...e did not make any impact until after orld ar I. The more compact V8, in hich four in-line cylinders ere positioned in a V-shaped configuration, as popularized by the American Cadillac company in 1915. Its Lincoln rival as responsible for the orldtrquote s first successful V12-engined car that dates from 1915. Hoever, the V6 unit, pioneered by Lancia, did not arrive until 1950.tpartparQ Saloon Bodies tpartparMost cars ere fitted ith open, ooden-framed, hand-crafted steel or aluminium bodyork that as mounted on a separate chassis frame. Saloons ere more expensive because they used more materials. It as not until 1925 that the American Essex company risked all by offering a closed car that sold for less than a touring vehicle. The gamble paid off and the rest of the motoring orld soon folloed suit.tpartparMachine-made pressed steel body panels had been used by Dodge in America from 1916 this led to the all-steel saloon and, finally, the unitary body, hich dispensed ith the chassis and transferred stresses to the hull. Citrotebntrquote s advanced front-heel drive Traction Avant model of 1934 as the first mass-produced car to feature the concept and as folloed by General Motorstrquote German Opel subsidiary in 1935. General Motors as also responsible for introducing silent gear changes to motoring in 1928, and in 1940 an American car, the Oldsmobile, as the first vehicle to have automatic transmission.tpartparCars used leaf springs inherited from horse-dran carriages until the 1930s, hen independent front suspension as developed. Hoever, its rear equivalent as rarer and usually confined to more expensive vehicles. An exception as provided by Volksagen AG in Germany. The Beetle as the Volksagen hich as designed by Ferdinand Porsche in 1934 and entered series production in 1945. Featuring all-independent suspension, it as poered by a rear-mounted, horizontally opposed, four-cylinder engine that as cheap to run, and hich also defied convention by being air- rather than ater-cooled. The Beetle became the most popular car in the history of motoring it is still in production and a record 21 million have been built.tpartparA German company also produced the economical and efficient diesel engine, invented in 1893 by Rudolf Diesel. Adopted in the 1920s for use in commercial vehicles, in 1935 Mercedes-Benz introduced the 260D as the orldtrquote s first diesel-engined car.tpartparR Front-heel Drive tpartparIn 1937 the French Citrotebn company briefly offered a diesel option in its front-heel drive Traction Avant. This model represented the first serious challenge to the orthodox front-enginerear-drive configuration. Although the mechanics ere more sophisticated, the Traction Avant cornered better and could be built ith loer body lines because there as no obtrusive transmission tunnel.tpartparhile the Citrotebntrquote s engine as conventionally positioned, the British Motor Corporationtrquote s front-heel drive Mini of 1959, designed by its chief engineer Alec Issigonis, had its poer unit turned 90tb0 to a transverse-mounted location. This alloed for more passenger accommodation four adults could be seated in a car only 3 m 10 ft long.tpartparS Fuel Economy tpartparIn Europe Mini-inspired cars became increasingly popular and the Mini itself became a classic. Hoever, the global influence of the Issigonis approach attained its height folloing the oil price rises in the early 1970s. This resulted in a trend in designing and producing smaller front-heel drive cars ith hatchback bodies, so called because they incorporated a single opening tailgate. It also marked a decline in production of the vast American tldblquote gas-guzzlerstrdblquote , hich had been so popular in the 1950s. These cars currently dominate the orld market.tpartparThe soaring price of petrol also revived research, dormant on passenger cars since the 1930s, into more aerodynamically efficient bodyork. This meant that a cartrquote s styling as contoured to assist its passage through the air in order to minimize petrol consumption. This had hitherto been the preserve of sports-car makers.tpartparT Performance and Four-heel Drive tpartparLamborghini GTV 350 The Lamborghini 350 GTV as introduced to the public at the 1963 Turin Motor sho. It as made of steel and aluminium panels over a chassis of round tubes. Despite many critics, the car got a lot of attention from the press because of its very modern chassis.Farabolafoto tpar tparFrom the 1970s the performance of such vehicles had also been enhanced by the development of the turbocharger. Driven by otherise asted exhaust gases, it is a small, high-revolution pump that forces air into the cylinders at pressure and is invariably used in conjunction ith an intercooler. This cools incoming air to make it denser, further increasing engine poer.tpartparPerformance cars ere usually front-engined and sometimes rear-engined until the appearance, in 1966, of the Lamborghini Muira, hich had a mid-located poer unit. This meant a better-balanced car, but at the expense of greater interior noise and loss of rear seating.tpartparYet a further development in performance as the four-heel drive ith superior road holding. This as a luxury fitment until the arrival, in 1980, of the Audi Quatto, a make that had also introduced, in 1976, the petrol-fuelled five-cylinder engine. Four-heel drive had already been incorporated in the cross-country Land Rover, its design inspired by the American Jeep. It first appeared in 1948 and paved the ay to the better-equipped Range Rover.tpartparU Further Developments tpartparU1 Reducing Car Emissions tpartparTraffic Pollution The orlds roads currently accommodate over 500 million motor vehicles. Most concern about traffic pollution has been expressed in relation to busy inner-city areas, here high vehicle flos and large numbers of pedestrians share the same streets. The orst conditions are experienced hen there is a combination of dense traffic and hot eather ithout inds.esley BocxePhoto Researchers, Inc. tpar tparIn recent years environmental considerations and groing concern over traffic pollution have had a profound effect on car design. The United States introduced the first regulations on noxious car emissions in 1967 the California Clean Air Act requires that, by 2003, 10 per cent of all ne cars sold in that state must have zero exhaust emissions. Hoever, as these restrictions become more rigorous, their effects on the poer and efficiency of car engines gro more adverse. Noxious emissions include carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and particulates. In 1986 the Japanese Toyota company introduced the more efficient multivalve tin overhead camshaft engine, a unit more usually associated ith high-performance models. This concept has no been idely adopted by the orldtrquote s motor industries.tpartparAll ne cars sold in Europe since 1990 have had to be capable of running on unleaded petrol. Lead has been added to petrol ...
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