Car Urban Legends/folklore

Just looking for examples of urban legends/folklore stories with cars involved. I am pretty sure everyone out there has heard at least one... This is going to be for a research project, and I am cross posting this in a couple different places so don't be surprised to see it elsewhere. These can be personal accounts or the 'friend of a friend' type stories.

For example.

The new car for $50, but the previous owner had died in the car. No matter what the new owner does, the smell cannot be removed from the car. Eventually the car keeps changing hands but the smell never goes away.

Anybody have any variations or other stories (they don't necessarily have to be gruesome)

Two rednecks finish up hunting and are driving home in their pickup truck. A fuse blows so they replace the fuse with a shotgun shell. Enough current flows through the shell to ignite the powder in the shell and the driver ends up full of buckshot.

Mythbusters tested that one, though they used a .22 caliber bullet. IIRC, it wasn't particularly lethal, since both the bullet and casing flew in opposite directions, reducing velocity, and they had to induce a short to get the propellant to ignite.

In terms of legends, there's probably some about cursed cars so fast, they kill their drivers. I can't think of any urban legends, but a couple of pop-culture examples would be Vin Diesel's Charger from "The Slow and the Stupid" and the hero's 240Z in the manga "Wangan Midnight."

ArtOfRuin wrote: Mythbusters tested that one, though they used a .22 caliber bullet. IIRC, it wasn't particularly lethal, since both the bullet and casing flew in opposite directions, reducing velocity, and they had to induce a short to get the propellant to ignite.

Well, what did they think would have made the fuse blow in the first place? An open?

I think the myth said that simply running current through the bullet heated the propellant enough to ignite it, but that never happened.

The most common one i have heard is the "if you can grab the $100 bill taped to the dash before i get to 100mph you can keep it" story.

InigoMontoya wrote: The new car for $50, but the previous owner had died in the car. No matter what the new owner does, the smell cannot be removed from the car. Eventually the car keeps changing hands but the smell never goes away.

Mythbusters did this one too, they couldn't get the car clean either and sold the car for nothing. Sucks they used a Vette.

Travis_K wrote: The most common one i have heard is the "if you can grab the $100 bill taped to the dash before i get to 100mph you can keep it" story.

Yeah I love that one. I still hear it today usually involving some old muscle car my Mazdaspeed6 is faster than. I don't even think a Veyron owner would enable this one to be true.

There's the classic, JATO rocket on the back of the car that catches air and flies into the side of a cliff.

On a country road near Miami University legend has it that a guy was riding a motorcycle, missed the curve and died. If you go to said curve, face the direction he was riding and blink your lights, you will see a solitary light coming towards you.

I did, and it does.

Old one, Guy sees an add in the paper for a "old Chevy" $100.00 Turns out to be a 60s vette old lady's son bought before going to war. Was KIA and the car has been in the barn since almost new.

James Dean's death car. Supposedly kills people involved with it. Cursed or something.

sjd wrote:

Travis_K wrote: The most common one i have heard is the "if you can grab the $100 bill taped to the dash before i get to 100mph you can keep it" story.

Yeah I love that one. I still hear it today usually involving some old muscle car my Mazdaspeed6 is faster than. I don't even think a Veyron owner would enable this one to be true.

I head that Shelby used to issue that challenge when taking potential customers for a ride in a 427 Cobra.

Toyman01 wrote: Old one, Guy sees an add in the paper for a "old Chevy" $100.00 Turns out to be a 60s vette old lady's son bought before going to war. Was KIA and the car has been in the barn since almost new.

sounds like a song I've heard...

That song is one of my friend's favorites (he's a HUGE country fan). I don't remember what the song's called, but in the end, the owner wrecks the 'Vette and is pulled out by a soldier. When he reports what happened to the police, they say no one saw any soldiers nearby.

The one about the listing for a car for $100 when the interested party turns up it is a wife selling her cheating husbands Porsche, that one keeps me from stepping out.

Appleseed wrote: James Dean's death car. Supposedly kills people involved with it. Cursed or something.

i heard that someone bought the wrecked car and rebuilt another car using some of the part from dean's car, and that car ended up killing him as well.

Junkyard_Dog wrote:

ArtOfRuin wrote: Mythbusters tested that one, though they used a .22 caliber bullet. IIRC, it wasn't particularly lethal, since both the bullet and casing flew in opposite directions, reducing velocity, and they had to induce a short to get the propellant to ignite.

Well, what did they think would have made the fuse blow in the first place? An open?

they actually burned the low gauge wire going to the crap fuse box they pulled from a random truck in the JY when they put the .22 round in place of the fuse. they had to basically dead short the battery through the round to set it off.

Cobra 427 story:

Guy walks into a dealership and tells the salesman he wants a Cobra 427. Salesman tries to talk him into getting a Cobra 289 instead but the guy is adamant that he wants the 427. Salesman convinces customer to go with him on a ride with a Cobra and proceeds to scare the bejeezus out of him. They come back, customer agrees with the dealer that maybe he's better off buying the 289 Cobra.

"Son," the dealer replies, "that was the 289 Cobra."

Appleseed wrote: James Dean's death car. Supposedly kills people involved with it. Cursed or something.

I heard all the people that bought parts off the car died. steering box, transaxle ect.

Volksroddin wrote:

Appleseed wrote: James Dean's death car. Supposedly kills people involved with it. Cursed or something.

I heard all the people that bought parts off the car died. steering box, transaxle ect.

Same here, still want to get a small silver porshe 'vert, (what is the closet modern equiv.? Boxter?) and name it "lil' basterd II"

David Ball - Riding With Private Malone

I like the song, but hate the character. Come on, you wrecked a Corvette cause you're an idiot.

sjd wrote:

Travis_K wrote: The most common one i have heard is the "if you can grab the $100 bill taped to the dash before i get to 100mph you can keep it" story.

Yeah I love that one. I still hear it today usually involving some old muscle car my Mazdaspeed6 is faster than. I don't even think a Veyron owner would enable this one to be true.

Yup, if I had a nickle every time I heard that story I would already have $100

ArtOfRuin wrote: That song is one of my friend's favorites (he's a HUGE country fan). I don't remember what the song's called, but in the end, the owner wrecks the 'Vette and is pulled out by a soldier. When he reports what happened to the police, they say no one saw any soldiers nearby.

Riding With Private Malone by David Ball.

edit: dammit mtn, you beat me

There's an old story around here called the "Lady & the Lantern", and I've heard the site called "Red Lantern Lane".

The story is based around an old man who dissapeared one night bringing in his cows. His wife grabbed a lantern & went out looking for him....etc.etc...

Anyway, if you go to the spot & turn off your lights, you'll see a swinging red light approach from out of nowhere. I've never done it, but it made it into print in one of the "Weird Indiana" or "Haunted Indiana" books - which its self is weird, as the site is near Watseka, IL - not in Indiana.

I've also heard several stories of a "Hooks Bridge", where if you park on a particular creepy old bridge & shut your car off, you'll hear a loud "clank" & your car won't move. Seems like every region has one of these.