Volvo as the car brand we know today has a reputation for being one of the safest, most innovative brands on the road. For Volvo, safety is such a priority that they’ve actually launched the Vision 2020 initiative. Said President and CEO of Volvo Cars Håkan Samuelsson, “Our vision is that by 2020 no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car.” Pretty ambitious for a company that sold over half a million cars last year.

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Audi was founded in 1909 by automotive pioneer August Horch, in Zwickau, Germany. Born in 1868, Horch trained as a blacksmith then studied engineering. By 1896, he managed an engine workshop for Karl Benz in Mannheim. To put this in perspective, Karl Benz patented the first car only 11 years prior. In 1899, Benz & Co was the largest automobile company in the world.

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How does a hamster sell a car? The answer can be found in Kia’s ‘Power to Surprise’ ad.

Kia’s humble history dates back to 1944. Founder Kim Chul Ho was born in Korea in 1905. As a teenager, he moved to Japan and worked in a steel mill. Later, he set up a business making nuts and bolts for bicycles in Osaka. Kim returned to Korea in 1944 and founded Kyungsung Precision Industry to manufacture bicycle parts and steel tubing. One year later, the company set up a factory outside of Seoul and became Kia.

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No matter how much human intelligence has uncovered, there are some things in this world that cannot be fully understood. For instance, there’s dark matter. This is a collection of unknown and unobservable subatomic particles that make up about 25% of our universe and can bend light with its gravitational force. There’s the question of monarch butterfly migration, the Great Pyramids, and the fate of the solar system.

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FIAT was founded in 1899 by Giovanni Agnelli, an Italian businessman who was part of a group of investors looking to begin an automotive company. After quitting the army in 1892, Agnelli entered the automotive manufacturing business and has been part of a historical icon ever since. Though his name is not featured anywhere in FIAT’s moniker, he was critically integral to the marque’s success. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, FIAT now employs over 50,000 people among 7 different factories.

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