Sedan (automobile)
A sedan — saloon — is a passenger car in a three-box configuration with separate compartments for engine and cargo. Sedan's first recorded use as a name for a car body was in 1912; the name comes from a 17th century development of a litter, the sedan chair, a one-person enclosed box with windows and carried by porters. Variations of the sedan style of body include: close-coupled sedan, club sedan, convertible sedan, fastback sedan, hardtop sedan, notchback sedan and sedanet/sedanette; the current definition of a sedan is a car with a closed body with the engine and cargo in separate compartments. This broad definition does not differentiate sedans from various other car body styles, but in practice the typical characteristics of sedans are: a B-pillar that supports the roof two rows of seats a three-box design with the engine at the front and the cargo area at the rear a less steeply sloping roofline than a coupé, which results in increased headroom for rear passenger and a less sporting appearance.
A rear interior volume of at least 33 cu ft It is sometimes suggested that sedans must have four doors. However, several sources state that a sedan can have four doors. In addition, terms such as sedan and coupé have been more loosely interpreted by car manufacturers since 2010; when a manufacturer produces two-door sedan and four-door sedan versions of the same model, the shape and position of the greenhouse on both versions may be identical, with only the B-pillar positioned further back to accommodate the longer doors on the two-door versions. A sedan chair, a sophisticated litter, was an enclosed box with windows used to transport one seated person. Porters at the front and rear carried the chair with horizontal poles. Litters date back to long before ancient Egypt and China. Sedan chairs were developed in the 1630s. Reputable etymologists suggest the name of the chair probably came through Italian dialects from the Latin sedere meaning to sit; the same experts report that the first recorded use of sedan for an automobile body occurred in 1912 when a new Studebaker model was described by its manufacturers as a sedan.
The same American dictionary provides this description: "Sedan an enclosed automobile for four or more people, having two or four doors". There were enclosed automobile bodies before 1912. Long before that time the same enclosed but horse-drawn carriages were known as broughams in the United Kingdom, they were berlinas in France and Italy. Both names are still used there for sedans. There is an unsubstantiated claim that the body of a particular 1899 Renault Voiturette Type B was the first motor vehicle, a sedan, it was a two-door two-seater vehicle with an extra external seat for a footman/mechanic. Georgano claims the earliest usage matching a modern definition of a sedan was a 1911 Speedwell sedan manufactured in the United States. In American English and Latin American Spanish, the term sedan is used. In British English, a car of this configuration is called a saloon. Hatchback sedans are known as hatchbacks. Super saloon is used to describe a high performance saloon car where sports saloon would have been used in the past.
Saloon has been used by British car manufacturers in the United States, for example, the Rolls-Royce Park Ward. In Australia and New Zealand sedan is now predominantly used, they were simply cars. In the 21st century saloon is still found in the long-established names of particular motor races. In other languages, sedans are known as berlina though they may include hatchbacks; these names, like sedan, all come from forms of passenger transport used before the advent of automobiles. In German sedans are berlines or limousines and limousines are stretch-limousines. In the United States notchback sedan distinguishes models with a horizontal trunklid; the term is only referred to in the marketing when it is necessary to distinguish between two sedan body styles of the same model range. Several sedans have a fastback profile, but instead of a trunk lid, the entire back of the vehicle lifts up. Examples include the Chevrolet Malibu Maxx, Audi A5 Sportback and Tesla Model S; the names "hatchback" and "sedan" are used to differentiate between body styles of the same model.
Therefore the term "hatchback sedan" is not used, to avoid confusion. There have been many sedans with a fastback style. Hardtop sedans were a popular body style in the United States from the 1950s to the 1970s. Hardtops are manufactured without a B-pillar leaving uninterrupted open space or, when closed, glass along the side of the car; the top was intended to look like a convertible's top but it was fixed and made of hard material that did not fold. All manufacturers in the United States from the early 1950s into the 1970s provided at least a 2-door hardtop model in their range and, if their engineers could manage it, a 4-door hardtop as well; the lack of side-bracing demanded a strong and heavy chassis frame to combat unavoidable flexing. The fashion may have delayed the introduction of unibody construction. In 1973 the US government passed Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 216 creating a standard roof strength test to measure the integrity of roof structure in motor vehicles to come into effect some years later.
