--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was a sort of car that seemed to have…" description: "\"“It was a sort of car that seemed to have a faculty for motion with an absolute lack of any accompanying sound whatsoever. This was probably illusory; ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17b/cornell-woolrich-2734_auto_it-was-a-sort-of-car-that-seemed-to-have_3024513.jpg" --- # It was a sort of car that seemed to have a faculty for… ![“It was a sort of car that seemed to have a faculty for motion with an absolute lack of any accompanying sound whatsoever. This was probably illusory; it must have been, internal combustion engines being what they are, tires being what they are, brakes and gears being what they are, even raspy…” quote by Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17b/cornell-woolrich-2734_auto_it-was-a-sort-of-car-that-seemed-to-have_3024513.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17b/cornell-woolrich-2734_auto_it-was-a-sort-of-car-that-seemed-to-have_3024513.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17b/cornell-woolrich-2734_auto_it-was-a-sort-of-car-that-seemed-to-have_3024513.jpg) > ““It was a sort of car that seemed to have a faculty for motion with an absolute lack of any accompanying sound whatsoever. This was probably illusory; it must have been, internal combustion engines being what they are, tires being what they are, brakes and gears being what they are, even raspy street-surfacing being what it is. Yet the illusion outside the hotel entrance was a complete one. Just as there are silencers that, when affixed to automatic hand-weapons, deaden their reports, so it was as if this whole massive car body were encased in something of that sort. For, first, there was nothing out there, nothing in sight there. Then, as though the street-bed were water and this bulky black shape were a grotesque gondola, it came floating up out of the darkness from nowhere. And then suddenly, still with no sound whatsoever, there it was at a halt, in position. It was like a ghost-car in every attribute but the visual one. In its trancelike approach and halt, in its lightlessness, in its enshrouded interior, which made it impossible to determine (at least without lowering one's head directly outside the windows and peering in at nose-tip range) if it were even occupied at all, and if so by whom and by how many. You could visualize it scuttling fleetly along some overshadowed country lane at dead of night, lightless, inscrutable, unidentifiable, to halt perhaps beside some inky grove of trees, linger there awhile undetected, then glide on again, its unaccountable errand accomplished without witness, without aftermath. A goblin-car that in an earlier age would have fed folklore and rural legend. Or, in the city, you could visualize it sliding stealthily along some warehouse-blacked back alley, curving and squirming in its terrible silence, then, as it neared the mouth and would have emerged, creeping to a stop and lying there in wait, unguessed in the gloom. Lying here in wait for long hours, like some huge metal-cased predatory animal, waiting to pounce on its prey. Sudden, sharp yellow spurts of fangs, and then to whirl and slink back into anonymity the way it came, leaving the carcass of its prey huddled there and dead. Who was there to know? Who was there to tell? ("The Number's Up")”” [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A silent, ghostly car moves unnoticed, evoking fear and mystery as it appears and vanishes without sound, like a predator lurking in darkness. **In simple terms:** A silent car appears like a ghost, unseen and mysterious. Key Takeaway Notice how silence can amplify fear. Themes mystery fear the unknown technology isolation Mood eerie suspenseful Type descriptive narrative When to use this quote - night drives - urban exploration - crime scenes - film noir settings - nighttime surveillance Key Concepts perception stealth urban legend psychology Questions to Reflect On - What does the car symbolize for you? - How does silence change your perception of danger? A Different Perspective The description may over‑dramatize a mundane vehicle, reducing realism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Auto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auto/) [Car](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/car/) [Folklore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folklore/) [Ghost Car](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghost-car-4911622/) [Goblin Car](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goblin-car-4911623/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Illusion Outside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion-outside-2827668/) [Illusory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusory/) [Long hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-hours/) [Noir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noir/) ## Related quotes > [Don't rely on just what you see, instead rely beyond of what you see...because the illusion is always outside and the reality definitely is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-rely-on-just-what-you-see-instead-rely-beyond-of-what-you-see/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Three o'clock in the morning. The highway is empty, under a malignant moon. The oil drippings make the roadway gleam like a blue-satin ribbon.