10 Surprising Facts About American Muscle Cars - Car No. 5 - 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

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1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

By the late 1970s, muscle car performance was a mere shadow of what it had been years earlier. The latest emissions controls, combined with high gas prices and stratospheric insurance costs, caused most automakers to severely dial back horsepower.

But not Pontiac. The Trans-Am had been riding a new wave of popularity since its starring role in the movie Smokey and the Bandit. For the 1978 model year, Pontiac added to the excitement by actually increasing the horsepower of its top-level Trans Am from 200 to 220. The brand also developed a special handling package called the WS6 that added a sport-tuned suspension, wider 8-inch wheels, new tires, and quicker steering. The result was a Pontiac Trans-Am that was actually quicker and handled better around a track than the Chevy Corvette.

Little-Known Fact: The Pontiac's T-top roof, which first became an option in 1976, was as close as a buyer could get to a convertible Trans Am. These lift-out roof sections were initially made by Hurst and were known as the Hurst Hatch. The problem was, they leaked. This led Pontiac to develop its own T-tops within GM's Fisher body division and launch the option midway through the 1978 model year. So some '78 Firebirds have Hurst T-tops and others have the Fisher units. You can spot the difference because the Fisher glass roof panels are larger than the Hurst Hatch ones

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10 Surprising Facts About American Muscle Cars- Car No. 4 -1970 Oldsmobile 442

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1970 Oldsmobile 442

The 442 (which gets its name from its four-barrel carburetor, four-speed manual, and dual exhausts) was based on the Cutlass and become the hot muscle machine for the Oldsmobile division. It shared its platform with two other hot GM machines, the Chevy Chevelle SS and the Pontiac GTO. And like the GTO, the 442 was only a trim level at the beginning. But by 1970, you could get a huge 455-cubic-inch big-block V-8. And when equipped with the even more potent W30 parts, the motor made 360 hp and a whopping 500 lb-ft of torque. It could hit 60 mph in less than 6 seconds, which was very quick for the time—especially for an Olds.

Little-Known Fact: Actor James Garner raced a beefed-up 1970 Olds 442 in the NORRA Mexico 1000 (a precursor to the Baja 1000), where it won second in class. The Goodyear Grabber, as it was known, was built by legendary Baja-race-vehicle guru Vic Hickey and sponsored by Goodyear tires. The vehicle was recently restored and put up for sale.

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10 Surprising Facts About American Muscle Cars - car No. 3 - 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona

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1969 Dodge Charger Daytona

The 1969 Dodge Daytona and its sibling, the 1970 Plymouth Superbird, are arguably the most radical vehicles to emerge from the muscle car wars. But the Dodge Charger Daytona, as the name might suggest, wasn't designed for street racing. It was built to win Nascar races on the superspeedways—the longest and fastest tracks.

To increase top speed, engineers took the Charger to the wind tunnel. The aerodynamic modifications to the big Dodge Charger Daytona included a nearly 2-foot-tall rear wing, a flush rear window, and a longer, sloped nose cone. The results were impressive. The race version of the Dodge Charger Daytona became the first car in Nascar history to break 200 mph. After numerous Dodge wins in 1969 and some by Plymouth in 1970, Nascar's new rule book banned these cars. The production cars, which came packing a 440 big-block or the legendary 426 Hemi, are sought-after collector cars today that bring more than $150,000 at auctions.

Little-Known Fact: The Dodge Charger Daytona's aerodynamic modifications over a those of a standard Charger helped lower the coefficient of drag to 0.28—an excellent figure even by today's standards. But did that huge rear wing really need to be so tall to maximize rear-end downforce? According to legend, no. The reason for the exaggerated height of the wing was so that the trunklid on the production cars could pass underneath it and fully open.

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10 Surprising Facts About American Muscle Cars - Car No. 2 - 1984 Chevy Corvette

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1984 Chevy Corvette

The third generation of America's sports car, the Corvette, had an incredibly long run: 1968 to 1982. So when it came time for GM to launch the next-generation C4 Corvette, there was wild speculation about the car. Some predicted it would use a midengine chassis, like an Italian exotic. And others thought it might use a rotary engine, like Mazda's.

In the end, the next Vette wasn't radical. It still had a small-block Chevy V-8 up front driving the rear wheels. That first year, it cranked out a meager 205 hp. But after a switch to a new, tuned port fuel-injection system in later years, horsepower jumped—and so did performance. Five years later, Chevy debuted the first ultra-performance Vette since the 1960s: the 375-hp ZR-1.

