1.
General Motors
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With global headquarters at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan, United States, GM manufactures cars and trucks in 35 countries. In 2008,8.35 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under various brands, current auto brands are Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Holden, and Wuling. Former GM automotive brands include McLaughlin, Oakland, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Hummer, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall, the company was founded by William C. Durant on September 16,1908 as a holding company. The company was the largest automobile manufacturer from 1931 through 2007, in addition to brands selling assembled vehicles, GM also has had various automotive-component and non-automotive brands, many of which it divested in the 1980s through 2000s. General Motors produces vehicles in 37 countries under twelve brands, Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Holden, HSV, Opel, Vauxhall, Wuling, Baojun, Jie Fang, and Ravon. The current company, General Motors Company LLC, was formed in 2009 following the bankruptcy of General Motors Corporation, the new company purchased the majority of the assets of the old GM, including the brand General Motors. In addition to its twelve brands, General Motors also holds a 20% stake in IMM, General Motors employs 212,000 people and does business in more than 140 countries. General Motors is divided into five segments, GM North America, Opel Group, GM International Operations, GM South America. General Motors led global vehicle sales for 77 consecutive years from 1931 through 2007, longer any other automaker. General Motors acts in most countries outside the U. S. via wholly owned subsidiaries, GMs OnStar subsidiary provides vehicle safety, security and information services. In 2009, General Motors shed several brands, closing Saturn, Pontiac, and Hummer, in 2010, the reorganized GM made an initial public offering that was one of the worlds top five largest IPOs to date, and returned to profitability later that year. General Motors Corporation was formed on September 16,1908, in Flint, Michigan, GMs co-founder was Charles Stewart Mott, whose carriage company was merged into Buick prior to GMs creation. Over the years, Mott became the largest single stockholder in GM, and spent his life with his Mott Foundation, GM acquired Oldsmobile later that year. In 1909, Durant brought in Cadillac, Elmore, Oakland, also in 1909, GM acquired the Reliance Motor Truck Company of Owosso, Michigan, and the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company of Pontiac, Michigan, the predecessors of GMC Truck. Durant, along with R. S. McLaughlin, lost control of GM in 1910 to a bankers trust, because of the amount of debt taken on in its acquisitions. The next year, Durant started the Chevrolet Motor Car Company in the U. S. and in Canada in 1915, Durant took back control of the company after one of the most dramatic proxy wars in American business history. Durant then reorganized General Motors Company into General Motors Corporation in 1916, merging Chevrolet with GM, shortly thereafter, he again lost control, this time for good, after the new vehicle market collapsed. These facilities were added to the factories that were exclusive to Cadillac, Buick, Oldsmobile, Oakland
2.
Automotive design
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Automotive design is the profession involved in the development of the appearance, and to some extent the ergonomics, of motor vehicles or more specifically road vehicles. This most commonly refers to automobiles but also refers to motorcycles, trucks, buses, coaches, the functional design and development of a modern motor vehicle is typically done by a large team from many different disciplines included within automotive engineering. Automotive design in context is primarily concerned with developing the visual appearance or aesthetics of the vehicle. Automotive design is practiced by designers who usually have an art background, the task of the design team is usually split into three main aspects, exterior design, interior design, and color and trim design. Graphic design is also an aspect of design, this is generally shared amongst the design team as the lead designer sees fit. Design focuses not only on the outer shape of automobile parts. The aesthetic value will need to correspond to ergonomic functionality and utility features as well, though not all the new vehicular gadgets are to be designated as factory standard items, some of them may be integral to determining the future course of any specific vehicular models. The stylist responsible for the design of the exterior of the vehicle develops the proportions, shape, Exterior design is first done by a series of digital or manual drawings. Progressively, drawings that are more detailed are executed and approved by appropriate layers of management, Clay and or digital models are developed from, and along with the drawings. The data from these models are used to create a full sized mock-up of the final design. With three- and five-axis CNC milling machines, the model is first designed in a computer program and then carved using the machine. Even in times of high-class 3d software and virtual models on power walls, here the emphasis is on ergonomics and the comfort of the passengers. The procedure here is the same as with exterior design, the color and trim designer is responsible for the research, design, and development of all interior and exterior colors and materials used on a vehicle. These include paints, plastics, fabric designs, leather, grains, carpet, headliner, wood trim, Color, contrast, texture, and pattern must be carefully combined to give the vehicle a unique interior environment experience. Designers work closely with the exterior and interior designers, designers draw inspiration from other design disciplines such as, industrial design, fashion, home furnishing, architecture, and sometimes product design. Specific research is done into global trends to design for two to three model years in the future. Trend boards are created from research in order to keep track of design influences as they relate to the automotive industry. The designer then uses this information to develop themes and concepts that are further refined and tested on the vehicle models
3.
