The first petrol pump in the USA was installed in 1906


The first autobahn was opened in Germany in May 1935, between Frankfurt and Darmstadt.

The parking meter was invented by Prof. H.G. Thueson and Gerald A.Hale of Oklahoma State University, and the world first parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City, USA in July 1935. However it was a month before the meter was put to use, when in August 1935, the Rev. C.H. North of the Church of Oklahoma City was arrested for a parking meter offence.

Stan Barrett is the first man to exceed the speed of sound on land. He drove the Budweiser Rocket tricycle at Rogers Dry Lake and achieved a speed of Mach 1.0106 or 739.666 mph. However he does hold the claim for the official speed record, since he did not make a second return run.


The world's first passenger carrying road-vehicle was the "steam" locomotive built in 1801 in England, by Cornish Engineer Richard Trevithick. The vehicle was capable of carrying seven - eight passengers.



First Car owner in India was Mr Foster of M/s. Crompton Greaves Company, Mumbai 1897


First Indian to own a Car was Jamshedji Tata of Mumbai in 1901


The first Indian-built private car was manufactured in 1946, by Hindustan Motors. The car - which was the forerunner of today's Ambassador - was identical to the 10 HP Morris Series M


The first car to record a sale of million vehicles was the Model T, in 1922. The car went on to hold the record for highest production of a single model, when more than 16.5 million Model Ts were produced in 19 years - between 1908 and 1927.

This record was broken only in 1973 by the Volkswagen Beetle (which began production in 1938). The VW Beetle began production in 1938. The Beetle was also the first European car to cross sales of over million numbers. The millionth Beetle was produced in 1962, from the Wolfsburg Plant in Germany. The 20 millionth Beetle was produced in May 1981 in their Mexico Plant


The world's first numberplates were issued in 1893 in France by the police.


The first mechanically propelled vehicle to travel 100 miles (160 kms) without a breakdown was Francis Hill's steam coach, in 1840. The vehicle covered the 128 miles distance from Hastings to London, without any trouble. The feat was not repeated for another 40 years.


The current practice of using symbols for road signs first came into practice on January 1st 1965, following a report by the Warboys Committee. Circular signs with a red border convey compulsory instructions. "Information" is conveyed by rectangular signs, and hazard warnings are conveyed by triangular signs

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Gottlieb Daimler who was one of the earliest manufacturers of the car, once thought that - the maximum number of cars in Europe would be around 5000, due to a shortage of chauffeurs.

The number of cars manufactured in Europe in 1998 alone exceeded 13 million cars. There are more than 500 million cars in the world Of this, around 40% of the cars - approximately 200 million cars - are in the US alone. Total numbers of cars in India are - 3.53 million - that amount to 0.71 % of total world vehicle population.

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During motor rallying, your blood group must be displayed on your helmet or overalls.

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The year 1980 was the first time when Japanese car production overtook that of US. Total no. of cars produced that year in Japan was 7.08 million and in the US it was 6.38 million. In the year 1997-98 however USA was the top car-producing country with Japan in second place.

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Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz separately started manufacturing cars in late 19th century (circa 1890). The merger of their companies took place about 30 years later, in 1926, to form the Daimler-Benz Company. These two gentlemen never met.

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The word "petrol" was first coined in 1899, by the "Carless, Capel and Leonard Company", at the suggestion of Frederick Simms, who imported the first Daimler into UK. The fuel earlier used to be called by the name "petroleum spirit"

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The practice of using tar on a road-surface was established in 1902, when it was first applied on a road in Monte Carlo. The idea was of Dr. Guglieminetti from Swizterland. At first the tar was applied cold, but later hot tar was used.

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All cars made upto or before the year 1918 are classified as "Veteran" by the Federation Internationale des Voitures Anciennes. Later cars, made after 1918 and up to 1930 are classified as Vintage.

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The size of car number plates were standardized in 1957, in USA,Canada and Mexico at 12 inches by 6 inches.

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The longest skid marks on public road are said to been left by a Jaguar, involved in a motor accident in 1960, near Bedfordshire, UK. They were 950 feet or 290 metres long.

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The Lamborghini Diablo '99 currently the fastest car in the world (in production), with a top speed of 340 kph (212.5 mph). The car can do 0-100 kms in less than 4 seconds.