When I was a kid, a friend's father would flash his brights whenever we were at a stoplight. "They have light sensors, so when you hit 'em with hi beams they think more cars are waiting and change faster." I once asked a city engineer about flashing your brights at stop lights. His response, "What?!?" Even adults get caught up in automotive mythology. As Frank Williams reported, the Tesla Roadster is fast becoming a mythological creature, a kind of four-wheeled Griffin. Or have a look at Mr. Wilkinson's rant about the need for robocars, which deconstructs the myth that giant SUVs are safer than smaller, more nimble machines. (I've long been of the opinion that the Caterham Se7en is the safest car on the road. Perfect visibility, massively maneuverable, way better than average stopping distances and the ability to quickly accelerate away from pending danger.) Care to explode some automotive myths?
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“If I had been wearing my seat belt in that crash, NO WAY would I have lived.”
“Before they had crumple zones, cars were built like tanks.” Um, no — they just crumpled in random places, including the occupant compartment.
I don’t need electronic handling Nannies.
My favourite one is the myth that Ford and GM cars are equal or better quality than Honda and Toyota……
My favorite is the myth of all those secretly invented cars that can run on water, only Big Oil bought all the patents and are keeping them locked up in Hades. Nevermind the question of where the energy would come from in a “water-fueled” car.
And, of course, any time a hydrogen-propelled car makes the news, you have the idiot MSM newsreaders asking: “How would you like to fill your car with [angelic music in the background]water?”
Police cars have high performance chips, and supercharged engines and can go 0-60 in 3 seconds, and are faster than a Porsche.
you need to bring your car back to the dealership you bought it from to get warranty work done.
Myth: young women drive better than young men, as evidenced by lower insurance rates. (Does this count?)
Actually, women have more mishaps per X miles … the lower insurance results from women driving far, far fewer miles than men, on average.
The 100 mpg carburetor that the car companies are suppressing.
I like the 150 mpg carburetor. Another one of those Big Oil killed off the inventor stories.
Electronic nannies and SUVs are good ones.
Also:
– “AWD means I can drive 80mph in a snow storm because it’s all that matters”
– cars from the 80s with the ridiculous plastic strip hanging from the back, so that “vibrations that make people sick go to ground instead”
– a little off-topic, but people who believe their car is FWD when it’s RWD and vice versa. I’ll never forget the schmo in law school 4 years ago who just traded an Audi A4 for a bimmer 325xi, saying “yeah, my BMW has FWD. It’s what people want now, better control and handling”
– cars catch fire when crashing
How to open a can of worms, by Robert Farago:
“I don’t need electronic handling Nannies.”
Hey, JTSparts! That carb was only good for 100mpg!
All of the “no seatbelt” excuses, especially those involving egress after a water/fire incident.
Oversimplified “XYZ basic car (or engine) is really made by ABC upscale company, they just sell it for way less and don’t want anyone to know” arguments.
Diesel suck.
3000 mile oil changes.
Especially for highway driven, low-load cars.
The Hummer has a lower environmental footprint than the Prius.
Warming up your car before driving it.
A roll of toilet paper is a better oil filter (seriously, they sold adaptors to use tp instead of filters back in the sixties).
Premium gas will make your car: 1)run better; 2)get better mileage; 3) clean out the gunk.
Change your oil every 3,000 miles.
Take your car to the dealer for scheduled check-ups.
Running a stored car for five minutes once a week.
A heavier car hugs the road better.
You should rev the engine once just before shutdown. It fills the cylinders with fuel and makes it real easy to restart.
Lugging is bad for the engine. (I remember the resultant fury after Pat Bedard deconstructed this one in a C/D column some years ago…nobody would believe it.)
You need to rotate the tires to even out the wear. (Oh, really? When I took the summer tires and wheels off the Boxster to put the winter wheels on last November, all four were absolutely identically worn out even to the point of showing the identical strong-negative-camber wear. Tire rotation may have been necessary once upon a time, when cars were weirdly balanced and had primitive suspensions, but it’s a waste of time now, at least for sophisticated cars, a category that does not include trucks.)
Marvel Mystery Oil will cure any engine problem. (It’s perfumed kerosene.)
ArmorAll is really good for your car. Put it on anything.
If you can nab some 100-octane aviation fuel out at the local airport, it’ll add probably 25 hp to your car.
ABS is fabulous in really slick snow and ice.
I’ve heard this fave 5 or 6 times: “On a cold morning, if your battery’s low, and the car’s hard to start, turn on the headlights for thirty seconds or so to warm up the battery before you turn the key.”
Premium gas will make your car: 1)run better; 2)get better mileage; 3) clean out the gunk.
I really like the people who insist premium gas has more energy content than regular gas.
Other myths I have heard:
1) The H2 is just a rebadged & rebodied Tahoe/Suburban.
2) “My car can go _____ mph…with half the pedal!” (mostly in high school)
3) Spinners look good
4) 26″ rims look good
5) Lowered trucks are cool (if you want something that seats two and rides low with a Bowtie emblem, buy a Vette.
6) “My truck pulled a ______ lb load and I couldn’t tell it was there.”
7) Front wheel drive handles better because it “pull the car through the turn”.
8) Lowering the tailgate helps a truck get better mileage.
9) Porsche is pronounced “poorsh” (just to clarify it is pronounced “poor-shuh”)
10) People want to hear the bass notes in your music from a mile away.
11) Pulling the gear lever down to “1” or “L” in an automatic starts the vehicle in a special “super-low” gear. (Not a common myth, but one I’ve heard)
OK, I’ll bite.
Robert,
I don’t need none of them e-lectronic gizmos on my Jeep cuz I can drive better than all those sissy Rhode Island boys in their Porsches. All that stuff is for folks that don’t know how to drive right. Any real American driver don’t need anything but tires, a transmission and a Chevy small block.
OK, I jest, and I don’t have anything against Porsche or the Ocean State. I do have mixed feeling about ESC and other forms of traction control. I was once driving too fast on a wet mountain road in my Wrangler and almost lost it in a tight turn with several oncoming cars in the other lane. Had my Jeep been a year or two newer, it would have had ESC and my safety would not have been so compromised. I imagine it has saved many lives. So I guess I’m for it so long as it has a by-pass switch.