Harley Earl
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Harley J. Earl was an American automotive designer and business executive. He was the designated head of design at General Motors, later becoming vice president. He was a designer and a pioneer of modern transportation design. A coachbuilder by trade, Earl pioneered the use of freeform sketching and he subsequently introduced the concept car as both a tool for the design process and a clever marketing device. Earls Buick Y-Job was the first concept car and he started Project Opel, which eventually became the Chevrolet Corvette, and he authorized the introduction of the tailfin to automotive styling. During World War II, he was a contributor to the Allies research. Harley Earl was born in Hollywood, California and his father, J. W. Earl, began work as a coachbuilder in 1889. The senior Earl eventually changed his practice from horse-drawn vehicles to custom bodies and customized parts and accessories for automobiles, Earl began studies at Stanford University, but left prematurely to work with, and learn from, his father at Earl Automotive Works. By this time, the shop was building custom bodies for Hollywood movie stars, including Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle, Earl Automotive Works was bought by Cadillac dealer Don Lee, who kept Harley Earl as director of its custom body shop. Lawrence P. Fisher, general manager of the Cadillac division, was visiting Cadillac dealers and distributors around the country, Fisher met Earl at Lees dealership and observed him at work. Fisher, whose career began with coachbuilder Fisher Body, was impressed with Earls designs and methods. Fisher commissioned Earl to design the 1927 LaSalle for Cadillacs companion marque, the success of the LaSalle convinced General Motors president Alfred P. Sloan to create the Art and Color Section of General Motors, and to name Earl as its first director. Prior to the establishment of the Art and Color Section, American automobile manufacturers did not assign any great importance to the appearance of automobile bodies, volume manufacturers built bodies designed by engineers, guided only by functionality and cost. Many luxury-car manufacturers, including GM, did not make bodies at all, the executives at General Motors at the time, including engineers, division heads, and sales executives, viewed Earls conceptual ideas as flamboyant and unfounded. Earl struggled to legitimize his design approach against the tradition- and production-oriented executives, as head of the newly formed Art and Color Section in 1927, he was initially referred to as one of the pretty picture boys, and his design studio as being the Beauty Parlor. In 1937, the Art and Color Section was renamed the Styling Section, Sloan eventually promoted Earl to vice president, making him, to Sloans knowledge, the first styling person to be a VP at a large corporation. Harley Earl and Sloan implemented Dynamic Obsolescence and the Annual Model Change, tying model identity to a specific year and these ideas are largely taken for granted today, but were unusual at the time. In 1939, the Styling Division, under Earls instruction, styled and built the Buick Y-Job, the motor industrys first concept car
4.
