Urban Legends Auto Trivia Quiz

Answer: A jealous husband filled his rival's car with cement.

This one's a classic (the legend, not the car). A man who drives a cement mixer comes home for lunch one day to find a new convertible in the driveway. When he hears a man's voice inside, he know's what's up. Rather than cause a scene, he backs up his truck and fills the car with concrete.

The joke's on him, however...the guy was a car salesman, and the convertible was a birthday present from his wife! You can have this one cheap and I'll throw in a hammer and chisel.

Answer: A man threw out his back while making love and the EMTs had to rip off the roof to get the couple out.

Many good urban legends deal with 'getting caught in the act.' The woman in this story was horrified...not about her lover's back, but how she was going to explain to her husband what happened to his car!

Answer: A handful of nuts and bolts in the door panel

After the car was taken completely apart, the mechanics sheepishly showed the rich owner the source. A factory worker had dumped loose bolts in the door panel, along with a note: 'So you finally found the rattle, you rich SOB'. Rather than pay to have the car put back together, the owner made it into a piece of modern art.

Answer: A driver rerouted the RV's television so he could watch it while he drove...with predictable results.

The 'threading the needle' legend is an old one. The night before they are to be drafted, three bikers go out for a last ride. One speeds ahead, then turns around, intending to pass between his buddies. He doesn't realize that a truck has passed his friends, and smashes into the grill right between the oncoming headlights.

There have been countless stories of oldsters thinking that cruise control will actually steer a vehicle, and going back for a nap.

The naked lady story goes thus: A man is driving his RV home after a long trip, with his naked wife asleep in the back. When he stops for a long light, she thinks they're home in their garage, and steps out. The light changes, and she's left on the highway with no clothes. A young motorcyclist picks her up, and when her husband sees his wife on the back of a bike wearing nothing but a leather jacket, he wrecks the RV.

Answer: A $70 Harley Davidson motorcycle

There is an urban legend about a man buying an old Harley, only to find it was once owned by Elvis, but he still paid market value.

The $50 Porsche was sold by a woman whose husband had run off with his secretary, and instructed his wife to sell the car and the house and to send him half. I wonder why she didn't take it all in the divorce settlement.

The dream Corvette story is about a man who buys a classic car, is sent to Vietnam, and dies in action. Years later, his mother sells the machine for nothing, advertising it as an old Chevy. You can hear this story in David Ball's song 'Riding With Private Malone.'

The stinky sedan is a favorite of mine. The owner of a car dies in the front seat, (or is murdered and stuffed in the trunk). The body is not discovered for some time, and no one is able to remove the stench. You may remember this theme from an episode of 'Seinfeld.'

Answer: A VW Beetle with four people inside

They apparently left the two trucks at the scene of the accident for a while. A week later, the smell alerted authorities to the presence of a VW lodged between them.

Answer: A man in a huge SUV becomes lodged in a car wash and starves.

I made up the car wash story. In 'the forgotten wreck,' a road worker throws a stone off a ledge, hears a clank, and finds a fifty-year-old car filled with skeletons. The family picnicing on the ramp and the stolen grandma are old standbys.

Answer: A man sends the police a picture of a check for payment of a traffic ticket. The police send him a picture of handcuffs.

Odd as it sounds, the photo of the handcuffs story is true. The man was caught by an automated speed trap and was sent a ticket, along with a photo of his car. He thought sending in a photo of a check would be funny, until he got the photo of the handcuffs in return.

The other three stories never happened. You can see the 'drunk in the police cruiser' story in the movie 'Good Will Hunting.'

Answer: Drivers who flash their lights

This made the rounds a few years ago. Supposedly guys who wanted to join a gang would drive around at night with their lights off. When someone flashed their lights to warn them, the gangstas would hunt them down and kill them. Thankfully, this never actually happened.

Answer: The owner was illegally fishing with dynamite. His dog dutifully fetched the 'stick' he threw in the water.

There are several variations on this story. The owner is usually fishing with dynamite and his dog fetches the explosive (sometimes he's ice fishing and his truck ends up sinking in the lake). Sometimes he's just a sadist who straps M80's to bunny rabbits until one runs under his truck. The story ends with the insurance company refusing to pay off, leaving him to make payments on a totaled vehicle.

Thanks for playing. I got most of my information from the Urban Legends reference site http://www.snopes.com/autos/autos.asp and from the great books by Jan Harold Brunvand. And remember, next time you're parking in lovers' lane, if you hear a strange scraping on the roof DON'T LOOK!