Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/06/24
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Jim, No, the disc brakes offered by Chrysler were of the "flywheel-clutch disc-pressure plate" type. not of the "pinch caliper" type like current brakes. Jerry Henning Wulff wrote: > At 11:11 AM -0400 6/24/09, Jim Shulman wrote: >> At the same time that that the US was covering all sorts of design >> excess, >> it was also creating >> >> 1. Disk brakes (available on the '51 Chrysler >> 2. Fuel injection (available from GM on various Chevrolet models from >> the >> mid-50s onward; Chrysler briefly introduced an electronically >> governed fuel >> injection system in 1957) >> 3. Front wheel drive (introduced in 1929 in the L-29 Cord, and >> revived in >> the mid-30s Cord sedans. GM and Packard also build experimental front >> drive >> cars in that era. Unfortunately, with the technology of the time front >> drive required excessive maintenance.) US production cars from the >> 1960s >> included front drive (1966 Olds Toronado and 1967 Cadillac Eldorado), >> well >> before the first front-drive compact cars appeared in the US. >> 4. Torsion bars (in all Chrysler Corp. cars in 1957 and thereafter.) > > > These were not really US engineering innovations; at best it was a > co-development. Initial development of all of these systems occurred > in Europe and US manufacturers in some instances furthered their > commercial development. > > The Olds Toronado was a response to the success some European > manufacturers were having with front wheel drive; not a lot of Minis > showed up in the US, but they sure were a revelation in the European > marketplace. Citroen had a continuous string of successes with front > wheel drive from the time of the first Traction Avant in the early > thirties. The Cord and contemporaneous fwd manufacturers in Europe > were not successful. > > >> We could go on with US engineering innovations, including the Trinitron >> (patented by RCA in 1951). >> > > Electronics was a whole other matter. Here the US definitely led, and > I can't think of any Trinitron models with fins and five foot overhangs. > > > >> What the rest of the world did VERY well was figure out how to >> commercialize >> US engineering innovations, making them less expensive and more >> reliable. >> In many cases, such as front drive and the Trinitron, there were interim >> leaps forward in technology between the innovation and mass >> commercialization. >> >> Jim Shulman >> Wynnewood, PA >> >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: lug-bounces+jshul=comcast.net at leica-users.org >> [mailto:lug-bounces+jshul=comcast.net at leica-users.org] On Behalf Of >> George >> Lottermoser >> Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 10:55 AM >> To: Leica Users Group >> Subject: Re: [Leica] IMG: American Styling >> >> While the rest of the world engineered: >> disk brakes >> fuel injection >> front-wheel drive >> torsion bars >> etc, etc >> >> The US designed: >> fins >> hood ornaments >> grills >> ridiculous names >> and >> hyperbolic advertising >> >> Regards, >> George Lottermoser >> george at imagist.com >> http://www.imagist.com >> http://www.imagist.com/blog >> http://www.linkedin.com/in/imagist >> >> On Jun 23, 2009, at 7:25 PM, Jim Shulman wrote: >> >>> There are many things that helped to kill the US auto industry, >>> well above >>> the styling excess of 50s and 60s cars. >> >> >> _