Hardtop production
Coupe de Ville
Coupe de ville — known as town car, sedanca de ville or coupé de ville — is a car body style produced from 1908 to 1939 with an external or open-topped driver's position and an enclosed compartment for passengers. Although the different terms may have once had specific meanings for certain car manufacturers or countries, the terms are used interchangeably; some coupe de villes have the passengers separated from the driver in a enclosed compartment, while others have a canopy for the passengers and no partition between the driver and the passengers. The concept of a separate, exposed area for the driver dates back to the horse-drawn carriages in 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" came into existence in the 19th century before the invention of the automobile.
The initial usage of the term was for a variant of the coupé carriage, similar to the British clarence carriage. 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 body style, "de Ville" indicated that the top over the driver's compartment could be folded away, retracted, or otherwise removed. As a vehicle for town use, the coupé de ville had no facilities for carrying luggage. Early cars had the driver exposed to the weather with no cover, no doors, sometimes no windshield; as speed and distances travelled increased, windshields were added to protect the driver from dirt from the unpaved roads and dung from draught animals. Models included doors to the driving compartment. Early roofs for the driver's area were made of a single skin of leather without any structural support, were held in place between the passenger compartment and the windshield by poppers to allow for easy removal or rollback when the weather allowed.
From the late 1920s onward designs used a metal two-skin roof which regressed into a void above the passenger compartment, either manually or electrically. Due to its use as a chauffeured vehicle, the passenger compartment was luxurious, clad in the best materials, with seating for between two and most up to six or eight persons, made of the finest cotton or silk adorned with brocade; the same material was most used to provide complete curtain coverage for the compartment, was matched by substantial carpet and fine inlaid woodwork. The driver's compartment had leather seats to endure bad weather; the division between the two compartments held jump seats for lighter passengers such as children, it would accommodate various compartments for drinks, make-up, or books. Some versions had a partition between the passengers; these partitions had a small slide-back glass window, or were made of glass with a manual or electric winding system. The passengers could speak to the driver through a communications tube, or, from the 1920s, through an electrical device similar to a telephone.
Some designs included a switch panel in the rear passenger compartment, which contained a speedometer and switches to impart the most common instructions to the driver via a lighted dashboard panel, such as "stop", "left", "right", or "home". In the United States, a coupe de ville with rear doors for the passenger area, no roof or sides for the driver's area, a partition between the passengers and the driver was referred to as a "town car" or "town brougham". Town cars had side windows in the doors only.. The name "town car" is an Anglicized version of "de Ville". In the United Kingdom, a coupé de ville with a fixed or folding roof over the rear seats and open front seats was referred to as a "sedanca coupé".. A sedanca coupé may not have had some kind of roof for the driver's area; the terms sedanca and sedanca de ville were introduced by Spanish nobleman Count Carlos de Salamanca, the Spanish distributor for Rolls-Royce, in 1923. The strict definition of a sedanca includes a locker for the cant rails and canopy that form the roof.
Usage of these terms in the United Kingdom is unclear. According to once source, "sedanca de ville" refers to a town car variant, "sedanca" refers to a sedanca coupe. According to another source, sedanca de ville is a redundant sedanca refers to a town car. In France and Italy, the term "coupé de ville" was used for both the town car and sedanca coupe variants. In the United States, the similar term "coupe de ville" is used for the Sedanca Coupe. A coupé de ville is alternatively defined in North America as a drophead coupé with a three-position top which may be closed open, or closed, leaving rear passengers covered. In the United Kingdom, a sedanca-style drophead coupé with three-position folding top is called a "cabriolet victoria"; this variant is defined as a coupe de ville in the United States. French variant similar to the town car with a small passenger compartment. French variant similar to the coupé chauffeur but with a longer passenger compartment capable of holding up to seven passengers, with up to three on jump seats facing forward.
The style was referred to in the United States as a limousine town car and in Britain as a limousine de ville. The term Coupé Napoleon was used to describe a Bugatti Royale body of the type; the term is derived from the brougham carriage. In strict terms, a brougha
Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout
In automotive design, an FR, or front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout is one where the engine is located at the front of the vehicle and driven wheels are located at the rear. This was the traditional automobile layout for most of the 20th century. Modern designs use the front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout. In automotive design, a front mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout is one that places the engine in the front, with the rear wheels of vehicle being driven. In contrast to the front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, the engine is pushed back far enough that its center of mass is to the rear of the front axle; this aids in weight distribution and reduces the moment of inertia, improving the vehicle's handling. The mechanical layout of an FMR is the same as an FR car; some models of the same vehicle can be classified as either FR or FMR depending on the length of the installed engine and its centre of mass in relation to the front axle. FMR cars are characterized by a long hood and front wheels that are pushed forward to the corners of the vehicle, close to the front bumper.