Driving a hybrid makes you a steward of the environment and thus also the road.
Mustangs are fast.
Diesels are noisy, smelly, and slow.
All Jaguars are massively expensive cars. (you’d be suprised how many women believe this)
Americans don’t like hatchbacks.
Putting a big wing and stickers on your car makes it faster.
It’s better for you engine when the gas tank is more than half full.
I was once on a 400 mile with a journey with a aldy who insisted that her father knew what he was talking about — he was in the air force.
And we stopped every time the we got close to half a tank.
Yet another reason why I always drive.
On all those electronic things, the best feature is the bypass switch.
“cars from the 80s with the ridiculous plastic strip hanging from the back, so that ‘vibrations that make people sick go to ground instead\'”
What the crap is this? Anyone have a pic for me and/or an explanation for exactly what they were supposed to do?
TexasAg03: “11) Pulling the gear lever down to “1″ or “L” in an automatic starts the vehicle in a special “super-low” gear. (Not a common myth, but one I’ve heard)”
There’s basis to that one. It was quite common for older automatics to start in second. The ZF in my Peugeots did it. And the Mercedes 4-speed autobox did that (except the diesel) unless you put it in low or floored it. This was in the mid-late eighties.
Maxo: A grounding strap, to discharge static electricity to the ground. Very popular JC Whitney add-on accessory in the late fifties-mid sixties. Still effecitive for recurring static electricity problems.
You’ve all missed the biggest car myth…I’m so ashamed of all of you…
Putting your classic Ferrari on jack stands, in reverse, and letting it run, will roll the odometer back.
Paul Niedermeyer :
March 4th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
TexasAg03: “11) Pulling the gear lever down to “1″ or “L” in an automatic starts the vehicle in a special “super-low” gear. (Not a common myth, but one I’ve heard)”
There’s basis to that one. It was quite common for older automatics to start in second. The ZF in my Peugeots did it. And the Mercedes 4-speed autobox did that (except the diesel) unless you put it in low or floored it. This was in the mid-late eighties.
And earlier. My father’s ’69 MB 280 SE started in second unless you put it in “2” (its lowest setting). Then it started in first.
Make sense?
Virtual Insanity: I don’t know about Ferraris in particular, but it’s likely true. Lots of speedometer cables were connected to the output shaft of the transmission, which would rotate backwards in reverse. I do know that running old mechanical odometers in reverse would roll back the miles. When I worked at a Ford dealer, they had a special electric motor they would hook up to the speedometer cable just for that purpose. Better than running the engine. So, it would seem to work with the engine running too.
Lieberman: “It’s better for you engine when the gas tank is more than half full.
I was once on a 400 mile with a journey with a aldy who insisted that her father knew what he was talking about — he was in the air force.”
If he was a pilot, he sure as hell did.
The Jato boosted 300mph Chevy..
Paul…
Not a fan of Ferris Bueler, I see.
The 100 mpg carburetor that the car companies are suppressing. This is has got to be the #1 myth. Related, myth that evil corporations have developed, patented and filed (i.e. suppressed) rubber compounds that would allow tires to go hundreds of thousands of miles before being replaced.
Adding acetone to your gasoline improves fuel economy.
FWD with snow tires is better in winter than AWD or FWD (with appropriate tires).
Cars from the ‘50s and ’60s are better than today’s.
“cars from the 80s with the ridiculous plastic strip hanging from the back, so that ‘vibrations that make people sick go to ground instead’”
What the crap is this? Anyone have a pic for me and/or an explanation for exactly what they were supposed to do?”
It was actually supposed to be a “grounding strap” and wasn’t plastic at all–had some kind of metal matrix in it. This was a hangover from the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s, when tanker trucks all had chains hanging from the back bumper, supposedly to dissipate static electricity. So cars started using them too, I guess because people thought it was a perfectly reasonable idea. (Maybe it is, considering that every once in awhile somebody will start of fuel fire from a static spark while refueling.)
I’d never heard that they were supposed to dissipate nausea-inducing ju-ju, just static electricity. But then I’m old.
Virtual Insanity: Popular culture always trips me up, but I think I can imagine it…
It’s better for you engine when the gas tank is more than half full.
In some cases that was true. My dad resented paying for gas, at any price. So, he’d let the car go down to E, then put in half a tank. Year after year. Then we elected to take a cross country voyage and he filled it up. Gasoline everywhere. The tank had rusted through from the inside out. (This was in GMs dark days).
8) Lowering the tailgate helps a truck get better mileage.
This is actually true, but possibly not to an extent that you would notice. It smooths out the airflow over the truck, lowering the drag coefficient and hence, improving mileage.
Actually, the biggest myth of all (dons Kevlar) is the general belief that a lot of 60s musclecars were blindingly fast. This is especially true of particular models. Everyone knows the GTO…but the big Catalina was quicker. In stock form, most of them wouldn’t raise much of an eyebrow now…mid 7 seconds 0-60 with some in the mid 6 second range. And many of them didn’t break 90mph in the quarter mile.
I just like the Expensive Nameplate = Expensive Car myth. Oh and the fact that this carries weight with anyone.
“Oooh a BMW, he must be RICH!” – Never mind that it’s 10 years old, and cost lest than a new Kia.
“That Rolls must have cost a fortune” – Well, the restoration did, does, and will continue to cost a fortune.
“I can’t believe he bought a Benz, that must have cost a fortune” – Nope, it’s 4 years old and about the same as a new Civic.
“I like that new Lexus, but I couldn’t afford it” – About the IS after spending a similar amount of money on an SUV.
And conversely,
“It’s still just a Nissan/Toyota/Mazda/Mitsu/Subaru” – Yeah, whatever makes you feel better.
