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About This Quiz
The automotive industry is diverse, full of people from all walks of life and every possible style of car. Equally as diverse is the language used by gearheads. There are words to describe types of cars and wheels, ways of driving, and even groups of people who love certain models. For instance, if you hear the term "lead sled" is the first thing that pops into your mind Santa or a 1951 Mercury Eight? Do you think you have a good enough grasp of the automotive landscape to score well in this quiz? Your brain will need to be firing on all cylinders!
Something which can intimidate people is the thought of speaking to a mechanic and becoming lost because of the slang used. Are you the person your friends call to head down to the auto shop with them? If a mechanic tells you your engine will blow if you go over a "ton," what speed are they talking about? This quiz will reward people who have legitimately mastered the automotive dictionary, or fill in the gaps for those who have a few words left to learn. If you think you can talk the talk, test your auto slang knowledge now!
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If someone has "keyed" your car, what have they done?
Broken into it without keys
Copied your keys
Left their keys in it
Scratched it with a key
Keying someone's car is the act of using a key to scratch the vehicle's windows or paint. It is considered an act of vandalism and often committed out of anger or spite.
DIVINE via YouTube
What does it mean if a car is "slammed?"
It's been rear-ended.
It's been lowered practically as much as possible.
A slammed car hasn't just been lowered, it's riding practically as low as it can go. The wheel arches appear to sit on the tires themselves. There's a huge community around this style, and some people spend a considerable amount of money to achieve the look.
It rear-ended another vehicle.
It has an engine which is too big.
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Lemons aren't just a sour fruit. In the automotive world, they refer to ...
Yellow cars
Bad or unreliable cars
Bad or unreliable cars are referred to as "lemons." There are several theories regarding where this term originates from. Its most likely origin is from British slang used in the 1900s when to "hand someone a lemon" meant to "pass off a sub-standard article as a good one."
Fast cars
Slow cars
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If you drive a "ricer," your car has most likely been imported from ...
England
Japan
The term "rice rocket" came into popularity during the '60s and '70s with the influx of Japanese motorcycles. "Rice" was used to describe them as it's a staple of the Japanese diet. So, as Japanese car imports became more prominent, the term to describe them became "ricers."
Germany
Italy
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"Turbo lag" is described as ...
Someone who's envious of another's turbocharger
The moments before a turbocharger boosts power
Turbochargers work by channeling exhaust gases back into cylinders. But this requires exhaust pressure, which takes time to build up. So, if you put your foot down at low RPMs you may experience a lag before the exhaust pressure builds up enough to spool the turbocharger.
A disconnected turbocharger
An engine with two turbochargers
Workhorse Inc via YouTube
What does it mean to "dump the clutch?"
Suddenly engage the clutch
When someone "dumps" the clutch, also referred to as "dropping the clutch," they engage the clutch as quickly as possible while keeping the car's revs high. This usually results in the car's tires breaking traction and burning some rubber. Be warned, if you want to keep your drivetrain healthy, this isn't recommended.
Switch to an automatic transmission
Release the clutch slowly
Break the clutch
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Boats are usually found in water. But if your car is described as a "boat"...
It's huge.
Some big cars are extremely hard to maneuver due to their size and weight. Anyone who's been out on the water in a cruiser will know this is also true of boats, hence the nickname.
It's too big at the front.
It's too big at the rear.
It's fast.
WhipAddict via YouTube
Where are "spinners" located on a car?
The engine
The hood
The steering wheel
The wheels
Spinners are attached to the center of a vehicle's wheels. They move independently from the car's wheels, allowing them to keep spinning even after the vehicle has come to a complete stop. Spinners rose to popularity in the early-2000s, but have been fading out of popularity since the mid-2000s.
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What's a "4-banger?"
A car with a four-cylinder engine
The cylinders in engines are often referred to as bangers. The name comes from the fact that, as the air/gas mixture explodes in a cylinder, it'll cause a bang. So, engines that have four cylinders are called 4-bangers.
A car with four flat tires
A four-person drag race
A car with four seats
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When you do donuts, you ...
Drift around in circles
Doing donuts involves losing rear traction and turning so the car continuously drifts in circles. The burnt rubber from the car's wheels will leave black circles on the asphalt which look like donuts, hence the name. It can be fun to watch a good driver do tidy donuts, but it's not so fun paying for new sets of rear tires every few weeks.
Eat donuts in your car
Do a skid
Do a burnout
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If you come across a "sleeper" car, you should expect it to ...