Little-Known Fact: There is no production 1983 Corvette. Although 1982 was the last year for the third-generation Corvette, Chevy decided to wait until the 1984 model year to launch the all-new car. Why? Some sources claim tighter emissions regulations necessitated more time for development. Others say that quality glitches at the factory were the real reason. All we know is every 1983 Corvette prototype was destroyed, except one: a white car that now lives at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky.

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10 Surprising Facts About American Muscle Cars - Car No. 1 - 1968 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500

America loves speed. The 1960s and 1970s might have produced the wildest and rarest muscle cars packing giant torque-rich V-8s, but the 1980s brought its share of powerful machines to the street, too—cars that were quick and met the more stringent emissions controls. And behind the horsepower there are some surprising stories.

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1968 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500

The first two years of Carroll Shelby's Mustangs are the most desirable to many Mustang purists. Those 1965 and 1966 GT 350s were light, simply styled, and perfect for track work. But the later 1967 and 1968 cars offered more fun under the hood and were the machines of choice if you wanted to win drag races.

For the first time, '67 to '68 GT 500 Shelbys came with 355-hp 428-cubic-inch big-block power under the hood. Car testers of the day saw quarter-mile time slips in the mid-to-low 14-second bracket—quick for the day. The Shelby Mustangs received more scoops and flashier styling than the older cars to match the new-found power and torque. And the even quicker KR (King of the Road) high-performance model was available in 1968 too.

Little-Known Fact: The 1967 Shelby Mustangs used Mercury Cougar tail lamps, but the 1968 models used lamps from the '66 Ford Thunderbird.

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Creative Engineering for Niche Profitability

Can engineers keep a small company such as Mazda viable in this era of globalization? Maybe. And
 if not, their attempts will surely give Mazda’s next big-wallet benefactor a leg up in niche product
profitability. Some of the technology outlined during the Mazda3 launch (see page 42) also applies
to the 6 and CX-5, but I never got the Vulcan mind-meld with Mazda vehicle evaluation manager
and onetime Sport Compact Car honcho David Coleman during those launches, so you’re getting
the debrief here.

Perhaps the most startling of Mazda’s little-guy innovations is its radical rethink of engine family
architecture. Much of the magic in optimizing an engine’s efficiency happens in and around the
combustion chamber. Forcing different displacement engines to share bore center distances trades
savings on machine tooling for costs on reengineering the quite different combustion chambers that
result. (It also tends to make smaller-displacement engines weigh more than larger ones.) Mazda
designs one perfect Skyactiv combustion chamber and scales the entire engine up or down around
it, so engines share only rockers, lash-adjusters, and bolts.

Because the company is sized to need thousands of engines, not millions, it can now produce four 

Skyactiv I-4s (three gas and one diesel) and a V-6 with just four machining operations executed by 

highly flexible computer-numerical-control robotic machine tools. That’s down from 45 operations on 

traditional tools building common architecture engines. A fresh engine casting now gets machined in 

just 1.3 hours, a fraction of which is spent moving it and clamping down. The old way took six hours, 

less than half of which was spent actually cutting metal on the MZR engine family.

Other engine optimization tech includes electric variable intake valve timing with 70 degrees of authority

that provides some Valvetronic/Multi-Air capability, such as partial throttling to reduce pumping losses, 

at much lower cost. Naturally, there’s also direct injection and 13:1 compression, and the engine is 

prepped for Mazda’s innovative start-stop system that uses the alternator to brake the engine to a 

stop with a partially compressed charge in one cylinder, into which gas and spark can be sent to assist

the electric starter for a quicker, lower-energy restart. On Tech Package models, that alternator is a 

variable voltage unit, designed to pump 25 kilojoules of energy into the i-ELOOP capacitorin just 8 

seconds when coasting or braking.

Modular chassis design is nothing new, but Mazda’s take establishes common positioning and cross-
sections of the crash load-path structure (which now incorporates the lower engine/suspension cradle)
so that different models can easily be built on the same line. Tailoring the architecture to each vehicle
involves tinkering with metal grade, thickness, spot-weld patterns, and the like. The 3 also incorporates
 steel so hard, it must be red-hot when it’s stamped for use in the B-pillars and bumper reinforcements.

