9 unlikely autos that changed cars forever
12-14-13, 10:36 PM
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9 unlikely autos that changed cars forever
At first glance nothing about these cars and trucks jumps off the page. Yet they were the proving ground for car tech and car-building techniques that influence how our autos are built.
1984 Jeep Cherokee: Unibody
The much-beloved Cherokee was the first large-production unibody truck. A new welding process kept this light body together for great on- and off-road dynamics and a stiff chassis, with much less weight and floppiness than competitors from Nissan, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Ford, and GM. Nissan was the next to follow suit with its Pathfinder, but not until 1996.
2001 Nissan Pathfinder: Autonomous Off-Roading
Electronic ascent and descent control eliminated some driver skill (and human error) from off-roading. The Pathfinder's antilock brake system was tuned so that the driver need only hold the brake when descending steep hills, which previously was a dangerous no-no for off-road driving. Accelerating up dirt hills always required a deft touch of the throttle—prior to the Pathfinder's carefully tuned traction control system, that is. It worked best if the driver floored the gas pedal, a definite counterintuitive move in any other off-roader at the time.
1989 Toyota Celica: Rounded Design
The end of the Toyota Celica coupe's square, angled shape was not merely a styling decision. In '89, not one panel on the new Celica had a crease or a sharp angle in it. Reason: Toyota quietly said that while all previous metal stamping presses and brakes at its factories had been set up to make perfect angles, the company was anxious that budding Korean carmakers would easily copy its square cars. Toyota developed complex, compound curve stamping because it accurately predicted that would-be imitators would have a hard time copying the shape.
2005 Chevrolet Corvette: Automotive Neurology
A 22-gauge twisted-pair cable, more commonly found in computer labs and wired offices, spanned the length of the C6 Corvette when it debuted for 2005. It opened the door for connected body and component computers to monitor and control the entire car, bringing on the computerized nervous system that's common today.
1994 Oldsmobile Aurora: Origami Sheet Metal
The use of sheet metal folded, layered, welded into complex boxed sections, as opposed to using simply heavy beams, brought two things to car design: First, the body became much stiffer, and second, parts of the car previously used just to keep rain and wind off the passengers became useful structural components—part of controlled crush zones for energy absorption in a crash.
1983 Audi Quattro: Get a Grip
Although Subaru was known for sending torque to all four wheels of a passenger car and using modern suspensions (as opposed to a truck's live axles), that company's driveline systems remained part-time and clunky for drivers to use on dry pavement, requiring an extra transfer case shift lever. Audi's Quattro system was a full-time tech and demonstrated the benefits of all-wheel drive for sports and performance cars
1984 Lincoln Continental Mark VII: Stopping and Illumination
The first volume-produced American car to have antilock braking, the loaded Lincoln two-door coupe was also first to feature nonsealed-beam flush-molded headlights. This had a dramatic influence on the styling of all American cars since.
1988 Mazda RX-7 Convertible: Open Top for Snow Season
Before his fantastic success guiding Mazda to a Le Mans racing win in 1991, Takaharu "Koby" Kobayakawa was an engineer and manager for the RX-7 convertible in the mid-1980s. He also loved to ski. He thought it would be fun to show up at his favorite ski resort in a convertible with its top down but in warm comfort, a desire that led him to invent the wind blocker. Carefully aimed heater vents helped the car achieve Koby's wish. The design was later imitated by Mercedes for its 1990 SL roadster and by almost all convertible manufacturers since.
1989 Nissan Maxima: Imports, All Grown Up
Back in the 1980s a Japanese excise tax limited cars marketed there to a maximum of 66.5 inches wide. That hurt Japanese automakers' attempts to sell luxury cars in America, where, for example, the Acura Legend wasn't taken too seriously because it was smaller than luxury cars from Europe and the U.S. That changed with the 69-inch-wide 1989 Nissan Maxima, which led to the breakout of Japanese cars to worldwide sizes.