Another great myth “IT IS SO CHEAP/EXPENSIVE TO FILL UP MAH CAR” Well, if your gas tank is x gallons, it will cost x * gas price to fill up. If a Civic had a 30 gallon tank, it would cost a fortune to fill it up…but you’d only have to fill it twice a year or so :) And a Suburban with a 2 gallon tank would cost SO MUCH LESS. But you’d fill it daily. The concept of rate (fuel consumption, interest, etc.) just blows peoples’ minds, it seems.
And as always, “It’s a 3 hour drive from Austin to Dallas” or something from your locale. It’s sometimes 2 hours, sometimes 6 hours, but it’s always roughly 210 miles. Sheesh. Is it that hard to think of traveling as “covering distance” instead of “burning time”? Partially explains why drivers are uninterested in erm…driving.
Stephan Wilkinson: I have no clue what he did in the air force, but I kept saying, “where did you get that from?” and she kept saying her dad. When pressed on his credentials she said, “He was in the air force.”
So…
“It’s dangerous to drive a powerful RWD car in the winter”
This myth is often perpetuated by people who have never driven a powerful RWD car, or people who lack any kind of driving skill
I’ll have to throw my hat in with the “ability to accelerate away from danger” and “maneuverability” chestnuts trotted out by hotrodding leadfoots convincing people that their new sports car was a practical purchase. I have never been in a spot of trouble that I could have gotten out of by accelerating (that’s what generally led to the trouble) and people that try to maneuver their way out of trouble generally end up crashed into a tree.
It’s always better to have abilities that you don’t need to use, but possessing an athletic car doesn’t mean you have a safe car, no matter how great a drive you think you are.
Stopping distance and visibility, though, I think those are pretty legit.
Also I hate listening to tiny ladies talk about how they love to sit in the “command position,” high up in their gigantic SUVs. That’s not really a myth, it just sounds like more self-justification…
…the new Hemi is really a hemi (has hemispherical combustion chambers).
…the Chrysler 383 is a “stroker” engine (spoken by those that are only familiar with Chevy smallblocks).
…George Barris created the Black Beauty and the Back to the Future DeLorean.
…the back end of 1959 Chevys lifts-up at high speed because the “fins” act like wings.
…disconnecting the battery with the engine running is a good way to test your alternator.
…the “oil can” light on the dashboard is an OIL LEVEL LOW indicator.
…seatbelts are unnecessary if your car has airbags. Somebody actually said that to me once! I’ve seen crash test footage where an unbuckled dummy’s head was fired through the windshield by an inflating airbag, while the rest of the body stayed in the car.
…that a passive device like “the tornado” in your intake will improve fuel mileage by “straightening out the air”. No I haven’t tried one of these, but the airflow gets messed-up again as soon as it hits the throttle plate, so any positive effect of these devices will be negligible. (Okay, MAYBE they’d show some improvement on a diesel since they lack a throttle plate.)
…diesels are noisy, smelly and slow. :)
@ William C Montgomery: If I lived in a climate without road salt, I’d drive 50’s and 60’s cars exclusively… but I’m strange that way.
I notice nobody has proposed that the idea you’re safer in a larger vehicle is a myth. :)
NickR,
The tailgate myth was busted on Mythbusters, for what it’s worth. Of the two identical trucks with exactly the same amount of fuel driven at the same time on the same route, the one with the tailgate up went several miles further. Lowering the tailgate creates a large area of low pressure in the box and results in pressure drag. It’s not visually intuitive, but is a very standard aerodynamic concept. The tailgate up helps maintain higher pressure in the box and causes less pressure drag.
Teflon additive in oil, (OR us old guys might remenber Graphite additive oil, yuck, what a mess) and sparkplugs with 4 electrodes and spark plug wires as big around as your wrist, and all the other snake oil being sold on eBay and late night TV.
Japanese cars are more reliable. Some are, some aren’t.
Sudden Acceleration
Joshvar…
We’re in Texas man. We measure all distance in time. Whenever anyone asks how far I am from Dallas, I say about fifteen to twenty minutes.
Paul…
Yup, pretty much. After a day of a valet hotrodding around in the dad’s 250GT California, they had to find a way to roll back the odo.
Joshvar again…
My buddy picked up his IS300 for 14K even, lol.
The myth that Corvettes and GM LSX-powered cars average 30mpg.
They only kiss it if you drive on an open road that’s straight and level, with the cruise set to 60mph or lower and no throttle variation.
kazoomaloo:
“I have never been in a spot of trouble that I could have gotten out of by accelerating (that’s what generally led to the trouble) and people that try to maneuver their way out of trouble generally end up crashed into a tree.”
Not picking fights, but I’ve quite successfully gotten myself out of a few accidents through acceleration and handling.
I’ll have to throw my hat in with the “ability to accelerate away from danger” and “maneuverability” chestnuts trotted out by hotrodding leadfoots convincing people that their new sports car was a practical purchase. I have never been in a spot of trouble that I could have gotten out of by accelerating (that’s what generally led to the trouble) and people that try to maneuver their way out of trouble generally end up crashed into a tree.
I had come to a complete stop in traffic, on the highway, and had to accelerate and steer to the shoulder to avoid getting rear-ended and hence sandwiched. Mind you, 140HP was adequate for the job in this case, and more power may have meant more wheelspin if the road surface was dodgy.
I wasn’t as lucky the first time this situation occurred, as there was nowhere to go, and I merely had 125HP available in that car. Less damage to my 1993 2500lb Civic (bent bumper, scratched bumper cover) than the 4500lb old-ass Lincoln (broken radiator), so that helps some other myths on here :)
NickR: “8) Lowering the tailgate helps a truck get better mileage.
This is actually true, but possibly not to an extent that you would notice. It smooths out the airflow over the truck, lowering the drag coefficient and hence, improving mileage.”
I always assumed it was true, but it has been proven to be untrue. Keeping the tailgate up creates a trapped mass of air inside the bed, and the air flowing over the cab flows over it. A bed cover or canopy is better though.
Myth: you have better visibility from a car that rides close to the ground.
The persistent rumour that the Starion is the result of Mitsubishi executives’ poor pronounciation of the word ‘Stallion’.
