Think you know cars? One question about a badge, a movie chase, or a 250-year-old invention is usually enough to settle it. Kids who can name every car on the road often do just as well here as the adult who rebuilds engines on weekends.
Below are 125 free car trivia questions in five rounds of 25: car brands and manufacturers, famous cars, sports cars, automotive history, and car movies. Every answer comes with a short fact you can read out loud, so each round teaches something as you play.
Tap a question to reveal its answer. The rounds work for a road trip, a classroom warm-up, a family game night, or a full quiz night with friends.
Car Brands and Manufacturers
The first 25 questions cover car brands and manufacturers. It is the most mixed round on the page, with badge-spotting questions a child can answer next to founding dates that catch out lifelong drivers, so it travels well on a road trip.
What was the first Japanese luxury car brand to be available in the United States in 1986?
Answer: Acura.
Fun Fact: Honda launched Acura to enter the luxury market without diluting its established reputation for economy and reliability. This strategy was soon mirrored by Toyota and Nissan, introducing Lexus and Infiniti, respectively.
What brand makes the 812 Competizione car model?
Answer: Ferrari.
Fun Fact: The 812 Competizione, a V12 Berlinetta, embodies Ferrari’s most powerful production engine ever. Its V12 engine allows it to rev up to a sky-high 9,500 rpm, which is unusual for a road car.
Which Italian car company’s name translates to Lombard Automobile Factory Company in English?
Answer: Alfa Romeo (A.L.F.A. stood for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili).
Fun Fact: The company was founded in Milan on June 24, 1910, and Lombardy is the region Milan sits in, so the badge is really the firm’s home address written in Italian.
Which brand features a logo that looks like a flying “B”?
Answer: Bentley.
Fun Fact: Bentley’s “flying B” emblem is a symbol of luxury and performance, apt for a brand whose origins in the early 20th-century focused heavily on racing and winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans multiple times in the 1920s.
What is the oldest car brand in the world, founded in 1810?
Answer: Peugeot.
Fun Fact: The Peugeot family started in 1810 with a steel foundry that made saw blades, then worked through hand tools, coffee and pepper grinders, corsets, and bicycles. Automobiles Peugeot was not created until 1896.
What brand of car does James Bond drive?
Answer: Aston Martin.
Fun Fact: Aston Martin cars became associated with James Bond films, starting with “Goldfinger” in 1964. The DB5 model was equipped with gadgets like ejector seats and machine guns, setting a standard for the series’ future car features.
In which country was the Cadillac brand founded?
Answer: U.S.A.
Fun Fact: Cadillac is named after Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, the founder of Detroit, Michigan. This homage reflects the brand’s deep American roots and pioneering role in automotive innovations such as complete electrical systems and the steel roof.
In which country is the Aston Martin headquarters located?
Answer: England.
Fun Fact: Design, engineering, and sports car assembly all happen at Gaydon in Warwickshire, the site Aston Martin moved into in 2003. The DBX, its first SUV, is built at a second British plant in St Athan, Wales.
Two brothers founded Dodge in what year?
Answer: 1913.
Fun Fact: The Dodge brothers actually started their business as a parts supplier for the burgeoning auto industry in Detroit and used their success to launch their own line of cars.
Which brand put the first dual-clutch gearbox into a mass-production car?
Answer: Volkswagen, in the 2003 Golf R32.
Fun Fact: Dual-clutch gearboxes were a racing trick long before they reached showrooms. Porsche ran a PDK unit in the 962 C in 1985 and the Audi Sport Quattro S1 rally car used one the same year, but nobody sold one to the public until Volkswagen’s DSG arrived in the Golf R32 in 2003.
What was the name of the man who founded Ford?
Answer: Henry Ford.
Fun Fact: Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company and changed how factories worked with his moving assembly line, cutting the cost of building a car far enough to put one within reach of ordinary buyers.
Which Nissan model has been the brand’s best seller in the United States since 2016?
Answer: The Rogue.
Fun Fact: The Rogue became Nissan’s top-selling U.S. model in 2016 with 329,904 sales, then peaked at 412,110 in 2018. Much of the rest of the world knows the same crossover as the X-Trail.
Genesis served as an official sponsor for what major professional sports league in the U.S.A.?
Answer: NFL.
Fun Fact: Genesis, Hyundai’s luxury arm, used the NFL deal to put its badge in front of tens of millions of viewers each week.
Which car brand has its own airport in Japan?
Answer: Honda.
Fun Fact: Honda Airport sits in Kawajima, Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, and is run by Honda Airways. It handles sightseeing, aerial survey, and disaster-response helicopter flights rather than airline traffic.
Which brand won World Car of the Year in 2023 for their IONIQ 6 model?
Answer: Hyundai.