Be unreliable
Be much faster than it looks
Sleepers don't look like anything special. In fact, their exteriors look just as they did when they rolled out of the factory. But it's a different story entirely when it comes to what lies under their hoods: These are high-performance machines. If you ever come head to head with a sleeper on a track, prepare to be shocked.
Be extremely slow
Be boring to look at
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In auto slang, when someone says "vette," what are they referring to?
A system that feeds air into the engine
Veterans who drive
A veterinarian's car
A Corvette
When an automotive manufacturer gets a nickname, you know they're popular. But, when an individual model gets a nickname, it's reached superstardom. This is the case with Chevrolet's Corvette. To those in the know, a Corvette is affectionately known as a "vette."
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What is the best season to drive a "breezer?"
Winter
Fall
Spring
Summer
A "breezer" refers to a convertible. It gets the name due to the breeze which runs through the car while its top is down. Of course, there's no better time of year to drive a convertible than during the summer.
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What does it mean if your car is a "4X?"
It has a four-cylinder engine.
It has a four-wheel-drive system.
A 4X is a shortened way of describing a 4X4 system (as if it needed to get any shorter). These systems are usually found on trucks and SUVs, and provide superior grip when driving off-road.
It has four bald tires.
It has four flat tires.
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What does AWD stand for?
All-wheel drive
All-wheel drive cars are capable of sending power to all four wheels. These systems are especially useful when driving over rough terrain or in poor conditions as they provide more grip.
Any wheel drive
Any way drive
All wheels different
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Which of the following words do you say to claim the front passenger seat of a car?
First
Shotgun
Riding shotgun used to refer to the person who sat next to a stagecoach driver. This person carried a shotgun to ward off attacks on the stagecoach. As the use of automobiles became more popular, riding "shotgun" became known as riding in the front passenger seat.
Front
Mine
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"Pinks" is slang for a car's title. But what state did this slang word originate in?
Texas
California
The slang word "pinks" refers to a car's title, which is otherwise known as a pink slip. It originated in California, which has historically had more cars than any other state and has nearly twice as many cars as Texas, which comes in second. In California, a car's title was originally printed on pink paper so the driver would notice it and not accidentally throw it away.
New York
Florida
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"Heel-toe" driving is usually used in what form of motorsport?
Motorcycle racing
ATV racing
Powerboat racing
Rally
The heel-toe driving technique is used by car drivers. As the driver slows down by applying pressure to the brake pedal with their toes, they simultaneously use the accelerator with their heel. This allows them to keep the revs high when slowing down and cornering.
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When people talk about a "10-second car," what does the time refer to?
How long it takes to break into it
How long it takes to get to 60 mph
How long it takes to start its engine
How long it takes to get down a quarter-mile drag strip
A "10-second car" is a car that can get down a quarter-mile drag strip in between 10.00 - 10.99 seconds. Lovers of drag racing or the movie franchise "The Fast and the Furious" will know that 10 seconds is not an arbitrary time. Any vehicle that eats up a quarter-mile in 10 seconds or less is outrageously fast.
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Driving like a "hoon" means driving ...
Calmly
In reverse
Inside
Recklessly
"Hooning" or driving like a "hoon" basically means you're driving with needless recklessness. This style of driving has become something of an epidemic in Australia over the past few years, with the country even bringing in some "anti-hoon" legislation.
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If you drive a "Bimmer," what colors are your car's badges?
Black and yellow
Silver and red
Blue and red
White, blue and black
A "Bimmer" refers to a BMW car, which has two blue and two white segments that are surrounded by a black circle. This logo represents white propeller blades against a blue sky. There's nothing random about this, as BMW started out manufacturing aircraft engines.
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What type of fuel does your vehicle use if it's an "oil burner?"
Diesel
Back in the day, diesel engines could be made to run on many different types of oils. This isn't true for modern diesel engines, but even today, you'll notice that diesel is a much oilier liquid than gasoline: hence the name "oil burner."
Hydrogen
Gasoline
Electricity
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Where would you find the "beltline" on a car?
Along the bottom of its window frames
The "beltline" refers to the vertical midpoint of a car. Normally, this is considered to be the bottom edge of most cars' windows. Sometimes mechanics will use a car's beltline as a reference point.
In its grill
On its dashboard
On the shifter
Carfection via YouTube
Someone performs a "Scandinavian flick" when they want to ...