There’s also the rumoured Darwin Award winner, where an unidentified man strapped a Jet-Assisted-Take-Off (JATO) rocket to the top of his 1968 Chevrolet Impala. JATO’s are used on military cargo planes to help them take off on short runways. As you can imagine, they carry a lot of thrust. The story goes that upon firing the rocket, the Impala gathered so much speed that it took off and flew right into a mountain. Police arrivingon the scene initially thought it was a small plane crash. The only remains of the driver they recovered were a few teeth embedded in the steering wheel. Skid marks from the driver trying to slow the car down measured a mile and a half long, at which point the police believe the brakes melted.
Great story, but not true.
“A roll of toilet paper is a better oil filter (seriously, they sold adaptors to use tp instead of filters back in the sixties).”
You don’t need to go back to the 60’s, or go back at all. Reading some of the pickup forums reveals that there are guys who still do this. Kind of hard to tell sometimes since their spelling is so bad they can barely communicate in some cases.
As for a nimble car getting you out of trouble, OK, maybe in some cases, but when you’re blindsided by somebody who runs a stop sign, you won’t run away from something you don’t know is coming. I’ll take mass as a general rule.
As for improving the aero performance of a pickup, from what I’ve read, dropping the tailgate provides minimal benefit. Theres a big wake right behind the cab that generates lots of drag. Here’s a link if you want to get serious:
http://www.evworld.com/article.cfm?storyid=774
And here’s a link about semis. It flat amazes me that not a single big trucking company is doing ANYTHING about this huge expense.
https://www.llnl.gov/str/May03/McCallen.html
Joshvar…
We’re in Texas man. We measure all distance in time. Whenever anyone asks how far I am from Dallas, I say about fifteen to twenty minutes.
My commute is roughly 5 miles. It takes between 6 and 35 minutes to drive those 5 miles, depending on an enormity of conditions which I a) have no control over and b) couldn’t catalog accurately in 3 lifetimes. In Dallas, it was much the same, except in the suburbs which are increasingly perfecting the perpendicular and parallel layout. Just look at Frisco…you could play a game of marbles on any stretch of road in that town, leave, and come back to it in 5 years, and they’d be in the same place (unless cars ran over them). They’ve engineered time out of the velocity equation, but also the fun out of the roads.
quasimondo:
“The persistent rumour that the Starion is the result of Mitsubishi executives’ poor pronounciation of the word ‘Stallion’.”
Actually, that one’s true.
And if you ever meet anyone who’s worked for Hyundai here in the US, have they got some funnies!
‘I added *product* to my oil with *whatever*. (the world’s slipperiest substance, apparently). I tore my engine down at 100,000 miles and there was no sign of wear.’
Just one glass of wine with dinner officer…
Prius drivers are sanctimonious wankers who think they are saving the world and are therefore better than you and they never tire of lecturing everyone about environmental responsibility although their cars actually have a carbon footprint bigger than a Hummer (oops – actually this one’s true)
Pontiac is driving excitement.
Jonny:
“The persistent rumour that the Starion is the result of Mitsubishi executives’ poor pronounciation of the word ‘Stallion’.”
“Actually, that one’s true.”
Actually, I refuse to believe it. If it was from China twenty years ago, yes. But I worked a lot with Japanese companies in the eighties, and they could joke about their mispronounciations, but thay would never have done that. Way too sophisticated. Don’t forget Chrysler owned a chunk of Mitsubishi back then, and there was lots of interaction.
The Starion looked pretty futuristic. I’d venture to guess that the name “Starion” was chosen explicitly for that reason alone.
The best example of the Starion in action was in the Cannonball Run II btw…(Jackie Chan ftw!)
ajla:
Not as simple as that — the story I heard is that the print shop (i.e third party) doing all the marketing materials got it wrong — heard “Starion” and that it was cheaper to change the badges and owners manuals than reprint all of the marketing materials.
Either way, Snopes is “Undetermined.”
http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/starion.asp
Jonny, Large automobile companies don’t work that way; they don’t send an order to the print shop for all the tooling for numerous badges, etc. etc., pick it up, and, ergo, a new name is born! This story has all the hallmarks of an urban myth (ignorance of actual processes).
When Mitsubishi started importing directly to the US in 1982, they had three models: the Tredia, the Cordia, and the Starion. You think Starion is any goofier than the rest??
That if you lock your keys in your car, you can ask the dealership for their”master” key. You know. The one key that opens all the doors on all the cars.
..that Toyota is “moving forward”.
Paul Niedermeyer:
Well, Snopes doesn’t know, and my source is a former Toyota/Hyundai engineer who claimed not only is it true, but a common phenomenon.
I have no clue what he did in the air force, but I kept saying, “where did you get that from?” and she kept saying her dad. When pressed on his credentials she said, “He was in the air force.”
So…
So he was a good dad who didn’t want to worry about his daughter being stranded on the side of the road because she ran out of gas. He’d probably be shocked to know that his little white lie stuck for so long.
“The myth that Corvettes and GM LSX-powered cars average 30mpg.
They only kiss it if you drive on an open road that’s straight and level, with the cruise set to 60mph or lower and no throttle variation.”
30mpg may be a myth but I’ve averaged 29mpg over a 600 mile drive in a 2006 Vette, and I never once even thought about the speed limit. I spent most of my time between 75 and 90mph with a few blasts as high as 155mph (don’t tell the police that one). Of course, I was driving overnight with little traffic but that’s still impressive.
Then again my average city mileage is 11mpg :(
The TP filter is still around , Guys on BITOG. use em as a bypass filter or somesuch. MMO is a useful upper cylinder lube. I use it in my lawnower fuel and as an engine fogger for storage. IDK if it works, but the mowers seem to start and run better. I love the smell too.
Its an oldie, but here goes.”GM, mark of excellence”
Nazi scientists figured out a way to convert water into gasoline, but American oil company bosses had them all shot in 1946.
The 100 mpg carb…or would that be fuel-injection unit? (If one of the automakers had one, there would be no reason to keep it secret. They’d make a fortune selling them, so why wouldn’t they do it?)