Grand tourers have FMR layouts, as a rear engine would not leave much space for the rear seats. FMR should not be confused with a "front midships" location of the engine, referring to the engine being located behind the front axle centerline, in which case a car meeting the above FMR center of mass definition could be classified as a FR layout instead; the v35 Nissan Skyline / Infiniti G35 / Nissan 350Z are FM cars. FMR layout came standard in most pre–World War II, front-engine / rear-wheel-drive cars
Cadillac V-12
The Cadillac V-12 is a top-of-the-line car, manufactured by Cadillac from the 1931 through the 1937 model years. All were furnished with custom bodies, the car was built in small numbers. A total of 10,903 were made in the seven model years that the automobile was built, with the majority having been constructed in its inaugural year, it was Cadillac's first, is to date, Cadillac's only standard production V-12 powered car. In the mid to late 1920s a number of luxury car manufacturers began work developing multicylinder engines. Not to be outdone, Cadillac began work on two different multicylinder engines, a V-12 and a V-16. Larry Fisher, Cadillac General Manager, leaked to the press information about the V-12, hoping to keep the V-16 a secret. Owen Nacker, who designed the Cadillac V-16 engine designed the Cadillac V-12 engine, it shared the tooling and many of the components of the V-16; the V-12 was a truncated V-16, with a bore of 3.125" instead of 3", giving it a displacement of 368 cubic inches.
It shared the V-16's 45 degree bank angle. Rather than the 60 degree angle that would have been ideal; the V-12 was less powerful than the V-16, generating 135 versus 175 horsepower. Both engines featured overhead valves in the first generation; the 1931 Model 370A V-12 was introduced in October 1930. A V-12 roadster was used as the pace car at the Indianapolis 500; the Cadillac V-12 had a shorter wheelbase than the Cadillac V-16, with a choice of 140 in or 143 in, compared to the V-16's 148 in, but it offered a similar choice of Fisher and Fleetwood semi-custom bodies. It was difficult to tell a Cadillac V-12 from a Cadillac V-16 unless you were close enough to read the figure "12" mounted on the headlight tie bar, but the hood was four inches shorter, the headlights and horns smaller than a V-16's. More the V-12 cost about $2,000 less for each bodystyle, starting at $3,795; the Cadillac V-12 might have been lower in prestige than the Cadillac V-16, but it joined a select group of 1930s cars with multicylinder engines, namely those manufactured by Auburn, Hispano-Suiza, Lagonda, Packard, Pierce-Arrow, Rolls-Royce, Voisin, Walter and Lincoln.
Moreover, thanks to its lower price, it outsold the Cadillac V-16 with 5,733 sold in the 1931 model year, versus a mere 363 for the V-16. The appearance of the 1932 Series 370B benefited from a radiator shell that flared on the top, more flaring fenders and curved running boards. Mechanical changes included a stiffer frame, a Cuno self-cleaning oil filter mounted at the right hand side of the clutch housing. Dual Detroit Lubricator carburetors were used in place of the Cadillac/Johnson carburetors, standard equipment on Cadillacs for 20 years. Thanks to the deepening Great Depression sales plunged to 1740 units. Styling changes to the 1933 Series 370C included a V-shaped grill that blended into the painted radiator shell, a radiator cap hidden under the hood, skirts on the front and rear fenders for a more streamlined look. Fisher no-draft individually controlled. Sales fell further to 953 cars; the 1934 Series 370D was restyled yet again but this time was mounted on a new chassis. The radiator grill slanted rearward with a central bar and five horizontal sections, the windshield sloped more rearward, headlights were enclosed in new teardrop housings mounted on streamlined supports, the horns joined the radiator cap under the hood, the spare tire was concealed under a new beaver tail deck on most models and the whole car sat 2 inches lower.
