Hire car shenanigans
Over the years I have driven numerous cars not belonging to me, whether hired for holidays or business, or loaned to me when my car was in the garage. I have learned some interesting facts:

A Ford Ka will do an indicated 55mph in second gear.

A Rover 416i will rev to 7200 rpm before the limiter cuts in. It is also a very easy car to drive without using the clutch, except when moving off from a standing start.

The air conditioning on a Ford Mondeo smells (as my mate described it) 'like the cupboard under the stairs where you hang wet jackets' after not having been used for a while.

A Chevrolet Malibu makes a grinding noise when it has very little oil left in the sump (this wasn't deliberate - I heard the noise and decided to check the oil - the dipstick wasn't even reaching it!)

A Buick Regal's low fuel indicator gives four audible warnings before it is necessary to fill up. It is also quite a difficult car to remove from a ditch (oops).

It is seemingly impossible to get more than 17mpg from a Ford Windstar.

All American cars are crap. Except for the Dodge Magnum, (sold here as the Chrysler 300C tourer) which is quite good except for its endless thirst.

Edit - It is possible, and indeed remarkably easy, to select reverse gear instead of 4th at 30mph in an LDV van.
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Fri 25 Jul 2008, 10:48, 4 replies)

Another one...
If you slot 2nd gear at 90mph on a 1.0 Corsa, it makes a fantastic noise. First time was obviously accidental, but I liked the noise so I did it again. No obvious ill-effects on the engine, despite the fact it must have been forced to rev in excess of 10,000rpm.
( rubberduck should only be used after consulting with your GP, Fri 25 Jul 2008, 10:52, closed)

Interesting... My own experiements have yielded the following results (click BTW)
1) A MkII Volkswagen Golf GTi 16v is capable of reaching 62mph in second gear before the rev limiter cuts in.

2) Alfa Romeo air-mass meters always fail two weeks outside their warranty cutoff date.

3) If a VW dealer fills the sump of a 1043cc litre engine from a Volkswagen Polo with six litres of oil, instead of the manual's 4.2 litre maximum, the head gasket will fail.
^{And the cunts deny all responsibility}

4) The gearchange procedure with a Type 2 VW Camper is as follows:

i) Depress clutch
ii) Grasp gearstick
iii) Move gearstick with a stirring motion
iv) Lift clutch
v) If vehicle is still moving forwards, you've selected the correct gear
(Bicycle Repairman "you're also a bit of a wanker", Fri 25 Jul 2008, 11:03, closed)

So true about the Type 2 VeeDub
*wipes a tear from his eye at the memory*
(highly_defined, Fri 25 Jul 2008, 12:47, closed)

hertz australia
ford falcons with automatic gearboxes "tiptronic" style shifters. They are back to front to all ordinary cars ie push forward and it changes DOWN not UP a gear. Handy when you are doing 110 kph in 3rd gear on the tullamarine highway and want to change up.......
(welgar, Sat 26 Jul 2008, 13:14, closed)