Citizendia
Your Ad Here

Front-wheel drive (or FF layout) is a form of engine/transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. In Automotive design, a FF, or Front-engine, Front-wheel drive layout places both the engine and driven wheels at the front of The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the Combustion of Fuel and an Oxidizer (typically air occurs in a confined space called a A motor Vehicle is a Machine which incorporates a motor (sometimes known as an Engine) and which is used for Transportation A wheel is a circular device that is capable of rotating on its axis facilitating movement or transportation whilst supporting a load ( Mass) or performing labour in machines Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitudinal engine arrangement generally found in rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive vehicles. A transverse engine is an Engine in which the Crankshaft is oriented side-to-side relative to the length of the vehicle In Automotive engineering, a longitudinal engine, also sometimes known as a north-south engine, is an Internal combustion engine in which the Crankshaft Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4x4 ("four by four" is a four-wheeled Vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four Wheels to

Contents

History

- 1900

According to various sources, sometime between 1895 and 1898 Gräf & Stift built a voiturette with a one-cylinder De Dion-Bouton engine fitted in the front of the vehicle, powering the front axle. Gräf & Stift was an Austrian Automaker founded in 1902 by the brothers Franz Heinrich and Karl Gräf and the investor Wilhelm Stift Voiturette is a word mostly used to describe a miniature car however it has several meanings depending largely on the usage date De Dion-Bouton was a French Automobile manufacturer and Railcar manufacturer operating from 1883 to 1932 An axle is a central shaft for a rotating Wheel or Gear. In some cases the axle may be fixed in position with a bearing or Bushing It was thus arguably the world's first front-wheel drive automobile, but it never saw mass production, with only one copy ever made.

1900 - 1920

Experiments with front-wheel drive cars date to the early days of the automobile. Following the Spanish-American War, J. Walter Christie of the USA was working on designs for a front-wheel drive car, which he promoted and demonstrated by racing at various speedways in the U. John Walter Christie ( May 6, 1865 - January 11, 1944) was an American engineer and inventor The United States of America —commonly referred to as the S. , and even competed in the Vanderbilt Cup and the French Grand Prix. The Vanderbilt Cup was the first major trophy in American Auto racing. The French Grand Prix ( Grand Prix de France) is a race held as part of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile 's annual Formula One automobile In 1912 he began manufacturing a line of wheeled fire engine tractors which used his front-wheel drive system, but due to lack of sales this venture failed.

1920 - 1930

The first successful application of front-wheel drive was the Miller 122 racecar designed in 1924 by Harry Arminius Miller of Menomonie, Wisconsin. Harry Arminius Miller ( December 9, 1875 – May 3, 1943) was an influential and famous American Race car builder most However, the idea languished outside of the motor racing arena as no major auto manufacturer attempted the same for production automobiles. Market experiments in the United States were left to small endeavors such as the Ruxton (200 cars in 1929), and the Cord L-29 of 1929. The Ruxton was a front-wheel drive Automobile produced by the New Era Motors Company of New York New York, USA during 1929 and 1930 Cord was the Brand name of a United States Automobile, manufactured by the Auburn Automobile Company from 1929 through 1932 and again Neither automobile maker was particularly successful on the open market. Alvis Cars of the United Kingdom also introduced a front-wheel drive model in 1928, but it was not a success either. Alvis cars were produced by the manufacturer Alvis Car and Engineering Company Ltd of Coventry, United Kingdom from 1919 to 1967 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located

1930 - 1945

The first successful consumer application came in 1931 with the DKW F1 from Germany. Dampf Kraft Wagen (steam-driven car or DKW is a historic car and Motorcycle Marque. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Other German car producers followed: Stoewer offered a car with front wheel drive in 1931, Adler in 1932 and Audi in 1933. Stoewer was a German Automobile manufacturer before World War II whose headquarters were in Stettin (Szczecin. History Adler was a German Automobile and Motorcycle manufacturer from 1900 until 1957 AUDI AG, ( Xetra: NSU commonly known as Audi (aˈʊdi is a German Automobile manufacturer which produces Audi branded cars with headquarters In 1934, the very successful Traction Avant cars were introduced by Citroën of France. The Citroën Traction Avant was an Automobile produced by the French manufacturer Citroën. Citroën (pronounced See-Troh-Enn is a French Automobile manufacturer, founded in 1919 by André Citroën. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. BSA three-wheelers of the United Kingdom were also popular front-wheel drive automobiles, and the Cord 810 of the United States managed a bit better in the late 1930s than its predecessor one decade earlier. The Birmingham Small Arms Company ( BSA) was a British manufacturer of Vehicles Firearms and Military equipment and still exists as The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Cord was the Brand name of a United States Automobile, manufactured by the Auburn Automobile Company from 1929 through 1932 and again These vehicles featured a layout that places the engine behind the transmission, running "backwards," (save for the Cord, which drove the transmission from the front of the engine). The basic front-wheel drive layout provides sharp turning, and better weight distribution creates "positive handling characteristics" due to its low polar inertia and relatively favourable weight distribution. (The heaviest component is near the centre of the car, making the main component of its moment of inertia relatively low). This article is about the moment of inertia of a rotating object. Another result of this design is a lengthened chassis.

