You Auto Know is a regular feature that examines auto-related facts and fiction, busts some common car myths and checks out weird and wonderful tidbits such as little-known trivia about the automotive industry.
A replica of the 1967 Ford Shelby GT500 known as Eleanor.
Photograph by : Handout
Did you know ...
BMW uses turbochargers in a wide range of its vehicles, but the first BMW turbocharger was used in the sky almost 70 years ago? In 1943, BMW completed research work on a turbocharger that would be able to fly the first aircraft to feature a certain powerful and newly devised engine. The planes equipped with BMW turbochargers were used predominantly by the German Luftwaffe during the Second World War.
However, BMW didn't invent the turbocharger. In 1905, Swiss engineer Alfred Buchi received a patent for a "combustion machine consisting of a compressor, a piston engine and a turbine in sequential arrangement." In other words, he patented the world's first turbocharger.
How does a turbocharger work? Simply put, it compresses air and forces this dense air into an engine's combustion chamber. Dense, oxygen-rich air is better for combustion because it creates more power. Fire needs oxygen to burn, so the more oxygen the better.
Ever since the debut of the original Ford Mustang 45 years ago, there has been an ongoing debate about what to call the pony cars built between April and August of 1964. Are they 1964 1é2 Mustangs or 1965 models?
Technically, all of the original Ford Mustangs are 1965 models because all carry a 1965 model year Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).
However, the vehicles produced from April to August of 1964 were different enough from those manufactured during the remainder of the model year to warrant giving them another name, Mustang enthusiasts claim.
The biggest change was in the electrical system. The so-called 1964-and-a-half Mustangs used generators, while those made during the standard 12-month 1965 model year used alternators. Also, the V8 option was different. The 1964.5 models used the 260-cubic-inch V8 engine, while the 1965 models employed a 289-cu.-in. V8 engine.
In the 2000 movie Gone in Sixty Seconds, there is a 1967 Ford Shelby GT500 named Eleanor. There were seven Eleanor replicas made for the movie. Five of them were totalled while filming stunt sequences, while actor Nicolas Cage and producer Jerry Bruckheimer kept the remaining two. Cage did most of his own stunt driving for this movie.
When the Mercedes C-Class replaced the 190 series in 1993, Mercedes and expert tuning company AMG teamed up for their first official joint vehicle effort, the C36 AMG. This would also become the first AMG model imported to the North American market that was backed by the full Mercedes-Benz warranty. Initial demand for this 282-horsepower, six-cylinder screamer was limited by production to just less than 1,000 cars over a three-year period.
The first electric traffic light was installed in 1914 in Cleveland, Ohio. It was two colours (red and green) and a buzzer that warned of a light change. The yellow or amber light wasn't introduced until 1920.
The Mini brand turned 50 this year. On Aug. 26, 1959, the British Motor Corporation (BMC) unveiled the result of its quest to design a new and revolutionary compact car. The very first sales brochures praised the Morris Mini-Minor's "extraordinary future promise."
Reducing fuel consumption was already becoming an important issue for vehicle developers 50 years ago. Back in 1956, the Suez crisis and gasoline rationing were major factors affecting the automobile industry. BMC management gave designer Alec Issigonis the following guidelines: The Mini must make creative use of the limited space available, accommodate four passengers and guarantee perfect handling and low fuel consumption.
By 1962 - within three years of its market launch - Mini production already exceeded 200,000 vehicles a year. Once the world's rich and famous (the Beatles, Clint Eastwood and Twiggy, for example) adopted the Mini as their preferred city car, it rapidly became the symbol of an entire generation.
