Panhard was another manufacturer that was at the very beginning of the automotive industry and were based in France, in fact as you will see, they were associated with many of the leading French brands of the century. Rene Panhard, the son of a saddler and coach-builder, and his associate Emile Levassor founded their company in 1887. They had both worked at a wood-working … [Read more...]
The Confused Nissan IMq Concept
Back in March, Nissan joined an ever growing list of manufacturers showing off new or concept versions of an electric crossover. Nissan’s unveiling was at the prestigious Geneva International Motor Show. The IMq is the latest in a series of "IM" concepts and this one uses an evolution of the electric power system first seen in the Nissan Note and Serena models and the press … [Read more...]
Ford Considering New Sedan
Ford has announced that they will create a new “affordable” nameplate in a couple of years. It seems that many owners of Ford’s passenger cars are unhappy that they have dropped the Fiesta, Focus, Fusion and Taurus plates from their home market. The only real car that they now sell in the US is the Mustang with other Cross-Over Utility (CUV) and Sports Utility (SUV) … [Read more...]
DAF
The history article this week is about DAF, a truck maker who branched out into car making after thinking about how they use the propulsion methods of their metal working machines. The company was founded in 1928 by Hubert Van Doorne and his brother, Wim, as a metalworking shop and were financed by a local businessman to start manufacturing commercial vehicles. Hubert had … [Read more...]
Rack and Pinion Steering
Rack and Pinion Steering on cars is one of those inventions that appeared early on in the life of the automobile and was taken from another source. Many early components on cars started out life being used by other machines before being enhanced and evolving into something far more complex. The simplest explanation of how it works is that the steering column has a classical … [Read more...]