Fun Fact: The IONIQ 6 has a drag coefficient of 0.21, one of the lowest of any production car, and that slippery shape is how it stretches a charge so far. It swept the 2023 World Car awards, taking World Electric Vehicle and World Car Design of the Year alongside the overall title.
Who founded the Porsche brand?
Answer: Ferdinand Porsche.
Fun Fact: Years before the company wore his name, Ferdinand Porsche designed the Lohner-Porsche electric car shown at the 1900 Paris Exposition, then the Volkswagen Beetle, one of the best-selling cars in history. The first car badged a Porsche, the 356, arrived in 1948.
What brand has a logo resembling stretched wings in a silver circle?
Answer: Mazda.
Fun Fact: The stretched wings in the Mazda badge are meant to suggest flight. Mazda is also the only carmaker that ever sold rotary-engine cars in serious numbers, which is the engineering the brand is still best known for.
When was the brand Infiniti launched?
Answer: 1989.
Fun Fact: Nissan introduced Infiniti to respond to the growing demand for luxury vehicles in the United States, aiming to compete directly with established European and American luxury automotive brands.
Which brand used the slogan “Grace, space, and pace”?
Answer: Jaguar.
Fun Fact: This slogan perfectly encapsulates the essence of Jaguar’s design philosophy: graceful aesthetics, spacious interiors, and powerful performance, all of which continue to define the brand’s cars today.
What brand is preferred by the British royals?
Answer: Rolls-Royce.
Fun Fact: Rolls-Royce built the Phantom IV for royalty and heads of state only: just 18 were made between 1950 and 1956, and the first one went to Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh in 1950. It stayed in the royal fleet for state duties for decades after she became queen.
Which brand introduced the Quadra-Trac full-time four-wheel drive system?
Answer: Jeep.
Fun Fact: Quadra-Trac arrived on the Jeep Wagoneer in 1973 and gave drivers four-wheel drive traction without stopping to shift a transfer case by hand. Wartime Jeeps ran part-time four-wheel drive, which had to be engaged manually.
Scion is a brand owned by what other car company?
Answer: Toyota.
Fun Fact: In 2003, Scion was Toyota’s attempt to reach younger customers with more customizable and affordable models. The brand was merged into Toyota in 2016 after appealing successfully to millennial car buyers.
What car brand owns Kia?
Answer: Hyundai.
Fun Fact: While Hyundai Motor Company is the parent company, Kia operates as a separate entity under the same corporate umbrella, allowing both brands to effectively target different market segments and preferences.
Which King gave Land Rover a Royal Warrant in 1951?
Answer: King George VI.
Fun Fact: The royal warrant from King George VI helped cement Land Rover’s reputation as a vehicle fit for the rugged demands of royal duties across the Commonwealth, enhancing its image as a durable and reliable off-road vehicle.
Which brand built the first electric car to become the world’s best-selling vehicle of any kind?
Answer: Tesla, with the Model Y.
Fun Fact: Tesla delivered 1.2 million Model Ys in 2023, enough to outsell the Toyota Corolla and take the global sales crown outright. No electric car had done that before, and the Toyota RAV4 took the title back in 2024.
Famous Car Trivia
The next 25 questions cover cars people recognize even if they never read a spec sheet: Bond’s DB5, the Model T, the Beetle, the Mini. It is the friendliest round here, though there are still no multiple-choice options to fall back on.
What Aston Martin car did James Bond drive in “Goldfinger”?
Answer: DB5.
Fun Fact: The Aston Martin DB5’s long association with James Bond has led to it being called “the most famous car in the world,” and it has appeared in multiple films in the series beyond its initial debut in “Goldfinger.”
In the Batman films, Batman uses a Batmobile. Christopher Nolan, the director of The Dark Knight trilogy, requested that the car be made as a working vehicle. How fast could this car drive?
Answer: Up to 160 mph.
Fun Fact: The Batmobile used in “The Dark Knight” trilogy, known as the Tumbler, was designed by Nolan to be a combination of a Lamborghini and a tank, not only fully functional but also capable of realistic high-speed chases.
The Porsche 930 is a turbocharged version of what Porsche model?
Answer: 911.
Fun Fact: The introduction of the Porsche 930, also known as the 911 Turbo, in the 1970s, marked a significant evolution in sports car design. It incorporated turbo technology that enhanced its speed and its status as a symbol of prestige.
How many Model T cars did Ford sell between 1908 and 1927?
Answer: 15 million.
Fun Fact: The Model T is credited with putting America on wheels, and at one point, half of all cars in the world were Model Ts. This ubiquity made it a key player in developing automotive culture in the United States.
Which single-generation car holds the longest production run, at 65 years?
Answer: The Volkswagen Type 1 Beetle.
