One of the most reliable names in the automobile market is Honda. Honda has developed popular looking cars that are also reliable and fuel efficient, but here are 7 Things You Don’t Know About: Honda.

1. Though Honda is not the largest car maker in the world, it is the largest engine maker in the world.

2. the Honda company, operating in war torn Japan following World War II, got its start attaching engines to bicycles and marketing them as cheap transportation.

3. Honda didn’t start developing prototype road cars until the 1960s.

4. The first production vehicle built by Honda was the 1963 T360 which was a small pickup truck that also had a panel van version.

5. The popular Honda Civic first came to the United States in 1972.

6. In 1986, the Acura line made Honda the first Japanese automaker to introduce and market a separate luxury line of cars.

7. Honda is also the maker of the first motorcycle equipped with an airbag (the 2006 Gold Wing).

With some of the more sought after car models on the market today, Honda is poised to stay at or near the top of the automobile world for years to come.

Nissan has made a name for itself as a company focused on fuel efficiency and reliability, but here are 7 Things You Don’t Know About: Nissan.

1. Nissan Motors was founded in 1934, it traces its history back to the Kwaishinsha Motorcar Works which was established in 1911.

2. At one point during World War II, the Nissan company’s main manufacturing plant was moved to China making use of land that had been captured by Japan.

3. Nissan and Ford partnered in 1993 to manufacture consumer-friendly minivans. The Mercury Villager and the Nissan Quest were virtually identical automobiles and were manufactured with mostly the same parts.

4. Nissan has had a few non-automobile business interests as well including boat motor manufacturing and cell phone service.

5. The D-A-T portion of the Datsun moniker is an acronym of the last names of the founding company families.

6. One of the early chief designers for the DAT and Nissan companies was an American, William R. Gorham.

7. The decision to drop the name Datsun for use in the United States and go with the global company name of Nissan was made in late 1981.

Nissan has made a great name for itself in the automobile industry. The company has proven itself year in and year out to be a maker of quality cars and will go on to be one of the more successful auto makers in the world.

Few automobile brand names bring the thought of America to people’s minds the way that Dodge does. Dodge has positioned itself, especially with its line of Ram trucks, as the maker of rugged automobiles. But, here are 7 Things You Don’t Know About: Dodge.

1. Dodge was founded in 1900 as an auto parts supplier and originally called the Dodge Brothers Company.

2. Dodge didn’t start producing its own vehicles until 1914.

3. The Dodge Brothers Company was founded by brothers Horace and John Dodge who both coincidentally died in the same year, 1920.

4. Dodge was the first car maker to use a all-steel body on their vehicles.

5. In 1925 the Dodge Brothers Company was sold by the brothers’ widows for the amount of 146 million dollars. At the time this was the largest cash transaction in history.

6. The Dodge company was bought by Chrysler in 1928 for 170 million dollars.

7. Dodge trucks, and other vehicles, were featured prominently in the Chuck Norris television series Walker Texas Ranger.

Dodge vehicles appeal to a segment of the population that has proven very loyal over the years. Dodge will continue to make quality vehicles for years to come and Dodge enthusiasts will support them all the way.

Few brand names in the world have achieved the accomplishments that Cadillac has. The word itself has gone on to mean luxury even when applied to non-automobile items. But, here are 7 Things You Don’t Know About: Cadillac.

1. The Cadillac Automobile Company was formed from the remnants of the Henry Ford Company after Henry Ford left the company with several key parters to form the Ford Motor Company.

2. The Cadillac company is named for Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, a 17th century French explorer who founded Detroit in 1701.

3. The United States Government bought over 2,300 Cadillac Type 55 Touring Model cars to use as staff cars during World War I. Contrary to what has happened to other cars when being produced for military use, the Type 55 by Cadillac didn’t need one mechanical change to be accepted by the government, unless you count the khaki paint.

4. In 1927, Cadillac became the first auto maker to use a designer to design the body of the car instead of using an engineer as was the normal practice.

5. From 1979 to 1985, Cadillac offered a diesel version of its V8 engine available only in its full size cars.

6. The vehicle New York Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning won as a result of being named the most valuable player of Super Bowl XLII was a Cadillac Escalade hybrid.

7. Popular songs that reference Cadillacs:
One Piece At A Time – Johnny Cash
Throw Some D’s – Rich Boy
Maybellene – Chuck Berry
Beep Beep – The Playmates
Sandpaper Cadillac – Joe Cocker
Living Loving Maid – Led Zeppelin
You Don’t Mess Around With Jim – Jim Croce
Bad Bad Leroy Brown – Jim Croce
Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song) – Billy Joel
Boot Scootin’ Boogie – Brooks & Dunn
Gone – Montgomery Gentry
Pink Cadillac – Bruce Springsteen
Slick Black Cadillac – Quiet Riot
Shut Up And Drive – Rihanna

Cadillac has conquered the luxury automobile market and many other cars can only hope to be favorably compared to it. Cadillac will continue to be one of the more well thought of car brands for years to come.

Volkswagen

One of the most famous names in the automobile industry is Volkswagen, and the Beetle is easily one of the most famous car models. The VW brand has appealed to the hippy movement, college kids, environmental enthusiasts, and more… but here are 7 Things You Don’t Know About: Volkswagen.

1. The name “Volkswagen” means “People’s Car” in German.

2. The designer of the original Volkswagen Beetle was Ferdinand Porsche, the founder of the Porsche car company.

3. During World War II, Volkswagen produced two models of cars (the VW type 128 and the 166 Schwimmwagen) that were amphibious all wheel drive off road cars.

4. Following World War II, what was left of the captured Volkswagen car manufacturing company was offered to representatives of the British, French, and American automobile industry. All of the allied automobile manufacturing companies rejected the potential acquisition of Volkswagen.

5. Due to post World War II shortages in Germany, many Volkswagen parts and components were used in Porsche automobiles.

6. Volkswagen were introduced and first available for sale in America in 1949, that year they sold two cars.

7. On July 30, 2003, the last of the original Volkswagen Type 1 cars was produced at the Volkswagen plant in Puebla, Mexico. This car was immediately shipped to the Volskwagen company museum in Wolfsburg, Germany.

There is probably nothing that would make the VW brand suddenly unpopular everywhere, for this reason alone Volkswagen is sure to remain one of the more popular and productive automobile manufacturers around.

Toyota has spent years making a name for itself as one of the more reliable automobile makers in the world. Toyota’s popularity is huge, but here are 7 Things You Don’t Know About: Toyota.

1. The first passenger car produced by Toyota was produced in 1936.

2. The Toyota car company founding family’s last name is actually spelled Toyoda.

3. Toyota was originally a subdivision of the Toyoda Automatic Loom Works company, and they still make automatic looms although they are now computerized.

4. The trucks that Toyota manufactured for the Japanese military during World War II had one headlight mounted on the center of the hood.

5. The first Japanese car to be exported to the United States was the Toyota Crown in 1956.

6. Toyota provides 40 annual scholarships through the United Negro College Fund.

7. Port Melbourne, Australia was the the site of the first Toyota vehicle built outside of the country of Japan in 1963.

Toyota has proven itself to be an ingenious company that is always concentrating on value, fuel efficiency, reliability, and innovations. Toyota will forever be one of the most well thought of companies in the automobile industry.

One of the most recognizable and respected high end car maker names is Porsche. Many people who know a great deal about automobiles favor Porsche above all others, but here are 7 Things You Don’t Know About: Porsche.

1. The founder of Porsche, Ferdinand Porsche, also was the designer of the first Volkswagen Beetle.

2. Porsche aided famed motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson with the design of their new engine in their newer V-Rod motorcycle.