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/three-o-clock-in-the-morning-the-highway-is-empty-under-a-malignant/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [Ultimately, auto designers need to overcome market challenges with innovative design solutions. The automotive industry is at a turning point with environmental and economic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-pelly/ultimately-auto-designers-need-to-overcome-market-challenges-with/) [Charles Pelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-pelly/) > [I live in a neighborhood that's really filled with sound - there's a lot of Jamaican auto body shops, and the guys next door…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sxip-shirey/i-live-in-a-neighborhood-that-s-really-filled-with-sound-there-s-a/) [Sxip Shirey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sxip-shirey/) > [If it were up to the candidates for president on the Republican side, we would be driving foreign cars. They would have let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-wasserman-schultz/if-it-were-up-to-the-candidates-for-president-on-the-republican-side/) [Debbie Wasserman Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-wasserman-schultz/) > [When I was born in 1920, the auto was only 20 years old. Radio didn't exist. TV didn't exist. I was born at just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/when-i-was-born-in-1920-the-auto-was-only-20-years-old-radio-didn-t/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I was going to go be an auto mechanic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-ventimiglia/i-was-going-to-go-be-an-auto-mechanic/) [Milo Ventimiglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-ventimiglia/) > [“Auto correct - tho art a bitch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-lee-r-coffey/auto-correct-tho-art-a-bitch/) [R'Lee R. Coffey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-lee-r-coffey/) > [What's that, new Dolces? These here chrome heart. You need a key for yours? Me, mine will auto-start. Man I talk to the car,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rocko/what-s-that-new-dolces-these-here-chrome-heart-you-need-a-key-for/) [Rocko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rocko/) > [With autonomous cars, you're gonna see more consolidation. Once we have transport modules, you order off the phone and brands won't matter anymore. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-lutz/with-autonomous-cars-you-re-gonna-see-more-consolidation-once-we-have/) [Bob Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-lutz/) > [Auto designers usually have to think in terms of the standard categories: SUV, sports car, etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-pelly/auto-designers-usually-have-to-think-in-terms-of-the-standard/) [Charles Pelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-pelly/) > [You don't want to move in with someone and find out that they don't have auto or health insurance. That's a rude awakening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-wasser/you-don-t-want-to-move-in-with-someone-and-find-out-that-they-don-t/) [Laura Wasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-wasser/) > [Now look, kid, I don't need advice on auto...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolverine/now-look-kid-i-don-t-need-advice-on-auto/) [Wolverine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolverine/) > [“Most people do not realize that they are one car crash away from death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/most-people-do-not-realize-that-they-are-one-car-crash-away-from-death/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [This thing aint on auto pilot son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enggi/this-thing-aint-on-auto-pilot-son/) [Enggi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enggi/) ## More by Cornell Woolrich > [“He should have caught up with me inside of fifteen minutes at the outside, if he'd been able to get on the next train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/he-should-have-caught-up-with-me-inside-of-fifteen-minutes-at-the/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“Home? What is home? Home is where a house is that you come back to when the rainy season is about to begin, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/home-what-is-home-home-is-where-a-house-is-that-you-come-back-to-when/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“Gates got up, but not fast or jerkily, with the same slowness that had always characterized him. He wiped the sweat off his palms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/gates-got-up-but-not-fast-or-jerkily-with-the-same-slowness-that-had/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“As the bartender struck a match to light her cigarette, she put her hand on his wrist to steady it. Travis saw him jump,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/as-the-bartender-struck-a-match-to-light-her-cigarette-she-put-her/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“That was enough dialogue for a few pages - he had to get into some fast, red-hot action. There weren't any more hitches now.