Re: The joy of Engine-Cars

Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> writes:

The French had lots of brilliant engineering, and pioneered concepts
decades before other car makers adopted them -- like front-wheel drive.
Renault invented both the hatchback and the people mover.
>
I looked up the details of Renault 4 suspension after reading the above;
it didn’t have self-levelling suspension (it was the Citroën 2CV I was
thinking of), but it did have a clever system nonetheless.

One of the stories is that Ford went against conventional wisdom of
electric cars and chose to do gas cars (gas cars were enormously heavy
and engines barely able to move them along). Ford lucked out when he
eventually discovered "French Steel" (new process w/vanadium developed
in Europe that tripled the strength of steel) ... allowing the weight of
the vehicle to be cut significantly (which played major role given how
little power was available from gasoline engines of the period).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanadium

Iconoclast: A Neuroscientist Reveals How to Think Differently
https://www.amazon.com/Iconoclast-Neuroscientist-Reveals-Think-Differently/dp/1422115011
pg125/loc1324-28:

The Model T became possible only when Ford heard about a new type of
steel that was being smelted in France. French steel contained a secret
ingredient, vanadium, which made it three times stronger than regular
steel. This changed everything for Ford. As with other iconoclasts, his
perception of the automobile instantly changed when he saw what could be
done with a vehicle that weighed a third less. Now, little gas engines
that struggled to pull a heavy car suddenly weren't so anemic anymore. A
little engine could do a lot with a car that didn't weigh very much. The
Model T was released in 1908, and within the first year, Ford had sold
10,607 of them, more than any other manufacturer.

Reducing the weight by 2/3rds with two cylinder engine ... made the
Model T a significantly more attractive vehicle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_T

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virtualization experience starting Jan1968, online at home since Mar1970