1.
Ford Motor Company
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The Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16,1903, the company sells automobiles and commercial vehicles under the Ford brand and most luxury cars under the Lincoln brand. Ford also owns Brazilian SUV manufacturer, Troller, and Australian performance car manufacturer FPV, in the past, it has also produced tractors and automotive components. Ford owns an 8% stake in Aston Martin of the United Kingdom, and it also has a number of joint-ventures, one in China, one in Taiwan, one in Thailand, one in Turkey, and one in Russia. It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is controlled by the Ford family, Fords former UK subsidiaries Jaguar and Land Rover, acquired in 1989 and 2000 respectively, were sold to Tata Motors in March 2008. Ford owned the Swedish automaker Volvo from 1999 to 2010, in 2011, Ford discontinued the Mercury brand, under which it had marketed entry-level luxury cars in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Middle East since 1938. During the financial crisis at the beginning of the 21st century, it was close to bankruptcy, Ford is the second-largest U. S. -based automaker and the fifth-largest in the world based on 2015 vehicle production. At the end of 2010, Ford was the fifth largest automaker in Europe, Ford is the eighth-ranked overall American-based company in the 2010 Fortune 500 list, based on global revenues in 2009 of $118.3 billion. In 2008, Ford produced 5.532 million automobiles and employed about 213,000 employees at around 90 plants, the company went public in 1956 but the Ford family, through special Class B shares, still retain 40 percent voting rights. The Ford Motor Company was launched in a factory in 1903 with $28,000 in cash from twelve investors, most notably John. During its early years, the company produced just a few cars a day at its factory on Mack Avenue and later its factory on Piquette Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. Groups of two or three men worked on car, assembling it from parts made mostly by supplier companies contracting for Ford. Henry Ford was 39 years old when he founded the Ford Motor Company and it has been in continuous family control for over 100 years and is one of the largest family-controlled companies in the world. The first gasoline powered automobile had been created in 1885 by the German inventor Carl Benz, between 1903 and 1908, Ford produced the Models A, B, C, F, K, N, R, and S. Hundreds or a few thousand of most of these were sold per year, in 1908, Ford introduced the mass-produced Model T, which totalled millions sold over nearly 20 years. In 1927, Ford replaced the T with the Model A, Ford launched the first low-priced car with a V8 engine in 1932. In an attempt to compete with General Motors mid-priced Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Henry Ford purchased the Lincoln Motor Company in 1922, in order to compete with such brands as Cadillac and Packard for the luxury segment of the automobile market. The creation of a laboratory in Dearborn, Michigan in 1951, doing unfettered basic research
2.
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
3.
Personal luxury car
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A personal luxury car is an American car classification describing a highly styled, mass produced, luxury vehicle with an emphasis on image over practicality. In the U. S. the four-seat 1958 Ford Thunderbird launched the luxury car as a major market segment. Personal luxury cars are characteristically two-door coupés or convertibles with two-passenger or 2+2 seating and they are distinguished on the performance end from GT and sports cars by their greater emphasis on comfort and convenience. On the luxury scale, by their appointments, features, and style, there is great variability within the market, however, however, they have additional styling elements and sometimes baroque designs. During the 1910s, the car took the form of a low-slung runabout, relatively light in construction. In the Twenties, these runabouts became roadsters, still with the light-but-powerful connotation, in the ultra-luxury segment, antecedents of the concept are the highly expensive, often custom-bodied sporting luxury cars of the 1920s and 1930s. The Great Depression and World War II temporarily eroded the market for these expensive bespoke cars before post-War recovery saw a reemergence in Europe. On the sedate end of the spectrum appeared such erect yet swift premium ultra luxury two-door sedans, such as the H. J. Mulliner bodied, on the other, performance oriented GTs, relatively comfortable low-slung cars intended for high-speed, long-distance travel. France, successful in this segment before the war, chose to exit the market by applying strict tax horsepower regulations. Italian marques such as Ferrari and Maserati took the GT lead, offering distinctive, often custom-bodied two-seat, in between could be found such combinations of luxury and performance as the Mercedes-Benz 300SL and 190SL, BMW507, Alfa Romeo 1900 Sprint, and DKW 1000Sp. These were all very high price Veblen goods, GMs Buick division also offered the Roadmaster Riviera coupe as its top level luxury coupe in 1954. Packard introduced a large 2-door luxury coupe called the Packard Caribbean in 1953, in 1955, Chrysler introduced the 300 series 2-door coupe, with a powerful 300bhp engine, giving the car its name. There was a car aimed at this market as well - the 1956 Studebaker Silver Hawk range of two-door 2+2 performance hardtops in the GT tradition. The automaker Studebaker ceased operations in 1963, the first step to the evolution of the personal luxury car as a mass market segment in the United States was Ford Motor Companys two-seat 1955 Thunderbird. Ford termed the 1955 model a personal car, during the Second World War American servicemen stationed in Europe began to experience the benefits of the nimble sports cars, particularly in Britain, and many shipped them home on their return. The Thunderbird was a softly sprung car, with a powerful V8 engine, the model sold 53,000 units, achieving niche success for a two-seat car. Ford Motor Company also tried creating a vehicle with the 1955 introduction of the near bespoke Continental Mark II. The Mark II was only available as a 2 door coupé, nearly handmade, the Mark II sold for around $10,000, the equivalent of a new Rolls-Royce or two Cadillacs
4.
Automobile layout
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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
5.
Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout
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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
6.
Ford Mustang
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The Ford Mustang is an American automobile manufactured by Ford. It was originally based on the platform of the second generation North American Ford Falcon, the 1963 Mustang II concept car was designed with a variation of the production models front and rear ends with a roof that was 2.7 inches shorter. Introduced early on April 17,1964, and thus dubbed as a 1964½ by Mustang fans, the Mustang has undergone several transformations to its current sixth generation. The Mustang is also credited for inspiring the designs of such as the Toyota Celica and Ford Capri. The Ford Mustang was brought out five months before the start of the 1965 production year. With production beginning in Dearborn, Michigan on March 9,1964, executive stylist John Najjar, who was a fan of the World War II P-51 Mustang fighter plane, is credited by Ford to have suggested the name. Najjar co-designed the first prototype of the Ford Mustang known as Ford Mustang I in 1961 and his lap times were only slightly off the pace of the F1 race cars. An alternative view was that Robert J. Eggert, Ford Division market research manager, Eggert, a breeder of quarterhorses, received a birthday present from his wife of the book, The Mustangs by J. Frank Dobie in 1960. Later, the title gave him the idea of adding the Mustang name for Fords new concept car. The designer preferred Cougar or Torino, while Henry Ford II wanted T-bird II, the name could not be used in Germany, however, because it was owned by Krupp, which had manufactured trucks between 1951 and 1964 with the name Mustang. Ford refused to buy the name for about US$10,000 from Krupp at the time, kreidler, a manufacturer of mopeds, also used the name, so Mustang was sold in Germany as the T-5 until December 1978. Mustangs grew larger and heavier with each year until, in response to the 1971–1973 models, Ford returned the car to its original size. It has since seen several generations and designs. Although some other cars have seen a revival, the Mustang is the only original model to remain in uninterrupted production over five decades of development. The T-5 prototype was a two-seat, mid-mounted engine roadster and this vehicle employed the German Ford Taunus V4 engine. It was claimed that the decision to abandon the design was in part due to the increase in sales the Thunderbird had seen when enlarged from a two-seater to a 2+2 in 1958. Thus, a car with full space for the front bucket seats, as originally planned. Favorable publicity articles appeared in 2,600 newspapers the next morning, a Mustang convertible also appeared in the James Bond film Goldfinger in September 1964
7.
Ford GT
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The GT recalls Fords historically significant GT40, consecutive four-time winner of the 24 Hours of LeMans, including a 1-2-3 finish in 1966. The Ford GT began as a car designed in anticipation of the automakers centennial year and as part of its drive to showcase and revive its heritage names such as Mustang. At the 1995 Detroit Auto Show, the Ford GT90 concept was shown, at the 2002 auto show, Ford unveiled a new GT40 Concept car. Camilo Pardo, the head of Fords Living Legends studio, is credited as the designer of the GT. Carroll Shelby was brought in by Ford to help develop the Ford GT, while the project was still secret, it was called Petunia. Although the cars are related, structurally, there is no similarity between the modern GT and the 1960s GT40 that inspired it. Three production prototype cars were shown in 2003 as part of Fords centenary, as the Ford GT was built as part of the companys 100th anniversary celebration, the left headlight cluster was designed to read 100. A British company, Safir Engineering, who built continuation GT40s in the 1980s, when they completed production, they sold the excess parts, tooling, design, and trademark to a small Ohio company called Safir GT40 Spares. This company licensed the use of the GT40 trademark to Ford for the initial 2002 show car, when Ford decided to make the production vehicle, negotiations between the two firms failed. The production cars do not wear the GT40 badge, the GT was produced in model years 2005 and 2006, with the first customers taking delivery in August 2004. The GT began assembly at Mayflower Vehicle Systems in Norwalk, Ohio and was painted by Saleen in their Saleen Special Vehicles facility in Troy, the GT is powered by an engine built at Fords Romeo Engine Plant in Romeo, Michigan. Installation of the engine and manual transmission along with interior finishing was handled in the SVT building at Fords Wixom, of the 4,500 GTs originally planned, approximately 100 were to be exported to Europe, starting in late 2005. An additional 200 were destined for sale in Canada, production ended in 2006 without reaching the planned lot. Approximately 550 were built in 2004, nearly 1,900 in 2005, the final 11 car bodies manufactured by Mayflower Vehicle Systems were disassembled, and the frames and body panels were sold as service parts. Like many exotic vehicles, when the Ford GT was first released, the demand outpaced supply, and the cars initially sold for premium prices. The first private sale of Fords new mid-engine sports car was completed on August 4,2004, Shirley earned the right to purchase the first production Ford GT at a charity auction at the Pebble Beach Concours dElegance Auction after bidding over $557,000. A few other cars sold for as much as a US$100,000 premium over the suggested retail price of $139,995. Optional equipment available included a McIntosh sound system, racing stripes, painted brake calipers, the production run of 4,038 GTs ended the 2006 model year on September 21,2006, short of the originally planned 4,500
8.
Car
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A car is a wheeled, self-powered motor vehicle used for transportation and a product of the automotive industry. The year 1886 is regarded as the year of the modern car. In that year, German inventor Karl Benz built the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, cars did not become widely available until the early 20th century. One of the first cars that was accessible to the masses was the 1908 Model T, an American car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. Cars were rapidly adopted in the United States of America, where they replaced animal-drawn carriages and carts, cars are equipped with controls used for driving, parking, passenger comfort and safety, and controlling a variety of lights. Over the decades, additional features and controls have been added to vehicles, examples include rear reversing cameras, air conditioning, navigation systems, and in car entertainment. Most cars in use in the 2010s are propelled by a combustion engine. Both fuels cause air pollution and are blamed for contributing to climate change. Vehicles using alternative fuels such as ethanol flexible-fuel vehicles and natural gas vehicles are also gaining popularity in some countries, electric cars, which were invented early in the history of the car, began to become commercially available in 2008. There are costs and benefits to car use, the costs of car usage include the cost of, acquiring the vehicle, interest payments, repairs and auto maintenance, fuel, depreciation, driving time, parking fees, taxes, and insurance. The costs to society of car use include, maintaining roads, land use, road congestion, air pollution, public health, health care, road traffic accidents are the largest cause of injury-related deaths worldwide. The benefits may include transportation, mobility, independence. The ability for humans to move flexibly from place to place has far-reaching implications for the nature of societies and it was estimated in 2010 that the number of cars had risen to over 1 billion vehicles, up from the 500 million of 1986. The numbers are increasing rapidly, especially in China, India, the word car is believed to originate from the Latin word carrus or carrum, or the Middle English word carre. In turn, these originated from the Gaulish word karros, the Gaulish language was a branch of the Brythoic language which also used the word Karr, the Brythonig language evolved into Welsh where Car llusg and car rhyfel still survive. It originally referred to any wheeled vehicle, such as a cart, carriage. Motor car is attested from 1895, and is the formal name for cars in British English. Autocar is a variant that is attested from 1895
9.
Chevrolet Corvette
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The Chevrolet Corvette, known colloquially as the Vette, or Chevy Corvette, is a sports car manufactured by Chevrolet. The car has produced through seven generations. The first model, a convertible, was introduced at the GM Motorama in 1953 as a show car. Myron Scott is credited for naming the car after the type of small, originally built in Flint, Michigan and St. Louis, Missouri, the Corvette is currently manufactured in Bowling Green, Kentucky and is the official sports car of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The first generation of Corvette was introduced late in the 1953 model year, originally designed as a show car for the 1953 Motorama display at the New York Auto Show, it generated enough interest to induce GM to make a production version to sell to the public. First production was on June 30,1953 and this generation was often referred to as the solid-axle models. 300 hand-built polo white Corvette convertibles were produced for the 1953 model year, the 1954 model year vehicles could be ordered in Pennant Blue, Sportsman Red, Black, or Polo White. 3,640 were built, and sold slowly, the 1955 model offered a 265 cu in V8 engine as an option. With a large inventory of unsold 1954 models, GM limited production to 700 for 1955, with the new V8, the 0-60 mph time improved by 1.5 seconds. A new body was introduced for the 1956 model featuring a new face and side coves, an optional fuel injection system was made available in the middle of the 1957 model year. Other options included power windows, hydraulically operated power convertible top, heavy duty brakes and suspension, delco Radio transistorized signal-seeking hybrid car radio, which used both vacuum tubes and transistors in its radios circuitry. Exclusive to the 1958 model were hood louvers and twin trunk spears, the 1959–60 model years had few changes except a decreased amount of body chrome and more powerful engine offerings. In 1961, the rear of the car was redesigned with the addition of a duck tail with four round lights. The light treatment would continue for all following model year Corvettes until 2014, in 1962, the Chevrolet 283 cu in Small-Block was enlarged to 327 cu in. In standard form it produced 250 bhp, for an extra 12% over list price, the fuel-injected version produced 360 bhp, making it the fastest of the C1 generation. 1962 was also the last year for the wrap around windshield, solid rear axle, the trunk lid and exposed headlamps did not reappear for many decades. The second generation Corvette, which introduced Sting Ray to the model, continued with fiberglass body panels, the C2 was later referred to as mid-years. Earlier, Mitchell had sponsored a car known as the Mitchell Sting Ray in 1959 because Chevrolet no longer participated in factory racing
10.
Sports car
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A sports car is a small, usually two seater, two door automobile designed for spirited performance and nimble handling. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the first known use of the term was in 1928, Sports cars may be spartan or luxurious, but high maneuverability and minimum weight are requisite. The basis for the car is traced to the early 20th century touring cars and roadsters. These raced in rallies, such as the Herkomer Cup, Prinz-Heinrich-Fahrt. These would shortly be joined by the French DFP and the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. In 1921, Ballot premiered its 2LS, with a remarkable 75 hp DOHC two liter, designed by Ernest Henry, capable of 150 km/h, at most, one hundred were built in four years and this was followed by the SOHC 2LT and 2LTS. The same year, Benz built a supercharged 28/95PS four for the Coppa Florio, duerkopps Zoller-blown two liter in 1924, as well. There was a clear cleavage by 1925, by the end of the 1920s, AC produced a 2-liter six, the 3. Benz introduced the powerful SS and SSK, and Alfa Romeo, hispano-Suizas Alfonso XIII is considered the first sportcar developed between 1911 and 1914. Two companies would offer really reliable sports cars, Austin with the Seven, the drive train and engine layout significantly influences the handling characteristics of an automobile, and is crucially important in the design of a sports car. The front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout is common to cars of any era and has survived longer in sports cars than in mainstream automobiles. Examples include the Caterham 7, Mazda MX-5, and the Chevrolet Corvette, more specifically, many such sports cars have a FMR layout, with the centre of mass of the engine between the front axle and the firewall. In search of improved handling and weight distribution, other layouts are sometimes used, the RMR layout is commonly found only in sports cars—the motor is centre-mounted in the chassis, and powers only the rear wheels. Some high-performance sports car manufacturers, such as Ferrari and Lamborghini have preferred this layout, Porsche is one of the few remaining manufacturers using the rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. The motors distributed weight across the wheels, in a Porsche 911, provides excellent traction, Porsche has continuously refined the design and in recent years added electronic driving aids to counteract these inherent design shortcomings. The front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout layout which is the most common in sport compacts and hot hatches, however, its conservative handling effect, particularly understeer, and the fact that many drivers believe rear wheel drive is a more desirable layout for a sports car count against it. The Fiat Barchetta, Saab Sonett, and Berkeley cars are cars with this layout. Before the 1980s few sports cars used four-wheel drive, which had added a lot of weight
11.
Ford Thunderbird (second generation)
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The second generation of the Ford Thunderbird was the first personal luxury car, and won Motor Trend Car of the Year in 1958. It was produced by Ford for the 1958 to 1960 model years, while intended as the successor for the 1955-1957 two-seater, two major changes were made to attract potential buyers. Convertible and fixed-roof pillarless hardtop bodystyles were offered, whereas the first generation models had been available with a detachable hard top. Most visibly, the 1958 Thunderbird was nearly two feet longer as Ford had added two seats to the vehicle. Along with the 1958 Lincolns, the 1958 Thunderbird was the first Ford Motor Company vehicle designed with unibody construction, although the 1955-1957 Ford Thunderbird had proved successful, Ford executives—particularly Robert McNamara—still felt its overall sales volume had room to improve. Market research suggested sales of the Thunderbird were limited by its two-seat configuration, as a response, Ford executives decided to add a rear seat to the Thunderbird. The new Thunderbird had a new styling theme. The design was entirely by the styling department and approved before the engineering was considered. The design was one of two proposals, styled primarily by Joe Oros, who worked on the 1964 Ford Mustang. However, the proposal, styled by Elwood Engel, would gain its own place in Ford Motor Company history, after minor revisions. The four-seat Thunderbird was designed with construction, eschewing a separate chassis. The intent was to allow the interior space in a relatively small exterior package. The 1958 Thunderbird was only 52.5 inches tall, nearly 9 inches shorter than an average American sedan, the remainder of the engineering was conventional. Fords new 300-hp FE-series engine was used, with 352 cu in displacement, standard transmission remained a three-speed manual transmission, with optional overdrive or Cruise-O-Matic three-speed automatic transmission. Front suspension was independent, with springs and unequal-length A-arms. The rear was initially a live axle suspended by coil springs, drum brakes were used at all four wheels. Various delays conspired to have production start only on December 20,1957, much later than the normal September start, the new Thunderbird captured Motor Trends Car of the Year award in its debut season, making history as the first individual model line to do so. Only 2,134 convertibles were built, the convertible did not go on sale until June 1958, for the 1959 model year, Ford made changes to the front, rear, and side ornamentation, leather upholstery was available for the first time
12.
Ford Thunderbird (fourth generation)
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The fourth generation of the Ford Thunderbird is a large personal luxury car produced by Ford for the 1964 to 1966 model years. This generation of the Thunderbird was restyled in favor of a more squared-off, the Thunderbirds sporty image had by that time become only that, the standard 390-cubic-inch 300 bhp V8 engine needed nearly 11 seconds to push the heavy T-bird to 60 mph. The softly sprung suspension allowed considerable body lean, wallow, and float on curves, contemporary testers felt that the Buick Riviera and Pontiac Grand Prix were substantially more roadworthy cars, but the Thunderbird retained its leading market share. Total 1964 sales were excellent,92,465, up nearly fifty per cent from the previous year, the 1964 Thunderbird was the only car to have the word Thunderbird spelled out on the front hood instead of a chrome Thunderbird emblem. The only transmision available was the Cruise-O-Matic MX3 speed automatic. S, the popular Tilt-Away steering column continued, and was a Thunderbird recognized feature that was later shared on other upper-level Ford Products. Sales, impacted by increasing competition, including cannibalism by Fords own newly introduced Mustang), again, the Cruise-O-Matic MX automatic was the only transmission available. The mechanism was used on the Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner hardtop convertible of the late 1950s. Opening the trunk on convertibles for storage required that the lid be opened electrically, for 1966, the 390-cubic-inch V8s power was increased to 315 bhp. The larger 428-cubic-inch V-8 became optional, rated at 345 gross horsepower, all models featured a new front clip. The rear taillights were revised, now a 3 piece unit going the full width across the rear, a new Town Hardtop model was offered, featured a roof with blind quarter panels for a more formal look. The Landau was replaced by the blind quarter formal roofed Town Landau and it became by far the best-selling model, accounting for 35,105 of the 1966 models 69,176 sales. The transmission used on early build 390 V8 equipped T-Birds was the Cruise-O-Matic MX, however late build 390, Ford records do not support this claim and no documentation exists to suggest it is true. None of the six cars have the provenance proving the installation is genuine. A black 1964 convertible later had a role in the TV series Highlander
13.