Car classification
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Governments and private organizations have developed car classification schemes that are used for innumerable purposes including regulation, description and categorization, among others. This article details commonly used classification schemes in use worldwide, vehicles can be categorized in numerous ways. Regulatory agencies may also establish a vehicle classification system for determining a tax amount, in the United Kingdom, a vehicle is taxed according to the vehicles construction, engine, weight, type of fuel and emissions, as well as the purpose for which it is used. Other jurisdictions may determine vehicle tax based upon environmental principles, such as the user pays principle, another standard for road vehicles of all types that is used internationally, is ISO 3833-1977. In the United States, since 2010 the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety uses a scheme it has developed that takes into account a combination of both shadow and weight. The United States Federal Highway Administration has developed a scheme used for automatically calculating road use tolls. There are two categories depending on whether the vehicle carries passengers or commodities. Vehicles that carry commodities are further subdivided by number of axles and number of units, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has developed a classification scheme used to compare fuel economy among similar vehicles. Passenger vehicles are classified based on a total interior passenger. Trucks are classified based upon their gross vehicle weight rating, heavy duty vehicles are not included within the EPA scheme. A similar set of classes is used by the Canadian EPA, in Australia, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries publishes its own classifications. This is a table listing several different methods of vehicle classification. Straddling the boundary between car and motorbike, these vehicles have engines under 1.0 litre, typically only two passengers, and are sometimes unorthodox in construction. Some microcars are three-wheelers, while the majority have four wheels, microcars were popular in post-war Europe, where their appearance led them to be called Bubble cars. More recent microcars are often electric powered, the size of ultracompact cars will be less than minicars, but have engine greater than 50cc displacement and able to transport 1 or 2 persons. Ultracompact cars cannot use standard, because of strict safety standards for minicars. The regulation about running capacity and safety performance of cars will be published in early autumn. Today, there are smaller than ultracompact cars, called category-1 motorized vehicles which it has 50cc displacement or less
5.
Full-size car
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A full-size car is a marketing term used in North America for an automobile larger than a mid-size car. Traditional U. S. full-size passenger cars were designed to be comfortable for six occupants, the United States Environmental Protection Agency currently uses the term large car to denote full-size cars based on their combined interior passenger and luggage volume. The traditional full-size passenger cars that were built by the U. S. Full-size cars were also denoted for their length, nearing 4,953 mm in basic low-priced, family sedans. The luxury models often tended to reach 5,350 mm. Previously, the term first appeared in the early 1960s to distinguish what also became known as standard-size cars from the new compact and intermediate models then being introduced. The U. S. EPA defines large size as 120 ft³ or more of combined passenger, a majority of U. S. automakers manufactured full size automobiles were constructed using a body-on-frame platform. This platform was phased out in 2011 when the Ford Panther vehicles ended production, use of the term in North America became popular after the introduction of compacts by the U. S. Detroit Big Three for the 1960 model year, and then a few years later the introduction of what became known as mid-size cars. The term was most correctly applied to close to the width limit carrying nameplates of The Low Priced Three, Chevrolet, Ford. Manufacturers contributed to the lack of distinction by marketing models of their brands into the lower price ranges with what had previously been considered medium-priced brands. For 1977, General Motors downsized its cars, with overall width cut from approximately 80 in to the mid-70 inch range. Chevrolet, Pontiac, and the less expensive Oldsmobile and Buick models had a 116-inch wheelbase, more expensive Oldsmobile and Buick models, plus the Cadillac had a 119 in wheelbase, but no more width. Ford and Chrysler downsized for 1979, the latter even building its Chrysler R platform, by this time, a huge increase in gasoline prices had made it difficult to sell any large cars, downsized or not. Chrysler had the misfortune of introducing two consecutive new designs of its largest cars, in 1974 and 1979, during times when gasoline prices suddenly increased. The EPA interior volumes for passenger and cargo for the most part resulted in mid-size, full-size, the 1980s Chrysler M platform, classified as large cars at the time, were derived from the Dodge Aspen/Plymouth Volare platform, originally marketed as large compacts. While many modern cars are referred to as full-size, they do not qualify for the term as used in the 1960s and 1970s. Consumer acceptance of large SUVs approaching 80 inches in width shows interest remains in vehicles capable of seating with reasonable comfort. Police cars in the United States are almost always full-size cars and this is usually due to the amount of interior space for an arrestee as well as trunk volume for computer and electrical equipment. Interior space and trunk volume also make such vehicles popular for taxi use, since the discontinuation of the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor the de facto replacement has been a variation of the Ford Taurus
6.
