This article will describe the simplest way to provide comfort in a vehicle and has been in use for over 300 years in some form! Prior to that, it could be argued that the bow weapon was the first implementation of the idea. In many respects it is a large spring to power the arrow over a battlefield and the English used the Longbow to great effect in the 14th and 15th centuries … [Read more...]
Dunlop Maxaret
There are many names in the automotive industry that have very long histories and are respected brands - Dunlop is one of them thanks to being a major player in the tyre industry. However, Dunlop were also key inventors of other safety equipment and one such invention was Maxaret - the first Anti-lock Braking System to be commercialised. In the late 1940s, Dunlop developed … [Read more...]
Ladder Chassis
The ladder chassis is one of the most original methods of creating a vehicle and it has its origins back about 500 years ago! The concept of luxury personal transportation came out of a Hungarian town called Kocs - a derivative of which is now our word “coach”. It was so successful that very soon, most of Europe was using them - it did help that variously connected royal … [Read more...]
Lamborghini ALA
You can imagine that a company such as Lamborghini would push the boundaries of technology and design. For the latest model, the Huracan Performante, Lamborghini announced the inclusion of "ALA" into the design. This stands for Aerodinamica Lamborghini Attiva - or active aerodynamics and apparently is also the Italian word for “wing". I saw a video of it from Tom Voelk (see … [Read more...]
New Disc Brakes by Continental
Continental, the European makers of tyres and other components has come up with a new design for disc brakes. Their developments have been based on electric vehicle usage - which is the current focal point of the industry. Regular disc brakes are typically made of steel and are quite heavy. On high performance vehicles there could be lightweight rotors (discs) or even carbon … [Read more...]