Fun Fact: The Type 1 was built from 1938 to 2003 and 21,529,464 left the factories, more than any other car on a single platform. It passed the Ford Model T’s lifetime total in 1972, a record the Model T had held for nearly 50 years.
The famous 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback, driven by Steve Mcqueen, was sold in 2020 for how much?
Answer: 3.7 million dollars.
Fun Fact: The 1968 Mustang GT Fastback made its name through its role in the movie “Bullitt,” which is known for one of the most thrilling high-speed car chase scenes ever filmed on the streets of San Francisco.
Which year of the Dodge Charger was used in “The Fast and the Furious” movie?
Answer: 1970.
Fun Fact: The 1970 Charger R/T belongs to Dom Toretto, who calls it 900 horsepower of Detroit muscle and admits the car scares him. It is wrecked in the first film’s closing chase, so the crew went through more than one.
Starting in 1981, how many years did the Toyota FJ60 dominate the 4WD SUV market?
Answer: Six.
Fun Fact: The Toyota FJ60 Land Cruiser is renowned for its durability and off-road capability. It is often used in rugged terrains like Australia’s outback and Africa’s safari regions, solidifying Toyota’s reputation in the 4WD category.
What was the last Ferrari model to be overseen by the founder Enzo?
Answer: Ferrari F40.
Fun Fact: The F40 marked the culmination of Enzo Ferrari’s career. It was introduced to celebrate Ferrari’s 40th anniversary and was the last model he personally approved. It embodies his vision of a raw, race-ready sports car without compromises.
How many Ford Mustangs were ordered on the first day of sales in 1964?
Answer: 22,000.
Fun Fact: The Mustang went on sale on April 17, 1964, and 22,000 orders came in that first day between the New York World’s Fair and dealerships around the country. It created the “pony car” class: affordable, sporty coupes with long hoods and short rear decks.
What did the Chevrolet Corvette not have until 1982?
Answer: A trunk or rear hatch.
Fun Fact: Despite being America’s best-known sports car, the Corvette had no proper rear trunk until 1982 due to its design philosophy prioritizing aerodynamic sleekness over practicality.
What is the highest number of people recorded as fitting into a Mini Cooper?
Answer: 29.
Fun Fact: This record was set by a team of gymnasts in 2012, who managed to cram themselves into a classic Mini, demonstrating the car’s surprisingly spacious design despite its compact exterior.
With proper care, how many miles can a Jeep Wrangler do?
Answer: 400,000.
Fun Fact: The Wrangler keeps a body-on-frame layout with bolt-on fenders, doors, and a removable top, so a rusted or bent panel can be unbolted and swapped instead of writing the vehicle off. Cheap, plentiful parts are a big reason old Wranglers stay on the road.
When were the first Volkswagen Bus prototypes created?
Answer: 1949.
Fun Fact: The Volkswagen Bus, known as the Type 2, was VW’s second vehicle. It cultivated a cult following due to its unique design and association with the counterculture movements of the 1960s.
How fast can the 2016 Dodge Viper reach 60 mph?
Answer: Three seconds.
Fun Fact: The Viper kept a huge V10 and skipped driver aids its rivals fitted as standard, which earned it a reputation as a car that would punish a clumsy right foot.
What is the Lamborghini sports car model? It was the first supercar with a rear mid-engined two-seat layout.
Answer: Miura.
Fun Fact: The Lamborghini Miura is often credited with creating the modern supercar genre, introducing the mid-engine design that has become a standard for high-performance sports cars worldwide.
Twenty percent of Toyota cars sold are which model?
Answer: Corolla (1).
Fun Fact: The Toyota Corolla’s immense popularity is due to its reputation for reliability and efficiency. It is a mainstay on roads worldwide and the best-selling car model in history.
What was the first BMW all-wheel drive model?
Answer: 325iX.
Fun Fact: The introduction of the 325iX in the 1980s was BMW’s answer to the rising demand for all-wheel drive vehicles in colder climates, providing better stability and traction under harsh weather conditions.
What was the first Chevrolet pick-up truck model called?
Answer: Model 490 Light Delivery Chassis.
Fun Fact: Chevrolet sold the Model 490 as a chassis and cab, leaving the buyer to have a body fitted for whatever trade they were in. Factory-built beds came later, once the pickup became a product rather than a conversion.
How many years was the Honda S2000 produced?
Answer: Ten.
Fun Fact: The Honda S2000, celebrated for its high-performance engine and balanced handling, is often regarded as one of the best roadsters ever made, with a cult following among car enthusiasts.
Roughly how many internal combustion engines does Honda build every year across all its products?
Answer: More than 14 million.
Fun Fact: That makes Honda the largest engine manufacturer on earth by unit count, and most of those engines never go near a car. Honda has been the biggest motorcycle maker in the world since 1959 and passed 500 million motorcycles built in May 2025.