1984 Jeep Cherokee: Unibody
The much-beloved Cherokee was the first large-production unibody truck. A new welding process kept this light body together for great on- and off-road dynamics and a stiff chassis, with much less weight and floppiness than competitors from Nissan, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Ford, and GM. Nissan was the next to follow suit with its Pathfinder, but not until 1996.
2001 Nissan Pathfinder: Autonomous Off-Roading
Electronic ascent and descent control eliminated some driver skill (and human error) from off-roading. The Pathfinder's antilock brake system was tuned so that the driver need only hold the brake when descending steep hills, which previously was a dangerous no-no for off-road driving. Accelerating up dirt hills always required a deft touch of the throttle—prior to the Pathfinder's carefully tuned traction control system, that is. It worked best if the driver floored the gas pedal, a definite counterintuitive move in any other off-roader at the time.
1989 Toyota Celica: Rounded Design
The end of the Toyota Celica coupe's square, angled shape was not merely a styling decision. In '89, not one panel on the new Celica had a crease or a sharp angle in it. Reason: Toyota quietly said that while all previous metal stamping presses and brakes at its factories had been set up to make perfect angles, the company was anxious that budding Korean carmakers would easily copy its square cars. Toyota developed complex, compound curve stamping because it accurately predicted that would-be imitators would have a hard time copying the shape.
2005 Chevrolet Corvette: Automotive Neurology
A 22-gauge twisted-pair cable, more commonly found in computer labs and wired offices, spanned the length of the C6 Corvette when it debuted for 2005. It opened the door for connected body and component computers to monitor and control the entire car, bringing on the computerized nervous system that's common today.
1994 Oldsmobile Aurora: Origami Sheet Metal
The use of sheet metal folded, layered, welded into complex boxed sections, as opposed to using simply heavy beams, brought two things to car design: First, the body became much stiffer, and second, parts of the car previously used just to keep rain and wind off the passengers became useful structural components—part of controlled crush zones for energy absorption in a crash.
1983 Audi Quattro: Get a Grip
Although Subaru was known for sending torque to all four wheels of a passenger car and using modern suspensions (as opposed to a truck's live axles), that company's driveline systems remained part-time and clunky for drivers to use on dry pavement, requiring an extra transfer case shift lever. Audi's Quattro system was a full-time tech and demonstrated the benefits of all-wheel drive for sports and performance cars
1984 Lincoln Continental Mark VII: Stopping and Illumination
The first volume-produced American car to have antilock braking, the loaded Lincoln two-door coupe was also first to feature nonsealed-beam flush-molded headlights. This had a dramatic influence on the styling of all American cars since.
1988 Mazda RX-7 Convertible: Open Top for Snow Season
Before his fantastic success guiding Mazda to a Le Mans racing win in 1991, Takaharu "Koby" Kobayakawa was an engineer and manager for the RX-7 convertible in the mid-1980s. He also loved to ski. He thought it would be fun to show up at his favorite ski resort in a convertible with its top down but in warm comfort, a desire that led him to invent the wind blocker. Carefully aimed heater vents helped the car achieve Koby's wish. The design was later imitated by Mercedes for its 1990 SL roadster and by almost all convertible manufacturers since.
1989 Nissan Maxima: Imports, All Grown Up
Back in the 1980s a Japanese excise tax limited cars marketed there to a maximum of 66.5 inches wide. That hurt Japanese automakers' attempts to sell luxury cars in America, where, for example, the Acura Legend wasn't taken too seriously because it was smaller than luxury cars from Europe and the U.S. That changed with the 69-inch-wide 1989 Nissan Maxima, which led to the breakout of Japanese cars to worldwide sizes.
12-14-13, 10:48 PM
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I would have to argue with the Jeep being the 1st mass produced unibody vehicle - maybe of the modern era of vehicles, but I'm positive that they weren't the 1st.
Lincoln always seemed to incorporate leading edge tech on their vehicles - hell the Mark VIII was the 1st car with LED tails and HID headlights, and it took the rest of the manufacturers a while to catch up. Really sad that they didn't keep it up.