Henry Ford II
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Henry Ford II, sometimes known as HF2 or Hank the Deuce, was the eldest son of Edsel Ford and eldest grandson of Henry Ford. He was president of the Ford Motor Company from 1945 to 1960, chairman and chief executive officer, notably, under the leadership of Henry Ford II, Ford Motor Company became a publicly traded corporation in 1956. From 1943 to 1950, he served as president of the Ford Foundation. Henry Ford II was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Eleanor Clay Ford and he and his brothers, Benson and William, and his sister Josephine, grew up amid affluence. He graduated from The Hotchkiss School in 1936 and he attended Yale University, where he served on the business staff of The Yale Record, the campus humor magazine, but he left without graduating in 1940. When his father Edsel, the president of Ford, died of cancer in May 1943, Henry Ford II was serving in the Navy, the elderly and ailing Henry Ford, company founder, re-assumed the presidency. By this point in his life, the elder Ford was mentally inconsistent, suspicious, the directors elected him, and he served until the end of the war. During this period the company began to decline, losing over $10 million a month, the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt had been considering a government takeover of the company in order to ensure continued war production, but the idea never progressed to execution. Henry Ford II left the Navy in July 1943 and joined the management a few weeks later. After two years, he took over the presidency of the business on September 21,1945, Henry Ford II immediately adopted an aggressive management style. Next, acknowledging his inexperience, he hired several seasoned executives to support him and he hired former General Motors executives Ernest Breech and Lewis Crusoe away from the Bendix Corporation. Breech was to serve in the years as HF2s business mentor. Additionally, HF2 hired ten young up-and-comers, known as the Whiz Kids and these ten, gleaned from an Army Air Forces statistical team, HF2 envisioned as giving the company the ability to innovate and stay current. Two of them, Arjay Miller and Robert McNamara, went on to serve as presidents of Ford themselves. A third member, J. Edward Lundy, served in key roles for several decades. It was reported that 100,000 orders for this car were taken the day it was introduced to the market, Henry Ford II was president of Ford Motor Company from 1945 to 1960. In 1956, under his leadership, the became a publicly traded corporation. When he resigned the presidency, he became CEO of the company, during his term as CEO of Ford, he resided in Grosse Pointe, Michigan
14.
Grand Palais
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The structure was built in the style of Beaux-Arts architecture as taught by the École des Beaux-Arts of Paris. One of its pediments calls it a “monument dedicated by the Republic to the glory of French art”, reflecting its original purpose, a monumental bronze quadriga by Georges Récipon tops each wing of the main façade. The one on the Champs-Élysées side depicts Immortality prevailing over Time, the grand inauguration took place 1 May 1900, and from the very beginning the palace was the site of different kinds of shows in addition to the intended art exhibitions. These included a competition that took place annually from 1901 to 1957, but were mainly dedicated to innovation and modernity, the automobile, aviation, household appliances. The golden age of the art exhibitions as such lasted for thirty years. The builders attempted to compensate for this subsidence, and for a tendency of the ground to shift, by sinking supporting posts down to firmer soil and these measures were only partially successful. Further damage occurred once the building was in use, additional problems due to the construction of the building itself revealed themselves over the course of time. Differential rates of expansion and contraction between cast iron and steel members, for example, allowed for water to enter, leading to corrosion and further weakening. When finally one of the ceiling panels fell in 1993, the main space had to be closed for restoration work. The Palais served as a hospital during World War I. The Nazis put the Palais to use during the Occupation of France in World War II, first used as a truck depot, the Palais then housed two Nazi propaganda exhibitions. The Parisian resistance used the Grand Palais as a headquarters during the Liberation of Paris, on 23 August 1944 an advancing German column was fired upon from a window on the Avenue de Sèlves, and the Germans responded with a tank attack upon the Palais. The attack ignited hay that was set up for a circus show, by 26 August, American jeeps were parked in the nave, followed by tanks from the French 2nd Armored Division, completing the liberation of the building. The buildings west wing contains a science museum, the Palais de la Découverte. The couture fashion house Chanel annually hosts many of its fashion shows here, setting up elaborate and expensive surroundings for its models and it was the host venue of the 2010 World Fencing Championships. This article contains material abridged and translated from the French and Spanish Wikipedia, official Grand Palais website The Grand Palais, current photographs, and photographs from the 1900s. New recent pictures and great information on the Grand Palais Paris Félix Charpentier, photos from the rooftops of the Grand Palais
15.
Dearborn, Michigan
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Dearborn is a city in the State of Michigan. It is located in Wayne County and is part of the Detroit metropolitan area, Dearborn is the eighth largest city in the State of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 98,153 and it later grew into a manufacturing hub for the automotive industry. The city was the home of Henry Ford and is the headquarters of the Ford Motor Company. It has a campus of the University of Michigan as well as Henry Ford Community College, Dearborn has The Henry Ford, the United States largest indoor-outdoor museum complex and Metro Detroits leading tourist attraction. Dearborn residents are primarily of European or Middle Eastern heritage, descendants of 19th, Middle Eastern ancestries make up the largest ethnic grouping with Lebanese, Yemeni, Iraqi, Syrian and Palestinian groups present. The primary European ethnicities are German, Polish, Irish and Italian, the area had been inhabited for thousands of years by varying indigenous peoples. Historical tribes belonged mostly to the Algonquian-language family, although the Huron were Iroquoian speaking, French colonists had a trading post and developed Detroit during the colonial period, trading with numerous regional tribes. This settlement was ceded to Britain in 1763 after its victory in the Seven Years War, the Dearborn area was settled permanently by Europeans in 1786, after the American Revolutionary War. The town of Dearborn was incorporated in 1893, in 1927 it was established as a city. Its current borders result from a 1928 consolidation vote that merged Dearborn and neighboring Fordson, the area between the two towns was, and still remains in part, undeveloped. Once farm land, this was bought by Henry Ford for his estate, Fair Lane, the open land is planted with sunflowers and often with Henry Fords favorite soybeans. The Arab American National Museum opened in Dearborn in 2005, the first museum in the devoted to Arab-American history. Arab Americans in Dearborn include ethnic Lebanese Christians who immigrated in the twentieth century to work in the auto industry as well as more recent Arab immigrants from other nations. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 24.5 square miles. The Rouge River runs through the city with an artificial waterfall/low head dam on the Henry Ford estate to power its powerhouse, the Upper, Middle, and Lower Branches of the river come together in Dearborn. The river is widened and channeled near the Rouge Plant to allow freighter access. Fordson Island is an 8.4 acre island about three miles inland from the Detroit River on the River Rouge, Fordson Island is the only major island in a tributary to the Detroit River
16.
V8 engine
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A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder V configuration engine with the cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two sets of four, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft. Most banks are set at an angle to each other, some at a narrower angle, with 45°, 60°. In its simplest form, the V8 is basically two parallel inline-four engines sharing a common crankshaft, since the 1920s, most V8s have used the somewhat more complex crossplane crankshaft with heavy counterweights to eliminate the vibrations. This results in an engine that is smoother than a V6, most racing V8s continue to use the single plane crankshaft because it allows faster acceleration and more efficient exhaust system designs. In 1902, Léon Levavasseur took out a patent on a light and he called it the Antoinette after the young daughter of his financial backer. From 1904 he installed this engine in a number of competition speedboats, the aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont saw one of these boats in Côte dAzur and decided to try it on his 14-bis aircraft. Its early 24 hp at 1400 rpm version with only 55 kg of weight was interesting, Santos-Dumont ordered a larger and more powerful version from Levavasseur. He changed its dimensions from the original 80 mm stroke and 80 mm bore to 105 mm stroke and 110 mm bore, obtaining 50 hp with 86 kg of weight and its power-to-weight ratio was not surpassed for 25 years. Levavasseur eventually produced its own line of V8 equipped aircraft, named Antoinette I to VIII, hubert Latham piloted the V8 powered Antoinette IV and Antoinette VII in July 1909 on two failed attempts to cross the English Channel. However, in 1910, Latham used the VII with the engine to become the first in the world to reach an altitude of 3600 feet. Voisin constructed pusher biplanes with Antoinette engines, also, notably the one first flown successfully by Henry Farman in 1908, the V8 engine configuration became popular in France from 1904 onward, and was used in a number of aircraft engines introduced by Renault, and Buchet among others. Some of these found their way into automobiles in small quantities. In 1905, Darracq built a car to beat the world speed record. They came up with two racing car built on a common crankcase and camshaft. The result was monstrous engine with a displacement of 1,551 cu in, victor Hemery fixed that record on 30 December 1905 with a speed of 109.65 mph. Rolls-Royce built a 3,535 cc V8 car from 1905 to 1906, in 1907 The Hewitt Motor Company built a large 5 passenger Touring Car. It was equipped with a hefty V8 engine that developed 50/60 horsepower and had a bore of 4 inches, the Hewitt was the first American Automobile to be equipped with a V8 engine. De Dion-Bouton introduced a 7,773 cc automobile V8 in 1910 and it was produced only in small quantities, but inspired a number of manufacturers to follow suit
17.
LA Auto Show
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The Los Angeles Auto Show is an annual auto show held at the Los Angeles Convention Center in mid-to-late November. The LA Auto Show is an OICA sanctioned international exhibition and also endorsed by the Greater Los Angeles New Car Dealers Association and it is open to the public for ten days each year, filling 760,000 square feet of exhibit space. Starting in 2016, the show kicks off with AutoMobility LA, four days full of activity for journalists, designers, in 2014, the show had a record number of debuts with more than 65 World and North American debuts. The Los Angeles Auto Show began in 1907 with ninety-nine vehicles on display at Morley’s Skating Rink, in 1910, the event was held under a canvas big top at Fiesta Park. As the auto industry grew, the show changed venues four times throughout the 1920s to accommodate the growing needs of vendors. In 1926, it place at the corner of Hill. During the 1929 show, a circuit in one of the airplane exhibits caught fire causing the entire show to go up in flames ending in more than $1 Million in damage. With the help of the community, the show re-opened one day later at the Shrine Auditorium, the show continued to prove successful throughout the 1930s, but took a down turn during the Second World War and went on hiatus from 1940 through 1951. In 1952, the show re-opened at the Pan Pacific Auditorium with 152 vehicles on display, in 2006, the show moved its dates from early January to late November/early December, thus resulting in two shows during the year 2006, the second marking the 100 year anniversary show. For 2016, AutoMobility LA will also include the events, AutoMobility LA, four days of networking. Press days and vehicle debuts took place on November 16 and 17, the 2015 Los Angeles Auto Show was held from November 20 through November 29,2015. Press days and vehicle debuts took place on November 18 and 29, the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show was held from November 21 through November 30,2014. Press days and vehicle debuts took place on November 19 and 20, the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show was held from November 22 through December 1,2013. Press days and vehicle debuts took place on November 20 and 21, the 2013 Connected Car Expo was held on November 19–21. 56 total vehicles debuted at the 2013 show, with 22 of them being world debuts, the following below are production models that debuted. The 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show was held from November 30 through December 9,2012, Honda also announced the 2014 Accord Plug-In Hybrid will be available starting January 15,2013 in California and New York. The 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show was held from November 18 through November 27,2011, the Sneak Preview Night was held on November 17,2011. The 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show was held from November 19 through November 28,2010, the Sneak Preview Night was held on November 18,2010
18.
North American P-51 Mustang
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The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by North American Aviation in response to a requirement of the British Purchasing Commission, the Purchasing Commission approached North American Aviation to build Curtiss P-40 fighters under license for the Royal Air Force. Rather than build an old design from another company, North American Aviation proposed the design, the prototype NA-73X airframe was rolled out on 9 September 1940,102 days after the contract was signed, and first flew on 26 October. The Mustang was originally designed to use the Allison V-1710 engine and it was first flown operationally by the RAF as a tactical-reconnaissance aircraft and fighter-bomber. The addition of the Rolls-Royce Merlin to the P-51B/C model transformed the Mustangs performance at altitudes above 15,000 ft, the P-51 was also used by Allied air forces in the North African, Mediterranean, Italian and Pacific theaters. During World War II, Mustang pilots claimed to have destroyed 4,950 enemy aircraft, despite the advent of jet fighters, the Mustang remained in service with some air forces until the early 1980s. After the Korean War, Mustangs became popular civilian warbird and air racing aircraft, in April 1940 the British government established a purchasing commission in the United States, headed by Sir Henry Self. Self was given responsibility for Royal Air Force production and research and development, and also served with Sir Wilfrid Freeman. Self also sat on the British Air Council Sub-committee on Supply and one of his tasks was to organize the manufacturing and supply of American fighter aircraft for the RAF. At the time, the choice was limited, as no U. S. aircraft then in production or flying met European standards. The Curtiss-Wright plant was running at capacity, so P-40s were in short supply, North American Aviation was already supplying its Harvard trainer to the RAF, but was otherwise underutilized. NAA President Dutch Kindelberger approached Self to sell a new medium bomber, instead, Self asked if NAA could manufacture the Tomahawk under license from Curtiss. Kindelberger said NAA could have an aircraft with the same engine in the air sooner than establishing a production line for the P-40. In March 1940,320 aircraft were ordered by Sir Wilfred Freeman who had become the head of the Ministry of Aircraft Production. The NA-73X, which was designed by a led by lead engineer Edgar Schmued, followed the best conventional practice of the era. One was a wing designed using laminar flow airfoils which were developed co-operatively by North American Aviation and these airfoils generated very low drag at high speeds. The results of this test showed the superiority of the wing designed with the NAA/NACA 45–100 airfoils, the other feature was a new cooling arrangement that reduced the cooling drag. It was later discovered that, after lot of development, the assembly could take advantage of the Meredith Effect
19.
Ford Fairlane (Americas)
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The Ford Fairlane is an automobile model that was sold between 1955 and 1970 by Ford in North America. The name is derived from Henry Fords estate, Fair Lane, near Dearborn, over time, the name referred to a number of different cars in different classes, the Fairlane was initially a full-sized car, but became a mid-sized car from the 1962 model year. The mid-sized model spawned the Australian-built Fairlane in 1967, although in that market it was considered a large car, for the 1955 model year the Fairlane name replaced the Crestline as Fords premier full-sized offering. All featured the trademark stainless-steel Fairlane stripe on the side, power options were a 223 cu in straight-6 engine and a 272 cu in V8. The 292 cu in Y-block was offered as an option and was called the Thunderbird V-8. Few changes were made for 1956, a four-door Victoria hardtop and two new, more powerful V8 options, of 292 cu in and 312 cu in, the Lifeguard safety package was introduced. The two-door Victoria hardtop featured a new and slimmer roofline, a one-year only two-door station wagon, the 1956 Ford Parklane, featured Fairlane-level trim. It was marketed to compete against the Chevrolet Nomad, for 1957, a new style gave a longer, wider, lower, and sleeker look with low tailfins. The new proportions and modern styling were a hit with customers to the extent that the Ford outsold Chevrolet in 1957 for the first time since 1935, a new top trim level was reversed, the Fairlane 500. For the first time, the lower-level Custom line had a shorter wheelbase than the Fairlane, engines were largely the same as the year before. The big news for 1957 was the introduction of the Fairlane 500 Skyliner power retractable hardtop, another facelift for 1958 had fashionable quad headlights, a grille that matched the 1958 Thunderbird, and other styling changes. New big-block FE V8s of 332 and 352 CID replaced the previous largest V8s, a new top-level full-sized model was introduced at mid-year 1959, the Ford Galaxie. The 1959 Galaxie displayed both Fairlane 500 and Galaxie badging, full-sized Fairlane and Fairlane 500 models were restyled for 1960 and again for the 1961 model year. The Galaxie series continued as the top-of-the-line full-sized Ford, Fairlane 500s demoted to mid-level in the lineup and were equivalent to the Chevrolet Bel Air. Fairlanes were primarily sold as base level trim models for fleet use, both were now only available as pillared sedans. The big-block 390 CID V8 was available in 1961 as the top-horsepower option, with an overall length of 197 in and a wheelbase of 115.5 in, it was 16 in longer than the Falcon and 12.3 in shorter than the Galaxie. Wheel track varied from 53.5 in to 56 in depending on model, suspension was a conventional short-long arm independent arrangement in front, with Hotchkiss drive in the rear. The Fairlane was initially offered only in two-door or four-door sedan body styles, the Sports Coupe option débuted mid-year and featured bucket seats and a small floor console
20.
Thunderbird (mythology)
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The thunderbird is a legendary creature in certain North American indigenous peoples history and culture. It is considered a supernatural being of power and strength, in Algonquian mythology, the thunderbird controls the upper world while the underworld is controlled by the underwater panther or Great Horned Serpent. The thunderbird throws lightning at the creatures and creates thunder by flapping its wings. Thunderbirds in this tradition are commonly depicted as having an X-shaped appearance and this varies between a simple X to recognizable birds. The X-shaped thunderbird is often used to depict the thunderbird with its wings alongside its body, the Menominee of Northern Wisconsin tell of a great mountain that floats in the western sky on which dwell the thunderbirds. They control the rain and hail and delight in fighting and deeds of greatness and they are the enemies of the great horned snakes - the Misikinubik - and have prevented these from overrunning the earth and devouring mankind. They are messengers of the Great Sun himself, the Ojibwe version of the myth states that the thunderbirds were created by Nanabozho for the purpose of fighting the underwater spirits. They were also used to humans who broke moral rules. The thunderbirds lived in the four directions and arrived with the birds in the springtime. In the fall they migrated south after the ending of the underwater spirits most dangerous season, winnebago tradition states that a man who has a vision of a thunderbird during a solitary fast will become a war chief
21.
Legendary creature
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A legendary creature is an animal or part human described in non-historical stories that sometimes involve the supernatural. In the classical era, monstrous creatures such as the Cyclops, other creatures, such as the unicorn, were claimed in accounts of natural history by various scholars of antiquity. Some legendary creatures have their origin in traditional mythology and were believed to be creatures, for example dragons, griffins. Others were based on real encounters, originating in garbled accounts of travelers tales, such as the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary, a variety of mythical animals appear in the art and stories of the Classical era. For example in the Odyssey, monstrous creatures include the Cyclops, Scylla, in other tales there appear the Medusa to be defeated by Perseus, the Minotaur to be destroyed by Theseus, and the Hydra to be killed by Heracles, while Aeneas battles with the harpies. These monsters thus have the function of emphasising the greatness of the heroes involved. Some classical era creatures, such as the centaur, chimaera, Triton, similarly, sphinxes appear as winged lions in Indian art. In Medieval art, animals, both real and mythical, played important roles and these included decorative forms as in Medieval jewellery, sometimes with their limbs intricately interlaced. Animal forms were used to add humour or majesty to objects, in Christian art, animals carried symbolic meanings, where for example the lamb symbolised Christ, a dove indicated the Holy Spirit, and the classical griffin represented a guardian of the dead. Medieval bestiaries included animals regardless of reality, the basilisk represented the devil. One function of animals in the Middle Ages was allegory. Unicorns, for example, were described as swift and unable to be caught by traditional methods. It was believed that the way for one to catch this beast was to lead a virgin to its dwelling. Then, the unicorn was supposed to leap into her lap and go to sleep, in terms of symbolism, the unicorn was a metaphor for Christ. Unicorns represented the idea of innocence and purity, in the King James Bible, Psalm 92,10 states, My horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn. This is because the translators of the King James erroneously translated the Hebrew word reem as unicorn, later versions translate this as wild ox. The unicorn’s small size signifies the humility of Christ, another common legendary creature which served allegorical functions within the Middle Ages was the dragon. Dragons were identified with serpents, though their attributes were greatly intensified, the dragon was supposed to have been larger than all other animals
22.
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
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The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian peoples of the Americas and their descendants. The term Amerindian is used in Quebec, the Guianas, Indigenous peoples of the United States are commonly known as Native Americans or American Indians, and Alaska Natives. Application of the term Indian originated with Christopher Columbus, who, in his search for Asia, eventually, the Americas came to be known as the West Indies, a name still used to refer to the islands of the Caribbean Sea. This led to the blanket term Indies and Indians for the indigenous inhabitants, although some indigenous peoples of the Americas were traditionally hunter-gatherers—and many, especially in the Amazon basin, still are—many groups practiced aquaculture and agriculture. The impact of their agricultural endowment to the world is a testament to their time, although some societies depended heavily on agriculture, others practiced a mix of farming, hunting, and gathering. In some regions the indigenous peoples created monumental architecture, large-scale organized cities, chiefdoms, states, and empires. Many parts of the Americas are still populated by peoples, some countries have sizable populations, especially Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Greenland, Guatemala, Mexico. At least a different indigenous languages are spoken in the Americas. Some, such as the Quechuan languages, Aymara, Guaraní, Mayan languages, many also maintain aspects of indigenous cultural practices to varying degrees, including religion, social organization, and subsistence practices. Like most cultures, over time, cultures specific to many indigenous peoples have evolved to incorporate traditional aspects, some indigenous peoples still live in relative isolation from Western culture and a few are still counted as uncontacted peoples. The specifics of Paleo-Indian migration to and throughout the Americas, including the dates and routes traveled, are the subject of ongoing research. According to archaeological and genetic evidence, North and South America were the last continents in the world with human habitation. During the Wisconsin glaciation, 50–17,000 years ago, falling sea levels allowed people to move across the bridge of Beringia that joined Siberia to northwest North America. Alaska was a glacial refugium because it had low snowfall, allowing a small population to exist, the Laurentide Ice Sheet covered most of North America, blocking nomadic inhabitants and confining them to Alaska for thousands of years. Indigenous genetic studies suggest that the first inhabitants of the Americas share a single population, one that developed in isolation. The isolation of these peoples in Beringia might have lasted 10–20,000 years, around 16,500 years ago, the glaciers began melting, allowing people to move south and east into Canada and beyond. These people are believed to have followed herds of now-extinct Pleistocene megafauna along ice-free corridors that stretched between the Laurentide and Cordilleran Ice Sheets. Another route proposed involves migration - either on foot or using primitive boats - along the Pacific Northwest coast to the south, archeological evidence of the latter would have been covered by the sea level rise of more than 120 meters since the last ice age
23.
Ford Thunderbird (first generation)
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The first generation of the Ford Thunderbird is a two-seat convertible that was produced by Ford for the 1955 to 1957 model years. The Thunderbird was the first 2-seat Ford since 1938 and it was developed in response to the 1953 Motorama display at the New York Auto Show, which showed the Chevrolet Corvette. The Corvette in turn was developed in response to the popularity of European sports cars among Americans, Ford created a completely new market segment around the Thunderbird, the personal car, forerunner to the personal luxury car. While a light car with a large V8 engine, the Thunderbird focused more on driver comfort than speed. The Thunderbird was not a rival to the European sports cars imported into the United States. Until the eleventh-generation Ford Thunderbird was unveiled in 2002, this was the version of the Thunderbird to be produced as a two-seat convertible. Ford unveiled the Thunderbird at the Detroit Auto Show on February 20,1954. The first production car came off the line on September 9,1954, and went on sale on October 22,1954 as a 1955 model, while only 10,000 were planned,16,155 were sold in 1955. As standard, the 1955 Ford Thunderbird included a fiberglass top. The engine was a 292 Y-block V8, which got 18MPG, the exhaust pipes exited through twin bumper guards, which are bolted to the rear bumper. The car off-the-shelf mechanical components, and used the chassis and suspension design from Ford passenger vehicle, the frame was basically a cut-down version of the standard Ford Body-on-frame design with a 102-inch wheelbase identical to that of the Corvette, and a pre-existing 292-cubic-inch OHV V8. A total of 53,166 units were produced for the three model years 1955-1957 and it was produced with a Fordomatic automatic or manual overdrive transmissions, and featured four-way powered seats and pushbutton interior door handles. Other unique features were a steering wheel and a tachometer. Equipped with a V8 engine, the Thunderbird could hit 110-120 mph and it was a smaller two-seat personal car, compared to many other much larger cars that were on the road in the 1950s. It was designed to be a brisk luxury tourer, and not a sports car, to improve rear-quarter visibility with the removable hardtop in place, porthole windows were made available as a no-cost option. An optional 312 Y-block V8 was made available for those that wanted more performance,1956 production was 15,631 units, the lowest of all three 2-seater Thunderbird model years. For 1957 the front bumper was reshaped, the grille and tailfins were made larger, the spare wheel moved back inside the trunk, which had been redesigned to allow it to be mounted vertically. The side Thunderbird script moved from the fins to the front fenders, a new option was Dial-o-Matic 4-way power seats that, when you turned off the ignition, the seat would move back to allow easier exiting
24.
Chevrolet
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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
25.
North American International Auto Show
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The North American International Auto Show is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan at Cobo Center, usually in January. It is among the largest auto shows in North America, in 1899, William E. Metzger helped organize the Detroit Auto Show, only the second of its kind. The next year, he helped stage the New York Auto Show in New Yorks Madison Square Garden, an auto show was held in Detroit in 1907 at Bellers Beer Garden at Riverside Park and since then annually except 1941-1953. During the shows first decades of existence it portrayed only a regional focus, in 1957 international carmakers exhibited for the first time. In 1987 the Detroit Auto Dealers Association proposed it become international and that attempt proved to be successful, the North American Auto show was then renamed the North American International Auto Show in 1989. The North American International Auto Show has been hosted in Detroit, since 1965 the show has been held at Cobo Center where it occupies nearly 1 million square feet of floor space. The show is important because the Metro Detroit area is the location of the headquarters of the Big Three American automakers, Chrysler, Ford. Prior to being held at the Cobo Center, the show was held at other well known places in the Metro Detroit area, some of those places include the Light Guard Armory, Wayne Gardens pavilion, and Michigan State Fairgrounds. The show begins with press days, industry preview days. The charity preview raises money for childrens charities. In 2004 and 2005, the charity preview attracted 17,500 people at $400 a ticket,2006 was the sixth consecutive year the charity preview event raised over $6 million. 35,711 tickets were sold for the industry preview representing people from 24 countries in 2005 and 6,897 credentialed press from 63 countries, over 800,000 attended during the days the show was open to the general public in 2004. It is estimated that the show generates a revenue of over $500 million to the local economy, the NAIAS is the one of only a few auto shows in the United States sanctioned by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs dAutomobiles. The 2017 show ran from January 9 to January 22, automobili-D, a exposition dedicated to automotive autonomy and mobility, ran in conjunction with the show from January 8–12. This was the first year Truck and Utility were awarded separately, BMW M6 GT32018 Toyota Camry The 2016 show ran from January 11 to January 24. The 2015 show ran from January 12 to January 25, the show opened on January 11, with press previews and introductions for the first two days
26.
Ford Y-block engine
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The Y-block engine is a family of overhead valve V8 automobile engines produced by Ford Motor Company. Lincoln introduced a different and larger Y-block engine, the Lincoln V8, in 1952 for use on large cars. The first Y-block on Ford automobiles was the 1954239 in³ Ford engine, known for its deep skirting, rated at 130 hp and 193 ft-lbs of Torque at 2200rpm, it replaced the 106 hp 239 in³ flathead. The Y-block was considered an advancement over the flathead. It is known for having oiling problems in the rocker shafts because the oil first went to the bearing, then to the camshaft bearings. This problem plagued the entire Y-block family and could be remedied by running a line from the oil pump to the rocker shafts. The oiling problem was caused by the passage from the cam bearing to the cylinder head being offset by an inch. The motor oils of the era were low in detergents, but high in petroleum coke, when combined with short trips and infrequent oil changes and this left the lower end with ample oil while the rocker shaft assemblies literally burned up. The external oiler kit essentially provided oil to the shafts from the oil pressure port on the outside of the engine. The original Mercury Y-block, introduced for the 1954 model year, advertised as the V-161 engine, it ran a bore and stroke of 3-5/8 X 3-3/32 in. The compression ratio was 7.5,1, and the power was 161 hp at 4400 rpm. Torque was 238 lb·ft at 2200 rpm, the engine breathed through a Holley model 2140 carburetor. The 272 in³ version was introduced in 1955, most standard Fords used this engine. Ford Australia released this V8 motor as its only option in the four-door Customline sedan from 1955-1959 and it was introduced in passenger cars in July 1955, and in the redesigned truck lineup one month later. This engine, as well as the 292 version starting in 1956, was produced by Ford of Brazil at its São Paulo plant facility. A new building was opened on November 21,1958, by the Brazilian President, Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, the 272 version was used on Brazilian F-series trucks until 1977 and on the Brazilian Galaxie 500, launched in April 1967. The 292 cu in was also introduced in 1955, the bore and stroke are 3.75 and 3.30 in, respectively, for a total displacement of 291.6 cu in. It was used in the Ford Thunderbird, Mercury, and some high-end Ford cars, in 1956, it was an optional engine for Ford cars, was commonly used in high-end models, and called the Thunderbird V8
27.
Mercury (automobile)
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Mercury is a defunct division of the American automobile manufacturer Ford Motor Company. Marketed as a premium brand for nearly its entire existence. Forming half of the Lincoln-Mercury Division, the brand was intended to bridge the gap between the Ford and Lincoln vehicle lines. In a similar context, Buick and Oldsmobile played the role within General Motors while the Chrysler Division did so within Chrysler Corporation. Although the initial Mercury Eight was a design, for much of the existence of the division. To various extents, nearly all Mercury vehicles would be rebadged, during the development of the Edsel, this practice ran in reverse, as the vehicles were derived from Mercury chassis underpinnings. In the summer of 2010, Ford Motor Company announced the discontinuation of the Mercury division as it consolidated its marketing and engineering efforts on the Ford, production of Mercury vehicles ceased in the fourth quarter of 2010. At the time, Ford sold Mercury vehicles in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, U. S. Virgin Islands, the final Mercury automobile, a 2011 Mercury Grand Marquis, rolled off the assembly line on January 4,2011. Although the final vehicle of the division was produced in 2011, Mercury remains an active, while General Motors and upstart Chrysler Corporation both had a comprehensive line of brands, by 1935, Ford sold only its namesake brand and the cars of Lincoln Motor Company. Aside from the Cadillac V-16, the Packard Eight and Duesenberg Model J, as a solution, from 1936 to 1939, Ford began its own version of the Companion Make Program introduced by General Motors in the previous decade. Inside Ford, there was whether a medium-priced car should be a Ford model or a new marque entirely. Started as a company in 1937 by Edsel Ford, the Mercury name was selected from over 100 potential model. The Chevrolet Mercury was produced in 1933, becoming the Chevrolet Standard from 1934-1936, the body designs of the new car were completed by E. T. Bob Gregorie. For the 1939 model year, the Mercury made its debut with a vehicle line. An all-new car, sharing no body panels with any Ford or Lincoln, to minimize production costs, a 239 cubic-inch version of the Ford Flathead V8 engine was used in place of developing an engine specifically for the division. Over 65,800 cars were sold for 1939, at a price of $916. For the 1941 model year, the Mercury officially adopted the Mercury Eight nameplate used in sales literature, to lower production costs of the popular vehicle, the Mercury Eight shared much of its bodyshell with the Ford V8, but it sat on a four-inch longer wheelbase. During the war-shortened 1942 model year, the Mercury Eight introduced the first semi-automatic transmission by Ford Motor Company, following World War II, Ford Motor Company dropped the De Luxe Ford sub-brand and Lincoln-Zephyr was absorbed into Lincoln
28.
Gear train
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A transmission is a machine in a power transmission system, which provides controlled application of the power. Often the term refers simply to the gearbox that uses gears and gear trains to provide speed. In British English, the term refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft, differential. In American English, however, the term more specifically to the gearbox alone. The most common use is in vehicles, where the transmission adapts the output of the internal combustion engine to the drive wheels. Such engines need to operate at a high rotational speed, which is inappropriate for starting, stopping. The transmission reduces the engine speed to the slower wheel speed. Transmissions are also used on bicycles, fixed machines. Often, a transmission has multiple gear ratios with the ability to switch between them as speed varies and this switching may be done manually or automatically. Directional control may also be provided, single-ratio transmissions also exist, which simply change the speed and torque of motor output. The output of the transmission is transmitted via the driveshaft to one or more differentials, while a differential may also provide gear reduction, its primary purpose is to permit the wheels at either end of an axle to rotate at different speeds as it changes the direction of rotation. Conventional gear/belt transmissions are not the mechanism for speed/torque adaptation. Alternative mechanisms include torque converters and power transformation, automatic transmissions use a valve body to shift gears using fluid pressures in conjunction with an ecm. Early transmissions included the right-angle drives and other gearing in windmills, horse-powered devices, and steam engines, in support of pumping, milling, most modern gearboxes are used to increase torque while reducing the speed of a prime mover output shaft. This means that the shaft of a gearbox rotates at a slower rate than the input shaft. A gearbox can be set up to do the opposite and provide an increase in speed with a reduction of torque. Some of the simplest gearboxes merely change the rotational direction of power transmission. Many typical automobile transmissions include the ability to select one of several gear ratios, in this case, most of the gear ratios are used to slow down the output speed of the engine and increase torque
29.
Holley Performance Products
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Holley Performance Products is an automotive performance company based in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Holley, when based in Michigan, was one of the producers of carburetors. Later they manufactured carburetors for both street and racing such as the Holley Double Pumper and Dominator. Holley-style carburetors have powered every NASCAR Sprint Cup team and every NHRA Pro Stock champion until both series eventually switched to fuel injection. NASCAR Sprint Cup engines still utilize a Holley throttle body and Holley EFI is the spec EFI system in NHRA Pro Stock. At the eve of the era of motorcars, the decided to start the Holley Motor Company. They called it the Holley Motorette and it sold for $550 and their first original carburetor, called the iron pot, appeared on the curved-dash Oldsmobile in 1904. In April 1905 Holley Brothers Company was established with an address at 661-75 Beaubien St. Detroit, the brothers then concentrated on the manufacturing of carburetors and ignition systems. As a result of the Motorette Henry Ford commissioned the brothers to produce a carburetor for his Model T, the carburetor they built for Ford was an immediate success and the brothers founded Holley Carburetor Co. which became one of Fords biggest suppliers. In 1925 a Holley employee, Daniel H. Meloche, was awarded the Edward Longstreth Medal by the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia. The process employing long-life molds was leased to the River Rouge plant of the Ford Motor Company, the Harrison Radiator Corporation, and the plant of Ludwig, Loewe & Co. of Berlin. Holley, while serving as president of the Holley Carburetor Company, was also a director of National Air Transport, Kinner Airplane and Motor, Stinson Aircraft of Detroit, towie Aircraft Company of Detroit, and one of the original stockholders of Western Air Express Inc. In 1931 Holley became a director of the Warner Aircraft Corporation, in 1952 Holley closed a plant at Portland, Michigan, which moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky. That year Holley produced the Visi-flo carburetor, with an inspection window to make a visual check of the fuel level, sediment, flooding. The glass fuel bowl was manufactured by the Lancaster Lens company of Lancaster, in 1968 the Plain Dealer reported, Colt Industries Inc. has acquired Holley Carburetor Co. of Warren, Michigan, following approval by directors of both companies. Holley Carburetor which makes auto ignition systems and aviation fuel controls, at this time the corporate, engineering and sales headquarters were in Warren, with plants in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Paris, Tennessee and Clare, Michigan. Holley was said to have a turnover of $40 million in 1967, at the time of the sale the company was primarily owned by members of the Holley family. In 1974 Holley was making carburetors for Ford and some under its own name at Paris, in 1993 Coltec Industries Inc. of New York, closed the administrative offices at Warren, Michigan, and a warehouse at Goodlettsville, Tennessee
30.
Paxton Automotive
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Paxton Automotive is a United States-based manufacturer of superchargers for automotive use. The company is the proponent of the centrifugal type supercharger. Early products were offered under the McCulloch name, some Paxton superchargers have been factory fitted, but most units sold have been aftermarket installed. Paxton products are possibly best known for their frequent use in performance-modified Ford Mustangs, inventor Robert Paxton McCulloch began producing superchargers to his design in 1937 for the Ford Flathead V8, a popular engine for performance modification at the time. The company estimates that around 5,000 were built before World War II stopped production, postwar, McCulloch developed a more sophisticated supercharger and began selling it in 1953. This was factory fitted to a number of vehicles at the time, including the Kaiser Manhattan, in 1956, McCulloch set up a separate Paxton Superchargers division, selling it off in 1958. Supercharged engines were used for one year in NASCAR racing. For this purpose, Paxton superchargers were fitted as the rare F-option for the 1957 Ford Thunderbird, a short run of Shelby Mustangs were fitted with Paxton superchargers, and Ford dealers offered Paxton superchargers as a dealer-fitted Ford Mustang option from 1965 to 1972. Paxton still provides supercharger kits for older Mustangs as well as more recent models, still in business, Paxton now supplies complete supercharging kits for popular performance-modified cars, as well as bare superchargers for more customised installations. One of the more unusual applications for the Paxton brand superchargers was as an air pump in the air purifying CO2 scrubbers of U. S. Navy submarines, the Paxton Robert Paxton McCulloch Paxton Automotive
31.
Supercharger
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A supercharger is an air compressor that increases the pressure or density of air supplied to an internal combustion engine. This gives each intake cycle of the more oxygen, letting it burn more fuel and do more work. Power for the supercharger can be provided mechanically by means of a belt, gear, shaft, when power is provided by a turbine powered by exhaust gas, a supercharger is known as a turbosupercharger – typically referred to simply as a turbocharger or just turbo. Common usage restricts the term supercharger to mechanically driven units, in 1848 or 1849 G. Jones of Birmingham, England brought out a Roots-style compressor. The worlds first functional, actually tested engine supercharger was made by Dugald Clerk, gottlieb Daimler received a German patent for supercharging an internal combustion engine in 1885. Louis Renault patented a centrifugal supercharger in France in 1902, an early supercharged race car was built by Lee Chadwick of Pottstown, Pennsylvania in 1908 which reportedly reached a speed of 100 mph. The worlds first series-produced cars with superchargers were Mercedes 6/25/40 hp, both models were introduced in 1921 and had Roots superchargers. They were distinguished as Kompressor models, the origin of the Mercedes-Benz badging which continues today, on March 24,1878 Heinrich Krigar of Germany obtained patent #4121, patenting the first ever screw-type compressor. Later that same year on August 16 he obtained patent #7116 after modifying and improving his original designs and his designs show a two-lobe rotor assembly with each rotor having the same shape as the other. Although the design resembled the Roots style compressor, the screws were clearly shown with 180 degrees of twist along their length, unfortunately, the technology of the time was not sufficient to produce such a unit, and Heinrich made no further progress with the screw compressor. Nearly half a century later, in 1935, Alf Lysholm and he also patented the method for machining the compressor rotors. There are two types of superchargers defined according to the method of gas transfer, positive displacement. Positive displacement blowers and compressors deliver an almost constant level of pressure increase at all engine speeds, dynamic compressors do not deliver pressure at low speeds, above a threshold speed, pressure increases with engine speed. Positive-displacement pumps deliver a nearly fixed volume of air per revolution at all speeds, Roots superchargers are external compression only. External compression refers to pumps that transfer air at ambient pressure into the engine, if the engine is running under boost conditions, the pressure in the intake manifold is higher than that coming from the supercharger. That causes a backflow from the engine into the supercharger until the two reach equilibrium and it is the backflow that actually compresses the incoming gas. This is an inefficient process and the factor in the lack of efficiency of Roots superchargers when used at high boost levels. The lower the boost level the smaller is this loss, and Roots blowers are very efficient at moving air at low pressure differentials, all the other types have some degree of internal compression
32.
Robert McNamara
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Robert Strange McNamara was an American business executive and the eighth Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, during which time he played a role in escalating the United States involvement in the Vietnam War. Following that, he served as President of the World Bank from 1968 to 1981, McNamara was responsible for the institution of systems analysis in public policy, which developed into the discipline known today as policy analysis. McNamara consolidated intelligence and logistics functions of the Pentagon into two centralized agencies, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Defense Supply Agency. Prior to his service, McNamara was one of the Whiz Kids who helped rebuild Ford Motor Company after World War II. A group of advisors he brought to the Pentagon inherited the Whiz Kids moniker, McNamara remains the longest serving Secretary of Defense, having remained in office over seven years. Robert McNamara was born in San Francisco, California and his father was Robert James McNamara, sales manager of a wholesale shoe company, and his mother was Clara Nell McNamara. His fathers family was Irish and in about 1850, following the Great Irish Famine, had emigrated to the U. S. first to Massachusetts and later to California. He graduated from Piedmont High School in Piedmont in 1933, where he was president of the Rigma Lions boys club, McNamara attended the University of California, Berkeley and graduated in 1937 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics with minors in mathematics and philosophy. He was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa his sophomore year, and earned a varsity letter in crew. McNamara was also a member of the UC Berkeleys Order of the Golden Bear which was a fellowship of students and he then attended Harvard Business School and earned an MBA in 1939. One major responsibility was the analysis of U. S. bombers efficiency and effectiveness, especially the B-29 forces commanded by Major General Curtis LeMay in India, China, and the Mariana Islands. McNamara established a control unit for XX Bomber Command and devised schedules for B-29s doubling as transports for carrying fuel. He left active duty in 1946 with the rank of lieutenant colonel, in 1946, Charles Tex Thornton, a colonel under whom McNamara had served, put together a group of officers from his AAF Statistical Control operation to go into business together. Thornton had seen an article in Life magazine portraying Ford as being in dire need of reform, henry Ford II, himself a World War II veteran from the Navy, hired the entire group of 10, including McNamara. The Whiz Kids, as came to be known, helped the money-losing company reform its chaotic administration through modern planning, organization. Whiz Kids origins, Because of their youth, combined with asking lots of questions, Ford employees initially and disparagingly, the Quiz Kids rebranded themselves as the Whiz Kids. Starting as manager of planning and financial analysis, he advanced rapidly through a series of management positions
33.
Motor Trend
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Motor Trend is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, issued by Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles, Petersen Publishing was sold to British publisher EMAP in 1998, who sold the former Petersen magazines to Primedia in 2001. As of 2017, it is published by TEN, The Enthusiast Network and it has a monthly circulation of over one million readers. The contents of Motor Trend magazines are divided up into sections, Motor Trend magazine provides its readers with written road tests of vehicles. There are two types of Motor Trend vehicle comparisons. Regular comparisons usually compare two to three vehicles, and what each is like to own, drive, etc. On Motor Trends YouTube channel, Motor Trend puts up their best comparison of the month on a series called Head 2 Head, big Test comparisons typically feature anywhere from five to seven vehicles, all being compared against each other. In a way, a comparison is like a large road test featuring many vehicles. The Trend provides readers with the latest whats happening in the automotive industry and this section may feature news about manufacturers, recalls, etc. Newcomers, along with short articles about them, can also be found in this section. Motor Trend keeps a fleet of long-term test cars at their headquarters in Los Angeles, the majority of the Motor Trend editors are each assigned a car, and their duty is to drive that car on a daily basis and report on whats happening. Each month, one to two new vehicles are added to the fleet, to replace the one to two vehicles leaving the fleet, each long-term test lasts approximately one calendar year. Not every vehicle receives a printed update each month, though the vehicles are still there and this section is typically located towards the end of the magazine. Other types of articles are sometimes featured in the Motor Trend magazine, there is typically one special feature per month. For example, in one issue of the magazine, there may be a feature about Motor Trends Real MPG testing. See also Motor Trend Car of the Year and it predates the European Car of the Year award begun in 1964. Nevertheless, it is still coveted by manufacturers and is covered by the mainstream press as the most important distinction awarded in the American auto industry. Some recent COTY award winners include the Chevrolet Volt, Volkswagen Passat, Tesla Model S, Cadillac CTS, Volkswagen Golf, the magazine releases a special edition every September and October listing the latest new vehicles
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Motor Trend Car of the Year
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The Motor Trend Car of the Year is an annual award given by Motor Trend magazine to recognize the best new or significantly refreshed car in a given model year. Motor Trend, which debuted in 1949, was the first publication to name a Car of the Year, the inaugural Motor Trend Car of the Year award recognized Cadillacs V8 engine in 1949. The earliest awards were given to the manufacturer or division, not for a specific vehicle, the 1958 Ford Thunderbird became the first single model to be selected. In 1970, the Ford Torino won the COTY while Motor Trend selected the Porsche 914 for its first Import COTY award, in 1972, the low-volume imported Citroën SM won the overall COTY award. Between 1976 and 1999, the COTY award was split in two, Domestic COTY and Import COTY, the trophy was recombined in 2000 because the distinctions between domestic and import cars became increasingly difficult. The award has expanded to include a truck and a separate sport utility vehicle. Over time, other publications and organizations have selected various Car of the Year awards and these COTY designations may focus on regional markets, vehicle types, specific market segments, or other criteria. Motor Trends Car of the Year is one of the most prestigious honors bestowed in the auto industry, the trophy for the winner, a depiction of calipers, is often used in the winning automakers marketing and advertising. Most cars that win the award report a spike in sales, however, receiving Motor Trends recognition is no guarantee of success. This was the case of the nostalgic 2002 Ford Thunderbird, which did not meet expectations and was pulled from the three years later. Between the contenders, it is not a comparison test, trucks and SUVs add towing capacity and speed, plus an off-road course, to the normal regimen. This was discontinued after the 1999 model year when the line between what is a vehicle and what is not became problematic
35.
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
36.
Vehicle frame
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A vehicle frame is the main supporting structure of a motor vehicle to which all other components are attached, comparable to the skeleton of an organism. Until the 1930s, virtually every car had a structural frame and this construction design is known as body-on-frame. Over time, nearly all cars have migrated to unibody construction, meaning their chassis. Nearly all trucks, buses, and most pickups continue to use a frame as their chassis. The main functions of a frame in motor vehicles are, To support the mechanical components and body To deal with static and dynamic loads. These include, Weight of the body, passengers, and cargo loads, vertical and torsional twisting transmitted by going over uneven surfaces. Transverse lateral forces caused by conditions, side wind. Torque from the engine and transmission, longitudinal tensile forces from starting and acceleration, as well as compression from braking. In the case of a chassis, the frame is made up of structural elements called the rails or beams. These are ordinarily made of steel sections, made by folding, rolling or pressing steel plate. There are three designs for these. If the material is folded twice, an open-ended cross-section, either C-shaped or hat-shaped results and it is made by taking a flat piece of steel and rolling both sides over to form a c-shaped beam running the length of the vehicle. Hat Hat frames resemble a U and may be either right-side-up or inverted with the area facing down. Not commonly used due to weakness and a propensity to rust, however they can be found on 1936–1954 Chevrolet cars, abandoned for a while, the hat frame gained popularity again when companies started welding it to the bottom of unibody cars, in effect creating a boxed frame. Boxed Originally, boxed frames were made by welding two matching C-rails together to form a rectangular tube, modern techniques, however, use a process similar to making C-rails in that a piece of steel is bent into four sides and then welded where both ends meet. While appearing at first glance as a form made of metal. The first issue addressed is beam height, or the height of the side of a frame. The taller the frame, the better it is able to resist vertical flex when force is applied to the top of the frame and this is the reason semi-trucks have taller frame rails than other vehicles instead of just being thicker
37.
Ford FE engine
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The Ford FE engine is a Ford V8 engine used in vehicles sold in the North American market between 1958 and 1976. The FE was introduced to replace the short-lived Ford Y-block engine and it was designed with room to be significantly expanded, and manufactured both as a top-oiler and side-oiler, and in displacements between 330 cu in and 428 cu in. The FE series engines were used in cars, trucks, buses, Ford produced the engine from 1958 and ceased production in 1976. Aftermarket support has continued, with replacement parts as well as many newly engineered and improved components, in Ford vehicles, the FE primarily powered full and midsize cars and trucks. In addition to its use in Ford and Mercury branded vehicles, the FE was also sold to parties for use in their own products such as buses. In addition, the FE was used to power pumps, generators and other machinery where long-running, low-rpm. Ford regularly made updates to the design of the FE which appear as engineering codes or variations in casting numbers of parts, in addition to production casting codes, Ford also made use of SK and XE numbers if the parts were one-offs or developmental designs not approved for production. Many parts attached to Fords racing engines carried SK and XE numbers, a Ford FE from the factory weighed 650 lb with all iron components, while similar seven-liter offerings from GM and Chrysler weighed over 700 lb. With an aluminum intake and aluminum water pump the FE could be reduced to under 600 lb and this weight saving was significant to boaters and racers. The FE was popular in V-drive marine applications, available as an option in Chris Craft boats. Beginning in 1968, the U. S. Navy SEALS used twin 427 FEs to power their light SEAL support craft. Specific models that used FE engines include the AC Cobra MKIII, GT40s, the AC Frua, as well as various factory racing versions of Ford Mustangs, Ford Galaxies, Ford Fairlanes, and Ford Thunderbirds. In the 1960s, most organized racing events required either stock components or components that were available to the general public. For NASCAR racing, rules required that at least 500 vehicles be sold to the general public equipped as raced, many drag racing and road racing organizations had similar rules, which contributed to a wide range of performance parts being made available through Ford dealership parts counters. In addition, aftermarket suppliers produced performance parts and accessories, the use of the FE by Ford itself as the powerplant in many of its racing programs and performance vehicles resulted in constant improvements and engineering changes over the course of its life. Racing-inspired changes to the FE which later made it to production engines included the side-oiler block, in 1963, the 427 Galaxies dominated NASCAR. Tiny Lund won the biggest race of the year, the Daytona 500, Ford won 23 races to Plymouths 19. The Plymouths earned all their victories on the tracks while Ford dominated the super speedways, Chevrolet finished with eight wins
38.
Ford Thunderbird (third generation)
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The third generation of the Ford Thunderbird is a large personal luxury car that was produced by Ford for the 1961 to 1963 model years. It featured new and much sleeker styling than the second generation models, sales were strong, if not quite up to record-breaking 1960, at 73,051 including 10,516 convertibles. A new, larger 390 cu in FE-series V8 was the engine available. Its appearance was shared with the European Ford Corsair, the Thunderbird for 1961 introduced several firsts for the automotive market. The most distinctive feature of the 1961 to 1963 Thunderbirds was the highly touted Swing Away steering wheel, with the transmission in the park position the steering wheel would slide approximately 18 inches to the right allowing the driver to exit the vehicle easily. Other innovations include a rear view mirror. Common on all autos produced today, this feature was first found on 1961 Thunderbirds, depending on variable options Thunderbirds for 1961 could be purchased with options like air conditioning, power windows, power seats, AM radio, fender skirts and white wall tires. Several standard features, like power steering and power brakes, back up lights,1962 saw strong production figures of 78,011 and the introduction of the Thunderbird Sports Roadster. The most striking addition to the Sports Roadster was a tonneau cover which covered the back seat of the car. 1,427 Sports Roadsters were produced in 1962, including 120 models with the special M Code option noted below, early models suffered from problems related to their specially-designed wire wheels. The problem was corrected when Elvis Presley was involved in an accident in which one of the Kelsey-Hayes wheels collapsed during hard turning. Another addition for 1962 was a special code which added a tripower or three two barrel setup to a higher compression version of the 390 engine. This engine boasted 345 hp but was considered a moderate failure, the engine option was quietly discontinued halfway through the mid 1963 production run. Also introduced in 1962 was the Landau model, with a vinyl roof and this was the beginning of the 1960s/1970s fashion for vinyl roof treatments, and a vinyl roof was a popular Thunderbird feature for the next 20 years. Changes for 1963 were relatively mild, some additions to the option list included vacuum assisted door locks and an AM/FM radio, an AM radio and a remote drivers side mirror became standard. 1963s numbers were down at 63,313, the Landau became the second most important model after the standard hardtop, at 12,193 sold. Landaus added simulated wood trim to go along with the landau top. In addition a Limited Edition Principality of Monaco Landau model was introduced and this Corinthian White car, with a white leather interior was personalized with a plaque displaying the owners name and the cars limited production number, was limited to and sold only 2,000 units
39.
Indianapolis 500
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The Indianapolis 500 is an automobile race held annually at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. The event is held over Memorial Day weekend, which is typically the last weekend in May and it is contested as part of the Verizon IndyCar Series, the top level of American Championship Car racing, an open-wheel formula colloquially known as Indy Car Racing. The name of the race is often shortened to Indy 500, the event, billed as The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, is considered part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, which comprises three of the most prestigious motorsports events in the world. The official attendance is not disclosed by Speedway management, but the permanent seating capacity is upwards of 250,000, the inaugural running was won by Ray Harroun in 1911. The race celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011, and the 100th running was held in 2016, alexander Rossi is the defending champion. The most successful drivers are A. J. Foyt, Al Unser, the active driver with the most victories is Hélio Castroneves, with three. Rick Mears holds the record for most career pole positions with six, the most successful car owner is Roger Penske, owner of Team Penske, which has 16 total wins and 17 poles. For a list of races and winners, see List of Indianapolis 500 winners, the Indianapolis 500 is held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a 2.5 mile oval circuit. Drivers race 200 laps, counterclockwise around the circuit, for a distance of 500 miles, since its inception in 1911, the race has always been scheduled on or around Memorial Day. Since 1974, the race has been scheduled for the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, practice and time trials are held in the two weeks leading up to the race. Traditionally, the field consists of 33 starters, aligned in a grid of eleven rows of three cars apiece. The event is contested by Indy cars, a formula of professional-level, single-seat, open cockpit, open-wheel, as of 2015, all entrants utilize 2.2 L V6, twin-turbocharged engines, tuned to produce a range of 550–700 horsepower. Chevrolet and Honda are the current engine manufacturers involved in the sport, firestone, which has a deep history in the sport, dating back to the first 500, is the exclusive tire provider. The race is the most prestigious event of the IndyCar calendar and it has been avouched to be the largest single-day sporting event in the entire world. Likewise, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway itself is regarded as the worlds largest sporting facility in terms of capacity, the total purse exceeded $13 million in 2011, with over $2.5 million awarded to the winner, making it one of the richest cash prize funds in sports. Due to safety issues, the race is not held in wet conditions, in the event of a rain delay, the race will be postponed until rain showers cease, and the track is sufficiently dried. If rain falls during the race, officials can end the race, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway complex was built in 1909 as a gravel-and-tar track and hosted a smattering of small events, including ones for motorcycles. The first long distance event, in conditions, was the 100-lap Prest-O-Lite Trophy in 1909
40.
Safety car
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In motorsport, a safety car or pace car is a car which limits the speed of competing cars on a racetrack in the case of a caution period such as an obstruction on the track or bad weather. The aim of the safety car is to enable the clearance of any obstruction under safer conditions, during a caution period the safety car enters the track ahead of the leader. At the end of the period, the safety car leaves the track. The first reliance on this safety measure occurred with the deployment of a car during the inaugural Indianapolis 500 in 1911. Subject to the regulations in force, it is not uncommon for drivers to be allowed to make pitstops during safety car periods. During normal racing conditions, such interventions would typically involve losing significant terrain over those drivers that remain on track, from 2007, all Formula One cars must have LEDs and/or displays fitted to the steering wheel or cockpit, which inform the driver which flags are being waved. A yellow LED is illuminated when the safety car is deployed, the safety car has both orange and green lights mounted on its roof in the form of a light bar. From 2015, the safety car is not required to wait until all backmarkers have caught back up to the queue. When the safety car is ready to leave the circuit, it will turn off its lights to indicate that it will enter the pit lane at the end of the lap. Drivers must continue in formation until they cross the first safety car line, the driver of the safety car is accompanied by a co-driver to assist with operations and communications. With regards to the limit, the race is being scored and the time is also counting while the safety car is on the track. The sport officially introduced safety cars in 1993, after trials were conducted at both the French and British Grands Prix during the preceding 1992 season, from 2007, new procedures were applied for the first time during the Bahrain Grand Prix. The pit lane was closed immediately upon the deployment of the safety car, no car could enter the pits until all cars on the track had formed up in a line behind the safety car, they passed the pit entrance, and the message pit lane open was given. A ten-second stop/go penalty was imposed on any driver who entered the pit lane before the pit lane open message is given, however, any car which was in the pit entry or pit lane when the safety car was deployed would not incur a penalty. From 2009, however, this procedure has been dropped, and replaced by software that calculates where a car is on the track, cars that enter the pits before this time limit has expired are penalised. When the safety car and the drivers behind it are on the start/finish straight, drivers who go past the red light are disqualified from the race. This has happened to several drivers during the years, such as Giancarlo Fisichella, from 2010, once cars were lined up behind the safety car, lapped cars were no longer allowed to unlap themselves before the race was restarted. The Panel recommended the implementation of a Virtual Safety Car, based on the used in Le Mans racing slow zone
41.
President of the United States
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The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces. The president is considered to be one of the worlds most powerful political figures, the role includes being the commander-in-chief of the worlds most expensive military with the second largest nuclear arsenal and leading the nation with the largest economy by nominal GDP. The office of President holds significant hard and soft power both in the United States and abroad, Constitution vests the executive power of the United States in the president. The president is empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves. The president is responsible for dictating the legislative agenda of the party to which the president is a member. The president also directs the foreign and domestic policy of the United States, since the office of President was established in 1789, its power has grown substantially, as has the power of the federal government as a whole. However, nine vice presidents have assumed the presidency without having elected to the office. The Twenty-second Amendment prohibits anyone from being elected president for a third term, in all,44 individuals have served 45 presidencies spanning 57 full four-year terms. On January 20,2017, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th, in 1776, the Thirteen Colonies, acting through the Second Continental Congress, declared political independence from Great Britain during the American Revolution. The new states, though independent of each other as nation states, desiring to avoid anything that remotely resembled a monarchy, Congress negotiated the Articles of Confederation to establish a weak alliance between the states. Out from under any monarchy, the states assigned some formerly royal prerogatives to Congress, only after all the states agreed to a resolution settling competing western land claims did the Articles take effect on March 1,1781, when Maryland became the final state to ratify them. In 1783, the Treaty of Paris secured independence for each of the former colonies, with peace at hand, the states each turned toward their own internal affairs. Prospects for the convention appeared bleak until James Madison and Edmund Randolph succeeded in securing George Washingtons attendance to Philadelphia as a delegate for Virginia. It was through the negotiations at Philadelphia that the presidency framed in the U. S. The first power the Constitution confers upon the president is the veto, the Presentment Clause requires any bill passed by Congress to be presented to the president before it can become law. Once the legislation has been presented, the president has three options, Sign the legislation, the bill becomes law. Veto the legislation and return it to Congress, expressing any objections, in this instance, the president neither signs nor vetoes the legislation
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