What year was the Ford F-Series truck upgraded with improved suspension, making it a great car for a wider audience?
Answer: 1965.
Fun Fact: The 1965 revision of the F-Series introduced features like twin I-beam front suspension, significantly enhancing the truck’s road handling and comfort, factors that helped it become America’s best-selling truck for decades.
What car did Gunther Holtorf drive through 215 countries and territories?
Answer: A Mercedes G-Wagen.
Fun Fact: Holtorf kept the same G-Wagen running for 26 years, from deserts to the Arctic Circle, and took it into places most expedition vehicles never reach. He drove much of it with his wife Christine before continuing alone.
What car took over the Beetle in 2002 as the world’s most popular car?
Answer: Volkswagen Golf.
Fun Fact: The Volkswagen Golf, taking the mantle from the Beetle, has continued Volkswagen’s legacy of producing accessible, reliable cars and has been a top seller in Europe for many years.
What artist recorded a song from the rear seat of a Rolls-Royce Phantom?
Answer: Skepta.
Fun Fact: Skepta recorded the track sitting in the back seat. Rolls-Royce builds the Phantom with double-glazed glass and more than 200 pounds of sound deadening packed into the body, which makes the rear cabin a passable vocal booth.
Sports Car Trivia Questions
Sports car trivia gets specific fast: engine layouts, horsepower figures, and production numbers that owners tend to memorize. These 25 questions run from 1960s road racers to modern hypercars, and they are the hardest set on this page.
When was the Porsche 911 launched?
Answer: 1963.
Fun Fact: The 911 replaced the 356 and kept its engine behind the rear axle, a layout almost every rival abandoned as unruly. Porsche has stuck with it for more than 60 years while quietly reworking nearly everything else around it.
Which car became popular after the 2000 film “Gone in 60 Seconds”?
Answer: Shelby Mustang GT500.
Fun Fact: The Shelby Mustang GT500, nicknamed “Eleanor” in the film, spurred renewed interest in muscle cars and became a cult icon. Many fans created replicas of “Eleanor” as a tribute.
Which car claims the highest top speed of any production car, a simulated 330 mph?
Answer: The Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut.
Fun Fact: That 330 mph figure comes out of simulation rather than a measured run, so read it as a target, not a record. The Absolut makes 1,600 horsepower on E85 fuel and 1,280 on regular gasoline.
The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 car was designed in Germany but manufactured where?
Answer: France.
Fun Fact: The Bugatti Veyron was a feat of engineering that combined German design precision with French assembly to set new benchmarks in the supercar world, including being one of the first street-legal cars to exceed 250 mph.
Which car manufacturer helped design the V10 engine for the Dodge Viper?
Answer: Lamborghini.
Fun Fact: Lamborghini, then owned by Chrysler, applied its high-performance engine expertise to help create the Dodge Viper’s V10, essentially transforming a truck engine into a high-powered sports car marvel.
What was the most popular color in 2023 for the Chevrolet Corvette?
Answer: Torch Red (2).
Fun Fact: Chevrolet has offered Torch Red on the Corvette since the 1990s, and it still topped the order sheet in 2023, ahead of the whites and grays that lead the sales charts for almost every other kind of car.
How many Ferrari 250 GTO models were made between 1962 and 1964?
Answer: 36.
Fun Fact: The public auction record for a 250 GTO is $48.4 million, set when RM Sotheby’s sold chassis 3413GT at Monterey in August 2018. A 1963 car changed hands privately for a reported $70 million earlier that same year.
What is the name of the 1996 discontinued British sports car named after one of the quickest land animals?
Answer: Jaguar XJS.
Fun Fact: Jaguar built the XJS for 21 years, from 1975 to 1996, and made more than 115,000 of them. That makes it the best-selling grand tourer the company has ever produced.
What is the horsepower of the Murcielago LP640?
Answer: 640.
Fun Fact: The LP640 name is a spec sheet in shorthand: LP for longitudinale posteriore, describing how the engine sits, and 640 for the horsepower. Lamborghini reused the same naming trick across the Murcielago range.
How many years was the Lamborghini Countach produced?
Answer: 16.
Fun Fact: The Countach not only defined the design of future supercars with its sharp, angular lines and scissor doors but also became a cultural icon, appearing in countless posters and movies during the 1980s and 1990s.
Which sports car is usually the cheapest new convertible you can buy in the United States?
Answer: Mazda MX-5 Miata (3).
Fun Fact: Mazda built the first MX-5 around jinba ittai, a phrase for horse and rider moving as one, and the way it chased that idea was weight. The 1989 original came in around 2,100 pounds, and the current car still lands just over 2,300, lighter than most small hatchbacks.
The Rolls-Royce Boat Tail is one of the most expensive sports cars in the world. How much does it cost?
Answer: About $26 million, by press estimates.