Luxury vehicle
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Luxury vehicle is a marketing term for a vehicle that provides luxury — pleasant or desirable features beyond strict necessity — at increased expense. The term is also broad, highly variable and relative and it is a perceptual, conditional and subjective attribute that may be comprehended differently by different people, What is a luxury car to some. Therefore, automakers differentiate among their product lines in collusion with the car-buying public, while a high price is the most frequent factor, it is styling, engineering, and even public opinion which cars had the highest and lowest status associated with them. Every era in history has had a group of car marques and models that have been expensive to purchase, due to their alleged superiority of their design. Aimed at wealthy buyers, such automobiles might be generically termed luxury cars and this term is also used for unique vehicles produced during an era when luxury was individualistic consideration, and coachwork could be tailored to an owner like a bespoke suit. Although there is literature about specific marques, there is a lack of systematic. Luxury vehicle makers may either be stand-alone companies in their own right, such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz, badge engineering is often used for cost savings, for example, the Lincoln vehicles that are based on Ford platforms or Acura models derived from Honda. Though widely used, the term luxury is broad and highly variable and it is a perceptual, conditional and subjective attribute and may be understood differently by different people, What is a luxury car to some. According to the European Commission, the luxury segment is classified as F-segment. However, the boundaries between the segments are increasingly becoming blurred and diluted as features once exclusive to luxury vehicles become standard equipment on even small cars. ACRISS is a system used by many car rental companies in the US for classifying vehicles. The system includes Luxury and Premium categories, Australia, In Australia, for taxation purposes a luxury car is defined as a passenger car whose value exceeds a certain threshold. France, In France the term voiture de luxe is used, Germany, In Germany the term Upper class is used. Russia, Russian markets use the term representative class vehicle, the classification varies, for instance Consumer Guide Automotive in the U. S. The premium compact segment is targeted at a market of consumers who found the existing entry-level luxury offerings to be too expensive. By offering a smaller, lighter, more fuel-efficient, and less expensive vehicle, premium compacts introduces younger buyers to the luxury marque, in hopes of retaining the coveted customer loyalty. This includes the Acura CSX, Audi A3, Buick Verano, BMW2 Series, BMW i3, Cadillac ELR, Chrysler 200, Lexus CT, Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class, Mercedes-Benz B-Class, Saab 9-2X, and the Volvo V40. Premium compacts compete with well-equipped midsize cars, and with options they overlap much with compact executive cars, Premium compacts may share components with mass market cars from the marques parent company, and/or have less sophisticated platforms compared to upmarket vehicles in the lineup
7.
Convertible
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A convertible or cabriolet is an automobile body style that can convert between an open-air mode and an enclosed one, varying in degree and means by model. Convertibles evolved from the phaeton, an open vehicle without glass side windows that sometimes had removable panels of fabric or other material for protection from the elements. Historically, a retractable roof consisted of a frame covered with a folding. A lesser seen detachable hardtop provided a more weatherproof and secure alternative, as technology improved, a retractable hardtop which removes and stows its own rigid roof in its trunk appeared, increasingly becoming the most popular form. A semiconvertible also known as a coach has a retractable or removable top which retains fully framed windows on its doors. A landaulet is a convertible with a fully enclosed front cabin. Other common terms include cabriolet, cabrio, soft top, and drop top, and where the roof is more than emergency weather protection, open two-seater, rag top, spider. The erected top secures to the frame header with manual latches, semimanual latches. The folded convertible top is called the stack, a tonneau cover provides a solution. A range of materials is available for soft tops, automakers had problems in securing raw materials to fulfill orders after World War II, including canvas in various shades for convertible tops and limiting their manufacture. Polyvinyl chloride material was used for many convertible tops, the material consists of two layers, a top layer made of PVC, which has a specific structure depending on the vehicle model, and a lower layer made of fabric. Side windows were not existent in open cars, which may have detachable side screens, rear windows have evolved similarly, with plastic rear windows appearing as late as the first-generation Porsche Boxster. Plastic windows can degrade, fade, yellow, and crack over time, a windblocker or wind deflector minimizes noise and rushing air reaching the occupants. Mazda pioneered a version on the RX7 convertible which featured an integral rigid opaque panel that folded up from behind the front seats, current convertibles feature windblockers of various designs including detachable fold-up designs, vertically retractable glass, minimal flaps – or other integrated wind controlling systems. According to the responsible for the 2008 Chrysler Sebring, its windblocker reduces wind noise by roughly 11 to 12 dB. Mercedes and Audi currently offer a heating duct to the area of the seat on SLK, SL. Windblockers are also available on the aftermarket for use on convertibles that do not have them, the Volvo C70 retractable hardtop includes a door-mounted side-impact protection inflatable curtain which inflates upward from the interior belt-line – vs. downward like the typical curtain airbag. The curtain has an extra stiff construction with double rows of slats that are offset from each other
8.