You can get better fuel economy at 80 mph than you can at 55 mph (Not that I like to drive 55, but this assertion is a crock of, er, something)
Diesels would have taken over America if it hadn’t been for CARB! (Wake up, oilburners — Americans just don’t like diesel, except for their tractors and their Kenworths.)
Cars used to be safer! (OK, this might have some merits. The cars might have been safer. The only problem — the people inside of them weren’t.)
Global warming is a crock of shit! (No comment, Bob.)
seabrjim “Its an oldie, but here goes.”GM, mark of excellence”
BLAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…GASP…HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHHAH… Choke…….HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA…STOP IT!….HAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAH…YOU BASTARD!…HAHAHAHAH….YOU….HAHAHAH…YOU’RE…KILLING ME..HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAH
I’m amused that nobody remembers that it was a Fish Carburetor, and that it was a 200-mpg carb, not 100 or 150.
Oh, and andyd, did you dyno that lawnmower after adding the Marvel Mystery Oil or just rely on seat-of-the-pants torque and a close count of number of grassblades clipped per second?
It always amuses me what a positive effect pouring $10 into an engine can have, since nobody wants to say, “Scheiss, I just wasted $10…”
Paul,
This is the very tail end of the Ferrari on jacks scen from Ferris Bueler’s Day Off
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gIf7NHqkGs
Such a beautiful car…
That Rolls Royces have a sealed hood and never break down. If I had all the money I’ve spent keeping my old Roller running I could damn near buy a new one.
“Care to explode some automotive myths?”
How about the myth that nimble cars that can maneuver and accelerate their way out of danger are safer cars. For most people, most driving involves urban/suburban stop and go traffic. There is nowhere to maneuver to, and nowhere to accelerate to. There are cars in front, back and to at least one side.
Good braking is a plus. More people could avoid rear ending the car in front of them if their brakes were better. Of course not tailgating in the first place would achieve the same results.
The dealer gave it to me for “invoice” or “you paid too much for your car-I could get it $$$$ less”.
Dangerous Dave:
I remember as a child being told several times that you can’t open a Rolls’ Hood (and not because the hood release is busted — which is probably the case) and that RR will PARACHUTE IN technicians to fix your Roller where ever you happen to be in the world.
Tee hee.
I know exactly one person that would not have survived had he buckled up, and not been thrown from his car. However, I pointed out to him that driving too fast and accidentally driving his car off of the edge of a cliff wasn’t exactly something people do every day (or at least, shouldn’t do), and that in normal driving conditions, there are precious few cliffs to be thrown free of.
My favorite myth? “I have kids, I HAVE to have a minivan/SUV!”
1) It was owned by an old lady , who only drove it to church.
2) I got this (NAME OF EXPENSIVE CAR) for $500 from a woman who’s husband left her, and told her to sell the car for what she can get.
Always liked the “Guaranteed to increase your MPG fuel line magnets” that you strap to the fuel line and are supposed to “align the fuel molecules” or some such B.S.
This one is not a problem in the the US and all “first world” nations. But it is a serious problem in Latin America and other less industrialized areas.
The myth that driving with your headlights OFF at night will improve your mileage and make your lights last longer.
Drive some stretches of roads in South America and you find these nuts only turn on their headlights just before they pass you. And to add insult to injury, they use the high beam and blind you.
Perhaps this just reflects a lower value on life. I dunno.
Regarding the seatbelt myth. I have had long arguments with a stubborn co-worker who insists that it is far safer to be thrown from an accident. And of course she claims that she personally was thrown from an accident that would have otherwise killed her. It boggles the mind how these people manage to live past 30.
1- Torque steer is caused by unequal length driveshafts.
2- If I slow down in dense fog I will cause an accident.
3- ‘Overdrive’ can only be used on the highway.
Great series of “Favorite Things”
Nobody mentioned ethanol as worthy US Federal solution to energy crisis. Too touchy?
-“Americans don’t like diesels because of GM 350 v8 back around 1978-80.” Its GM they don’t like not diesels. People I know crave BMW 540d or Audit 2.0tdi. Which are illegal in USA. So nobody buys them.
-“Diesel is answer to fuel dilemna”. Maybe true for individual but if everybody drives diesels then EXXON has to convert crude to more diesel less gas and there is only so many BTU in a barrel of crude to start with. I am guilty with this myth. Still diesel might be x% better due to higher compression. But not too much.
-keep tank at least half full? this is not myth, it reduces water condensation and reduces chance of ever running out of gas. Airport ground vehicles are placarded with warning to refill at 1/4 mark, well they used to be.
-“distortions in space time continuum are out of range of human sensory perception.” Untrue. Drive NY Thruway west from Albany to Syracuse. Go 60 Mph for 90 minutes and signposts reveal you are traveling one mile a minute. Speed up to 80 as you get tired of driving and its still one mile per minute. Then homebound, eastbound, everything is linear again until you reach past Worcester on the Mass Pike.
-I vaguely remember something about some poor woman dying in a car after ingesting spanish fly but lets drop that.
-At Ford, Quality is Job #1. Rebuttal- nahh
Ever hear this one? If a five speed car has higher top speed in 4th gear, it also gets better gas mileage by far in 4th gear than 5th gear.
Yep, a common situation with early Jap cars was having 4th being fastest. Had this argument many times, but you couldn’t convince anyone that you still got better mileage cruising along in 5th.
“Jonny Lieberman :
March 4th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Dangerous Dave:
I remember as a child being told several times that you can’t open a Rolls’ Hood (and not because the hood release is busted — which is probably the case) and that RR will PARACHUTE IN technicians to fix your Roller where ever you happen to be in the world.
Tee hee.”
-I have a friend who had a new Ferrari convertible, (I think a 348?) with leaky ragtop. NY Dealer screws up three times. Factory puts a new top in a suitcase, technician flies it from Italy, barely speaks english, rides out to the dealer, installs, back to Kennedy and off homebound. This was maybe a tall tale but he really had the car and was not known to stretch the truth otherwise.
