I have always been fascinated by the work of coachbuilders the world over. Park Ward were a British creator of bodies for luxury cars who ended up inside the most famous of them all: Rolls-Royce. William Park and Charles Ward worked together at a small manufacturer called F.W. Berwick and Company who were the British arm of an Anglo-French manufacturer called … [Read more...]
W Formation Engines
W engines have been around since the dawn of the industry and the use a shape that looks like a “W” – one of the first, the W3, was built by Anzani, an Italian engineer in 1906 for use in a motorcycle but also ended up in Bleriot’s plane that crossed the English Channel. This motor used 3 banks of cylinders connected to one crankshaft. Many of the first versions of the W … [Read more...]
VW Diesel Scandal Takes Heat From Other Issues
The media attacks on VW about their diesel emissions testing has taken another subject off the table: security flaws in the electronic locking systems! This is another case that has been ongoing for a number of years. Unfortunately this issue doesn't just cover VW but a number of other non VW Group manufacturers, however it was VW that got the headline - and this was before … [Read more...]
Overhead Cam Engines
In a recent post I described the concept of the Overhead Valve Engine (OHV) that was a development of the original Side Valve Engine from pre World War 1. This week is the turn of the Overhead Cam Engine (OHC), again an improvement on the OHV engine. Like much of the automobile technology, OHC’s are not new, they were originally developed nearly 100 years ago by people like … [Read more...]