Coupe de Ville
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Coupe de Ville or coupé de ville is one of a large number of terms used to describe an automobile with an external or open-topped drivers position and an enclosed compartment for passengers. Among other names for this style are sedanca, town car, victoria. Most versions are variations on one of two main types, the unusual body dates to medieval Europe. In order to identify incoming guests at court as friendly, it was necessary for the host to be able to identify the livery of the visiting guests coachman from a distance, to enable the coachman to be identifiable, he was hence placed high up and in the open. The term coupé de ville is known to be in use in the 19th century before the invention of the automobile, as a carriage, the coupé de ville was a variant of the coupé carriage that was nearly indistinguishable from the British clarence. The term de ville is French for for town and indicates that the vehicle is for use in town or for short distances. When added to the end of a style, de Ville indicated that the top over the drivers compartment could be folded away, retracted. As a vehicle for use, the coupé de ville usually had no facilities for carrying luggage. In North America, manufacturers have used the term liberally to the point where the terms Sedanca, one style of coupé de ville has rear doors to access the enclosed passenger section and a partition, similar to that in a limousine between the enclosed passengers and the open driver. Another style of coupé de ville has a fixed or folding roof over the rear seats, also known as a sedanca or a sedanca coupé, this version may or may not have had sliding or detachable roof panel for covering the front seats. The French-derived term coupé de ville is used for this two-door version without a divider between the driver and the passengers. In the United States, the similar term coupe de ville is used for this version. A coupé de ville is alternatively defined in North America as a drophead coupé with a top which may be fully closed, fully open, or partially closed. Windshields were added to protect the driver from dirt from the roads and dung from draught animals. From the late 1920s onward designs used a metal roof which regressed into a void above the passenger compartment. The same material was also most often used to provide complete curtain coverage for the compartment, the drivers compartment had leather seats to be durable enough to endure the weather. The division between the two compartments often held jump seats for lighter passengers such as children, and it would often accommodate various compartments for drinks, cigars, make-up, or books. The two compartments were separated by a divide, often with a small glass window, or latterly completely made of glass with a manual or electric winding system
9.
Limousine
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A limousine is a luxury sedan or saloon car generally driven by a chauffeur and with a partition between the driver and the passenger compartment. Limousines often have a lengthened wheelbase, although usually associated with luxury vehicles, the word Limousine is also simply a generic term in some countries for a standard sedan bodystyle. It was originally an automobile with open drivers seat. In modern use, a limousine is a sedan or saloon car. The chassis of a limousine may have been extended by the manufacturer or by an independent coachbuilder and these are called stretch limousines and are traditionally black or white. Limousines are usually liveried vehicles, driven by professional chauffeurs, as the most expensive form of automobile ground transportation, limousines are culturally associated with wealth or power and are commonly cited as examples of conspicuous consumption. Among the less wealthy, limousines are often hired during special events, while some limousines are owned by individuals, many are owned by governments to transport senior politicians, by companies to transport executives and guests. Most stretch limousines, however, operate as livery vehicles, providing competition to taxicabs. Builders of stretch limousines purchase stock cars from manufacturers and modify them, few stretch limousines are sold new to private individuals. In addition to luxuries, security features such as armoring and bulletproof glass are available, the first automobile limousine, built in 1902, was designed so the driver sat outside under a covered compartment. The word limousine is derived from the name of the French region Limousin, an alternate etymology has the chauffeur wearing a Limousin-style cloak in the open drivers compartment, for protection from the weather. The first “stretch limousine” was created in Fort Smith, Arkansas and these cars were primarily used to transport famous “big band” leaders, such as Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman, and their bands and equipment. These early stretch limousines were often called “big band buses”, in 1916, the Society of Automobile Engineers defined a limousine as, a closed car seating three to five inside, with drivers seat outside. A berline was defined as a limousine having the seat entirely inclosed. In German-speaking countries, a Limousine is simply a sedan, while a car is called Stretch-Limousine. The limousine body style has a partition separating the driver from the passenger compartment. This partition usually contains a glass window so that conversations between passengers in the rear compartment may be kept private. Communication with the driver is either by opening the window in the partition or by using an intercom system
10.
