1.
Chevrolet
–
Chevrolet, colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors. Louis Chevrolet and ousted General Motors founder William C. Durant started the company on November 3,1911 as the Chevrolet Motor Car Company. Durant used the Chevrolet Motor Car Company to acquire a stake in General Motors with a reverse merger occurring on May 2,1918. Chevrolet-branded vehicles are sold in most automotive markets worldwide, with the exception of Oceania. However, GM reversed this move in late 2013, announcing that the brand would be withdrawn from Europe, with the exception of the Camaro, Chevrolet vehicles will continue to be marketed in the CIS states, including Russia. After General Motors fully acquired GM Daewoo in 2011 to create GM Korea, in North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Durant was cast out from the management of General Motors in 1910 for five years and he took over the Flint Wagon Works, incorporating the Mason and Little companies. As head of Buick Motor Company prior to founding GM, Durant had hired Louis Chevrolet to drive Buicks in promotional races, Durant planned to use Chevrolets reputation as a racer as the foundation for his new automobile company. Actual design work for the first Chevy, the costly Series C Classic Six, was drawn up by Etienne Planche, the first C prototype was ready months before Chevrolet was actually incorporated. However the first actual production wasnt until the 1913 model, so in essence there were no 1911 or 1912 production models, only the 1 pre-production model was made and fine tuned throughout the early part of 1912. Then in the fall of that year the new 1913 model was introduced at the New York auto show, Chevrolet first used the bowtie emblem logo in 1914 on the H series models and The L Series Model. It may have been designed from wallpaper Durant once saw in a French hotel room, more recent research by historian Ken Kaufmann presents a case that the logo is based on a logo of the Coalettes coal company. An example of this logo as it appeared in an advertisement for Coalettes appeared in the Atlanta Constitution on November 12,1911, others claim that the design was a stylized Swiss cross, in tribute to the homeland of Chevrolets parents. Chevrolet eventually unified all vehicle models with the gold bowtie in 2004, Louis Chevrolet had differences with Durant over design and in 1914 sold Durant his share in the company. By 1916, Chevrolet was profitable enough with successful sales of the cheaper Series 490 to allow Durant to repurchase a controlling interest in General Motors. After the deal was completed in 1917, Durant became president of General Motors, in 1919, Chevrolets factories were located at Flint, Michigan, branch assembly locations were located in Tarrytown, N. Y. Norwood, Ohio, St. Louis, Missouri, Oakland, California, Ft. Worth, Texas, mcLaughlins were given GM Corporation stock for the proprietorship of their Company article Sept.23,1933 Financial Post page 9. In the 1918 model year, Chevrolet introduced the Series D, Sales were poor and it was dropped in 1919
2.
General Motors
–
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
3.
Car classification
–
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
4.
Full-size car
–
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
5.
Automobile layout
–
In automotive design, the automobile layout describes where on the vehicle the engine and drive wheels are found. Many different combinations of engine location and driven wheels are found in practice, factors influencing the design choice include cost, complexity, reliability, packaging, weight distribution, and the vehicles intended handling characteristics. Layouts can roughly be divided into two categories, front- or rear-wheel drive, four-wheel-drive vehicles may take on the characteristics of either, depending on how power is distributed to the wheels. Front-wheel-drive layouts are those in which the front wheels of the vehicle are driven, the most popular layout used in cars today is the front-engine, front-wheel drive, with the engine in front of the front axle, driving the front wheels. As the steered wheels are also the wheels, FF cars are generally considered superior to FR cars in conditions such as snow, mud. The weight of the engine over the wheels also improves grip in such conditions. Electronic traction control can avoid wheelspin but largely negates the benefit of extra torque/power, a transverse engine is commonly used in FF designs, in contrast to FR which uses a longitudinal engine. This is another reason luxury/sports cars avoid the FF layout, exceptions do exist, such as the Volvo S80 which uses transversely mounted inline 6 and V8 engines, and the Ford Taurus SHO, available with a 60° V8 and front-wheel drive. There are some exceptions to this as rear engine designs do not take away interior space and it also has fewer components overall and thus lower weight. However, this may apply for cars with moderate power-to-weight ratio. According to road test with two Dodge Daytonas, one FWD and one RWD, the layout is also important for what configuration is the fastest. Weight shifting limits the acceleration of a front-wheel-drive vehicle, however, since front-wheel-drive cars have the weight of the engine over the driving wheels, the problem only applies in extreme conditions in which case the car understeers. On snow, ice, and sand, rear-wheel drive loses its traction advantage to front or all-wheel-drive vehicles which have greater weight over the driven wheels. Rear-wheel-drive cars with engine or mid engine configuration retain traction over the driven wheels. A rear-wheel-drive cars centre of gravity is shifted rearward when heavily loaded with passengers or cargo, on front-wheel-drive cars, the short driveshaft may reduce drivetrain elasticity, improving responsiveness. Instead, the tunnel may be used to route the exhaust system pipes. Weight, Fewer components usually means lower weight, improved fuel efficiency due to less weight. Cost, Fewer material components and less installation complexity overall, however, the considerable MSRP differential between a FF and FR car cannot be attributed to layout alone. Few modern family cars have rear-wheel drive as of 2009, so a direct cost comparison is not necessarily possible, assembly efficiency, the powertrain can often be assembled and installed as a unit, which allows more efficient production
6.
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 automobile layout for most of the 20th century. Modern designs commonly use the front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout, the first FR car was an 1895 Panhard model, so this layout was known as the Système Panhard in the early years. The layout has the advantage of minimizing mechanical complexity, as it allows the transmission to be placed in-line with the output shaft. In comparison, a vehicle with the engine over the driven wheels eliminates the need for the drive shaft, in order to reduce the relative weight of the drive shaft, the transmission was normally split into two parts, the gearbox and the final drive. The gearbox was produced with its highest gear being 1,1. The final drive, in the axle, would then reduce this to the most appropriate speed for the wheels. As power is the product of torque and angular velocity, spinning the shaft faster for any given power reduces the torque, in an era when gasoline was cheap and cars were heavy, the mechanical advantages of the FR drivetrain layout made up for any disadvantage in weight terms. It remained almost universal among car designs until the 1970s, after the Arab oil embargo of 1973 and the 1979 fuel crises, a majority of American FR vehicles were phased out for the FF layout – this trend would spawn the SUV-van conversion market. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most American companies set as a priority the eventual removal of rear-wheel drive from their mainstream, chrysler went 100% FF by 1990 and GMs American production went entirely FF by 1997 except the Corvette, Firebird and Camaro. This configuration is referred to as a transaxle since the transmission. In Europe, front-wheel drive was popularized by small cars like the Mini, Renault 5 and Volkswagen Golf, upscale marques like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Jaguar remained mostly independent of this trend, and retained a lineup mostly or entirely made up of FR cars. Japanese mainstream marques such as Toyota were almost exclusively FR until the late 1970s, toyotas first FF vehicle was the Toyota Tercel, with the Corolla and Celica later becoming FF while the Camry was designed as an FF from the beginning. The Supra, Cressida, Crown, and Century remained FR, luxury division Lexus has a mostly FR lineup. Subarus BRZ is an FR car, currently most cars are FF, including all front-engined economy cars, though FR cars are making a return as an alternative to large sport-utility vehicles. In North America, GM returned to production of FR-based luxury vehicles with the 2003 Cadillac CTS, as of 2012, all but the SRX and XTS are FR-based vehicles. Chevrolet reintroduced the FR-based Camaro in 2009, and the Caprice PPV in 2011, Pontiac also had a short run with the FR-based G8 and Pontiac Solstice. A Chevrolet replacement for the G8 called the Chevrolet SS was released in 2013, chrysler and Dodge reintroduced the 300 and Charger on a FR platform
7.
Car platform
–
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
8.
GM B platform
–
The B platform, or B-body, was General Motors full-size rear-wheel drive automobile platform. It was closely related to the C-body and D-body and was used for convertibles, hardtops, coupés, sedans, and station wagons. Originally, the B-body was used for Buick and Oldsmobile products, while the A-body was used for Chevrolet and Oakland, the B-body became GMs base model platform in 1958, when all existing Chevrolet products were upgraded to the B-body. For the 1959 model year, the previous A and B bodies were built on the new B-body that lasted until 1996. The A-body designation would be resurrected by GM in 1964 for a new series of intermediate-sized cars including the Chevrolet Chevelle, Pontiac Tempest, Oldsmobile Cutlass, the platform was downsized in length by approximately 10 inches in 1977 and reduced in weight by an average of 800 pounds. In 1991, the received its last major redesign, regaining several inches in length, numerous frame improvements and reinforcements. All B-body cars since 1965 have used perimeter frames with side rails, along with the 1961-64 B-body Pontiacs, the 1958-60 Buicks and 1959-60 Oldsmobiles used a ladder-type frame while an X-frame without side rails was used on 1959-60 Pontiacs, 1959-64 Chevrolets and 1961-64 Buicks. The Rear Drive B-body was the last platform design to have the tank filler port behind the license plate. Also, the Pontiac B-Body vehicles from 1941 till 1948 had the fuel filler door in the fender on the drivers side. Very likely this would also have been the case with the B-Body Oldsmobile, by 1986, the Buick LeSabre and Oldsmobile Delta 88 moved to the GM H platform. And in 1991, Chairman Robert Stempel said, He also stated that the rear drive 1992 Buick Roadmaster, no successor for this platform was made after 1996, when the Buick Roadmaster and Chevrolet Caprice ceased production
9.
Chevrolet Bel Air
–
The Chevrolet Bel Air was a full-size car produced by Chevrolet for the 1950–1981 model years. With the 1953 model year the Bel Air name was changed from a designation for a body shape to a premium level of trim applied across a number of body styles. The Bel Air continued with other trim level designations until US production ceased in 1975. Production continued in Canada, for its market only, through the 1981 model year. For 1950, Chevrolet came up with a style that would set a pattern for decades. The Bel Air Hardtop was styled as a convertible with a solid roof. Models like this had been around since the 1920s, including early Chevrolets, but the newly revised idea, sweeping the GM line from Chevrolet to Cadillac, had finally found its era. First year production reached only 76,662 as buyers cautiously tested the revised concept, the car cost $1,741 and weighed 3,225 lb. Front suspension was independent, named knee-action. The first Bel Airs of this era shared only their front sheet metal ahead of the A pillar with the rest of the range. The windshield, doors, glass, and trunk were common with the Styline DeLuxe Convertible Coupe, however the roof, rear quarters, the first Bel Airs were only available with the DeLuxe premium trim level and specification. In 1953 Chevrolet renamed its series, and the Bel Air name was applied to the model range. Two lower series, the 150 and 210, also emerged, the 1953 Chevrolet was advertised as Entirely new through and through, due to the restyled body panels, front and rear ends. However, essentially these Chevrolets had similar frame and mechanicals to the 1949–1952 cars, the Bel Air series featured a wide chrome strip of molding from the rear fender bulge to the rear bumper. The inside of this stripe was painted a color with the outside body color. Lesser models had no model designation anywhere on the car, only having a Chevy crest on the hood,1953 was the first year for a curved, one-piece windshield. Bel Air interiors had a massive expanse of chrome across the lower part of the dashboard. Carpeting and full wheel covers rounded out Bel Air standard equipment, prior to 1954, the 235 and 216 cubic inch six cylinder engines had babbit bearings and scoops to create oil pressure at the bottom of each rod and the oil pressure was standard at 15-30 PSI. During these years, there were three choices, depending on the transmission ordered
10.
Chevrolet Impala
–
The Chevrolet Impala is a full-size car built by Chevrolet for model years 1958 to 1985,1994 to 1996, and 2000 to present. The Chevrolet Impala derived its name from the African antelope of the same name, the Impala was Chevrolets most expensive passenger model through 1965, and had become the best-selling automobile in the United States. For its debut in 1958, the Impala was distinguished from other models by its symmetrical triple taillights, the Impala continued as Chevrolets most popular full-size model through the mid-1980s. Between 1994 and 1996, the Impala was revised as a 5. 7-liter V8–powered version of the Caprice Classic sedan, in 2000, the Impala was re-introduced again as a mainstream front-wheel drive Hi-Mid sedan. As of February 2014, the 2014 Impala ranked number one among Affordable Large Cars in U. S. News & World Reports rankings. When the current tenth generation of the Impala was introduced for the 2014 model year, the ninth generation was rebadged as the Impala Limited and sold only to fleet customers through 2016. As of the 2015 model year, both versions are sold in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with the current-generation Impala also sold in the Middle East, the Philippines, and South Korea. The Impala name was first used for the full-sized 1956 General Motors Motorama show car that bore Corvette-like design cues, painted emerald green metallic, with a white interior, the Impala featured hardtop styling. Clare MacKichans design team, along with designers from Pontiac, started to establish basic packaging, the first styling sketch that would directly influence the finished Chevrolet automobile was seen by General Motors Styling vice president Harley Earl in October. Seven months later, the design was developed. The Impala was introduced for the 1958 model year as top of the line Bel Air hardtops, from the windshield pillar rearward, the 1958 Bel Air Impala differed structurally from the lower-priced Chevrolet models. Hardtops had a slightly shorter greenhouse and longer rear deck, the wheelbase of the Impala was longer than the lower priced models, although the overall length was identical. Interiors held a two-spoke steering wheel and color-keyed door panels with brushed aluminum trim, no other series included a convertible. The 1958 models were longer, lower, and wider than its predecessors, the tailfins of the 1957 were replaced by deeply sculptured rear fenders. Impalas had three taillights each side, while lesser models had two and wagons just one, crossed-flag insignias were attached above the side moldings, as well as bright rocker moldings and dummy rear-fender scoops. 1958 was the first year of dual headlamps, for 1958, GM was promoting their fiftieth year of production, and introduced anniversary models for each brand, Cadillac, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and Chevrolet. This was a step between traditional construction and the later fully unitized body/chassis, the body structure was strengthened in the rocker panels. However, this frame was not as effective in protecting the structure in a side impact crash
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.jpg)