Auto analysts contend Mazda can’t survive alone, but we innovation enthusiasts can hope that sharing
its niche profitability expertise on projects such as the forthcoming Miata/Alfa-Romeo roadster will keep
the tiny Hiroshima company zooming alone.

Read more: http://blogs.motortrend.com/creative-engineering-for-niche-profitability-30571.html#ixzz2e2TkNtTz

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Daniel Ricciardo confirmed at Red Bull for 2014 F1 season

The minute Mark Webber announced his decision to quit Formula 1 in favour of a drive with Porsche’s LMP1 team next year, the Formula 1 paddock with rife with speculation about who would fill the spare seat at Red Bull Racing. It appeared that the team had options aplenty. There was Kimi Raikkonen, who had impressed the teams with his return to Formula 1, and could do with the backing of a team with some resources. There was Daniel Ricciardo who had been a part of Red Bull’s Junior Team since 2008. F1’s silly season had well and truly begun.

Daniel Ricciardo had been a part of Red Bull’s Junior Team since 2008

Then, there was Mark Webber’s comments that gave people some clue as to his successor, when he said that everyone knew who would take his spot in the team, and that he believed it was a good thing for Australia.

Sure enough, it was the other Australian driver on the grid, Daniel Ricciardo who was announced as the second Red Bull Racing driver for 2014. Ricciardo will partner Sebastian Vettel in a multi-year contract that will start next year.

Christian Horner, team principal of Red Bull Racing declared “It’s fantastic to confirm Daniel as the team’s race driver for 2014. He’s a very talented youngster, he’s committed, he’s got a great attitude and in the end it was a very logical choice for us to choose Daniel.” Horner went on to say that “Daniel knows what the team expects from him; he’ll learn quickly and it’s very much a medium to long term view that we’re taking in developing him. The seat within the team is a wonderful opportunity and I think he’s going to be a big star of the future.”

A visibly elated Ricciardo said “I feel very, very good at the moment and obviously there’s a lot of excitement running through me. Since joining F1 in 2011, I hoped this would happen and over time the belief in me has grown; I had some good results and Red Bull has decided that this is it, so it’s a good time. Next year I’ll be with a Championship-winning team, arguably the best team, and will be expected to deliver. I’m ready for that. I’m not here to run around in tenth place, I want to get the best results for myself and the team.”

Will Daniel go the Felipe Massa way or the Mark Webber way? That remains to be seen. As we’ve seen in Formula 1 so far, the number 1 driver tag is really no myth!

50 quirky car facts that will blow your mind

When you take a trip back into the history of the automotive world, there’s a lot of strange and wonderful things to look at. Like, the height of the worlds lowest street-legal car, or, how much a hood ornament on a Rolls-Royce costs, or even a couple flame-throwing BMW‘s. All weird and wonderful things to behold.

Take a look at these 50 quirky car facts that the folks over at Carloan4U put together:

As slowdown deepens, car buyers mull option of used vehicles

MUMBAI: As the Indian economy continues to slide, the Indian car buyer is increasingly considering the option of used cars.

According to the study done by J D PowerAsia Pacific 2013 India Sales Satisfaction Index, 13 per cent of the new vehicle buyers considered a used vehicle during their shopping process, which is a 10 per cent increase over the past three years.

The 2013 India Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study is based on responses from 8,434 new-vehicle owners who purchased their vehicle between September 2012 and April 2013, and includes evaluations of more than 71 models within the mass market category. The SSI study was fielded from March to July 2013.

The SSI study highlighted that shoppers who consider a used vehicle use the Internet to search for information regarding vehicle financing, including trade-in options, and service-related aspects. In comparison, shoppers who do not consider a used vehicle use the Internet primarily to look for vehicle features and specifications.

"Automakers have been increasingly focusing on the used-car business in India, specifically with certified used cars which come with a manufacturer warranty," said Mohit Arora, executive director at J.D.Power Asia Pacific, Singapore. "Additionally, automakers have ushered in transparency via their websites that provide real-time information on used vehicle inventory and price information. These activities assure customers of a quality product by providing detailed insights about the vehicles, thereby propelling the consideration of a used-vehicle purchase."

Now in its 14th year, the study examines seven factors that contribute to new-vehicle buyers' overall satisfaction with the sales experience (listed in order of importance): delivery process, delivery timing, salesperson, sales initiation, dealer facility, paperwork and deal.

Overall sales satisfaction in the mass market segment is 841 index points on a 1,000-point scale, a 21-point increase from 2012. On average, automakers post strong increases across all the factors, most notably in salesperson, paperwork and delivery timing.