Fun Fact: Rolls-Royce built only three Boat Tails, starting in 2021, and never confirmed a price, so every figure quoted comes from press reports. The rear deck opens outward like wings into a hosting suite with a parasol, two refrigerators, and a set of cutlery.
True or false: Jennifer Lopez owns an Aston Martin DB7?
Answer: True.
Fun Fact: The DB7 is the car that widened Aston Martin’s audience beyond collectors, and it stayed in production long enough to become one of the brand’s biggest sellers.
What car is on The Carpenter’s album “Now and Then” cover?
Answer: Ferrari Daytona.
Fun Fact: The Ferrari Daytona on the cover of The Carpenters’ album illustrates the 1970s era’s fascination with speed and style, making this model a cultural icon beyond just automotive circles.
What sports car is Ford’s longest-produced model, now in its seventh generation?
Answer: Mustang.
Fun Fact: The Ford Mustang has been in continuous production since 1964, evolving across seven generations to keep up with changing tastes while staying America’s favorite pony car.
When was Honda’s compact sports car Civic Si first introduced?
Answer: 1984.
Fun Fact: Si stands for sport injected. Honda first used the badge on a fuel-injected Civic sold in Japan in 1984. American buyers saw it a year later on the 1985 CRX Si, and the Civic Si hatchback followed in 1986.
What was the original name for the Nissan Z?
Answer: Nissan Fairlady Z.
Fun Fact: In Japan, the Nissan Z is still known as the Fairlady Z, a name inspired by the musical “My Fair Lady” as a way to evoke elegance and refinement in its branding.
In its six-year run in the U.S.A., Toyota only sold 12,000 Mk4 Supra cars. How many Mk3 models were sold before?
Answer: Over 100,000.
Fun Fact: The Mk4 arrived as a far more expensive car just as the American sports coupe market was shrinking, so it sold in tiny numbers when new. Its reputation, and its resale values, only took off years after it left showrooms.
Which aeronautics engineer created the Jaguar E-type?
Answer: Malcolm Sayer.
Fun Fact: Malcolm Sayer’s background in aerodynamics profoundly influenced the Jaguar E-type’s design, which was drawn from mathematical formulas used in aircraft design. That is where the shape people still copy came from.
What sports car was the first to top 200 mph in 1987?
Answer: Ferrari F40.
Fun Fact: The Ferrari F40’s breakthrough beyond the 200 mph mark set a new standard for street-legal sports cars, cementing its status as a legend in the automotive world.
Fill in the blank: The Alfa Romeo 4C Concept was voted “The Most ________ Concept Car of the Year” in the German Magazine “Auto Bild” in 2011.
Answer: Beautiful.
Fun Fact: The 4C reached production in 2013 with a carbon fiber tub of the kind usually reserved for supercars. The tub weighs about 143 pounds, and the finished car came in under 2,500 pounds.
How many Lamborghini Reventón models were sold to the public?
Answer: 20.
Fun Fact: Lamborghini built the Reventón on Murcielago mechanicals and wrapped it in angular, aircraft-inspired bodywork. With only 20 sold, most owners will never see another one in person.
Which manufacturer initially made the MG MGB?
Answer: British Motor Corporation.
Fun Fact: The MG MGB was a pioneering model that popularized the roadster segment in the 1960s. It represented a blend of British sports car heritage with affordable pricing, appealing to a global audience.
What engine does the Audi R8 have?
Answer: V-10 engine.
Fun Fact: The Audi R8’s V10 is shared with the Lamborghini Gallardo, which sat under the same Volkswagen Group roof. Two very different cars, one engine.
Which car holds the verified production car top speed record?
Answer: The SSC Tuatara.
Fun Fact: The Tuatara averaged 282.9 mph on January 17, 2021. A verified record has to be averaged over runs in both directions, which is what separates it from a manufacturer’s one-way claim.
Automotive History Trivia
Cars went from a rich person’s curiosity to ordinary household equipment in about 40 years, and most of the decisions that made that happen are still visible in the cars we drive. These 25 questions cover inventors, first models, and the rules and roads built to keep up, which makes them good company on a long drive.
Who invented the first gas-powered car in 1885?
Answer: Karl Benz.
Fun Fact: Karl Benz’s invention of the Motorwagen marked the beginning of the automotive era, but it was his wife, Bertha Benz, who conducted the first long-distance car trip, thus proving the vehicle’s practicality and helping to promote its sale.
Which company initiated the use of a moving assembly line to manufacture cars?
Answer: Ford.
Fun Fact: Ford’s moving assembly line cut the time and cost of building a car so sharply that other industries copied the method within a decade. The idea was borrowed from meatpacking plants, run in reverse.
What did Toyota initially make and sell before cars?
Answer: Textiles.
Fun Fact: Toyota’s origins in the textile industry, particularly in loom manufacturing, provided the company with the mechanical expertise and capital necessary to diversify into automotive production during the 1930s.
Where was the first car made?
Answer: Germany.
Fun Fact: Karl Benz built his Motorwagen in Mannheim in 1885, and Germany has never really left the front of the industry since. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Volkswagen are all still headquartered there.
Who comprised the “Big Three” auto companies of the 1920s? Ford, General Motors, and who else?
Answer: Chrysler.
Fun Fact: The “Big Three” of the American auto industry dominated the automotive market throughout the 20th-century, contributing significantly to the country’s economic growth and technological advancement.
Auto manufacturing brings more than how many trillion dollars into the U.S.A. economy each year?
Answer: One (4).
Fun Fact: The auto industry’s contribution to the U.S. economy is vast. It impacts job creation, technological innovation, and infrastructure development, making it a critical economic policy and planning sector.
In what year did Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot build the first working steam-powered vehicle?
Answer: 1769.
Fun Fact: Cugnot ran a small working model of his fardier à vapeur in 1769 and finished a full-size version in 1770. It was built to haul artillery for the French army, and it is often cited as the first true “car,” though it is a long way from anything on the road now.
In the 1830s, Robert Davidson built an electric locomotive that could go up to how many miles per hour?
Answer: Four.
Fun Fact: Davidson’s battery-powered models of the late 1830s led to a full-size version he called Galvani, which he ran on the Edinburgh to Glasgow line in 1842. Railway workers who saw battery power as a threat to their jobs destroyed it.
The King’s Highway was completed in 1735 and is now covered in part by what U.S. route?
Answer: U.S. Route 17.
Fun Fact: The King’s Highway ran roughly from Charleston to Boston, and modern roads now sit on different stretches of it. From Virginia southward, many segments are covered by U.S. Route 17.
What is the first Japanese car made in the U.S.A.?
Answer: Honda Accord.
Fun Fact: The production of the Honda Accord in the U.S. marked a significant step in the auto industry’s globalization, helping to alleviate trade tensions and setting a precedent for other foreign automakers.
What is the world’s smallest car ever made, produced in 1962?
Answer: The Peel P50.
Fun Fact: The P50 has no reverse gear. It has a handle on the back instead, so you climb out and drag it around. Jeremy Clarkson drove one through a BBC office building on “Top Gear,” lift included.
Who ordered Ferdinand Porsche to design the Volkswagen Beetle?
Answer: Adolf Hitler.
Fun Fact: Hitler’s commission to Ferdinand Porsche to create a “people’s car” led to the development of the Volkswagen Beetle, which would become one of the best-selling cars in history.
Who bought Rolls-Royce in 1998?
Answer: BMW.
Fun Fact: The acquisition of Rolls-Royce by BMW ended decades of independence for the British luxury carmaker but also infused it with new technology and capital that revitalized the brand.
By 1913, what percentage of the world’s motor vehicles did the U.S.A. produce?
Answer: 80 percent (5).
Fun Fact: The U.S.’s dominance in the early auto industry was facilitated by innovations such as the assembly line, which allowed American companies to produce vehicles more efficiently than their European counterparts.
How much did the Model T sell for in October 1908?
Answer: $825.
Fun Fact: The Model T’s price kept falling as production scaled up, so a car stopped being a luxury purchase and became something a wage earner could plan for. That single shift redrew where Americans could live and work.
When was the first hybrid-engine car made?
Answer: 1900.
Fun Fact: Ferdinand Porsche developed the first hybrid car, which used a gasoline engine to generate electricity and power electric motors, foreshadowing the same principles used in modern hybrids.
When did Tesla Motors release its first car?
Answer: 2008.
Fun Fact: The Roadster was built on a Lotus Elise chassis at Lotus’s factory in Hethel, England. Tesla sold about 2,450 of them before ending production in 2012.
When were the first power windows introduced?
Answer: 1940.
Fun Fact: The introduction of power windows was a luxury feature that reflected the automotive industry’s shift towards greater convenience and comfort, setting the stage for the many electronic aids we see in vehicles today.
Airbags were introduced in the early 1970s, but what year did they become mandatory for new cars?
Answer: 1998.
Fun Fact: Congress wrote the requirement into a 1991 highway law that gave carmakers years to comply. Dual front airbags became mandatory on new cars for the 1998 model year and on light trucks for 1999.
What is the first road made for cars called? Clue: it’s located in Queens, New York.
Answer: Long Island Motor Parkway.
Fun Fact: Originally built by the Vanderbilt family as a private toll road, the Long Island Motor Parkway was one of the first in the world designed exclusively for automobile use, featuring all-weather surfacing and no-grade crossings.
Who invented the internal combustion engine as we know it today?
Answer: Nicolaus Otto.
Fun Fact: Otto’s four-stroke sequence, intake, compression, power, exhaust, is still how nearly every gasoline engine on the road works. Engineers named the cycle after him, which is unusually direct credit for one inventor.
What car served as the first Popemobile in the 1930s?
Answer: Mercedes-Benz Nürburg 460 Pullman.
Fun Fact: Mercedes-Benz presented the Nürburg 460 Pullman to Pope Pius XI in 1930, and the company has supplied papal cars on and off ever since. The glass box most people picture came decades later.
What is considered the first pony car, launched in 1964?
Answer: Ford Mustang.
Fun Fact: The Ford Mustang’s introduction created the “pony car” class, characterized by affordable, stylish, performance-oriented cars that appealed to younger buyers, igniting a competitive segment that persists today.
In 1908, there were 253 car manufacturers, but in 1929, there were only how many?
Answer: 44.
Fun Fact: The drastic reduction in car manufacturers by 1929 reflects the intense consolidation of the auto industry during its early years, driven by fierce competition and the need for significant capital investments.
Which car won the North American Car of the Year award in 2021?
Answer: Hyundai Elantra.
Fun Fact: Hyundai arrived in the United States as the cheap option and now wins the awards it once lost. The Elantra took the car title in 2021, with trucks and SUVs judged in separate categories.
Car Movie Trivia
The last 25 questions swap the spec sheet for the screen. Some are gifts if you have seen the film, and a few come down to a detail most people watch straight past, which is usually what splits a room at the end of a quiz.
What is the name of the race car in the film “Cars”?
Answer: Lightning McQueen.
Fun Fact: Lightning McQueen, named after Pixar animator Glenn McQueen, who passed away in 2002, is not just a movie character but a cultural icon synonymous with racing and underdog stories in the animated world.
What was the name of David Hasselhoff’s talking car in “Knight Rider” (1982)?
Answer: KITT.
Fun Fact: KITT, which stands for Knight Industries Two Thousand, featured artificial intelligence and advanced capabilities, making it one of television’s first portrayals of a smart car long before the advent of AI in real vehicles.
What is emblazoned onto the hood of the 1970 Chevrolet Nova in the film “Death Proof”?
Answer: A skull with crossed lightning bolts.
Fun Fact: Tarantino had the skull painted on a 1970 Nova for Stuntman Mike, then wrote the car out in the head-on crash halfway through. The second half of the film switches to a 1970 Dodge Challenger for the hood-riding chase.
In the famous film “Herbie: The Love Bug,” one of the original cars was fitted with an engine from what other car manufacturer?
Answer: Porsche.
Fun Fact: A stock Beetle could not do what the script asked, so the crew fitted a Porsche engine to the cars that had to race. Several Herbies were built for the film, each set up for a different kind of shot.
Name the movie about a magical car inspired by Ian Fleming’s novel.
Answer: “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.”
Fun Fact: “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” based on Ian Fleming’s novel, was made into a movie with a flying car of the same name, which has since become an icon of fantastical automotive design and imaginative storytelling.
What color is the 1973 Ford Falcon XB GT Hardtop car in the movie “Mad Max”?
Answer: Black.
Fun Fact: The dark and imposing appearance of the Ford Falcon in “Mad Max” helped set the gritty, dystopian tone of the film, and the car ended up as recognizable as Max himself.
What car does Marty McFly want in “Back to the Future”?
Answer: Toyota 4×4 (SR5 Xtra Cab).
Fun Fact: Marty McFly’s dream of owning a Toyota 4×4 reflects the popularity of pickup trucks as symbols of rugged individualism in the 1980s, a trend that Toyota capitalized on in the American market.
In “The Spy Who Loved Me,” film what does the white Series I Lotus Esprit transform into?
Answer: Submarine.
Fun Fact: The submarine, nicknamed Wet Nellie, was a real working shell operated by former Navy divers rather than an effect. It sat forgotten in a Long Island storage unit, was bought sight unseen at auction, and later sold for about $866,000.
What city hosts the Audi S8 car chase in the film “Ronin”?
Answer: Paris.
Fun Fact: Director John Frankenheimer shot the Paris chase with real cars on real streets and professional drivers at the wheel, including runs the wrong way down traffic. That is why it still turns up on best-chase lists.
How many Subaru Impreza WRXs were used in the film “Baby Driver”?
Answer: Three.
Fun Fact: Using multiple Subaru Imprezas in “Baby Driver” allowed for a range of stunt driving sequences, demonstrating the car’s agility and performance, essential for the film’s dynamic chase scenes.
What is the fictional car called in the “Ghostbusters” franchise?
Answer: Ecto-1 or Ectomobile.
Fun Fact: Ecto-1, based on a modified Cadillac Miller-Meteor ambulance, became an integral part of the Ghostbusters’ team. Its unique design and siren are instantly recognizable to fans of the series.
