Ever wonder how much food would be comparable to the amount of gas we use everyday? Okay, neither did we, but then we came across this infographic detailing just that. We may not eat as abundantly as the cartoon human (who’s surprisingly skinny considering all of the junk he’s consuming), but even that is no where near what it would take to fuel a car.
A car would need roughly 45,000 calories per day compared to our 2,000 calorie limit in order to get us where we need to go. This number is based off a gallon of gas being calculated as 31,268 calories and the average American using 1.4 gallons of gas per day. This may sound like a lot, but a car also sheds 1,125 calories per minute when traveling at 60 mph, compared to an average human’s 4.6 calories at 3 mph.
What this translates to is a bunch of numbers and conversions that would really lead us no where if we were to figure it all out. But the lesson learned in this whole thing is that if you want to eat even 1/15th of the amount of calories "consumed" by a man-made machine, then you better be ready to work just as hard to get rid of them.
Check out the rest of the infographic to get a more detailed breakdown of the fuel consumption comparison and remember to check back with us for our next installment in the Car Infographics series.
No one wants to walk out of their front door in the morning and find that their car has been unexpectedly snatched up by someone else. Although it would be an amazing excuse to get out of work, you don’t want to deal with the hassle that follows. Unfortunately an estimated $64 Billion worth of vehicles are stolen every year and only 57% of those vehicles are recovered.
What makes these numbers worse is that about half of the vehicles stolen were taken due to driver error. All this means is that the vehicles were up for grabs due to the keys being left in the ignition or the doors being left unlocked. It’s a shame, but it happens. In fact, it happens even more often if you live in California, Florida, or Texas, which are the three top states for automotive theft. Break that down to the top ten cities for automotive theft and you’ll discover that California has six cities on it.
Bottomline: You may not be able to convince douchebags to not steal cars for a living, but you can at least take every necessary precaution to make sure you are not a victim. Get a car alarm, lock up your doors, and make sure you take the keys out of the ignition.
Check back with us soon to find more interesting tidbits as part of our Car Infographics series.
Bark out vehicles like the DeLorean, Aston Martin DB5, and Pontiac Trans Am, and there’s a good chance you’ll be met with Back to the Future, any James Bond film, and KnightRider. There are just certain vehicles that stick in our minds as being the epitome of whatever big screen role they played. The 1973 Ford Falcon XB GT may also sit as part of the movie role elite as the Black Mad Max Interceptor in the Mad Max franchise.
Mad Max was a post-Apocalyptic, "western" type film that was released back in 1979. This Australian dystopian action film centered its attention around the breakdown of society, love, and revenge, and spawned two sequels in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior and Max Max Beyond Thunderdome. And since every hero has a bad ass ride, Max Rockastansky - played by a young Mel Gibson - had the modified Ford Falcon XB GT featuring a 500 HP 5.8L V8 engine. This one ride sticks out in the Mad Max franchise, but is only one of a number of stellar vehicles featured in this trio of films. From a 150 HP custom built vehicle for Beyond Thunderdome to a 1,000 HP beast in Mad Max 2, the long list of featured vehicles were built to fill the needs of the renegade police officer and his rival gang members.
Now we hear that Director George Miller is off to the races yet again, working on Mad Max 4: Road Fury (2014), so we thought it would be appropriate to tackle a vehicular breakdown of Mad Max to prepare fans for the arrival of the new age Interceptor. Take in the ruggedness of the past, because the future Mad Max is going to be smooth.
Check out the rest of the infographic to get a more detailed breakdown of the vehicles from the Mad Max franchise and remember to check back with us for our next installment in the Car Infographics series.
Many people are only interested - or privy to - the end result of many different things. For example, no one really cares how the cake is made as long as it tastes delicious. The same can be said for Formula One. As fans, we root for our favorite team or driver and hope that they come across that finish line first. Most of the time, we don’t know how they got there or how much it costs to get there.
