One of the funniest things we’ve ever heard about a car once came from our own colleague. We had decided to play a prank on him while he was high on colourful liquids. Sneakily locking the car while he was busy playing the stereo from a parked car, we accused him of leaving the keys inside. While everybody tried their best to act and discussed finding a way inside, the man suggested he knew a way where one could enter from the bonnet and come out in the boot. He wasn’t a noob, he was just drunk. But then we often come across souls who are completely sober, well-educated, yet, they have these misconceptions about a car which somehow makes us cringe. Below are a few examples.
The biggest number on the speedometer is the top speed
You’d be surprised or probably not if we tell you that there are many who think that a car’s top speed is the highest number etched on the speedometer. Many do realise that it is either a marketing gimmick into making prospective buyers think that the car is sporty, or, one of those instances where components are shared between various models. The former seems more plausible as most reasonably priced family sedans seldom hit a top speed higher than 175-180 kph. A bigger number is indicative of a more powerful engine, and that’s clever marketing working hard to influence your buying decision.
Driving in the highest gear means you’re driving really fast
Trying to gauge the engine’s behaviour by the means of sound, feel, or a look at the tachometer isn’t what influences some drivers to shift into an appropriate gear. To them, if they’ve driven for the longest amount of time in the highest gear that day, they were going really fast. These are also the one’s who think that the car with the most amount of gears goes the fastest.
High beam is Dipper
This behaviour, in particular, is dangerously common. While driving after dark, for some weird reason, these guys think that the high beam is called a Dipper. Which sounds like it must be short for a dipped beam, but hey, it isn’t. And for these guys, if someone flashes their headlights at you, you must comfort their eyes with your Dipper, which it isn’t. If Dipper is what they call the high beam, there must be some strange logic behind understanding the opposite, which we aren’t aware of. We do know a lot of truck drivers suggest using ‘Dipper’ at night though. Some even spell it as ‘Diaper’.
The bigger the displacement, the better the car
Well, one wouldn’t have been wrong a few years ago if performance was the basic criterion for a car purchase. But in current times, where smaller displacement, turbocharged engines rule the roost, “No replacement for displacement” is nothing but just a myth. Consider this, a turbocharged 1.2-litre petrol motor makes more power these days than a 1.6-litre, factory fresh, naturally aspirated motor did a few years ago.
One can concentrate better when leaning forwards
There has to be at least one person you know who drives with the head almost touching the windscreen, and the steering so close, they could honk with their chest. Argue with them, and they’d say, it helps them concentrate better. Which is fine, but then they don’t realise how much damage that posture causes to the body. Mostly, these kinds are also those who feel distracted if you play the radio.
Feel free to share any such car-related behaviour you’ve come across or any similar incident that you remember. And the next time you observe someone hitting the parking light switch when they enter a tunnel, stop them right there.