Car platform
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It is practiced in the automotive industry to reduce the costs associated with the development of products by basing those products on a smaller number of platforms. This further allows companies to create models from a design perspective on similar underpinnings. Platform sharing is a development method where different products and the brand attached share the same components. The purpose with platform sharing is to reduce the cost and have a more efficient product development process, the companies gain on reduced procurement cost by taking advantage of the commonality of the components. However, this limits their ability to differentiate the products. The companies have to make a trade-off between reducing their development costs and the degree of differentiation of the products, one of the first car companies to use this product development approach was General Motors in 1908. A basic definition of a platform in cars, from a point of view, includes, underbody and suspensions — where the underbody is made of front floor, underfloor, engine compartment. Many vendors refer to this as product or vehicle architecture, the concept of product architecture is the scheme by which the function of a product is allocated to physical components. The car platform strategy has become important in new product development, the finished products have to be responsive to market needs and to demonstrate distinctiveness while — at the same time — they must be developed and produced at low cost. Adopting such a strategy affects the development process and also has an important impact on an organizational structure. A platform strategy also offers advantages for the process of automobile firms. Manufacturers are then able to offer products at a lower cost to consumers, additionally, economies of scale are increased, as is return on investment. In the 1980s, Chryslers K-cars all wore a badge with the letter K to indicate their shared platform, in later stages, the K platform was extended in wheelbase, as well as use for several of the Corporations different models. GM used similar strategies with its J platform that debuted in mid-1981 in four of GMs divisions and they were popular through the 1980s, primarily. Even Cadillac started offering a J body model called the Cimarron, a similar strategy applied to what is known as the N-J-L platform, arguably the most prolific of GMs efforts on one platform. Once more, GMs four lower level divisions all offered various models on this throughout the 1980s. For example, the Lexus ES is essentially an upgraded and rebadged Toyota Camry, after Daimler-Benz purchased Chrysler, Chrysler engineers used several M-B platforms for new models including the Crossfire which was based on the M-B SLK roadster. Other models that share platforms are the European Ford Focus, Mazda 3, differences between shared models typically involve styling, including headlights, tail lights, and front and rear fascias
11.