The overall improvement in satisfaction is driven by a higher quality of engagement between salespersons and customers. The majority (96per cent) of customers indicate that their salesperson spent sufficient time in conversation focused only on them. Additionally, 61 per cent of customers indicate that their salesperson demonstrated the vehicle's features and benefits during the test drive, up from 54 per cent in 2012. Further, overall delivery time for new vehicles has declined significantly to 10 days in 2013 from 12 days in 2012.

Among the 13 brands ranked in the mass market segment, Honda and Maruti SuzukiBSE 1.45 % rank highest (in a tie) with a score of 849. Hyundai, Mahindra and Toyota follow in the rankings, with all three brands tied at 841.

"Sharp growth in the recent past had resulted in stretching the dealers' abilities in engaging customers effectively during the sales process," said

Arora. "Due to relatively lower showroom traffic in 2013, dealers have made efforts to ensure a higher level of engagement during the sales process. In addition, vehicle delivery turnaround time has declined significantly."

Arora noted that all these aspects have resulted in a better shopping experience for customers.

NNG eyes 70% share in bundled navigation devices sales

NEW DELHI: European traffic navigation firmNNG today said it expects to increase itsmarket share in the country to 70 per cent by next year-end from 60 per cent at present in navigation devices sold through car makers. 

"We can name only Renault, Tata andVolkswagen as our partner in India. In the next six to seven months, we expect to partner with 13 out of 16 car companies and as per estimates take our market share in devices sold through OEMs to 70 per cent from 60 per cent at present," NNG Vice President for Eastern Europe and emerging markets Peter Bolesza said here. 

Without disclosing actual numbers, Bolesza said the company is looking to increase its share in post sales as well from 25 per cent to 35 per cent through dealers and other automative sales channel. 

The company is selling its traffic navigation map and application through India firm Ayana Navigation Solutions. 

"We use maps from Nokia and do our own value addition on top of it to make it more suitable for local needs. Since last two years we have been selling applications that can be downloaded on mobile devices but now we are going to launch our personal navigation devices (PND)," Bolesza said. 

NNG expects use of PNDs in India to reach to European and US levels in next 5 to 10 years which is around 20 per cent PND installed in total cars sold every year. 

"The applications are available online at price of Rs 1,650. The devices which we are launching will be available from October onward for around Rs 9,000 and Rs 17,000 through car dealers, retail channels and next year from our website online," ANS' Director Sales and Business Development, Amit Kishore Sharma said. 

These devices will be wi-fi enabled and can also be connected through mobile phones internet for live traffic updates on India roads, Sharma said.

Ford plans to sell Edge in China, report says

DETROIT (Reuters) -- Ford Motor Co. expects to sell its Edge midsize crossover in global markets -- including China -- when the car is redesigned in early 2015, two sources familiar with the automaker's plans told Reuters today.

Ford last year announced plans to sell the Edge in Europe, but the plans for China now are emerging.

Ford will build versions of the new Edge in North America and China for local customers, according to U.S. automotive suppliers familiar with the program. For the European market, the Edge would be imported from North America and sold in Ford's European showrooms alongside the redesigned S-Max and Galaxy.

The Edge, the S-Max and the Galaxy will all share a common architecture, known inside Ford as CD4.2, according to suppliers, and all three are slated to go into production about the same time.

In the United States, the new Edge is expected to go on sale in spring 2015 as a 2016 model, suppliers said.

Neither the new S-Max nor the new Galaxy will be sold in the United States, a Ford spokesman confirmed.

Regarding the convergence of the three vehicles on a shared platform, Ford said, "We don't comment on rumor and speculation regarding future products."

Frankfurt preview

On Tuesday, Ford previewed a concept version of the new S-Max that will be displayed next month at the Frankfurt Auto Show.

The new Edge and the new S-Max have been developed simultaneously, according to U.S. supplier sources, and share the same engineering program code, CD391, used by automakers and suppliers.

While their underpinnings are similar, the two vehicles will look different both inside and outside, sources said.

The new Edge and the new S-Max "will not be mirror images" of one another, as Ford's Escape and Kuga utility vehicles are, one source said.

The 2016 Edge will be wider and taller than the S-Max, but will be fitted with just two rows of seats. The Edge will have more rugged styling cues and be aimed at utility-vehicle buyers in both Europe and the United States.