-Also Suzuki sent factory techs out on a tour of US to rip down motors and replace innards (forget what) on new litre bikes, I think this was back in 1980s with air cooled 1100s. Maye mid 90s GSXR. Read it in Cycle magazine back then.
“It’s a 3 hour drive from Austin to Dallas”.
This is actually true between midnight and 5 AM southbound if you have a blue light on the roof and you start on the south side of Dallas and consider Round Rock part of Austin.
“I put this special stuff in my battery 12 years ago and the battery is still working great.”
This tall tale usually did not come from a person driving a 12 year old+ vehicle.
“I never had AC when I lived in Wisconsin and I will be damned if I am going to pay for it down here. I had to order a special car without it.”
Spoken by a new transferee or retiree before his first summer in Texas, GA or Florida.
“Japanese cars are made from recycled aluminum beer cans.” Might be true but the implication is wrong.
And my current favorite, recently even posted on TTAC in another thread:
“People who badmouth Detroit nameplate vehicles are just uninformed.”
Count me as “uninformed”.
the Prius will do 65mpg
honda Vtec engines never go wrong ever
Toyota engines don’t really need servicing(1zz-FE anyone?)
Diesels are a credible alternative to a high powered petrol engine in a sports car.
It uses more gas to start your engine than to just let it idle for ten minutes.
and its evil twin:
you should keep the car in gear and your foot on the clutch when waiting for a light.
Stephan Wilkinson Well my mowers are re-habbed dump finds so 4$ a qt for MMO used an ounce at a time aint very much for a good aroma. Besides the fact that small airplane drivers have been using the stuff for yrs for top cylinder lube. And it does make a great engine fogger for storage. I frankly dont give a rat’s ass that you think Im a sucker for a placebo effect. All I know is that that I’ve had a lot less carburator troubles since I started using it. And yes, a brief experiment of using it at the recommended dosage of 4 oz per 10 gallons of fuel did make my 528e start easier and my butt dyno did say it had more pep. Not all pour ins are snake oil.
“highway miles” in a used car ad
“Toyota engines don’t really need servicing(1zz-FE anyone?)”
Are you referring to the engine sludge thing? Just wondering, because I have a 1ZZ. No sludge or anything else so far.
Well I just cannot believe none of you people know the REAL TRUTH about the static straps that were hung from the rear underside of the car (still see them occasionally)! I was a teenager in the 60’s and back then, it was common knowledge in Mississippi that those straps “grounded” the vehicle and made it INVISIBLE to the early police radar units. SHEESH! Don’t you people know ANYTHING?
Muffler bearings
Plastic cladding is driving excitement.
That trucks with no tailgates, cloth tailgates, or open tailgates get better gas mileage.
That the E28 5 series BMWs were made from recycled Panzer tanks. No, wait…I believe that one is actually true.
– Seat belts kill people
(Some people hold onto the 1 case where a seat belt contributed to someone’s death and ignore the 99 other obvious cases where it prevented serious injury or death.)
– The oil companies suppress XYZ technology. They bought out the patents, etc.
(Believers forget that patents by nature are published and eventually expire.)
– ABS does nothing to decrease your stopping distance. It increases it.
(On snow/ice yes, but friends here where snow/ice never falls keep trumpeting this falsehood. Repeated government and private tests have shown good ABS greatly decrease stopping distance over the usual panic wheel lockup braking.)
# Andy D :
March 4th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
“Stephan Wilkinson Well my mowers are re-habbed dump finds so 4$ a qt for MMO used an ounce at a time aint very much for a good aroma. Besides the fact that small airplane drivers have been using the stuff for yrs for top cylinder lube. And it does make a great engine fogger for storage. I frankly dont give a rat’s ass that you think Im a sucker for a placebo effect. All I know is that that I’ve had a lot less carburator troubles since I started using it. And yes, a brief experiment of using it at the recommended dosage of 4 oz per 10 gallons of fuel did make my 528e start easier and my butt dyno did say it had more pep. Not all pour ins are snake oil.”
How interesting. I’ve been flying airplanes large and small, piston and jet, since 1967 and I’ve never known anyone with a triple-digit IQ to put Marvel Mystery Oil into an airplane engine.
i6 sez “1- Torque steer is caused by unequal length driveshafts.”
That, in fact, is exactly what causes torque steer.
1) The Turbinator.
2) Aftermarket cold air intakes located in the hot engine compartment.
3) The misguided idea that rear-wheel-drive cars are bad in snow. (Ever hear of snow tires and learning how to drive?) This is a favorite of my Audi-owning friends who are envious of my BMWs…and tired of repairing their Audis. Years ago I worked in the Forest Service when we drove RWD pickups in the Colorado Rockies in winter, standard issue, no problem, because we knew what we were doing.
Stephan Wilkinson: i6 sez “1- Torque steer is caused by unequal length driveshafts.”
That, in fact, is exactly what causes torque steer.
Most modern vehicles have equal-length drive-shafts, and torque steer is still all-too common. There are a number of other factors that contribute to torque steer.
“Always fill up the tank when the fuel guage reaches half.”
The explanation I heard for this one is that it is easier on the fuel pump with a full tank and therefore less likely to give up the ghost. Sounds plausible but most likely negligible.
This one is common where I’m from.
“City A gets better gas than our City B. That’s why the fuel pumps here don’t last.”
Strange.
“My car/truck/SUV gets its best fuel economy at (insert speed over 60 mph here).”
“I don’t need electronic handling Nannies.”
Robert, you could always take special driver training courses to overcome those deficiencies in your driving skill so you really wouldn’t need them! :)
“Yep, a common situation with early Jap cars was having 4th being fastest. Had this argument many times, but you couldn’t convince anyone that you still got better mileage cruising along in 5th.”
Now that would be a funny argument to see.
Cheverolet Vega was actually going to called the Genisis, it was to be a “world car” unfortunatly it was a rebadge TRABANT! or was it the other way around?
– That Saabs are made from jets.
– That high-end SUVs are bought to be taken off-road.
