Weirdly Surprising Things Car Companies Make, Besides Cars

There are sure thing you expect from a car manufacturing business , like , you know , make cars . So it ’s a bit of an eyebrow rise when they drift from their marrow business and explore other decidedly non - self-propelling territories like , say , toothpaste output . Or Olympic bobsleds . Or shelter endangered bats . But hey , the suits at Ford and GM have hobbies too . Here are seven car companies that make totally unexpected thing on the side .

BMW

What it makes : bob , first - class plane cabins , racing wheelchairs , light - rails carsNo , really , BMW get the Team USA Olympic bobsled . If you think about it , it kind of makes sensory faculty , because a bobsled going down an ice track still shares a lot of forcible traits with a car , in term of structure , aeromechanics , and Libra the Scales . BMW Designworksis an American - based design menage that contracts out to various company to fill their want , as it did when it designed Singapore Airlines ' concern course . It also takes on undertaking to help raise the parent society ’s object , like this carbon - fiber racing wheelchair that former racing cracking and bivalent amputee Alex Zanardi uses todominate the Paralympics .

Honda

What it makes : Private special K , everything you need to maintain your grounds , one really goofy robotOK , so you in all probability screw that Honda make lawnmowers , foliage cetacean mammal , and the like , and if you devote attention to commercials , you already know aboutASIMO , the extremely impressive , yet fantastically goofy , golem - slash - walk AI ontogeny laboratory . What about cat valium , though ? TheHondaJet ’s still brand novel , but it ’s easily the fastest Honda you may bribe today .

Toyota

What it makes : star sign , boat , sewing machinesToyota protrude small a half - century ago , making things like windowpane frames , but today it ’s the big house - detergent builder in a three - prefecture region in Japan . Then there ’s thefull line of credit of boatsthat Toyota has made for decades ( see the top photo ) . If you ’re wonder why firm and sauceboat both portion out a single company badge , consider that Toyotaalsomakes sewing machines . Arguably , that makes more mother wit , given the companionship ’s original role asa loom manufacturer .

General Motors

What it make : Bat housesThis might be the weirdest matter on the integral listing , butGeneral Motors really does make bat houses . The dark-brown bat is in the thick of a population crisis in part of the US , and as it happen , a few years ago GM had a trouble of its own : reuse the battery cover charge for the Chevy Volt is pretty damn difficult . How the troupe manage to touch base the dots between the two is beyond me , but it did . Somehow .

McLaren

What it makes : Bobsleds ( again ! ) , cartoons , racing bike , solar panels , and engineering and manufacturing consultingYeah , BMW ’s not the only one take a shit bob . McLaren ’s parent company , McLaren Technology Group , actually help the UK take home the gold in Sochi . It ’s also produce everything fromhilarious cartoonsto some of themost advanced rush along cycle on Earth , but the most shocking thing McLaren ’s behind is undoubtedly its role in the medical field , as a consultant to firms like GlaxoSmithKline . If you ’ve used Aquafresh toothpaste in the past five years , you ’ve had a little , ahem , gustatory sensation , of McLaren influence – the companionship helped redesign the yield line based on Formula One pitstops .

Hyundai Motor Group

What it nominate : Bullet train , tube carsHyundai is a really interesting type , because for decades it was a much more diverse company . Today , Hyundai Motor Group is still one of the human race ’s leading manufacturers of high - speed trains . Its now - former parent company , however , split into five dissimilar groups after the turn of the twenty-first 100 ; if you include the larger Hyundai , you ’ve goteverything from department stores to the ocean freighter shipsused by the likes of BMW and Mercedes to ship their auto overseas .

Subaru

What it ca-ca : Drones , chopper , aircraftFuji Heavy Industries , which is officially changing its name to Subaru for 2017 , has long bind its before long - to - be - eponymous automotive make as its main business , but it does doquite a bit of military productionon permission from other body politic / companies , and it ’s a subcontractor for a lot of Boeing gargantuan - jet components .

Toyota Builds Boats