love cars and the stories behind them? join us on the drive
to automotive enlightenment in this week’s edition of Friday fast Facts!
South Africans once used Flame-Throwers to fight Carjacking
In the late 1990s the South African city of Johannesburg was
rife with carjackings. According to a BBC news short article by
Jeremy Vine there were 4,000 cars hijacked between January and June of 1998.
This wasn’t just a matter of leaving your car unlocked or parking in a rough
neighborhood, Vine explains: “…people pull up at traffic lights, they stop
their car and then someone comes up to the window with a gun and tells them to
get out.” In an effort to remedy the epidemic, creator Charles Fourie came up
with “the blaster,” a flame-thrower ignited by a foot pedal that would shoot
fire from nozzles routed under the car into the face of the potential
high-jacker. While not everyone agreed with the method, the anti-theft device
was considered legal.
Photo Source: BBC News
“The New-Car Smell” is actually Toxic
That new-car smell is great. It’s marvelous. Magnificent.
One might even call it intoxicating. and as it turns out, it is. The enchanting
smell of a new car is a mixture of the odors emitted by the various components used
to produce a car. According
to Jeff Gearhart, research director at Michigan’s Ecology Center, the
combination of rubbers, plastics and fabric produce “a chemical cocktail made
up of lots of toxins.” Benzene and formaldehyde to name a few. Still, we can’t
get enough of it.
You can Play ‘Pong’ in a Saab
Engineers at Saab left an Easter egg in the 9-3 SS.
According to a blog
on Saabplanet.com, “an Easter egg is an intentional inside joke, hidden
message, or feature in a work such as a computer program, puzzle, music” etc.
Using a GM tech 2 diagnostic reader, you can play Pong by going to the
Airbag/SRS system submenu. Finally, a Saab
story worth hearing.
In Churchill, Canada It’s Customary for Residents to Leave car Doors Unlocked for Those Being Chased by Polar Bears
Churchill, Manitoba is known as the “Polar Bear capital of
the World” due to their migration from slabs of ice in the Hudson Bay back to
shoreat the end of summer. “Polar
bear season” really begins in September and “by November, in some cases 60 polar
bears can be seen on a given day,” according to a Huffington
Post short article by Laura Moss. Citizens of Churchill have had to adapt to
their neighbors: residents leave their cars unlocked in case a pedestrian needs
shelter from the bears. fortunately this only lasts for a few months until the
bears return to the Hudson Bay to hunt for seals.
A Bugatti Chiron can empty its Gas tank in nine Minutes
The Bugatti Chiron is the successor to the
already-ridiculous Veyron. Both cars house an 8-liter, quad-turbocharged W16
cylinder engine sending power to all four wheels. The Veyron very Sport
produces a wicked 1184 horsepower and tops out at 253 mph. The Chiron somehow
exceeds those marks with 1,479 horsepower and a blistering 261 mph top speed.
All of that speed and power comes at a cost, though. According to an article
by TopGear, the Veyron can empty its 100-liter fuel tank at top speed in 12
minutes. The Chiron can do the same in
just nine. While it is worth noting, you’re probably not concerned about pinching
pennies for gas if you’re driving one of these.
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