– That you should alternate between parking with the nose pointing uphill or downhill to help the fluids circulate better (!) and to avoid accumulations. (I spent a semester trying to beat this one out of the head of a friend. We’re still friends.)
I might be setting myself up to be flamed here, but here goes:
“The Germans sure know how to engineer great cars!”
-I can think of more than a few German cars, both past and present, that fall far short of automotive excellence.
Somebody posted earlier that rotating tires was a waste of time. That is not necessarily true. If you have a car with perfect 50/50 weight distribution that’s always driven gently, it might not be necessary. However, I can tell you from personal experience that on some cars it is necessary to even out tire wear. I just rotated the tires on my 1991 LeSabre-a heavy front wheel drive car. Not only do the front wheels propel the car, steer it and do a greater share of the braking, they also carry a lot more weight than the rear wheels do. Remember, it’s front wheel drive and therefore a lot heavier at the front. The front tires on this car do indeed wear down much, much faster than the rear ones do, and no, I don’t hot rod it. If I drive 20,000 miles without rotating the tires, the fronts will have less than half the tread than the rear ones, trust me.
David Holzman: Muffler bearings
Don’t forget the blinker fluid either.
– Using a .22 as a fuse will kill you
– You can use a cell phone to open a vehicle with keyless entry
– aluminum foil on hubcaps ‘foils’ a police radar
– Acetone in gasoline is a good idea
– The ‘ole sugar in the gas tank…
– Cotton gauze air filters filter better.
To:
David Holzman :
March 4th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
The 100 mpg carburetor that the car companies are suppressing.
The fact that 60 mpg carburation , does exist, but is to squirlley for the big 2.8 to really develope into a cheap method, the patens are in the paten office so don’t be afraid to look it up yourself remember and engine ignites on fumes not liquid.
Regarding phonetic spelling of Japanese pronounciation of English words in the automotive field, I believe the oft cited ‘Starion/Stallion’ example quite plausible. I owned a grey import Suzuki GSF 250 Bandit. Writ largest amongst an impressive but utterly random array of hyperbolic technobabble scrawled on the bike was the phrase ‘EVORUTION’. I kid you not!
Myth – ESC will result in an increase in deaths due to overconfidence in the technology.
My favorite myth: The one that the big three constantly spread, saying that their SUVs are fuel efficient by giving their highway MPG, which are often in the low twenties.
“My favorite myth: The one that the big three constantly spread, saying that their SUVs are fuel efficient by giving their highway MPG, which are often in the low twenties.”
An interesting requirements of all new cars sold here in Australia is that they must display (prominently on the windscreen) the Highway, City and Combined-Cycle fuel economy figures as tested according to the Australian Design Rules criteria. Although not necessarily correlating to real world fuel economy it does provide accurate comparisons between vehicles. Moreover it takes away the sculduggery to which manufacturers are inclined when testing to their own standards.
Is there anything similar stateside?
3) The misguided idea that rear-wheel-drive cars are bad in snow. (Ever hear of snow tires and learning how to drive?)
In Toronto, the answer to that question for the vast majority of the population is a definitive no. For BMW and G35 coupe drivers, it’s 100%.
I am sure you have all seen this…the CD hanging from the rearview mirror? That is also supposed to defeat radar. Which it doesn’t.
I had a neighbour who drove an mid-60s Fairlane with a 289. Comfortable car, but I often felt ill while driving with him because maintained that: speeding to 5mph over the desired speed, then coasting to 5pmh under the desired speed, repeated over and over saved gas. The coasting part did to be more precise. Damn, those were long drives.
Paul Niedermeyer :
March 5th, 2008 at 2:28 am
“Stephan Wilkinson: i6 sez “1- Torque steer is caused by unequal length driveshafts.”
That, in fact, is exactly what causes torque steer.
Most modern vehicles have equal-length drive-shafts, and torque steer is still all-too common. There are a number of other factors that contribute to torque steer.”
Paul’s absolutely right and I’m absolutely wrong. Checked with Don Sherman, who basically said that virtually every component in the steering, suspension and power-delivery systems of a front-drive car can contribute to torque steer.
You don’t have to change your oil, ever. Just keep adding it in!
I was an SA at a Ford dealer when the father whose son’s 2004 40,000 mile Ranger w/4cyl was brought in on a hook, was found to be full of sludge and having spun a cam bearing. He insisted he never changed his oil on his Dodge.
rpn453:
“My car/truck/SUV gets its best fuel economy at (insert speed over 60 mph here).”
Sorry but that’s true at least for the 1992 Buick Roadmaster. I attribute this to the fact that the drivetrain is geared very low. At 60 MPH the engine is so far below it’s torque range that the volumetric efficiency is poor.
We verified this on a 4-hour highway trip. On the way there my dad drove at about 65 MPH. On the way back I drove at 80 MPH. The ground was not hilly, we used the cruise control both ways, and weather conditions were clear. He calculated almost 2MPG improvement on the return trip.
Of course it might’ve helped that people ahead of you see a large white car approaching rapidly in their mirrors, assume it’s a police car, and get out of your way. :) I don’t think I had to let-off the cruise control once on that drive.
I actually do believe the octane boosters work, from personal testing. Put a bottle of one in my gas tank, and drove the exact same…actually, I drove harder to see if I could find that 10-15whp increase. Never did, but…
I did get 20 more miles out of that tank than I do a normal tank. Is it worth an extra five bucks at every fill up? Doubt it. But still, after doing it three times on seperate occasions, it did work.
Favorite automobile myth:
When I was a kid, we would often pass by the Ford proving grounds in Dearborn. It was surrounded by a high wall so passerbys could not see the track.
My father used to tell us that it was SO secret that Ford had to employ sophisticated defenses — would shoot down any helicopter flying over it.
We seriously believed that for years. Everytime we would see a helicopter in Dearborn, we would hope it would stay away.
I don’t think the 30+ MPG LS1 is mythical – as long as the trip computer average MPG is something close to accurate.