Our latest installment of our Car Infographics series cracks that mystery right open with a breakdown of Formula One vehicles by numbers. For example, we discovered the engine of a F1 vehicle costs around $214,300 while the monocoque comes in at around $117,900. The tires may only cost $650 per set, but then you have to take into account how many sets the vehicle will go through in its lifetime (it’s about $291,200 worth if you’re wondering). Add the one time purchases to the accruing costs and estimates come in at about $6,868,000 for the lifetime of the F1 car. That’s definitely not chump change in our books.
This infographic also sheds some light on the performance numbers of a typical Formula One car. For example, a typical F1 vehicle can sprint from 0-60 mph in just 1.7 seconds and continue on to 124 mph in just 3.8 seconds. The sprint from 0-186 mph can be achieved in 8.6 seconds. That is all done with a 2.4L V8 maximum engine size.
Check out the rest of the infographic to get a more detailed breakdown of Formula One and remember to check back with us for our next installment in the Car Infographics series.
Getting ready for a big party this weekend? There may be some things you need to know before tossing back a few drinks.
Almost 30 people in the U.S. die every day in a car accident that involves a drunk driver. That works out to about one death every 48 minutes. Theoretically, think about how many people have died since your work day began. Even worse, about half of the 181 child passengers who died in a car accident in 2009 perished because of a drunk driver.
Don’t want to think about death? If a drunk driver is caught doing the deed, the consequences aren’t exactly appealing either. We’re talking DUI programs, suspension or loss of license, tons of monetary debt, and even jail time. With every drunk driving incident you accrue, the consequences get even steeper.
Basically, don’t be an irresponsible dimwit. Before you slather on your cologne/perfume and put on your party clothes, take a second to plan your return ride home just in case the liquor’s flowing at the latest hot spot. Get a designated driver, grab some cash for a taxi, or arrange to spend the night if it’s a house party because becoming a statistic just seems like the ultimate buzz kill.
Check back with us soon for the next installment of our Car Infographics series!
The 89th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is just around the corner and we couldn’t think of a better to prepare for the race than to read up on the racers ready to take on the challenge and take a close look at the Pikes Peak course.
The annual ’Race to the Clouds’ challenges automobiles and motorcycles alike to navigate their way up Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This course is about 12.42 miles long with 156 turns for drivers to brave during their ascent on grades averaging 7%. The race begins at 9,390 feet and ends at the mountain’s 14,110-foot summit above Colorado Springs for a total climb of 4,720 ft.
This year, 194 racers from ten different countries will test their driving skills on the dirt and paved roads of Pikes Peak with the hopes of getting top billing in their respective classes. The most anticipated race will be that of the Unlimited Class where there are no restrictions and some of the fastest machines on the planet are put to the test to see which one can go up the mountain faster. Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima, Rhys Millen, and Paul Dallenbach are just a few of the racers in this class that are prepared to go balls to the wall to break the 10-minute barrier and the standing record of 10:01.408 achieved by Tajima back in 2007.
Will they succeed? Only time will tell, but prepare yourself for the race by taking a look at the course in detail. Who knows, maybe it’ll inspire a trip to Colorado to watch the action live.
Check back with us soon for the next installment of our Car Infographics series!
Aspiring presidential candidates are already busy gearing up for the 2012 elections with hopes of becoming the most powerful man in the U.S. It’s a dirty job, but somebody has to do it, and luckily they have a presidential limo that can withstand the job.
At first glance, the Cadillac One just looks like a modified Cadillac DTS, but General Motors did not actually assign the presidential state car a specific model name. This may be due to the fact that it carries many different components from many different GM models, including Cadillac Escalade headlights, side mirrors, and door handles; Cadillac STS sedan taillights and back up lights; and what looks to be the GMC Topkick commercial truck’s chassis and driveline. GM went through a lot of trouble building the perfect presidential vehicle, but what happens to the car after the base build is what makes it capable of keeping our president utterly and unbelievably safe.
