Hyundai Excel
The Hyundai Excel known as the Hyundai Pony, Hyundai Presto, Mitsubishi Precis and Hyundai X2, is an automobile, produced by Hyundai Motor Company from 1985 to 2000. It was the first front-wheel drive car produced by the South Korean manufacturer; the Excel range replaced. As with the original 1974 Pony, the Excel was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro; the Excel was available in three- or five-door hatchback and four-door sedan models. The Excel was the first Hyundai car to be exported to the United States; the Excel was available with either a manual or automatic transmission mated to a four-cylinder engine aspirated by a carburetor or fuel injection system, depending on market and model year. The Excel was supposed to be replaced by the Elantra in 1990, but it ended up being sold for four more years until being replaced by the Hyundai Accent in the model year 1995. From 1990, there was a coupé variant called the Hyundai Scoupe, replaced by the Hyundai Coupe in 1996; some markets, including Europe, had the Excel branded as the Hyundai Pony, although it is not directly related to its rear wheel drive predecessor of the same name.
In South Korea the hatchback version was known as Hyundai Pony Excel, the sedan version was known as Hyundai Presto. The Excel was sold in the United States by Mitsubishi Motors from 1987 to 1994 as the badge engineered Mitsubishi Precis. Available as either a 3- or 5-door hatchback, the Precis remained in the Mitsubishi range as a "price leader," slotted below the Mirage until it was discontinued in 1992; the Excel was introduced as a replacement for the Hyundai Pony. In the United States, it was the company's first and only model, but thanks to a price of $4,995 USD and being voted'Best Product #10' by Fortune magazine, it set records for a first-year import by selling 168,882 units, helping push the company's cumulative production past one million by 1986. Similar sales success was replicated in Australia, where it was priced at A$9,990. Versions available were: North America 1.5 base 1.5 GL 1.5 GLS 1.5 GS Australia 1.5 L 1.5 GL 1.5 GLS 1.5 GTUnited Kingdom 1300 L/Sonnet 1300 GLS 1500 GL 1500 GLS The second-generation Excel was given a facelift and enlarged from 1990 onwards, while its engine adopted multi-point fuel injection, a new 4-speed overdrive automatic transmission was offered.
It was sold in LX and CXL trim levels in South Korea. The South Korean range was: 1.3 CX 1.3 LX 1.5 CX 1.5 LX 1.5 CXL. The Excel was marketed in Eurasia as the Hyundai Pony or Pony X2. In the United Kingdom and some parts of Europe, versions available were: 1.3 S 1.3 Sonnet – replaced 1.3 S base model 1.3 LS 1.5 GSi However, some European markets did not get the 1.3 version and the range was: 1.5 L 1.5 LE 1.5 GL 1.5 LS 1.5 GS 1.5 GT – note, not all markets got this version 1.5 GLS From 1991, the 1.5 versions were badged 1.5i to denote fuel injection. All models sold in North America had the 1.5-liter engine, with automatic transmission as a freestanding option for any model. The lineup available at U. S. Hyundai dealers was; the Mitsubishi Precis came as a 3-door only, in trim levels equivalent to the base and GL Hyundai-branded cars. The 1.3 model and the Mitsubishi Colt share the same engine and gearbox. Hyundai launched the Excel in Thailand in the early 1990s; the lineup consisted of: 1.3 Base 1.3 LS 1.5 LS 1.5 GLS The Hyundai Excel was introduced as the new model for the Excel in 1994 for the 1995 model year.
It continued to be called Dodge Brisa in Mexico or Hyundai Excel in some markets, such as the Netherlands and Australia. In France, it was called the Hyundai Pony and in China, it was called the Kia Qianlima. Australian cars were released in November 1994 available in LX and GLX trims; the upper-specification models had full cloth interior and lumbar support adjustments on the driver's seat, four-speaker sound system, passenger vanity mirror, a tachometer, power antenna as standard. GX three-doors had a standard rear spoiler, while power steering was standard on all but the Sprint. There were some special editions—the Classique sedan in 1996 with anti-lock brakes and the Sportz in 1999 and 2000 with alloy wheels and a rear spoiler; the overwhelming majority sold were the Sprint three-door, enticing buyers with free air-conditioning, driveaway pricing and from late 1998, standard power steering. The facelift arrived in Australia in April 1997 with accompanying trim changes; the engine was a 1.5-liter G
Mitsubishi Outlander
The Mitsubishi Outlander is a compact crossover SUV manufactured by Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors. It was known as the Mitsubishi Airtrek when it was introduced in Japan in 2001, was based on the Mitsubishi ASX concept vehicle exhibited at the 2001 North American International Auto Show, it was sold at Mitsubishi Japan dealership chain called Car Plaza. The ASX represented Mitsubishi's approach to the industry wide crossover SUV trend for retaining the all-season and off-road abilities offered by a high ground clearance and four-wheel drive, while still offering car-like levels of emissions and size; the original Airtrek name was chosen to "describe the vehicle's ability to transport its passengers on adventure-packed journeys in a'free-as-a-bird' manner", was "coined from Air and Trek to express the idea of footloose, adventure-filled motoring pleasure." The Outlander nameplate which replaced it evoked a "feeling of journeying to distant, unexplored lands in search of adventure."The second generation of the vehicle was introduced in 2006 and all markets including Japan adopted the Outlander name, although production of the older version continued in parallel.
It was built on the company's GS platform, used various engines developed by Mitsubishi, PSA Peugeot Citroën. PSA's Citroën C-Crosser and Peugeot 4007, which were manufactured by Mitsubishi in Japan, are badge engineered versions of the second generation Outlander. Global sales achieved the 1.5 million unit milestone in October 2016, 15 years after its market launch. As part of the third generation line-up, