A while back I described the use of the monocoque to produce a very strong but heavy chassis that probably 90% of the world's mass produced cars use. As a follow on, I’ll talk about the space frame chassis that really took off after World War 2, however like many technologies had it’s birth closer to the start of the industry. A space frame is a truss – multi interconnecting … [Read more...]
American Motors
American Motors (AMC) was formed in 1954 by the merger of Nash-Kelvinator and the Hudson Motor Car Company. Nash had recognised that the Big 3 being General Motors, Ford and Chrysler were going to be hard to beat without economies of scale and they found Hudson to be a willing partner to start the process. With the completion of the merger, the new AMC was able to reduce the … [Read more...]
The aftermath of the VW Scandal
So it is not long ago that the world was up in arms about VW and its ability to deliver emissions control test results that the authorities wanted. The scandal was embellished by the outrage of the media when they found out that VWs engineers had developed software that could detect if a vehicle was being tested and then reconfigure the engine management system to ensure that … [Read more...]
48 Volt Batteries
Audi has become the first mainstream manufacturer to start selling a car with a 48 volt battery - the SQ7 SUV has the extra power. Like most technology in vehicles, the car battery has evolved over the years with the first common battery being introduced in the 1920s. The first battery was to help get the car started as electric starter motors became more popular and … [Read more...]
Cosworth
When you talk 1970s single seater or prototype sports car racing the one constant is Cosworth. Whereas Ferrari, Renault and Porsche built their own engines, many prototype and single seater manufacturers opted for a customer engine namely something out of the Cosworth range. Cosworth’s true competitors included Hart, Judd and Ilmor, but it is Cosworth that has survived albeit … [Read more...]