For starters, the car’s chassis has a 5" reinforced steel plate that runs underneath the car in case a bomb finds its way there. Then the entire bodywork is a combination of dual hardness steel, aluminum, titanium, and ceramic which breaks up projectiles upon impact. The doors and gas tank are armour plated, but the gas tank also receives a specially designed foam that prevents it from exploding. The tires are Kevlar reinforced and are shred and puncture resistant. If anyone successfully tears them apart, the steel rims underneath the tires will allow them to get the Cadillac One to safety.
The Cadillac One also has a number of accessories that enable it to solve problems quicker than they come around, including night vision cameras, pump action shotguns, tear gas cannons, and blood. Yes, that’s right. The Cadillac One is equipped with bottles of the president’s blood just in case he gets hurt and needs a blood transfusion. Take that, suckers!
Check back with us soon to find more interesting tidbits as part of our Car Infographics series.
The 2006 film Fast and the Furious: Toyko Drift brought to light one of the many styles of driving competitions in existence, but this form of vehicular art didn’t originate on the big screen. Before Sean Boswell (played by Lucas Black) took to the fishing grounds for unique tutorials, people everywhere were learning how to slide sideways around tight corners. In fact, origins of drifting date back to the 1970s when Motorcycling legend turned driver, Kunimitsu Takahashi, used the technique to beat his competitors coming out of a turn.
So what is drifting? Basically, it is a driving technique that allows drivers to skillfully slide their cars through turns by using either their brakes or clutch. When the braking technique is used, drivers have to hit their brake pedal or emergency brake when approaching the corner. Control is maintained with the use of steering and throttle input. This causes the rear tires to lose their grip on the road and swing outward. When using the clutch technique, the end result is the same, but the method is completely opposite. When the driver approaches the corner, he/she pushes in the clutch, downshifts, revs the engine, and then releases the clutch. The added power makes the tires spin so fast that they lose traction and spin outward. In both instances, the closer the rear end of the car gets to the wall and the more smoke the tires produce, the more points the driver will get in the competition.
Check back with us soon to find more interesting tidbits as part of our Car Infographics series.
Between preparing for the big day and dealing with the fact that this will be the last person they will ever sleep with, married couples have to go through a lot before and just after they get married. Of course, one of the most surprising changes after saying "I do" is the fact that their car insurance rates decrease. That’s right, one of the top culprits - making up about 25% of the deciding factor - in determining anyone’s car insurance rate is their age and whether or not they are married. This bit of information only plays second to the driver’s record and claim history, sitting at 35%.
What does this mean exactly? Well, if you’re a teenage boy with zero infractions, your rate on average is about $2,500 a year, leading the pack in terms of rates. Add in two infractions, and we’re talking about doubling that rate to about $5,000 a year. Change that infraction-ridden scenario to a female teenager and we’re only talking about $2,100 a year. Before all you boys get your boxers in a twist; once you hit 25, guys get a 20% discount whereas girls only get 15%. All in all, an average American will pay about $1,560 a year on car insurance, averaging out about $80,000 in a lifetime.
Other factors that affect your car insurance rate include your car (older, boring, cheaper models pay less), your gender (sorry boys), and your insurer (not everybody offers the same rate), among other things. Check them all out in the image above to get a full picture and stay tuned for the next installment of our Car Infographics series!
Toyota got a lot of crap last year for the millions of vehicles that were recalled due to problems with unintended acceleration, but where would the company fall in a list of the top automotive recalls? Our next piece in the Car Infographics series answers that very question with the largest recalls in our automotive history.
It happens more often than we would like, but recalls are just a part of the automotive business that we all have to become accustomed to. After all, these machines are man-made and as we all know, people can very easily make mistakes. So who tops the list?
Let’s step back to Toyota for a moment. In 2010, the company had to recall 5.3 million vehicles due to reports of the driver side floor mats getting wedged underneath the gas pedal, causing unintended acceleration. Models involved in this recall included the likes of the Camry and Prius, as well as other models ranging from 2004-2010. 5.3 million is a large number, but Toyota only captures the #4 spot.
Hit the jump for the top three position fillers.
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