Fake News or Fact: Five Common Car Myths

For whatever reason, there are still plenty of myths related to vehicles that many people believe. In today’s culture of fake news, it’s easy for a myth to get out of hand, but a lot of these have been around for decades and some people still believe them and continue to spread these false myths. Check out some of these common car myths and see if you need to adjust your mindset by learning the truth behind them.

Fake News: Manual transmissions provide better fuel economy than automatic transmissions.

Fact: This was only true when automatic transmissions were a new technology. Today both transmissions are comparable, and sometimes automatics even get better mileage.

Fake News: Allow your vehicle to warm up for a while before you start driving it.

Fact: Unless you’re driving an old vehicle with a carburetor, this is not necessary. For newer models, 30 seconds is plenty of time to let your engine warm up and it will actually warm up faster while you drive it.

Fake News: All vehicles run better on premium fuel.

Fact: Purchasing higher octane gasoline can be a waste of money unless your owner’s manual recommends using it. In fact, premium gas won’t increase your mileage or make your engine run cleaner.

Fake News: Filling your gas tank in the morning will get you more for your money.

Fact: This myth came from the belief that gasoline is denser when temperatures are cooler so you can get more fuel per gallon that you pump.

Fake News: Red cars get pulled over for speeding more than any other color.

Fact: Studies show that color does not make a difference when it comes to getting pulled over. What they have found is that the most ticketed vehicle is the Mercedes-Benz SL-Class convertible.