Seven years ago I came across an advertisement for a How Stuff Works quiz about vehicles from the 1970s (Tyler, 2018). The promo stated that “no one is getting a perfect score . . . and it’s driving the Internet crazy!”
It was a dumb quiz when I first took it, so today I thought I would check to see if it still is posted on the Internet, still is dumb . . . and still has a basic fact error. Spoiler alert: Yes cubed.
This quiz is still hilariously dumbed down
Anyone who was alive in the 1970s and had a basic familiarity with the vehicles sold in the U.S. could get at least close to a perfect score. For example, consider the photo below. When I first took the quiz the choices were: 1974 Volkswagen Golf, 1971 AMC Gremlin, 1972 Chevrolet Brookwood and 1976 Jeep CJ-7.
If you had been stumped, you could click on a “hint” box. After intently watching an informative commercial, the hint was bestowed: “The makers name rhymes with ballet.” (Note: The apostrophe in “maker’s” was removed in order to reflect the lower publishing standards back in the 1970s.)
Perhaps How Stuff Works saw our article about their quiz, because it no longer includes a hint. In addition, this question’s choices were made tougher. They now only include wagons: the 1974 Ford Country Squire, 1971 Pontiac Safari, 1972 Chevrolet Brookwood and 1975 Chrysler Town & Country. That said, it’s still not a tough question.
I won’t spoil any more of your fun if you haven’t yet taken the quiz, but this goes on for 40 questions. Once in a while you are asked to identify a car not sold in the U.S. Even if you are clueless you can potentially get the right answer through a process of elimination. That’s because most of the choices are obviously not a match. For example, you aren’t likely to confuse a Jeep with a European racing car.
Be forewarned that the quiz does include a trick question that could stump even knowledgeable car folks. This is because the vehicle in question is heavily disguised with a weird custom body. I don’t remember this photo from the last time I took the quiz, so I wonder if they added an AI image to keep people from getting a perfect score.
Why hasn’t this basic error still been fixed?
Author Robin Tyler asked readers to identify the car shown at the top of this page. The closest choice offered was a 1971 AMC Gremlin. Small problem: The above car is a 1976 model. Below is what a 1971 Gremlin looks like.
The 1971 AMC Gremlin had smaller bumpers and rectangular turn signals (Old Car Brochures).
It seems odd that How Stuff Works would make such a basic mistake. The website’s auto content is apparently produced by the auto editors of Consumer Guide. They are the brains behind the Encyclopedia of American Cars (1993, 2006), Over 100 Years: The American Auto (2010) and Cars of the Sensational 70s (Flammang, 2000). These folks should have a bigger stash of car photos than virtually anyone in the known universe.
Of course, mistakes can happen at even the biggest media companies. However, those that have a commitment to quality will fix their errors. That seems to be too much to ask of How Stuff Works — even when other changes to the quiz were made.
It isn’t clear whether more blame should be placed on How Stuff Works or the auto editors of Consumer Guide, but it isn’t a good look.
Share your reactions to this post with a comment below or a note to the editor.
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4 Comments
I missed the trick question. That car is modified beyond my recognition. It was obviously one of two possibilities and I picked the wrong one. It was clearly intended to try and fail a perfect scorer. I got to the end where it says “complete quiz” and could go no further. Some sort of tracking or spyware there that my browser balked at.
The question you mention is the one I consider to be a trick. I doubt the car pictured was even an obscure custom design — it looks like some weird AI concoction. You didn’t miss much by not completing the quiz.
There are several quizzes on that site pertaining to ’70s cars. The one referenced is “Test Your Knowledge Of ’70s Cars With This Quiz!”
There’s another quiz there that’s called “Can You Identify the Muscle Car From a Close-Up?”. There 4th question is “Which of these vehicles was named Performance CARS magazine’s Top Performance Car of the Year in 1972?” The pictured car is a Buick Riviera RS. If you didn’t know what that car looked like, you could read the badge on the fender. The closest match is “Buick 455 Stage 1 Gran Sport Skylark”.
There was little incentive to advance beyond that point.
Did the hit damage in the left front corner of the 1976 Gremlin (first picture) knock it back into 1971? At least the newer bumper seemed to pass its 5mph test!
I missed the trick question. That car is modified beyond my recognition. It was obviously one of two possibilities and I picked the wrong one. It was clearly intended to try and fail a perfect scorer. I got to the end where it says “complete quiz” and could go no further. Some sort of tracking or spyware there that my browser balked at.
The question you mention is the one I consider to be a trick. I doubt the car pictured was even an obscure custom design — it looks like some weird AI concoction. You didn’t miss much by not completing the quiz.
There are several quizzes on that site pertaining to ’70s cars. The one referenced is “Test Your Knowledge Of ’70s Cars With This Quiz!”
There’s another quiz there that’s called “Can You Identify the Muscle Car From a Close-Up?”. There 4th question is “Which of these vehicles was named Performance CARS magazine’s Top Performance Car of the Year in 1972?” The pictured car is a Buick Riviera RS. If you didn’t know what that car looked like, you could read the badge on the fender. The closest match is “Buick 455 Stage 1 Gran Sport Skylark”.
There was little incentive to advance beyond that point.
Did the hit damage in the left front corner of the 1976 Gremlin (first picture) knock it back into 1971? At least the newer bumper seemed to pass its 5mph test!