The new S-Max will get three rows of seats and be targeted in Europe toward a different audience, including young families shopping for a multipurpose vehicle.

2014 Honda Odyssey Crash Ratings

IIHS Crash Test - 2014 Honda Odyssey

Honda Odyssey is first minivan to earn the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award

ARLINGTON, Va. August 29, 2013; The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reported that the 2014 Honda Odyssey minivan earns the Institute's top safety designation for good performance in all five IIHS crash evaluations, including the challenging small overlap front test. The Institute rates vehicles good, acceptable, marginal or poor based on performance in the moderate overlap front, small overlap front, side, rollover and rear crash evaluations.

The 2014 Odyssey is the first minivan the Institute has evaluated in the small overlap front test. Honda asked the Institute to test the Odyssey to highlight structural changes the automaker made to improve occupant protection in a small overlap front crash. When the Institute conducts a test at a manufacturer's request, the automaker reimburses IIHS for the cost of the vehicle.

Honda introduced the upgraded Odyssey as a 2014 model. While there are no major styling changes, the new model has advanced high-strength steel in the front door frames, floor pan and front wheel wells for a more rigid occupant compartment. The side curtain airbags extend farther forward to offer comprehensive head protection in both a side crash and a small overlap front crash. Even with these modifications, the Odyssey's weight didn't change much because Honda engineers were able to reduce weight elsewhere to compensate for the strengthened structure.

"Safety is high on the list for parents when it comes to shopping for a family vehicle," says Institute President Adrian Lund. "Consumers look for models with the highest safety ratings. Honda is ahead of many of its competitors in building state-of-the-art crashworthiness into its vehicles."

Honda and Acura brands have earned six Top Safety Pick+ awards among 20 current models that the Institute has rated. They are the Honda Accord 2-door and 4-door, Civic 2-door and 4-door, Odyssey and Acura TL. Winners must earn good ratings for occupant protection in 4 of 5 evaluations and no less than acceptable in the fifth test.

The Institute added the small overlap test to its lineup of vehicle safety evaluations last year. It replicates what happens when the front corner of a vehicle strikes another vehicle or an object like a tree or a utility pole. In the test, 25 percent of a vehicle's front end on the driver side strikes a 5-foot-tall rigid barrier at 40 mph. A 50th percentile male Hybrid III dummy is belted in the driver seat.

In the Odyssey test, the driver's space was maintained reasonably well. Injury measures on the dummy indicated a low risk of injury in a crash of this severity. Because the structure helped keep the steering column stable, the front airbag stayed in front of the driver dummy during the crash to provide good protection. The side curtain airbag deployed and had sufficient forward coverage to protect the head from contact with the side structure and outside objects.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel on the 2014 Honda Odyssey after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained reasonably well. Photo courtesy of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is an independent, nonprofit scientific and educational organization dedicated to reducing the losses — deaths, injuries and property damage — from crashes on the nation's roads. The Institute is wholly supported by auto insurers.

August 29: Gottlieb Daimler patents the first motorcycle on this date in 1885

Tucked on the back of the fairway at last year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance was this contraption, which looks like a cross between a bicycle and some kind of 19th-century medical device. Brought by Mercedes, it's a replica of the world's first motorcycle -- an attempt by Gottlieb Daimler to explore how he might package the four-stroke gasoline engine invented by Nicolaus Otto. While there had been a steam-powered two-wheeler before, Daimler's invention, patented 128 years ago today, is generally considered the primordial vehicle from which modern motorcycles and automobiles evolved. (The real item was lost in a fire during the 1930s.)

8 facts and myths about warming your car up in winter

Old habits die hard, and one of the oldest-still rigorously enforced by many drivers-is that "warming up" the car for a few minutes is necessary to avoid some kind of unspecified damage.

But idling is totally unnecessary, which is why many communities have enacted ordinances against the practice. Don't take my word about idling being ineffective, but do listen to my mechanic, Rob Maier, who runs Maier's Garage in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He says, "You don't really need to idle your car, because of the efficiency of modern fuel injection, which eliminated carburetors and chokes. The only reason to let the car idle at all is to get the oil circulating, but after 30 seconds that's a done deal. My truck has 150,000 miles on it, and I just throw it into gear and go."

