Perhaps you’ve just taken part in our interactive myth-busting quiz? If so, how did you do? If you haven’t yet, STOP, don’t ready any further – take part in the MythBuster Quiz and then come back to this page for the breakdown.
Let’s run through the questions and answers below along with some often surprising background to the results. We’d also love to hear some of your automotive myths so please let us know in the comments section below!
1. The very first car that Soichiro Honda made was powered by a huge 8 litre engine. TRUE! Soichiro Honda built his first car, a “Curtiss” fitted with an 8 litre aero engine. It still exists and is displayed in the Honda Museum.
2. Holden does not sell its cars in Zanzibar as Holden in Swahili sounds like the word for ‘underpants’. FALSE! But if anyone does know what Holden means in Swahili we’d love to know.
3. You can be prosecuted for using a mobile phone whilst driving even if you were just changing your playlist. TRUE! The prosecution has to prove beyond reasonable doubt that you were actually using the phone and not just holding it. ‘Using’ includes using the phone for any of its functions, not just making a phone call.
4. In 2008, a South Australian cop recorded a car speeding at 400kph only to discover his gun had locked onto a military jet. FALSE! See answer to Q 10.
5. Sucking on a copper coin can beat the breathalyser. FALSE!
6. Hybrid-electric cars must be charged at night. FALSE! Hybrid cars have batteries and a conventional motor. Fully electric cars such as Mitsubishis iMiEV, however will need to be charged overnight.
7. Over-inflate your tyres for better fuel economy. TRUE! But it’s not a good idea and it won’t save you much in the long run. By over-inflating your tyres above the manufacturer’s recommendations you will wear out your tyres much quicker, change your car’s handling characteristics, and be subjected to a much harsher ride.
8. You can’t get fined for driving too slowly. TRUE! You can get fined for driving too slow if the police consider you are a hindrance to other traffic or pedestrians.
9. Aluminium foil dipped in Coca Cola removes rust spots from chromework. TRUE! The NRMA’s “Open Road” conducted this test recently, and found, surprisingly that it did seem to work, thought this can be seen as somewhat irrelevant, considering the absence of chromework on modern cars.
10. You can outrun a speed camera. TRUE! Britain’s iconic “Top Gear” motoring programme put it to the test and their test driver “Stig” discovered that, at more than 171 mph (275 kph), the radar didn’t register … now where can we test this?
11. Men are better drivers than women. FALSE! We were unable to uncover any documented research from any western societies that supported this assertion.
12. A little diagram on your fuel gauge will always illustrate which side your fuel cap is on. FALSE! Shame – good idea. Some manufacturers do have a little arrow which denotes which side your petrol cap is located, but not all comply.
I think we’re just scratching the surface here with the myths we’ve heard. So please let us know about any automotive myths that we are missing in the comments below…