The biggest automotive myths – and why they’re wrong

Slide of Over the last century and a quarter, motoring has become entangled in a web of untruths and half-truths. It would be nice to be able to demolish all of them, but unfortunately that's beyond the scope of a single article. However, we can at least make a start. In that spirit, here are 15 motoring and motorsport myths which you may believe to be true, along with the 15 reasons why they aren't: Slide of Americans and front-wheel drive: the myth Motorists in the United States dislike, and have no interest in talking or even thinking about, cars which are driven through their front wheels. They love rear-wheel drive vehicles, of course, especially if they are fitted with large V8 engines. Four-wheel drive is considered an acceptable alternative for pickup trucks. Front-wheel drive? Forget it. This is the way it has been, is now, and always will be. Or so you'd think, if you have a cartoonish view of American behaviour. Slide of Americans and front-wheel drive: the truth There are a great many front-wheel drive cars on sale in the US today, and on the whole Americans are okay with this. But this is not a modern phenomenon. For example, the Cadillac Eldorado (1976 model pictured) was front-wheel drive from 1967 to 2002, despite at one point having an 8.2-litre V8 engine under the hood. There were many others too, including the fabulous Cord L-29 of 1929. Three years before model that hit the showrooms, a front-wheel drive Miller racing car won the Indianapolis 500. Americans are very familiar with the layout, and know how to use it. The top three best-selling cars (as opposed to trucks or SUVs) in the US in 2020 were the Toyota Camry, Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla – and all 792,000 examples of them in total are front-wheel drive. Slide of Aston Martin: the myth Aston Martin is often said to have been named after one of its founders, Lionel Martin (1878-1945, pictured), and the Buckinghamshire town of Aston Clinton. Martin had very little personal connection with the town apart from winning an event on a nearby hillclimb course which was, and still is, a public road. Most of this is true, but anyone who tells the story exactly like this is making one significant mistake. Slide of Aston Martin: the truth The Martin part of the name does indeed refer to Lionel Martin, but Aston refers to the hillclimb course, which is called (not unexpectedly) Aston Hill, and not to the town. There is of course a link between the names of Aston Clinton and Aston Hill - too long a story to tell here - but the car company was definitely named after the latter, and not the former. Slide of Chevrolet Nova: the myth It is said that the Chevrolet Nova was unsuccessful in Spanish-speaking countries because no va is the Spanish for "it doesn't go". This is presented as fact only in low-quality articles. We can do better than that. Slide of Chevrolet Nova: the truth The word “nova”, with the stress on the first syllable, means the same in Spanish as it does in English: the sudden appearance of what seems to be, but in fact isn’t, a new star. No va does indeed mean "it doesn't go", but no functiona ("it doesn’t work”) is probably a better translation in this context. In any case, no va sounds different from nova because the stress is on the second syllable. Spanish speakers would never confuse the two terms, and would have good reason to be offended if you suggested that they might. Slide of Drag racing: the myth Drag racing consists of two drivers racing against each other in a straight line from a standing start. Since the sport was formalised in the early 1950s, the competitive length of the track in high-level events has always been a quarter of a mile (or 1320 feet), followed by a much longer run-off area. In amateur events, runs may take place over an eight of a mile, but the “standing quarter” is the norm in professional racing. Well, sort of, but anyone who tells you this hasn't been paying attention to the sport for over a decade. Slide of Drag racing: the truth Cars fuelled by nitromethane and running in National Hot Road Association (NHRA) events in the US were required to compete over just 1000 feet from partway through the 2008 season, following the death of professional driver Scott Kalitta (1962-2008). The new rule was taken up by other governing bodies around the world in the following years. Despite the shorter distance, dragsters are now reaching higher speeds at the finish line than they did during the quarter-mile era. The current record is 339.87mph. It was achieved by Robert Hight (born 1969, pictured) in a Chevrolet Camaro Funny Car at Sonoma, California on 29 July 2017. Slide of Ford Pinto: the myth In dark corners of the internet you will find people insisting that the Ford Pinto flopped in Brazil because pinto, in Portuguese, is an abusive term. Others, aware that the car