How much did the film pay for the most expensive Supra in “The Fast and the Furious” to represent Brian’s car?
Answer: $24,000.
Fun Fact: The Supra used in “The Fast and the Furious” not only served as a key element of the film’s racing scenes but also helped catapult the Toyota Supra to cult status among car enthusiasts and movie fans alike.
What does Phoebe drive in the comedy TV show “Friends”?
Answer: A cab.
Fun Fact: Phoebe inherits the taxi from her grandmother, which is how a broke masseuse ends up owning a working New York cab, meter and all.
What car did Downey drive in the first “Iron Man” movie?
Answer: Audi R8.
Fun Fact: Iron Man opened in 2008, when the R8 was barely a year old and Audi’s first mid-engined supercar. Audi has supplied Stark’s cars in every sequel since, including an electric e-tron GT in Avengers: Endgame.
Who picks Harry up in a flying Ford Anglia in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”?
Answer: Ron Weasley.
Fun Fact: The car is a 1962 Ford Anglia 105E, and the production went through several of them because the flying scenes wrecked cars. In the story the Anglia survives its crash landing, lives wild in the Forbidden Forest, and comes back to save Harry and Ron from the spiders.
Where do they drive to in a Volkswagen van in the movie “Little Miss Sunshine”?
Answer: Redondo Beach, California.
Fun Fact: The Volkswagen van in “Little Miss Sunshine” serves as a character and setting, encapsulating the film’s themes of family and resilience amidst their journey to a beauty pageant.
What car does Lane Meyer restore in the film “Better Off Dead”?
Answer: Chevy Camaro SS.
Fun Fact: Lane’s car is a late-1960s Camaro sitting under a tarp in the garage. Fixing it up sets up the film’s running gag, in which two brothers keep pulling alongside to challenge him to a drag race while one of them narrates in a Howard Cosell impression.
What red car is featured in the opening scene of “The Italian Job”?
Answer: Lamborghini Miura.
Fun Fact: The Lamborghini Miura’s use in “The Italian Job” opening scene not only sets a stylish, high-paced tone for the movie but also pays homage to the car’s status as a motoring masterpiece of its era.
What car does Bumblebee appear as in the 2007 “Transformers” film?
Answer: Chevrolet Camaro.
Fun Fact: Bumblebee’s portrayal as a Chevrolet Camaro, after initially appearing as a Volkswagen Beetle in the original toy line, helped revitalize the Camaro brand, closely associating it with youthful energy and resilience.
In the 2011 movie “Drive,” starring Ryan Gosling, who was responsible for rebuilding the Chevrolet Malibu, taking it apart and reassembling it?
Answer: Ryan Gosling.
Fun Fact: Gosling worked in the shop next to the film’s mechanics, stripping the Chevrolet Malibu down and putting it back together, so the car his character drives is one the actor actually helped build.
What does Jeff Bridges drive in “The Big Lebowski”?
Answer: Ford Gran Torino.
Fun Fact: The Dude’s Torino takes more punishment than anything else in the film: crashed, stolen, and finally set alight. It suits a character whose car is the last thing he worries about.
What actress drove a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro in the “Charlie’s Angels” film?
Answer: Drew Barrymore.
Fun Fact: Barrymore produced the film as well as starring in it, and the 1969 Camaro was a deliberate nod to the muscle car era rather than a modern performance pick.
In “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” a few different pieces were used to make what looked like a Ferrari 250 GT California instead of buying a real one because it cost how much at the time?
Answer: $300,000.
Fun Fact: The use of the Ferrari 250 GT California replicas in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” was due to the exorbitant cost of the actual car, illustrating the film’s creative workaround to put such a famous car on screen without the expense.
What car is featured in the 1971 film “Vanishing Point”?
Answer: Dodge Challenger.
Fun Fact: Chrysler loaned five white 1970 Challenger R/T 440s to the production. The plot is one long delivery run: the driver bets he can get the car from Denver to San Francisco in about 15 hours.
How many Mustangs were built for the movie “Need for Speed”?
Answer: Seven.
Fun Fact: The hero car was a one-off widebody Mustang built for the film rather than a showroom model, and the director shot the chases with real cars and real drivers instead of computer-generated ones.
Car Trivia FAQs
A few practical answers on running a car trivia round, scoring it, and pitching the questions at the right age.
In Conclusion
That is all 125 car trivia questions. For a quiz night, deal them out as five rounds of 25 and have teams swap answer sheets to mark each other. It keeps the scoring honest and gives everyone a breather between rounds.
For younger players, stay in the brand and movie rounds. Badges, logos, and the cars from “Cars,” “Herbie,” and “Transformers” are the questions kids actually get right, and a few early wins are what keep them playing.