I reset the trip computer, then set the cruise at a steady 82 on a ’97 ‘Vette for about 25 miles of flat-ish interstate to see what sort of mileage I’d be looking at. At the end of the highway run it said 33 MPG for the section. So it is possible. On the other hand, use of the car’s epic fourth gear will reduce mileage quickly :)
I’ve heard almost enough anecdotes about high mileage for Corvette manuals cruising in sixth to call it data. It certainly makes sense. The LS1 is a very energy-efficient engine, and a Corvette is a very slick car that doesn’t weigh too much.
Nemphre :
March 4th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
“Toyota engines don’t really need servicing(1zz-FE anyone?)”
Are you referring to the engine sludge thing? Just wondering, because I have a 1ZZ. No sludge or anything else so far.
quite a few of the 1ZZ-FE engines that get put into the Avensis over here consume a shed load of oil. my dad’s avensis has a mere 28k in 6 years yet it gets through about a litre and a half in a year.
whereas my 306 has 99k miles and uses less than 500mL every 15k
Myth: speed kills
William C Montgomery
Myth: speed kills
Indeed, that has to be the number one automotive myth.
GM’s turnaround.
Bunter
“Myth: speed kills”
Silly…it’s the rate of decelration from speed.
Bunter
ABS helps you stop better
Toyota engine sludge as a big deal.
Recent report from an agency that tracks this found only a few hundred (300?) Toys with a sludge complaint in all the millions (3.5?) with the potential.
.009%! Boy that’s something to worry about, les than one in every ten thousand.
Could the brand whiners just shut up about this now?
That’s the kinda’ quality problem the Debt3 wish they had.
Bunter
engine sludge is different to oil comsumpsion bunter.
The fact that 60 mpg carburation , does exist, but is to squirlley for the big 2.8 to really develope into a cheap method, the patens are in the paten office so don’t be afraid to look it up yourself remember…… but I’m too lazy to look it up or list the Patent Numbers here.
and engine ignites on fumes not liquid. … and the point is [???].
Nice one, mdaffronte!
Every hear the one about having to change the air in your tires every spring and autumn? Summer air for winter air, then winter air for summer air.
I had a pair of mechanics try to pull that one me once. Couldn’t believe my ears. I wonder how many suckers they got with that service?
Stephan Wilkinson:
“Checked with Don Sherman, who basically said that virtually every component in the steering, suspension and power-delivery systems of a front-drive car can contribute to torque steer.”
It’s even simpler than that; torque steer is caused by the thrust acting on the wheels in the direction of the steering axis, which is inherently unstable. Kind of like standing on skates, it requires constant corrections.
The exact same forces are at play when reversing quickly and hitting the brakes; the steering squirms all over the place, even on RWD cars, so clearly the driveshafts play absolutely no role in that. (For those of you who want to try it at home, remember not to sue TTAC after you crash just because you literally couldn’t handle the truth.)
DrBrian-“engine sludge is different to oil comsumpsion bunter.”
Fail to see your point.
I am talking about sludge and am aware of the diff.
The stats I have seen indicate that the problem, while very troublesome to those that experience it, is veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery rare in Toyotas.
The same agency (sorry, can’t recall their name) had about 2000 complaints on Dodge 2.7 v-6s.
My point is that this is so rare, inspite of the brand zombie fixation on it in internet sites, that it is a non-issue.
Cordially yours,
Bunter
@ Dynamic88: I drive in nyc every day, surrounded by suvs. My previous car was an integra, my current car is a 300zx. Can’t tell you how many times I maneuvered out of danger as it happens on a daily basis. I always will prefer a small sporty car to a large sloppy vehicle. There are plenty of places to go in an urban environment, but those places are usually small and a small car can dodge danger in many situations a larger vehicle can’t. Same goes true on the highways as well.
My favorite (or rather least favorite) Myth: that rwd is always better than fwd. A short wheelbase car should always be fwd (if not awd). Just watch the episode of top gear on the golf w12 to see why.
Also I recently watched Skip Barber: Going Faster. Was pleased to see the section on fwd racing where the instructor debunks that you can’t go fast in a fwd, then shows how to get through corners quick using the handbrake to initiate a bit of oversteer (something I’ve been doing for years). Highly recommended viewing for people who love to drive.
Bunter1 :
March 6th, 2008 at 8:08 am
DrBrian-”engine sludge is different to oil comsumpsion bunter.”
Fail to see your point.
I am talking about sludge and am aware of the diff.
i’m talking about oil getting into the combusion chamber and being burnt away. completly different to oil sludge
http://toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=42950&hl=
http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t51174.html
http://toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=59148
and the obvious google link
http://www.google.co.uk/search?num=100&hl=en&safe=off&client=opera&rls=en&hs=H7d&q=avensis+high++oil+consumption&btnG=Search
drbrian-
So you are talking about a different issue than I posted on.
Still don’t see what your getting at.
Again: people make a lot of noise about Toyota “sludge problems”. Statistically they are insignificant.
Point is that it is a myth that sludge is a big reliability issue for TMC.
Peace friend,
Bunter
That may well be true–I don’t know anything about Toyotas–but VW/Audi had a very real sludging problem with its 1.8L turbo fours, and it was caused by the placement of certain internal passages that drained oil down from the valve area. (I do know Audis.) The problem became substantial particularly for people who leased these cars and in some cases rarely or even never changed the oil; after all, why spend money on oil for a car you didn’t own?
Those of us wo were aware of the problem did two things: changed the oil every 5,000 miles and used Mobil 1. As far as I know, no VW/Audi engine operating under those conditions had any sludging problems.
But the problem did exist and was neither insignificant nor a myth.
Stephan-
I am not saying there is no incidents of sludging in Toyotas. There is.
However the evindence I have seen indicates that it is so rare that it is not worth a worry.
If a person worrys about a 1 in 10k chance there is NO car anywhere they can buy.
None of the vehicles listed in the information I saw (incl. VW/Audi) were more than 3 digits in numbers except chrysler.
The Myth is not the existence of the problem, just the likelyhood.
Anyway, this thread is dead. Won’t be checking back.