1945 - 1960

Front-wheel drive was further popularized by the 1948 Citroën 2CV, where the lightweight aluminium flat twin engine was mounted ahead of the front wheels, and 1955 Citroën DS, featuring the mid-engine layout. The Citroën 2CV ( French: deux chevaux vapeur, literally "two steam Horses quot from the Tax horsepower rating was an Economy car A flat-twin is a two cylinder Internal combustion engine with the cylinders arranged on opposite sides of the crankshaft The Citroën DS (also known as Déesse, or Goddess, after the punning initials in French is an Executive car that was produced by In Automotive design, a MF, or Mid-engine, Front-wheel drive layout is one in which the front wheels are driven by an engine Panhard of France, DKW of Germany and Saab of Sweden offered exclusively front-wheel drive cars. Panhard is now a French manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles Dampf Kraft Wagen (steam-driven car or DKW is a historic car and Motorcycle Marque. Saab Automobile AB, better known as Saab, is a Swedish car manufacturer and currently a wholly-owned Subsidiary of General Motors.

In 1954, Alfa-Romeo had experimented with its first front-wheel drive compact car named "33" (not related or referred to sports car similarly named "33"). It had the same transverse-mounted, forward-motor layout as the modern front-wheel drive automobiles. It even resembled the smaller version of its popular Guilia. However, due to the financial difficulties in post-war Italy, the 33 never saw the production. Had Alfa-Romeo succeed in producing 33, it would precede Mini as the first "modern" front-wheel drive compact car.

1960 - 1975

The transversely mounted engine combined with front-wheel drive was popularized by the 1959 Mini; there the transmission was built into the sump of the engine, and drive was transferred to it via a set of primary gears. The Mini is a small car that was produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC and its successors from 1959 until 2000 A sump is a low space that collects any often-undesirable liquids such as water or chemicals This is the page for mechanical Gears For other uses see Gear (disambiguation For the gear-like device used to drive a roller chain see Sprocket The same transmission concept was also used by Peugeot and Renault on their jointly-developed small car engine of the 1970s where the 4-cylinder block was canted over to reduce the overall height of the engine with the transmission underneath. For the article about the bicycle manufacturer see Cycles Peugeot. This is about the company for other uses see Renault (disambiguation. The tendency of this layout to generate unwanted transmission "whine" has seen it fall out of favour.

The 1965 Triumph 1300 was designed around a longitudinal engine with the transmission underneath. The Triumph 1300 was a medium/small 4-door saloon car made by Standard Triumph under the control of Leyland Motors. Audi has also used a longitudinally mounted engine overhung over the front wheels since the 1970s. AUDI AG, ( Xetra: NSU commonly known as Audi (aˈʊdi is a German Automobile manufacturer which produces Audi branded cars with headquarters Audi is one of the few manufacturers which still uses this particular configuration. Manufacturing (from Latin manu factura, "making by hand" is the use of tools and labor to make things for use or sale It allows the use of equal-length half shafts and the easy addition of all-wheel drive, but has the disadvantage that it makes it difficult to achieve 50/50 weight distribution (although they remedy this in four-wheel drive models by mounting the gearbox at the rear of the transaxle. A half shaft is an Automotive term used to describe a Drive shaft that goes from a vehicle's differential to one of the driven wheels Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4x4 ("four by four" is a four-wheeled Vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four Wheels to A transaxle, in the Automotive field is a component that combines the functionality of the '''trans'''mission, the differential and the drive )

Also in the 1970s and 1980s, the Douvrin engines used in the larger Renaults (20, 21, 25 and 30) used this longitudinal "forward" layout. The Douvrin family was an all-aluminum Straight-4 Automobile engine designed in the early 1970s and produced from 1977 to 1996 by Compagnie Française This is about the company for other uses see Renault (disambiguation. The first generation Saab 900, launched in 1978, also used a longitudinal engine with a transmission underneath with helical gears. The 900 is a car that was made by Saab Automobile from 1978 until 1998 in two generations The 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado was the first U. "Toronado" redirects here For the guitar see Fender Toronado. S. front-wheel drive car since the Cord 810. Cord was the Brand name of a United States Automobile, manufactured by the Auburn Automobile Company from 1929 through 1932 and again It used a longitudinal engine placement for its V8, coupled with an unusual "split" transmission, which turned the engine power 180 degrees. Power then went to a differential mounted to the transmission case, from which half-shafts took it to the wheels. The driveline was set fairly at centre-point of the wheels for better weight distribution, though this raised the engine, requiring lowered intake systems.

