CarSwitch.com, the UAE-based online marketplace for buying and selling cars, presents five shocking facts about cars that have never been heard before. Enjoy!
The BMW Logo represents the Bavarian Flag
This was a tough one to believe, trust us we know. There were debates even within the BMW community about what it actually represented.
However, thanks to one New York Times writer who finally put an end to the debate once and for all. The BMW Logo actually represented the Bavarian Flag, unlike what the majority believed – a propeller.
The iconic McLaren F1 doors were inspired by a Toyota Sera
While designing what is perhaps one of the most well-known cars of all time, its creator, Gordon Murray drove past a Toyota Sera every day.
He liked the design of the doors so much that he modeled the doors of the famous F1 after them. Perhaps, Toyota should sue for copyright and make some easy cash.
Modern VW TDi’s may hydrolock all by themselves
In a glorious slap on the face of all German car enthusiasts, the VW TDi’s have a wonderful tendency to hydrolock in conditions of extreme cold. The intercooler, compared to previous models, runs much cooler. Normally this would be a good thing but it also means that it leads to a lot of condensation.
On an ordinary day, that might not be an issue, but on an extremely cold day it leads to the car hydrolocking.
Bricklin had electrically-powered gullwing doors that did not work in the heat
In a hilarious and ironic twist of fate, Malcolm Bricklin decided to donate a couple of SV-1s to the Arizona police department. Though he might have done this out of the goodness of his heart, what he did not anticipate was the heat.
Since the car doors were electrically powered, they did not work if the battery died. And since Arizona is about as hot as an oven, the batteries died routinely. This led to police routinely calling for backup to get in or out of their cars.
The Cadillac and Lincoln were started by one person
Henry Leland was originally hired to appraise the Ford factory because it had not been doing well. He decided that it was a mistake to sell the Ford which gave birth to the Cadillac. Leland and his commitment to quality gave Cadillac a reputation no one else could match.
Thanks to Leland, a few years later, Cadillac was the only profitable division of General Motors (GM). In fact it was Leland’s son, Wilfred, who managed to convince five investors that GM and the auto-industry had a future. However, they were not very grateful. GM increased Leland’s responsibilities and decreased their pay – which was never compensated for afterwards.
Eventually, Leland resigned over GM’s refusal to make engines for the war effort. This led to the creation of Lincoln. Unfortunately, Lincoln’s future was not that bright. The contract to build war engines was violated by the military which dealt them heavy losses. They sought to make a luxury car but their plans were thwarted by the struggling post war economy.
Eventually, Henry Ford saved Leland and their company from ruin. But, as it soon became clear that he had other plans, he started a coup to shut Leland out of their own company and were forced to resign.
Leland died a few years later, bitter and betrayed by nearly everyone he had known. In the end, what undid Leland was his commitment to quality in an era which favored mediocrity.
With these surprising facts, you can also opt to see a variety of new and used cars on CarSwitch.com. All you have to do is browse through the cars you like, pick one (or even two!) and leave the rest to us. Happy shopping!