Manual transmission
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A manual transmission, also known as a manual gearbox, stick shift, n-speed manual, standard, MT, or in colloquial U. S. English, a stick, is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications. The number of gear ratios is often expressed for automatic transmissions as well. Manual transmissions often feature a clutch and a movable gear stick. This type of transmission is called a sequential manual transmission. In a manual transmission, the flywheel is attached to the engines crankshaft, the clutch disk is in between the pressure plate and the flywheel, and is held against the flywheel under pressure from the pressure plate. When the engine is running and the clutch is engaged, the flywheel spins the clutch plate, as the clutch pedal is depressed, the throw out bearing is activated, which causes the pressure plate to stop applying pressure to the clutch disk. This makes the clutch plate stop receiving power from the engine, when the clutch pedal is released, the throw out bearing is deactivated, and the clutch disk is again held against the flywheel, allowing it to start receiving power from the engine. Manual transmissions are characterized by gear ratios that are selectable by locking selected gear pairs to the shaft inside the transmission. Conversely, most automatic transmissions feature epicyclic gearing controlled by brake bands and/or clutch packs to select gear ratio, automatic transmissions that allow the driver to manually select the current gear are called manumatics. A manual-style transmission operated by computer is called an automated transmission rather than an automatic. Operating aforementioned transmissions often use the pattern of shifter movement with a single or multiple switches to engage the next sequence of gear selection. The earliest form of a transmission is thought to have been invented by Louis-René Panhard. This type of transmission offered multiple gear ratios and, in most cases and these transmissions are called sliding mesh transmissions or sometimes crash boxes, because of the difficulty in changing gears and the loud grinding sound that often accompanied. Newer manual transmissions on cars have all gears mesh at all times and are referred to as constant-mesh transmissions, in both types, a particular gear combination can only be engaged when the two parts to engage are at the same speed. To shift to a gear, the transmission is put in neutral. The vehicle also slows while in neutral and that slows other transmission parts, so the time in neutral depends on the grade, wind, for both upshifts and downshifts, the clutch is released while in neutral. Some drivers use the only for starting from a stop. Even though automobile and light truck transmissions are now almost universally synchronized, transmissions for trucks and machinery, motorcycles
12.
Cadillac
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Cadillac /ˈkædᵻlæk/, formally the Cadillac Motor Car Division, is a division of the U. S. -based General Motors that markets luxury vehicles worldwide. Its primary markets are the United States, Canada, and China, historically, Cadillac automobiles have always held a place at the top of the luxury field within the United States. In 2016, Cadillacs U. S. sales were 170,006 vehicles, Cadillac is among the oldest automobile brands in the world, second in America only to fellow GM marque Buick. The firm was founded from the remnants of the Henry Ford Company in 1902 and it was named after Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, who founded Detroit, Michigan. The Cadillac crest is based on his coat of arms, by the time General Motors purchased the company in 1909, Cadillac had already established itself as one of Americas premier luxury carmakers. The complete interchangeability of its parts had allowed it to lay the foundation for the modern mass production of automobiles. It was at the forefront of advances, introducing full electrical systems, the clashless manual transmission. The brand developed three engines, with its V8 setting the standard for the American automotive industry and it won the trophy again in 1912 for incorporating electric starting and lighting in a production automobile. Cadillac was formed from the remnants of the Henry Ford Company, after a dispute between Henry Ford and his investors, Ford left the company along with several of his key partners in March 1902. Instead, Leland persuaded the pair to continue manufacturing automobiles using Lelands proven single-cylinder engine, a new company called the Cadillac Automobile Company was established on 22 August 1902, re-purposing the Henry Ford Company factory at Cass Street and Amsterdam Avenue. It was named after French explorer Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, Cadillacs first automobiles, the Runabout and Tonneau, were completed in October 1902. They were two-seat horseless carriages powered by a 10 hp single-cylinder engine and they were practically identical to the 1903 Ford Model A. Cadillac displayed the new vehicles at the New York Auto Show in January 1903, Cadillacs biggest selling point was precision manufacturing, and therefore, reliability, a Cadillac was simply a better-made vehicle than its competitors. Runabout Rear-entrance tonneau Special bodies The Cadillac Automobile Company merged with Leland & Faulconer Manufacturing, forming The Cadillac Motor Company in 1905. From its earliest years, Cadillac aimed for precision engineering and stylish luxury finishes, Cadillac was the first volume manufacturer of a fully enclosed car in 1906. Cadillac participated in the 1908 interchangeability test in the United Kingdom, in 1912, Cadillac was the first automobile manufacturer to incorporate an electrical system enabling starting, ignition, and lighting. Cadillac was purchased by the General Motors conglomerate in 1909, Cadillac became General Motors prestige division, devoted to the production of large luxury vehicles. It was positioned at the top of GMs vehicle hierarchy, above Buick, Oldsmobile, Oakland, in 1915, Cadillac introduced a 90-degree flathead V8 engine with 70 horsepower at 2400 rpm and 180 pound force-feet of torque, allowing its cars to attain 65 miles per hour
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