YACT: What single invention has impacted the automobile?s development?

[DXM]

I'd say assembly line production which made cars affordable to the middle class.

EDIT: I guess mass production would be a concept rather than a single invention so I'll go with the invention of combustion engine.

 

[dfi]

The van with a mattress in the back and dice in the mirror.

Or maybe just fuel cell.

dfi

 

[dquan97]

The DMV and the VLF...

 

[cavemanmoron]

paved roads!

assembly line


windshield wipers
tubeless tires
hydraulic brakes

quality engine oil

quality engines!

electronic ignition.
disposable income,{also know as the $$ to buy a darned car}

 

[moonshinemadness]

Well i guess the most important thing would have to be the refinement of the basic combustion engine. No auto transmission is not a good invention, as Confused has already stated it has allowed all those boneheads, who were previously too stupid to drive, on the road with no problem. I believe if you are incapable of driving an manual then you should not be on the road.
4WD Was the next greatest invention, allowing vehicles to cross previously uncrossed land without getting out and pushing...too hard anyway (into this read: Land Rovers dont get stuck, much) On top of this the differential, the center differential, diff lock, free wheeling hubs and the tow hook.
Now forget windscreen wipers, air con, car stereo, neon lights, Type S stickers and thou wilst find that the next most important thing is the turbo, allowing the cramming of just a few more horses on an engine, same goes for the 6 pot engine. I also think diesel was a pretty good invention...oh so cheap to run. Coil Springs would be my next choice...leaf although relatively stable leaves alot to be desired. and on and on and on

 

[CarlKillerMiller]

Combustion engine, I'd say

BUt then again, i know nothing.

 

[GroundZero]

opec and the bush administration

 

[dirtboy]

The wheel.

 

[Lounatik]

I think the computer ,right now, has probably the highest impact on the auto. Look at how the cars are designed , look at how much more horsepower we get out of the engines(Corvette has 405 hp and yet can still get 23 mpg on the hwy) Cars nowadays can be constructed on a monitor and save corporations billions of dollars in R+D. EFI as mentioned above was a vast improvement in terms of metering and milage. Computers allow the idiot behind the wheel to be able to just about push the envelope of his car and be reigned in before said asshole kills his self(active suspensions, yaw and pitch control, rollover sensing etc.)

Its amazing the amount of power the engineers are able to wring out of some of these engines, all thanks to the computer technology that is available today. Hell, I bet in five years, the average car will have about 250 HP and 3-350 will be the norm

Computer, definitely the computer.



Peace


Lounatik

 

[spaceman]

the ashtray/cigarette lighter.

 

[TechnoKid]

The front crumplezone. Cars were built with almost a solid front end with no give. Before the crumple zone was incorporated, seatbelts became very dangerous because they would cut and dig into the body if the vehicle hit somthing. The crumple zone helped disperse the energy in a crash. Keep in mind that they had lap belts at the time.

The crumple zone along with the shoulder/lap belts helped provide more saftey and injure less people when a car got into a crash.

 

[Ausm]

Gas powered engine

Ausm

 

[OrganizedChaos]

a 1 piece engine block

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

After some thought, the single most important,"juice brakes."

Hydraulic brakes, and yes I have driven a car with a mechanical brake, a 1903 curved dash Olds. Just around the block. It had a tiller and a 165# flywheel. It was hand cranked.

If you can not easily and reliably stop nothing else matters that much...........:sun:

 

[Quixfire]

Originally posted by: OrganizedChaos
a 1 piece engine block

The Pontiac Banshee was going to be that, but GM cancelled the program before it was ever put into production.

Makes you wonder if they are going to bring it back???

 

[Eli]

LOL.. all you people voting for the internal combustion engine itself..

The car was invented because of the engine, not the other way around..

 

[JackBurton]

There is no question about, it's gotta be....the dashboard Jesus statue! This cute character brings laughter to all your family members when you are in for a long trip on the road.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Originally posted by: Quixfire

Originally posted by: OrganizedChaos
a 1 piece engine block

The Pontiac Banshee was going to be that, but GM cancelled the program before it was ever put into production.

Makes you wonder if they are going to bring it back???

When you say one piece, do you mean cyl heads case in common on the block.
Like an Offey. Cost? Sliding the crank in w/mains attatched?

 

[Quixfire]

Originally posted by: galvanizedyankee

Originally posted by: Quixfire

Originally posted by: OrganizedChaos
a 1 piece engine block

The Pontiac Banshee was going to be that, but GM cancelled the program before it was ever put into production.

Makes you wonder if they are going to bring it back???

When you say one piece, do you mean cyl heads case in common on the block.
Like an Offey. Cost? Sliding the crank in w/mains attatched?

