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AUTOMOBILE HISTORY TRIVIA QUIZ

Directions: Do this activity at home with the help of an adult or work with a partner.

The Internet would be a great place to help you find the answers.

1. Which was the first United States carmaker to make cars with standardized parts?

A GM B Chrysler

C Ford D Oldsmobile

2. This model of car had no options, not even the color. "You can have any color, as long as it is black!"

said the company owner. What car was this?

A Model A Ford B Model T Ford C Model S Ford D Model G Ford

3. In 1908, William C. Durant offered to sell stock in a new company he was forming. He then used the

cash and stock to buy four existing automakers. What was the name of this new company?

A Ford Motor Company B Chrysler Corporation

C General Motors D The International Motor Car Company

4. A car was named for this French adventurer who founded the city of Detroit in 1701. Who was it?

A Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac B Anthony Wayne

C Napoleon D George Rogers Clark

5. The fifth car company to be acquired by General Motors in 1911 was named for this Swiss-born race

car driver. Who was it?

A Louis Chevrolet B Mario Andretti C Barney Oldfield D Jeff Gordon

6. Charles Kettering of Dayton Engineering Laboratories Co. invented one of the most important

advancements the auto industry has ever known. It first appeared on Cadillacs in 1912. Cars

equipped with his invention sold like crazy. What was his invention?

A power steering B automatic transmission C fuel pump D the electric starter

7. Following a dispute with stockholders, Ransom E. Olds quit Oldsmobile even before it was bought

by General Motors. He then built cars and trucks under which brand name?

A Buick B REO C Tucker D Lincoln Motor Car

8. What do the initials A.C. stand for in A.C. Spark Plug?

A Albert Cole B Albert Cunningham C Albert Champion D Albert Chesterfield

9. This man was a chief engineer for General Motors. He quit, bought the Maxwell

Automobile Works and changed the car name to his own. Who was it?

A Billy Durant B Henry Leland

C James Couzens D Walter P. Chrysler

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AUTOMOBILE HISTORY TRIVIA QUIZ - page 2

10. The German automaker Daimler named a car for the daughter of one

of his employees. What was the girl’s name?

A Marsella B Jupiter

C Porsche D Mercedes

11. What is the origin of the name Jeep®?

A Jeepers Creepers B From saying aloud “G.P.” or “general purpose” vehicle

C Just easy, easy please D It was made on Jeep® street.

12. Which of these brothers sold their company to Chrysler in 1928?

A Dodge Brothers B Daimler Brothers C Ford Brothers D General Brothers

13. Ford named a line of cars for the son of Henry Ford. What was the son’s name?

A Ernie B Earl C Diesel D Edsel

14. America’s Interstate Highway System was established by which U.S. President?

A Washington B Eisenhower C Bush D Carter

15. In the 1950s, this new smaller car was such a success for American Motors, it soon stopped

making the big Nash and Hudson cars. Which car was it?

A Rambler B Rustler C Gambler D Gustler

16. The Yellow Coach Company would eventually become which brand of trucks?

A GMC B Dodge C Ford D Toyota

17. John F. Kennedy was riding in which brand of vehicle in Dallas when he was fatally shot?

A Bonneville B Aurora C Rivera D Lincoln Continental

18. Which onetime general manager of Pontiac Division wanted to start a company to build sports cars?

A Preston Tucker B Walter P. Chrysler C John DeLorean D Lee Iacocca

19. What car company produced a truck that was changed and used in the t.v. show, the

Beverly Hillbillies?

A GM B Chrysler C Ford D Oldsmobile

20. In the Beach Boys’ song "Little Old Lady From Pasadena,” what brand of car did she drive?

A Chevrolet B Dodge C Toyota D Honda

1. Oldsmobile

2. Model T Ford

3. Lucille

4. Ormond Beach. (Also give yourself a correct answer if you said Daytona Beach.)

5. Buick, Cadillac, Oakland (later called Pontiac) and Oldsmobile. Give yourself credit if you named Pontiac

instead of Oakland.

6. Cadillac, or Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac.

7. Chevrolet, or Louis Chevrolet

8. The electric starter. (His company, Dayton Engineering Laboratories Co, better known as DELCO, would

become part of General Motors.)

9. R.E.O. (The initials of Ransom E. Olds.)

10. Albert Champion (as in A.C.’s competitor, Champion Spark Plug!)

11. Chrysler, or Walter P. Chrysler

12. Mercedes

13. Volkswagen.

14. Porsche, or Dr. Ferdinand Porsche.

15. Short answer: The first prototype was built by Bantam Car Company, best known for their midget cars.

Long answer: But the American military feared that Bantam could not produce enough of them, so Jeeps were built

only by Willys and by Ford, in equal numbers and using standardized parts. After the war, production went to Willys; which eventually became Kaiser-Jeep, which was later acquired by American Motors and then all of that

company taken over by Chrysler.

16. The name came from saying aloud the Army’s name of "G.P.," or "general purpose" vehicle.

17. The Henry J. car, named for the company founder, Henry J. Kaiser.

18. The Dodge Brothers, or John F. Dodge and Horace E. Dodge.

19. Edsel, or Edsel Ford.

20. Studebaker.

21. Nash, or Charles Nash.

22. Lee Iacocca.

23. Cord and Duesenberg.

24. The Lincoln Highway.

25. 1942

26. US Army Corps of Engineers

27. Dwight D. Eisenhower.

28. DeSoto

29. LaSalle

30. Rambler

31. Packard

32. GMC.

33. Studebaker (horse-drawn carriage)

34. Lincoln Continental

35. DeLorean or John Z. DeLorean

36. DeSoto (or DeSoto/Plymouth Division.)

37. Chevrolet. "See the USA, in your Chevrolet!"

38. Oldsmobile

39. Dodge. "Shiny red super-stock Dodge."

40. Ralph Nader

Jeep® is a registered

trademark of DaimlerChrysler.

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