Significant mechanical advancements included dual X-frame chassis construction, "Knee-Action" front coil spring suspension that reduced unsprung weight and Hotchkiss steering. The 1935 Series 370E saw the addition of the Fisher Turret Top on Fisher bodied cars and an increase in horsepower to 150. Sales over the two years combined totaled only 1098; the Cadillac V-12 was renamed the Series 80 and 85 in 1936. The Series 80 and 85 featured. All V-12s had Turret Tops. A total of 901 V-12s were sold in 1936. In 1937 the Series 80 was dropped leaving only the long wheelbase Series 85; the only significant mechanical changes were the adoption of an oil-bath air cleaner and a pressure radiator cap. Sales were only 478; the Series 85 was discontinued at the end of 1937. As part of the General Motors V-Future program, Cadillac had an overhead cam V-12 slated for production in the late 1960s; the program led to a fiberglass mockup of a V-12 powered Eldorado coupe that remained hidden from public view until an article appeared in Special Interest Autos in 1984.
Reports of new V-12 developments reappeared in the late 1980s. Cadillac showed the working Cadillac Solitaire concept in 1989, equipped with a Lotus-designed 6.6 liter DOHC 48-valve V-12 with multiport fuel injection. A Northstar-based V-12 was featured in the Cadillac Cien concept car of 2001, tested by Cadillac engineers as an engine for a Cadillac Escalade with somewhat improved performance. An AutoWeek report in 2007 claimed a V-12 in the design phase was to be based on the High Feature V6; the Cadillac Sixteen concept utilized an all-aluminium pushrod V-16 engine based on the same architecture as GM's then-current small-block V-8 developments. A production version with a base V-8 and the option of the V-12 engine was planned, but was never approved for production and was shelved around 2008. A Cadillac V-12 Model 370-A appears in the Star Trek episode "A Piece of the Action". Yann Saunders and the Cadillac-LaSalle Club, Inc.. The Cadillac Database©: The Cadillac engine. Retrieved November 14
Manual transmission
A manual transmission known as a manual gearbox, a standard transmission or colloquially in some countries as a stick shift, is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications. It uses a driver-operated clutch engaged and disengaged by a foot pedal or hand lever, for regulating torque transfer from the engine to the transmission. A conventional 5-speed manual transmission is the standard equipment in a base-model vehicle, while more expensive manual vehicles are equipped with a 6-speed transmission instead; the number of forward gear ratios is expressed for automatic transmissions as well. Manual transmissions feature a driver-operated clutch and a movable gear stick. Most automobile manual transmissions allow the driver to select any forward gear ratio at any time, but some, such as those mounted on motorcycles and some types of racing cars, only allow the driver to select the next-higher or next-lower gear; this type of transmission is sometimes called a sequential manual transmission.
In a manual transmission, the flywheel is attached to the engine's crankshaft and spins along with it. The clutch disc is in between the pressure plate and the flywheel, 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 and hence the transmission. 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, so that the gear can be shifted without damaging the transmission. When the clutch pedal is released, the throw out bearing is deactivated, 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 output 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 though no distinction between the two terms need be made. Contemporary automobile manual transmissions use four to six forward gear ratios and one reverse gear, although consumer automobile manual transmissions have been built with as few as two and as many as seven gears. Transmissions for heavy trucks and other heavy equipment have 8 to 25 gears so the transmission can offer both a wide range of gears and close gear ratios to keep the engine running in the power band. Operating aforementioned transmissions use the same pattern of shifter movement with a single or multiple switches to engage the next sequence of gear selection. French inventors Louis-Rene Panhard and Emile Levassor are credited with the development of the first modern manual transmission, they demonstrated their three-speed transmission in 1894 and the basic design is still the starting point for most contemporary manual transmissions.
This type of transmission offered multiple gear ratios and, in most cases, reverse. The gears were engaged by sliding them on their shafts, which required careful timing and throttle manipulation when shifting, so the gears would be spinning at the same speed when engaged; these transmissions are called sliding mesh transmissions or sometimes crash boxes, because of the difficulty in changing gears and the loud grinding sound that accompanied. Newer manual transmissions on 4+-wheeled vehicles have all gears mesh at all times and are referred to as constant-mesh transmissions, with "synchro-mesh" being a further refinement of the constant mesh principle. 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 higher gear, the transmission is put in neutral and the engine allowed to slow down until the transmission parts for the next gear are at a proper speed to engage; the vehicle slows while in neutral and that slows other transmission parts, so the time in neutral depends on the grade and other such factors.