1975 - 1990

The Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard drove a mass changeover of cars in the U. S. to front-wheel drive. The change began in 1978, with the introduction of the first American-built transverse-engined cars, the Plymouth Horizon and Dodge Omni (based on the European designed Simca Horizon),[1] followed by the 1980 Chevrolet Citation and numerous other vehicles. The Dodge Omni and the similar Plymouth Horizon were Front wheel drive cars introduced by the Dodge and Plymouth divisions of Chrysler Corporation The Dodge Omni and the similar Plymouth Horizon were Front wheel drive cars introduced by the Dodge and Plymouth divisions of Chrysler Corporation The Horizon, was a Subcompact automobile developed by Chrysler Europe and was sold in Europe between 1977 and 1985 under the Chrysler, Simca The Chevrolet Citation was a Compact car sold by the Chevrolet brand of American automaker General Motors from 1980 through 1985 By reducing drivetrain weight and space needs, vehicles could be made smaller and more efficient without sacrificing acceleration. Some suggest that the introduction of the modern Volkswagen Rabbit in 1975, from a traditional U. The Volkswagen Golf or VW Golf ( Mk1 and Mk5 badged as Volkswagen Rabbit in the United States and Canada, Mk1 badged as Volkswagen S. competitor, served as a wake-up call for the "Big Three" (which already produced front-wheel drive vehicles in their operations outside North America). Front-wheel drive became the norm for mid-sized cars starting with the 1982 Chevrolet Celebrity, 1983 Dodge 600, 1985 Nissan Maxima, and the 1986 Ford Taurus. The Chevrolet Celebrity was a Mid-size car built by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. The 600 was Dodge 's version of the Chrysler E-Class Luxury car of the 1980s The Nissan Maxima is a Full-size car manufactured by Nissan. The Maxima debuted in 1976 as an upscale version of the Bluebird and was spun into its own The Ford Taurus is an Automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States. By the mid-1980s, most formerly rear-wheel drive Japanese models were front-wheel drive, and by the mid-1990s, most American brands only sold a handful of rear-wheel drive models.

1990 - today

There were relatively few rear-wheel drive cars marketed in North America by the early 1990s; Chrysler's car line-up was entirely front-wheel drive by 1990. Chrysler LLC is an American Automobile manufacturer that has been producing Automobiles since 1925 GM followed suit in 1996 where its B-body line was phased out, where its sports cars (Camaro, Firebird, Corvette) were the only RWDs marketed; by the early 2000s, the Chevrolet Corvette was the only RWD car offered by Chevrolet until the introduction of the Sigma platform. The B platform, or B-body, was General Motors ' full-size Rear-wheel drive Automobile platform. The Chevrolet Corvette is a Sports car that has been manufactured by General Motors since 1953

The vast majority of front-wheel drive vehicles today use a transversely mounted engine with "end-on" mounted transmission, driving the front wheels via driveshafts linked via constant velocity (CV) joints. A transverse engine is an Engine in which the Crankshaft is oriented side-to-side relative to the length of the vehicle Constant-velocity joints (aka homokinetic or CV joints) allow a rotating shaft to transmit power through This configuration was made popular by the 1967 Simca 1100,[2] and the 1969 Fiat 128. The Simca 1100 was an Automobile built from 1967 to 1982 by Chrysler Europe 's division Simca. The Fiat 128 was a Small family car manufactured by the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1969 to 1985 The 1959 Mini, while a pioneering transverse front-wheel drive vehicle, used a substantially different arrangement with the transmission in the sump.

American auto manufacturers are now shifting larger models (such as the Chrysler 300 and most of the Cadillac lineup) back to rear-wheel drive. The Chrysler 300 is a Full-size car designed by Haitian-Canadian Ralph Gilles. Cadillac is a Brand of Luxury vehicles owned by General Motors. [3][4]

Records

See also

References

  1. ^ Bryan T. In Automotive design layout specifies where on the car the Engine and Drive wheels are found Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4x4 ("four by four" is a four-wheeled Vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four Wheels to In Automotive design, a FF, or Front-engine, Front-wheel drive layout places both the engine and driven wheels at the front of Nicalek. The Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon. Allpar.
  2. ^ Andy Thompson and Matt Cotton. "Simca 1000 cars". Rootes-Chrysler. co. uk.
  3. ^ The Chrysler-Dodge LX Cars: Charger, Challenger, 300, 300C, and Magnum. Allpar.
  4. ^ Cadillac goes to RWD - rear-wheel drive. Automotive Industries (extracted in LookSmart).
  5. ^ Dodge
  6. ^ Infoweb
© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic