Second Annual Sub5Zero Christmas Motoring Triviaganza
Last year, tiny tots of all ages had their eyes set aglow by our first Christmas Motoring Triviaganza. In fact, the reception was so positive (if you can call zero people leaving an angry word – or any word – about it in the comments section “positive”) that we decided we just had to do another one this year. As in 2014, there are five difficulty levels of five questions each, ranging from the Bunny Slope (Read: So easy your grandma can probably nail some of them.) to Lucifer’s Sweat-Soaked Taint (Read: Stuff you’d only know if you’ve journeyed to the farthest and most obscure reaches of automotive, motorcycling and motorsports factoid-dom.).
Herewith, your questions and, in the spirit of giving, the answers at the very bottom of this post, rather than making you wait 24 hours for a separate post. We know it’s not much of a gift, but it comes from the heart. Be safe, be well, have a joyful Christmas Day, and we’ll see you on Monday.
Round One: The Bunny Slope
- In what Detroit suburb is Ford Motor Company headquartered?
- What company used to go by the name Datsun here in the U.S. and in many other countries?
- What manufacturer scored its record-extending 17th 24 Hours of Le Mans overall win in June?
- With what color is Kawasaki most closely associated?
- On what car was the Chrysler Crossfire based?
Round Two: The Big Kids Table
- In May, Matthew Brabham will likely become the third third-generation driver to race in the Indianapolis 500. Who are the first two?
- After what creature is the Suzuki Hayabusa named?
- With what car was the Vauxhall Lotus Carlton/Opel Lotus Omega’s 6-speed manual transmission shared?
- “Dieselgate” is hardly the first big scandal involving Volkswagen; in 1965 the company paid which automaker 1 million deutschmarks to settle a lawsuit alleging VW ripped off one of its prewar designs to create the Beetle?
- Besides establishing a company that exclusively tunes Honda products, how is the founder of Mugen connected to Honda?
Round Three: Long Division
- What was the only regular production Ferrari to be designed by Bertone?
- The Matra-Simca Bagheera sports car was notable for being named after a character in The Jungle Book. What was its other distinctive attribute?
- Prior to Toyota, what was the last non-American manufacturer to win a race in what’s now the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series?
- What non-motoring-related conglomerate owned Harley-Davidson from 1969 to 1981?
- What was the main reason for the discontinuation of the Sunbeam Tiger?
Round Four: Bomb Disposal
- How many different U.S. venues have hosted a round of the Formula 1 World Championship? And for extra credit, name them.
- Which of the following companies has not built a motorcycle: Peugeot, Bridgestone, Hyundai, Daimler
- What is the significance of the “JS” in the names of Ligier race cars?
- What is the current use of the former Ford factory in Milpitas, California?
- Which company built the first mass-produced automotive V6 engine?
Round Five: Lucifer’s Sweat-Soaked Taint
- True or false: Honda has never sold a V8-powered production automobile.
- Long before the Catera, what international GM product did Cadillac consider importing in the 1970s as a smaller, more fuel efficient model (relative to the mammoth Eldorado and de Ville/Fleetwood)?
- Which Zagato-designed vehicle featured wheels that incorporated NACA ducts?
- Which NFL hall of famer competed in the SCCA Trans Am series, scoring a career best finish of eighth place?
- What company sold rebadged Gilera single-cylinder four-stroke motorcycles between 1966 and ’69?
The Answers!
Round One
- Dearborn, Michigan
- Nissan
- Porsche
- Light green
- The first generation (R170) Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class.
Round Two
- A.J. Foyt IV and Marco Andretti
- Peregrine falcon
- Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1
- Tatra
- Mugen founder Hirotoshi Honda is the son of Soichiro Honda
Round Three
- The 308 GT4
- Three-abreast seating
- Jaguar
- AMF, the company best known for bowling equipment and bowling alleys
- Chrysler purchased Sunbeam’s parent, the Rootes Group, in 1967. Chrysler’s small block LA-series V8 wouldn’t fit, and it understandably had no interest in continuing to buy Ford Windsor V8s to put in the Tiger, so the model was axed at the close of the ’67 model year.
Round Four
- 10: Sebring, Riverside, Watkins Glen, Long Beach, Las Vegas (Caesar’s Palace), Detroit, Dallas (Fair Park), Phoenix, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Circuit of the Americas
- Hyundai
- It’s short for Jo Schlesser, a French racing driver and friend/countryman of Guy Ligier (who passed away this past August). Schlesser was killed in the 1968 French Grand Prix at Rouen, and Ligier incorporated “JS” into the names of his cars in tribute.
- Shopping mall
- Lancia
Round Five
- False! The 1993-’98 Crossroad – a JDM-only rebadged Land Rover Discovery Series I – was offered with Rover’s Buick-designed aluminum 3.9L pushrod V8.
- The second-generation Opel Diplomat. The proposal was ultimately rejected and the Chevrolet Nova based Seville was developed instead.
- Autech Stelvio
- Walter Payton
- Sears, Roebuck & Company