To shift to a lower gear, the transmission is put in neutral and the throttle is used to speed up the engine and thus the relevant transmission parts, to match speeds for engaging the next lower gear. For both upshifts and downshifts, the clutch is released; some drivers use the clutch only for starting from a stop, shifts are done without the clutch. Other drivers will depress the clutch, shift to neutral engage the clutch momentarily to force transmission parts to match the engine speed depress the clutch again to shift to the next gear, a process called double clutching. Double clutching is easier to get smooth, as speeds that are close but not quite matched need to speed up or slow down only transmission parts, whereas with the clutch engaged to the engine, mismatched speeds are fighting the rotational inertia and power of the engine. Though automobile and light truck transmissions are now universally synchronized, transmissions for heavy trucks and machinery, motor
Car classification
Governments and private organizations have developed car classification schemes that are used for various purposes including regulation and categorization, among others. This article details used classification schemes in use worldwide; this following table summarises common classifications for cars. Microcars and their Japanese equivalent— kei cars— are the smallest category of automobile. Microcars straddle the boundary between car and motorbike, are covered by separate regulations to normal cars, resulting in relaxed requirements for registration and licensing. Engine size is 700 cc or less, microcars have three or four wheels. Microcars are most popular in Europe, where they originated following World War II; the predecessors to micro cars are Cycle cars. Kei cars have been used in Japan since 1949. Examples of microcars and kei cars: Honda Life Isetta Tata Nano The smallest category of vehicles that are registered as normal cars is called A-segment in Europe, or "city car" in Europe and the United States.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency defines this category as "minicompact", however this term is not used. The equivalents of A-segment cars have been produced since the early 1920s, however the category increased in popularity in the late 1950s when the original Fiat 500 and BMC Mini were released. Examples of A-segment / city cars / minicompact cars: Fiat 500 Hyundai i10 Toyota Aygo The next larger category small cars is called B-segment Europe, supermini in the United Kingdom and subcompact in the United States; the size of a subcompact car is defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, as having a combined interior and cargo volume of between 85–99 cubic feet. Since the EPA's smaller minicompact category is not as used by the general public, A-segment cars are sometimes called subcompacts in the United States. In Europe and Great Britain, the B-segment and supermini categories do not any formal definitions based on size. Early supermini cars in Great Britain include Vauxhall Chevette.
In the United States, the first locally-built subcompact cars were the 1970 AMC Gremlin, Chevrolet Vega, Ford Pinto. Examples of B-segment / supermini / subcompact cars: Chevrolet Sonic Hyundai Accent Volkswagen Polo The largest category of small cars is called C-segment or small family car in Europe, compact car in the United States; the size of a compact car is defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, as having a combined interior and cargo volume of 100–109 cu ft. Examples of C-segment / compact / small family cars: Peugeot 308 Toyota Auris Renault Megane In Europe, the third largest category for passenger cars is called D-segment or large family car. In the United States, the equivalent term is intermediate cars; the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency defines a mid-size car as having a combined passenger and cargo volume of 110–119 cu ft. Examples of D-segment / large family / mid-size cars: Chevrolet Malibu Ford Mondeo Kia Optima In Europe, the second largest category for passenger cars is E-segment / executive car, which are luxury cars.
In other countries, the equivalent terms are full-size car or large car, which are used for affordable large cars that aren't considered luxury cars. Examples of non-luxury full-size cars: Chevrolet Impala Ford Falcon Toyota Avalon Minivan is an American car classification for vehicles which are designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row, have reconfigurable seats in two or three rows; the equivalent terms in British English are people carrier and people mover. Minivans have a'one-box' or'two-box' body configuration, a high roof, a flat floor, a sliding door for rear passengers and high H-point seating. Mini MPV is the smallest size of MPVs and the vehicles are built on the platforms of B-segment hatchback models. Examples of Mini MPVs: Fiat 500L Honda Fit Ford B-Max Compact MPV is the middle size of MPVs; the Compact MPV size class sits between large MPV size classes. Compact MPVs remain predominantly a European phenomenon, although they are built and sold in many Latin American and Asian markets.
Examples of Compact MPVs: Renault Scenic Volkswagen Touran Ford C-Max The largest size of minivans is referred to as'Large MPV' and became popular following the introduction of the 1984 Renault Espace and Dodge Caravan. Since the 1990s, the smaller Compact MPV and Mini MPV sizes of minivans have become popular. If the term'minivan' is used without specifying a size, it refers to a Large MPV. Examples of Large MPVs: Dodge Grand Caravan Ford S-Max Toyota Sienna The premium compact class is the smallest category of luxury cars, it became popular in the mid-2000s, when European manufacturers— such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz— introduced new entry level models that were smaller and cheaper than their compact executive models. Examples of premium compact cars: Audi A3 Buick Verano Lexus CT200h A compact executive car is a premium car larger than a premium compact and smaller than an executive car. Compact executive cars are equivalent size to mid-size cars and are part of the D-segment in the European car classification.