Here are some quick facts and tips that should put the idling question to rest: 

1. Driving Warms the Car Faster than Idling.
If your concern is not the health of the car, but simply your own creature comforts, Bob Aldrich of the California Energy Commission points out that "idling is not actually an effective way to warm up a car - it warms up faster if you just drive it." The coming electric cars, such as the Nissan Leaf, will incorporate a wonderful feature that allows the owner to use a cellphone to tell the car (which is plugged into the grid) to pre-warm or pre-cool the interior. No idling necessary. (Photo at right byMika / Corbis)

2. Ten Seconds Is All You Need.
Environmental Defense Fund, which produced the Idling Gets You Nowhere campaign, advises motorists to turn off their ignition if they're sitting stopped for more than 10 seconds. "After about ten seconds, you waste more money running the engine than restarting it, said Andy Darrell, deputy director of the EDF Energy Program. "Switch the car off at the curb and you'll be leaving money in your wallet and protecting the air in your community."

3. Idling Hurts the Car.
According to the Hinkle Charitable Foundation's Anti-Idling Primer, idling forces an engine "to operate in a very inefficient and gasoline-rich mode that, over time, can degrade the engine's performance and reduce mileage."

4. Idling Costs Money.
Over a year of five minutes of daily idling (which causes incomplete combustion of fuel), the "Anti-Idling Primer" estimates that the operator of a V-8-engined car will waste 20 gallons of gasoline, which not only produces 440 pounds of carbon dioxide but costs at least $60. (Related: How to Cut Your Gas Bill in Half)

5. Idling in the Garage Can Kill You.
Idling a car in a garage, even with the door open, is dangerous and exposes the driver to carbon monoxide and other noxious gases. If the garage is attached, those fumes can also enter the house. (Related: Learn these 6 Surprising Sources of Indoor Air Pollution)

6. Block Heaters Beat Remote Starters.
Lori Strothard of the Waterloo Citizens Vehicle Idling Reduction Task Force in Canada says, "Remote starters can too easily cause people to warm up their cars for five to 15 minutes, which is generally unnecessary. A block heater, which is designed to heat the engine and can cost under $30, on a timer set to start one to two hours before driving does the trick in very cold climates.

7. Quick Errands Aren't Quick Enough.
Natural Resources Canada points out that "quick errand" idling is another way to waste gas and pollute both your town and the planet. "Leaving your engine running is hard on your pocketbook, produces greenhouse gas emissions and is an invitation to car thieves," the agency says.

8. Idling is Bad for Your Health (and Your Neighbor's Health).
According to Minneapolis' anti-idling ordinance, "Exhaust is hazardous to human health, especially children's; studies have linked air pollution to increased rates of cancer, heart and lung disease, asthma and allergies." Isabelle Silverman, who runs EDF's anti-idling campaign, says that car idling "is the second-hand smoking of the outdoors. One of the problems is that cars idle close to the curb, where pedestrians are walking. And when you have a child in a stroller, they are particularly close to the tailpipe. Studies show that children's IQ levels are lower when they live near major roads with lots of traffic."

Alex Scaperotta, who created an anti-idling campaign with a classmate when he was in fifth grade in Wilton, Connecticut, came up with a slogan that was used on bumper stickers and websites: "If you're stopped for more than 10, turn it off and on again." Sounds like good advice.

20 Crazy Car Facts

1. Until 1973, whale oil was used in the transmissions of many cars.
2. Over the course of his/her lifetime, the average driver will swear roughly 32,000 times while driving.
3. The first speeding ticket was given out way back in 1904, and the driver was going 18 kph.
4. The longest traffic jam of all time occurred in 1980, between Paris and Lyon on the French Autoroute. The jam stretched an astounding 175 km.
5. Sixteen percent of car owners never wash their car.
6. Thrust SSC set a land speed record at 1,228 kilometers per hour in 1997. It is the fastest car ever built and the first land vehicle to break the sound barrier.
7. The world's most produced car is the Toyota Corolla. More than 32 million units have been sold since its introduction in 1966.
8. The following materials are currently being used by researches to make fuel for cars, trucks, and even airplanes: sawdust, wood chips, nuts, used diapers, bad batches of chocolate, cow waste, coffee grounds, and turkey guts.
9. Wheels on purpose-built mining dump trucks can be as large as 12 feet high, and one tire can range from $6,000 to an unbelieveable six figures! The worst part is that, because these trucks carry such heavy loads over rough terrain, the tires wear down extremely quickly.
10. You will spend about two weeks of your life sitting at a red light.
11. Before the 1920s, cars didn't have fuel gauges. Drivers had to guess how much was left in their tank.
12. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, 21% of car owners do not lock their doors. 1 in every 170 cars is stolen each year.
13. The first traffic light was used in 1914. It was not automatic, and had to be operated by an officer who manually controlled them from a nearby booth.
14. The most likely time for fatal car crashes is on weekends between midnight and three o'clock in the morning.
15. The United States has an amazing 765 cars per 1,000 people living in the country (including children!). This is the highest cars-per-capita rate in the world.
16. The first electric car was built in 1891 by William Morrison. However, the increasingly popular electric cars fell out of favor once Henry Ford introduced the gas-powered Model T in 1908.
17. In 1911, during the first ever Indianapolis 500, driver Ray Harroun drove to victory ... alone. His car was streamlined and built for only one man, meaning he had no room for the (at the time) traditional riding mechanic. In order to keep an eye on drivers behind him, he mountained a rear-facing mirror in the car. It worked, and he won the race. Soon after, manufacturers adopted the idea, and rearview mirrors became standard safety procedure.
18. An airbag takes only 40 milliseconds to inflate and deploys at nearly 500 km an hour
19. It takes about 25 hours to build a car, and 10 of those involve the painting process.
20. In America, more people are killed every year while walking in crosswalks than illegally jaywalking.