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/that-was-enough-dialogue-for-a-few-pages-he-had-to-get-into-some-fast/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“Murder is such an elastic term, isn't it? ("Mind Over Murder")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/murder-is-such-an-elastic-term-isn-t-it-mind-over-murder/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“She was beautiful, only hers was the dark beauty of night, just as Sherry's was the bright beauty of daytime. Her hair was raven-black,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/she-was-beautiful-only-hers-was-the-dark-beauty-of-night-just-as/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“And I still say it was just a coincidence;' he muttered pugnaciously. 'You say it too! Look at me and say it! It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/and-i-still-say-it-was-just-a-coincidence-he-muttered-pugnaciously/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“And then finally she came - and the whole world faded out around us and we were just alone on the crowded sidewalk. I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/and-then-finally-she-came-and-the-whole-world-faded-out-around-us-and/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“One of the two owners, the man who had been sitting in the front room, was stretched out in there asleep, stockinged-toes pointed at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/one-of-the-two-owners-the-man-who-had-been-sitting-in-the-front-room/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“But that's the Way, and there is no other. And once his mind's made up, the trembling and aimless walking stops, and he can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/but-that-s-the-way-and-there-is-no-other-and-once-his-mind-s-made-up/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“He just lingers long enough to see his plane put to bed properly, then grabs a cab at the airport-gate. "The Settlement" and forgetting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/he-just-lingers-long-enough-to-see-his-plane-put-to-bed-properly-then/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“There was a pause, while I fought against this other, lesser kind of death that was creeping over me - this death called strangeness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/there-was-a-pause-while-i-fought-against-this-other-lesser-kind-of/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“Every life is a mystery. And every story of every life is a mystery. But it is not what happens that is the mystery.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/every-life-is-a-mystery-and-every-story-of-every-life-is-a-mystery/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“Evans made himself their spokesman. "Charlie and Joe," he offered. "Remember us? We brought a friend back with us this time." Girls evidently didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/evans-made-himself-their-spokesman-charlie-and-joe-he-offered/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) [Explore all 152 Cornell Woolrich quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) ## More Auto quotes > [This thing aint on auto pilot son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enggi/this-thing-aint-on-auto-pilot-son/) [Enggi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enggi/) > [“Most people do not realize that they are one car crash away from death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/most-people-do-not-realize-that-they-are-one-car-crash-away-from-death/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Now look, kid, I don't need advice on auto...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolverine/now-look-kid-i-don-t-need-advice-on-auto/) [Wolverine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolverine/) > [You don't want to move in with someone and find out that they don't have auto or health insurance. That's a rude awakening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-wasser/you-don-t-want-to-move-in-with-someone-and-find-out-that-they-don-t/) [Laura Wasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-wasser/) > [Auto designers usually have to think in terms of the standard categories: SUV, sports car, etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-pelly/auto-designers-usually-have-to-think-in-terms-of-the-standard/) [Charles Pelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-pelly/) > [With autonomous cars, you're gonna see more consolidation. Once we have transport modules, you order off the phone and brands won't matter anymore. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-lutz/with-autonomous-cars-you-re-gonna-see-more-consolidation-once-we-have/) [Bob Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-lutz/) > [What's that, new Dolces? These here chrome heart. You need a key for yours? Me, mine will auto-start. Man I talk to the car,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rocko/what-s-that-new-dolces-these-here-chrome-heart-you-need-a-key-for/) [Rocko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rocko/) > [“Auto correct - tho art a bitch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-lee-r-coffey/auto-correct-tho-art-a-bitch/) [R'Lee R. Coffey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-lee-r-coffey/) > [I was going to go be an auto mechanic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-ventimiglia/i-was-going-to-go-be-an-auto-mechanic/) [Milo Ventimiglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-ventimiglia/) > [When I was born in 1920, the auto was only 20 years old. Radio didn't exist. TV didn't exist. I was born at