3. The Porsche car company was founded in 1931, but didn’t produce its first car until 1939.

4. For a period of 20 months following World War II, the founder of Porsche, Ferdinand Porsche was imprisoned under suspicion of war crimes.

5. Due to auto parts shortages following World War II in Germany, many Porsche parts were actually Volkswagen Beetle parts.

6. At various times in its history, Porsche also manufactured farm tractors.

7. The Porsche Club of America, featuring Porsche enthusiasts in the United States and Canada, was first organized in 1955.

Nothing can stop Porsche from remaining as one of the top car makers in the world. Many people will forever dream of owning a Porsche.

General Motors

The General Motors company is one of the largest companies in the world, with so many people interacting with it on a daily basis, almost everything is known about it. But, here are 7 Things You Don’t Know About: General Motors.

1. General Motors was the leader in global industry sales for 77 years through 2007.

2. General Motors cars are manufactured in 35 different countries.

3. General Motors is the best selling automobile manufacturer in China.

4. There are only four companies worldwide that are larger than General Motors: Wal-Mart, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, and BP.

5. General Motors was one of the subjects of filmmaker Michael Moore’s first film titled “Roger & Me”.

6. The General Motors EV1 was GM’s first all electric vehicle. It was only available via a three year lease and there was no option to extend the lease or buy the car outright. In addition to that, the car was only available in Arizona and California.

7. The General Motors lead engineer and primary developer of the car that kicked off the “muscle car” movement, the Pontiac GTO was John Z. DeLorean who would later leave GM and form his own car company, DeLorean.

Between the incredible size of the company and the large amount of car models and brands that they own, General Motors isn’t going away anytime soon when it comes to being one of the top auto makers in the world.

Chrysler has made a name for itself over the years as a classy and reliable car maker. From riding high to almost going bankrupt and then back again, Chrysler’s history is very interesting to say the least, but here are 7 Things You Don’t Know About: Chrysler.

1. The original name of the Chrysler Corporation was the Maxwell Motor Company before it was reorganized in 1925.

2. In 1960 Chrysler became the first of the big three automakers (GM, Ford, Chrysler) to use unibody construction, which is now standard, on a large majority of the cars they produced.

3. The Ford Mustang is by far the most famous car classified as a “pony car”, but because it was released almost two weeks earlier, the Chrysler manufactured Plymouth Barracuda was the first car ever classified as a “pony car”.

4. The famous Chrysler star logo (officially called the Pentastar) began appearing on Chrysler vehicles in 1963.

5. Chrysler was one of the companies that pulled it advertisements from the Ellen sitcom starring Ellen DeGeneres due to its overtly gay status, this led to boycotts from gay organizations.

6. One of the people involved with the design of the original Ford Mustang was future Chrysler president and CEO Lee Iacocca.

7. In the 1930s Chrysler created the automobile industry’s first wind tunnel to help develop more aerodnamic vehicles.

Chrysler’s varied history has lead them through many tough times and back again, but the name Chrysler will always be a part of the car making industry.

One of the oldest and most storied automobile manufacturers is the Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford was one of the pioneers in the auto making industry, but here are 7 Things You Don’t Know About: Ford.

1. Henry Ford was 40 years old when he started the Ford Motor Co.

2. For 90 years, Ford built cars in the United Kingdom, this ended in 2002.

3. The Ford GT40 won the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race four times during the 1960s.

4. Ford is famous for starting with the Model T car, they made their first truck in 1908.

5. Henry Ford began making tractors under the name Fordson Tractors in Leningrad, Russia in 1924.

6. Among the initial investors in the founding of the Ford Motor Company were brothers John and Horace Dodge who would later found automaker Dodge.

7. Robert McNamara attained two high positions within a month of eachother. In November of 1960 he was named President of the Ford Motor Company and a little over one month later he joined President John F. Kennedy’s cabinet as the Secretary of Defense.

Though their recent history has been up and down, Ford will surely continue to be one of the major players in the auto industry for years to come.