Interesting Car Finance and Motoring Facts You Probably Hadn’t Heard Before

For many of us, our cars aren’t just oversized boy’s toys that we get to play around with at the weekend. No, they’re our lifelines. Without a means of transportation, even the most trivial of tasks becomes a chore. Thanks to car finance and various other payment options, it’s now possible for us to own expensive vehicles and spread the cost out over several years to help keep payments low. If you’re a fan of the motor industry however, this article could prove particularly interesting. Below we’ll be listing a series of car finance and motoring facts that you probably won’t have heard before. So, without any further hesitation, let’s begin.

The UK produces a lot of cars

Although the manufacturing of motor vehicles isn’t the first thing that springs to mind when we think of the UK, the truth is that we produce a heck of a lot of cars. In fact, on average, the United Kingdom produces more than 60 million cars every single year. That works out at roughly 165,000 cars per day. That’s pretty-impressive, we’re sure you’ll agree.

The world’s very first speeding ticket

There are fewer easier ways to find yourself in a bad mood, than to get home, check the post, and see that you have been issued with a speeding ticket in the post. We know that speed limits are in place for a reason, but sometimes they aren’t clearly signposted, and sometimes people simply aren’t paying attention, and consequently they pay the price – literally. The world’s very first speeding ticket, however, was issued over a century ago. It was issued back in 1902 and was issued to a motorist travelling at 45mph.

We spend a lot of time stuck in traffic

When you’re feeling stressed and agitated, going for a nice leisurely drive through the countryside is a great way to unwind. Sadly, not all of us can afford this luxury on a regular basis and some of us find ourselves stressed and agitated because of traffic. In the UK, the average driver will spend an average of 99 days of their life stuck in traffic. Now, if that’s not soul-destroying then we don’t know what is.

Ford were responsible for car finance

Nowadays we take credit for granted as we can get it for virtually everything. Way back in 1908 however, the world’s first mass-produced vehicle was the Ford Model-T. It cost $850 at the time, which is now the equivalent of $20,000+. Needless to say, not everybody had that type of money to spend on a car. To help boost sales, many dealerships offered this vehicle to paying customers via instalment loans. Back then it wasn’t regulated, but the premise was still the same as it is now when it comes to car finance.

The inventor of cruise control was blind

Ralph Teetor was the man responsible for inventing cruise control. Ralph was an inventor and the president of car vehicle manufacturing company. He was also blind so didn’t drive himself. After one too many car trips with his lawyer, Ralph decided to invent cruise control. The story goes that his lawyer was a bad driver that would always slow down when speaking and speed up when listening. By 1958, the world’s first cruise control unit was used commercially thanks to Chrysler.