New S class made for back-seat drivers

Relaxed by a hot-stone massage, I opted for a targeted shoulder massage for neck tension that never seems to disappear.

A fragrant aroma called Freeside Mood, with hints of citrus, wafted through the ionized air. I wondered about the scents of the other choices: Nightlife Mood, Sports Mood and Downtown Mood. Ambient mood lighting was set at mandarin, but I was about to change that to a bluish hue, while music played through a high-end Burmester surround sound system.

Was it my turn to drive already?

I was having too much fun pushing buttons and changing settings on the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S500 (it will be called the S550 when it comes to the United States in September) during a press drive in Canada.

Usually I'm a terribly jittery passenger, scanning the road and making sure the driver isn't headed into trouble -- about to take a turn that will send me flying.

This time, I just wanted to dive into the rear plush leather reclining seat, lower the airplanelike tray, play with the video monitor and push an endless row of buttons that change the lighting and seat massage style, release different scents and adjust the cooling cupholder to keep my water at the perfect temperature.

The S class has front- and rear-seat amenities unlike anything I've seen in a luxury car.

That's because it's designed for two markets. The front seats were designed for the United States and the rear for China, where most people who can afford an S class want to be chauffeured.

It's also loaded with high-technology safety features packaged into what Mercedes calls Intelligent Drive and Magic Carpet Ride handling that automatically adjusts to road conditions. Before I could try them myself, I had to interview Dieter Zetsche, CEO of parent company Daimler AG. He was behind the wheel and I was in a rear passenger seat.

Zetsche took his hands off the steering wheel to demonstrate how Distronic Plus with Steering Assist automatically allowed the S class to follow the car in front at the same speed and even turn by itself. Ten seconds later, red hands began flashing above the steering wheel because regulators don't want drivers taking their hands off the wheel. Zetsche said if you don't put your hands back on the wheel, you get warning beeps and then the steering assist turns off.

Hands back on the wheel. I was relieved -- until Zetsche offered to show me how the car also automatically comes to a full stop if the vehicle in front stops or if there is a pedestrian or animal in its path. I shook my head from side-to-side.

"You don't trust me?" Zetsche asked.

I replied that it wasn't him I didn't trust, it was the technology. He laughed. I returned to asking Zetsche questions and jotting down answers when WHAM! The car stopped short. No collision. Zetsche grinned and professed he didn't do it on purpose; the car in front suddenly stopped, and the Distronic Plus system brought our car safely to a halt. My eyes popped wide open.

Just for that, my next question was going to be really hard. I demanded S-class sales forecasts. "Diana, you have been asking me that for 20 years and I never give you an answer," Zetsche said.

European pricing starts at 107,635 euros -- $140,996 at current exchange rates -- for the long-wheelbase model. U.S. pricing will be disclosed closer to launch. The 2013 S550 starts at $95,905, including shipping, in the United States. Zetsche said Mercedes-Benz already has 20,000 orders for the S class. The car went on sale in Europe this month. Last year in the run-out, Mercedes sold 65,128 S-class cars globally, keeping its leadership in a segment that includes the BMW 7 series and Audi A8.

And then I had to get out of the car and into another S class and follow Zetsche.

I didn't turn on the Distronic Plus.