I didn't know this about the RX7 Vert. My quest towards Top Always Down in my S2K owes Mr.Kobayakawa a debt of gratitude.
Lincoln always seemed to incorporate leading edge tech on their vehicles - hell the Mark VIII was the 1st car with LED tails and HID headlights, and it took the rest of the manufacturers a while to catch up. Really sad that they didn't keep it up.
I didn't know this about the RX7 Vert. My quest towards Top Always Down in my S2K owes Mr.Kobayakawa a debt of gratitude.
12-14-13, 11:56 PM
#3
Out of Warranty
My old '61' Plymouth Valiant was a "monocoque" that rather than utilizing a separate frame, offered a welded unibody with a front sub-frame and stressed body panels to produce an exceptionally strong body. About ten minutes after I bought it in the summer of '63, while parked at the curb, a wreck in the intersection behind me caused a '63 Impala to rear-end my "new" car. Damages? The Chevy struck my left rear corner, its bumper collapsed and the engine was knocked off its mounts. My car suffered a bent taillight and a 3/4" twist to the body. Fortunately no one was hurt, and the damage to my car while apparently slight, was expensive. It took a couple of days on a frame rack to pull everything back into line, but it was fixed perfectly.
The Valiant/Lancer body of the '60's was still not the first unibody - that distinction goes to the Chrysler Airflow, introduced in 1934 - which was probably the first unibody design to reach full production. The unibody was recognized early as a way to attain light weight and superior structural strength, but the unusual design produced a market failure for the technologically outstanding Chrysler. The Cherokee would come along 50 years later.
The Valiant/Lancer body of the '60's was still not the first unibody - that distinction goes to the Chrysler Airflow, introduced in 1934 - which was probably the first unibody design to reach full production. The unibody was recognized early as a way to attain light weight and superior structural strength, but the unusual design produced a market failure for the technologically outstanding Chrysler. The Cherokee would come along 50 years later.
12-15-13, 12:32 AM
#5
Lexus Test Driver
The 1986 Ford Taurus should be on top of this list. It changed directions for Ford and create a copying frenzy from everyone else.
12-15-13, 05:44 AM
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12-15-13, 08:59 AM
#8
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The much-beloved Cherokee was the first large-production unibody truck. A new welding process kept this light body together for great on- and off-road dynamics and a stiff chassis, with much less weight and floppiness than competitors from Nissan, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Ford, and GM. Nissan was the next to follow suit with its Pathfinder, but not until 1996.
The Jeep Cherokee was the first unibody SUV, not first unibody vehicle.
12-15-13, 03:22 PM
#10
Out of Warranty
One thing that put the unibody on the structural map was the advent of the the "jellybean" design. All of those compound curves gave the body tremendous strength - like an egg. My Valiant wasn't exactly attractive by today's design standards, but it was unique, and incredibly tough, thanks to all that curved sheetmetal.
The damage to that Chevy that hit me totaled his car. I don't think there was a stronger point on the Valiant's body he could have hit - that corner rammed its way through his bumper valance, radiator, and hit his engine block with no more than a ding just below the taillight about the size of a silver dollar. Physics being rather unforgiving, the collision did rack the body a bit, but there was no lasting damage to the car . . . I drove it for four more years - all through college and grad school.
The damage to that Chevy that hit me totaled his car. I don't think there was a stronger point on the Valiant's body he could have hit - that corner rammed its way through his bumper valance, radiator, and hit his engine block with no more than a ding just below the taillight about the size of a silver dollar. Physics being rather unforgiving, the collision did rack the body a bit, but there was no lasting damage to the car . . . I drove it for four more years - all through college and grad school.
Last edited by Lil4X; 12-15-13 at 03:28 PM.
12-15-13, 03:54 PM
#11
Lexus Champion
One thing that put the unibody on the structural map was the advent of the the "jellybean" design. All of those compound curves gave the body tremendous strength - like an egg. My Valiant wasn't exactly attractive by today's design standards, but it was unique, and incredibly tough, thanks to all that curved sheetmetal.
