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| 1940 Willys Quad prototype |
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Christmas comes but once a year – and that’s probably just as well because I’m not sure my blood pressure would be able to stand anything more frequent. It’s not that I find Christmas itself particularly stressful – it’s just that the annual mega-quiz at my local has hit something of a raw nerve this year.
I’m not that good at general knowledge, but when it comes to cars and pop music I’m your man. While the latter figures fairly heavily in the 100 questions, anything motoring-related rarely gets a look in. So imagine my joy when the quiz master asked us to name the first four-wheel drive production car.
I immediately thought of the 1941 Willys Jeep; after all, the 1903 Spyker was probably not what he had in mind. Then I thought about the production car bit; was it the 1948 Land Rover that he was after? Maybe neither would be classed a car, so the 1966 Jensen FF could get a look in – or there was always the Subaru Leone from 1972.
With much cajoling from me, the team opted for the Jeep, which was clearly in production well before any of the others – and it’s quite definitely a car. I’m not especially competitive, so if the Land Rover was chosen in place of the Jeep I could live with it. But it wasn’t – and neither was the Jensen or the Subaru. In fact according to the man with the mic, the first four-wheel drive production car wasn’t built until 1980. That’s right – the Audi Quattro was apparently the first production car with power going to each corner.
I don’t think I’d be quite so upset if two teams didn’t score a point apiece by getting the same wrong answer as the quiz master. Sometimes I think I just know too much – let me know about any know-alls who really know nothing.
Shoot the quizmaster!
autonut | 02 Jan 07 - 18:22