Yes, it was a one-piece aluminum engine block; the heads would have had their seats cut by CNC machines. They were working on a V8 & V10 engine. The V8 weighed in at 325 lbs and produced over 400 hp and 525 ft-lb of torque. The crank would have had conventional bearings.

 

[TechnoKid]

Originally posted by: Quixfire

Originally posted by: galvanizedyankee

Originally posted by: Quixfire

Originally posted by: OrganizedChaos
a 1 piece engine block

The Pontiac Banshee was going to be that, but GM cancelled the program before it was ever put into production.

Makes you wonder if they are going to bring it back???

When you say one piece, do you mean cyl heads case in common on the block.
Like an Offey. Cost? Sliding the crank in w/mains attatched?

Yes, it was a one-piece aluminum engine block; the heads would have had their seats cut by CNC machines. They were working on a V8 & V10 engine. The V8 weighed in at 325 lbs and produced over 400 hp and 525 ft-lb of torque. The crank would have had conventional bearings.

Would this make for a stonger engine? If so, then why do 6,000HP top fuel cars still have seperate cylinder heads from the block? To me it'd make more sense to keep it seperate because of 1) the cost 2) the ease to examine wear on the engine 3) ease of rebuild.

 

[PowerMacG5]

I agree with Confused, the automatic transmission allows people who shouldn't be driving to drive. Imagine little old granny that gets into an accident every week. Now take her and put her in a stick situation. I think granny would prefer the bus than break her fragile arms and legs trying to shift .

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: TechnoKid

Originally posted by: Quixfire

Originally posted by: galvanizedyankee

Originally posted by: Quixfire

Originally posted by: OrganizedChaos
a 1 piece engine block

The Pontiac Banshee was going to be that, but GM cancelled the program before it was ever put into production.

Makes you wonder if they are going to bring it back???

When you say one piece, do you mean cyl heads case in common on the block.
Like an Offey. Cost? Sliding the crank in w/mains attatched?

Yes, it was a one-piece aluminum engine block; the heads would have had their seats cut by CNC machines. They were working on a V8 & V10 engine. The V8 weighed in at 325 lbs and produced over 400 hp and 525 ft-lb of torque. The crank would have had conventional bearings.

Would this make for a stonger engine? If so, then why do 6,000HP top fuel cars still have seperate cylinder heads from the block? To me it'd make more sense to keep it seperate because of 1) the cost 2) the ease to examine wear on the engine 3) ease of rebuild.

Yes, of course it would make a stronger engine. It would also be more precise.. no misalignments.

I imagine the 6,000HP cars don't use them becuase currently it's not the cheap technology, and the engines are rebuilt after a few runs anyway.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Quixfire
I was wondering what you other ?gearheads? think which single invention or idea impacted the development of the automobile since it?s conception in the early 1900?s.

My personal choice is the automatic transmission; this device took most of the worry and trouble out of learning how to drive a car. It allowed thousands, if not millions, of people an easy way to enjoy their vehicle.

What is yours?

The automatic transmission is a good one, but really even the Model T had a transmission that was pretty simple. A manual planetary setup, constant mesh, didn't risk grinding gears.

I'd have to go with fuel injection. Made a quantum leap forward in terms of driveability, efficiency, and ease of starting.

ZV

 

[PowerMacG5]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: TechnoKid

Originally posted by: Quixfire

Originally posted by: galvanizedyankee

Originally posted by: Quixfire

Originally posted by: OrganizedChaos
a 1 piece engine block

The Pontiac Banshee was going to be that, but GM cancelled the program before it was ever put into production.

Makes you wonder if they are going to bring it back???

When you say one piece, do you mean cyl heads case in common on the block.
Like an Offey. Cost? Sliding the crank in w/mains attatched?

Yes, it was a one-piece aluminum engine block; the heads would have had their seats cut by CNC machines. They were working on a V8 & V10 engine. The V8 weighed in at 325 lbs and produced over 400 hp and 525 ft-lb of torque. The crank would have had conventional bearings.

Would this make for a stonger engine? If so, then why do 6,000HP top fuel cars still have seperate cylinder heads from the block? To me it'd make more sense to keep it seperate because of 1) the cost 2) the ease to examine wear on the engine 3) ease of rebuild.

Yes, of course it would make a stronger engine. It would also be more precise.. no misalignments.

I imagine the 6,000HP cars don't use them becuase currently it's not the cheap technology, and the engines are rebuilt after a few runs anyway.

Modern Top fuel drag engine's are rebuilt after each run.

 

[TechnoKid]

The catyltic converter; imagine all the polution we'd have otherwise. Heh, just thought of it.