The damage to that Chevy that hit me totaled his car. I don't think there was a stronger point on the Valiant's body he could have hit - that corner rammed its way through his bumper valance, radiator, and hit his engine block with no more than a ding just below the taillight about the size of a silver dollar. Physics being rather unforgiving, the collision did rack the body a bit, but there was no lasting damage to the car . . . I drove it for four more years - all through college and grad school.
The damage to that Chevy that hit me totaled his car. I don't think there was a stronger point on the Valiant's body he could have hit - that corner rammed its way through his bumper valance, radiator, and hit his engine block with no more than a ding just below the taillight about the size of a silver dollar. Physics being rather unforgiving, the collision did rack the body a bit, but there was no lasting damage to the car . . . I drove it for four more years - all through college and grad school.
12-15-13, 04:22 PM
#12
Lexus Fanatic
I'm undecided on the actual benefits of Valiant's unibody itself. True, it eliminated some squeaks and rattles by requiring fewer attachment nuts/bolts and produced less body-flex, which (along with the torsion front/leaf rear suspension) improved handling. But Chrysler had a number of quality-control problems with the unibodies of that era, they were sometimes rust-prone, and were often harder to repair after a significant accident than frame-rail vehicles,
Slant-six Plymouths, and Dodges, like the old Checker Marathons, were popular with taxi drivers for their economy/durability and long powertrain life....in an age when the typical Detroit engine showed serious signs of wear around 80-90K. Slant-sixes with automatics would often go well over 100K miles,
Last edited by mmarshall; 12-15-13 at 04:30 PM.
12-15-13, 04:37 PM
#13
Lexus Fanatic
To be fair, I don't think that ANY of the designs on the OP's list changed the future of auto design as much as Sir Alec Issigonis's classic 1959 Mini. He was a Greek auto designer working for the British government and the Austin/Rover companies, and came up with the idea of a space-efficient shoebox design with a small four cylinder and transmission /final-drive unit mounted sideways under the short, stubby hood. The result, packaging-wise, was a stroke of genius, and much of the auto industry, eventually, went on to copy it in designs from economy-cars to luxury cars, crossover SUVs, minivans, and, of course, everyday family sedans. Today, for the majority of vehicle-designs, it is the accepted practice.
12-15-13, 07:55 PM
#14
Lexus Fanatic
"Perfectly", as applies to unibody-repair, is a relative term. Metal bent in an accident undergoes fatigue and loses some of its trensile strength....and, of course, it loses more strength when bent back into its original shape on a frame-rail machine. Once or twice, though, doesn't necessarily make it unsafe.....how many times the metal can be bent back and forth and safely maintain at least adequate strength is determined by the engineers who designed it.
Last edited by mmarshall; 12-15-13 at 07:58 PM.
12-15-13, 08:14 PM
#15
Lexus Fanatic
My old '61' Plymouth Valiant was a "monocoque" that rather than utilizing a separate frame, offered a welded unibody with a front sub-frame and stressed body panels to produce an exceptionally strong body. About ten minutes after I bought it in the summer of '63, while parked at the curb, a wreck in the intersection behind me caused a '63 Impala to rear-end my "new" car. Damages? The Chevy struck my left rear corner, its bumper collapsed and the engine was knocked off its mounts. My car suffered a bent taillight and a 3/4" twist to the body. Fortunately no one was hurt, and the damage to my car while apparently slight, was expensive. It took a couple of days on a frame rack to pull everything back into line, but it was fixed perfectly.
The Valiant/Lancer body of the '60's was still not the first unibody - that distinction goes to the Chrysler Airflow, introduced in 1934 - which was probably the first unibody design to reach full production.
Preston Tucker also used unibody on the advanced but ill-fated Torpedo of 1947-48, but, of course, that car didn't make it into actual production outside of 51 samples.
Last edited by mmarshall; 12-15-13 at 08:21 PM.