just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/when-i-was-born-in-1920-the-auto-was-only-20-years-old-radio-didn-t/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [If it were up to the candidates for president on the Republican side, we would be driving foreign cars. They would have let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-wasserman-schultz/if-it-were-up-to-the-candidates-for-president-on-the-republican-side/) [Debbie Wasserman Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-wasserman-schultz/) > [I live in a neighborhood that's really filled with sound - there's a lot of Jamaican auto body shops, and the guys next door…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sxip-shirey/i-live-in-a-neighborhood-that-s-really-filled-with-sound-there-s-a/) [Sxip Shirey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sxip-shirey/) > [Ultimately, auto designers need to overcome market challenges with innovative design solutions. The automotive industry is at a turning point with environmental and economic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-pelly/ultimately-auto-designers-need-to-overcome-market-challenges-with/) [Charles Pelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-pelly/) > [After the non-Japanese Carlos Ghosn was brought in by Nissan to turn around the struggling auto manufacturer, he made English the company's official working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/after-the-non-japanese-carlos-ghosn-was-brought-in-by-nissan-to-turn/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [“Rakkaus on tie, jolle ei Googlen kamera-auto pääse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rakkaus-on-tie-jolle-ei-googlen-kamera-auto-p-se/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 77 Auto quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auto/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was a sort of car that seemed to have a faculty for motion with an absolute lack of any accompanying sound whatsoever. This was probably illusory; it must have been, internal combustion engines being what they are, tires being what they are, brakes and gears being what they are, even raspy street-surfacing being what it is. Yet the illusion outside the hotel entrance was a complete one. Just as there are silencers that, when affixed to automatic hand-weapons, deaden their reports, so it was as if this whole massive car body were encased in something of that sort. For, first, there was nothing out there, nothing in sight there. Then, as though the street-bed were water and this bulky black shape were a grotesque gondola, it came floating up out of the darkness from nowhere. And then suddenly, still with no sound whatsoever, there it was at a halt, in position. It was like a ghost-car in every attribute but the visual one. In its trancelike approach and halt, in its lightlessness, in its enshrouded interior, which made it impossible to determine (at least without lowering one's head directly outside the windows and peering in at nose-tip range) if it were even occupied at all, and if so by whom and by how many. You could visualize it scuttling fleetly along some overshadowed country lane at dead of night, lightless, inscrutable, unidentifiable, to halt perhaps beside some inky grove of trees, linger there awhile undetected, then glide on again, its unaccountable errand accomplished without witness, without aftermath. A goblin-car that in an earlier age would have fed folklore and rural legend. Or, in the city, you could visualize it sliding stealthily along some warehouse-blacked back alley, curving and squirming in its terrible silence, then, as it neared the mouth and would have emerged, creeping to a stop and lying there in wait, unguessed in the gloom. Lying here in wait for long hours, like some huge metal-cased predatory animal, waiting to pounce on its prey. Sudden, sharp yellow spurts of fangs, and then to whirl and slink back into anonymity the way it came, leaving the carcass of its prey huddled there and dead. Who was there to know? Who was there to tell? (\"The Number's Up\")”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornell Woolrich" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/it-was-a-sort-of-car-that-seemed-to-have-a-faculty-for-motion-with-an/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Auto" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/it-was-a-sort-of-car-that-seemed-to-have-a-faculty-for-motion-with-an/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17b/cornell-woolrich-2734_auto_it-was-a-sort-of-car-that-seemed-to-have_3024513.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17b/cornell-woolrich-2734_auto_it-was-a-sort-of-car-that-seemed-to-have_3024513.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17b/cornell-woolrich-2734_auto_it-was-a-sort-of-car-that-seemed-to-have_3024513.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It was a sort of car that seemed to have a faculty for motion with an absolute lack of any accompanying…” — Cornell Woolrich", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Cornell Woolrich", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It was a sort of car...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/it-was-a-sort-of-car-that-seemed-to-have-a-faculty-for-motion-with-an/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/it-was-a-sort-of-car-that-seemed-to-have-a-faculty-for-motion-with-an/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```