Come to a brisk halt
Cause their car to drift
The Scandinavian flick is a technique by which drivers first turn a car in the opposite direction of the corner they're approaching. Then the driver turns the steering wheel to match the direction of the corner, initiating a drift. The technique was popularized by Scandinavian rally drivers in the '60s, hence its name.
Accelerate quickly
Get into a tight parking space
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"Crosswalk creeping" refers to the act of ...
Talking to strangers at a crosswalk
Staring at people as they cross the street
Refusing to use a crosswalk
Stopping on a pedestrian crosswalk while stopped at a red light
A crosswalk creep refers to a driver who inches their way deeper into the crosswalk even while the traffic lights are still red. For many crosswalk creeps, the reason for their actions comes down to impatience. But some crosswalk creeps hope to get the jump on the other motorists once the lights turn green.
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Where are the hinges located on suicide doors?
At the front
On the bottom
At the back
Suicide doors have their hinges at the rear, which causes them to open outward from the front. The name wasn't just for show, as they really could be dangerous. If they opened while a car was moving, the passenger could be thrown from the vehicle while trying to shut them, or the car could even lose control.
On the top
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If your car is a "hand shaker," it has a ...
Manual transmission
Anyone who's driven a manual car knows that your hand can be kept quite busy when trying to stay in the right gear. This has led to cars with manual transmissions being called "hand shakers."
Problem with its allignment
Big engine that vibrates a lot
Fueling problem
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For a car to be considered "blacked out," which parts must be black?
Basically all visible exterior parts
Owners of blacked-out cars have gone to every effort to ensure their vehicle only shows the color black. This means blacking out everything including the badges, wheels, chrome parts and even the taillights. Of course, the windows need to be tinted too.
Its paint scheme
The rims
The windows and lights
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The term "slushbox" refers to a car's ...
Trunk
Gas tank
Automatic gearbox
A "slushbox" refers to a car that uses an automatic gearbox. Manual transmissions are known to feel direct and engaging, but early automatic transmissions felt "slushy" and too fluid while making forward progression. Torque converters have helped give automatic transmission some feeling, but they can't seem to lose the tag: "slushbox."
Radio
Mustang Lifestyle via YouTube
If your car has a "bug catcher," it has ...
A hood scoop
When open, hood scoops direct airflow into a car's engine, which can help to improve performance. To get as much air as possible, hood scoops are raised above a car's hood. Big hood scoops, which are often fitted to muscle cars, stop bugs before they can get to the windshield: hence the name.
A big engine
A big windshield
A big grille
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BMW
If your car "understeers" ...
The steering wheel is too light.
The rear wheels lose traction.
The front wheels lose traction.
Understeer occurs when a car's front tires lose grip, causing the car to turn less than the driver has inputted with the steering wheel. When cars understeer, they often run wide. This issue is more commonly associated with front-wheel drive rather than rear-wheel drive vehicles.
The power steering is broken.
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If you're "riding mafia," you'll be situated ...
In the back seats
In a Lincoln Continental
In the front passenger seat
In the trunk
People who were unlucky enough to cross members of the mafia often found themselves in the trunk of a car. Now the term "riding mafia" is used to describe someone who rides in the trunk of a car, although voluntarily. Even if the action is voluntary, it's ill-advised, as riding in a car's trunk is dangerous and illegal.
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What is "rev matching?"
Revving the engine when you start it
Revving as you downshift
Rev matching is the act of raising a car's revs as you downshift through a manual transmission. This makes downshifts smoother and can also be healthier for your drivetrain, especially if you tend to downshift at high RPMs.
Not using the clutch to downshift
Not using the clutch to upshift
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When you hear the word "whip," you might think of a dessert. But, in the automotive world, it refers to a ...
Blown tire
Loud exhaust
Car
In the early days, a car's steering wheel was referred to as a "whip." This term fell out of fashion but was brought back to popularity in the '90s when hip-hop artists recognized that the Mercedes-Benz logo resembled a steering wheel, and thus a "whip." For a while, only Mercedes-Benz models were referred to as whips, although now this term is used for all cars.
Spoiler
BMW JOY TV via YouTube
What kind of maneuver is a "Rockford turn?"
A donut
A drift
A J-turn
A J-turn is the act of accelerating in reverse before hitting the brakes hard and turning the steering wheel so the car turns 180 degrees. Then selecting drive or first gear and accelerating forward. In the 1970's TV show "The Rockford Files" the main character, Jim Rockford, was famous for doing this maneuver: leading some to call it "the Rockford turn."
A handbrake turn
You Got:
/35
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