In North American terms, close equivalents are "luxury compact" and "entry-level luxury car", although the latter is used for the smaller premium compact cars. Examples of compact executive cars: Audi A4 BMW 3 Series Buick Regal An executive car is a premium car larger than a compact executive and smaller than an full-size luxury car. Executive cars are classified as E-segment cars in the European car classification. In the United States and several other coun
Automotive design
Automotive design is the process of developing the appearance, to some extent the ergonomics, of motor vehicles, including automobiles, trucks, buses and vans. The functional design and development of a modern motor vehicle is done by a large team from many different disciplines included within automotive engineering, design roles are not associated with requirements for Professional or Chartered-Engineer qualifications. Automotive design in this context is concerned with developing the visual appearance or aesthetics of the vehicle, though it is involved in the creation of the product concept. Automotive design as a professional vocation is practiced by designers who may have an art background and a degree in industrial design or transportation design. Terminology used in the field is found in the glossary of automotive design; the task of the design team is split into three main aspects: exterior design, interior design, color and trim design. Graphic design is an aspect of automotive design.
Design focuses not only on the isolated outer shape of automobile parts, but concentrates on the combination of form and function, starting from the vehicle package. The aesthetic value will need to correspond to ergonomic utility features as well. In particular, vehicular electronic components and parts will give more challenges to automotive designers who are required to update on the latest information and knowledge associated with emerging vehicular gadgetry dashtop mobile devices, like GPS navigation, satellite radio, HD radio, mobile TV, MP3 players, video playback, smartphone interfaces. 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 designer responsible for the exterior of the vehicle develops the proportions and surfaces of the vehicle. Exterior design is first done by a series of manual drawings. Progressively, drawings that are more detailed are executed and approved by appropriate layers of management.
Industrial plasticine and or digital models are developed from, 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 clay model is first designed in a computer program and "carved" using the machine and large amounts of clay. In times of high-class 3d software and virtual models on power walls, the clay model is still the most important tool to evaluate the design of a car and, therefore, is used throughout the industry; the designer responsible for the vehicles' interior develops the proportions, shape and surfaces for the instrument panel, door trim panels, pillar trims, etc. Here the emphasis is on 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 and development of all interior and exterior colors and materials used on a vehicle; these include paints, fabric designs, grains, headliner, wood trim, so on.
Color, contrast and pattern must be combined to give the vehicle a unique interior environment experience. Designers work with the exterior and interior designers. Designers draw inspiration from other design disciplines such as: industrial design, home furnishing and sometimes product design. Specific research is done into global trends to design for projects two to three model years in the future. Trend boards are created from this research in order to keep track of design influences as they relate to the automotive industry; the designer uses this information to develop themes and concepts that are further refined and tested on the vehicle models. The design team develops graphics for items such as: badges, dials, kick or tread strips, liveries; the sketches and rendering are transformed into 3D Digital surface modelling and rendering for real-time evaluation with Math data in initial stages. During the development process succeeding phases will require the 3D model developed to meet the aesthetic requirements of a designer and well as all engineering and manufacturing requirements.
The developed CAS digital model will be re-developed for manufacturing meeting the Class-A surface standards that involves both technical as well as aesthetics. This data will be further developed by Product Engineering team; these modelers have a background in Industrial design or sometimes tooling engineering in case of some Class-A modelers. Autodesk Alias and ICEM Surf are the two most used software tools for Class-A development. Several manufacturers have varied development cycles for designing an Automobile, but in practice these are the following. Design and User Research Concept Development sketching CAS Clay modeling Interior Buck Model Vehicle ergonomics Class-A Surface Development Colour and Trim Vehicle GraphicsThe design process occurs concurrently with other product Engineers who will be engineering the styling data for meeting performance and safety regulations. From mid-phase and forth interactions between the designers and product engineers culminates into a finished product be manufacturing ready.
Apart from this the Engineering team parallelly works in the following areas. Product Engineering, NVH Development team, Prototype
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