting to know that it would take 516 Earth days to drive around one of Saturn's rings, travelling at 60 km/h.

Next time you decide to drive across the country instead of taking a flight, remember that the odds of being killed in a car crash is 1 in 5,000, while the odds of being killed in a plane crash is 1 in 25 million.

Over the lifetime, an average person will spend 2 weeks in a traffic signal.

The world's longest traffic hold-up took place as early as 1980 between Paris and Lyon on the French Autoroute. It was about 177 km long. While India's population crosses the billion mark, its car density is nowhere close to cause such massive traffic jams.

On the other hand, the world's longest-lasting traffic jam occurred in Beijing in 2010. The nearly 100 km traffic hold-up lasted an incredible 12 days!

The car that sold for the most bucks was a 1931 Bugatti Royale Kellner Coupe. This classic car went for an incredible $9,800,000 at Christie's auction in November 1987. With inflation adjusted, the amount is a mindboggling $19,803,808 or INR 1,07,13,86,012 !!!

USA has the most number of cars per capita, with one car per human being.

The first speeding ticket in history was issued was in 1902. Most cars then rarely crossed the 60 km/h mark.

The world's first automobile insurance policy sold in 1897 in Westfield, Massachusetts, United States.

In 1887, Benz was the first car company to be offered for sale, when Benz and Daimler merged to form the Daimler-Benz company. The image is of the first car designed and patented by Karl Benz.

Otto and Langen built the world's first successful four stroke engine in 1876. The first internal combustion equipped vehicle, Petroleum Reitwagen, used a four stroke engine based on Otto's design, which came out in 1885.

The world's best selling car ever is the Volkswagen Beetle. The original Beetle was in production till 2003, for 65 years. By the time production came to an end 21,529,464 ‘Bugs' have been produced.

On the other hand, the best selling nameplate is the Toyota Corolla. Various Toyota models bearing the Corolla have been sold since 1966 and more than 35 millions units have been sold till date.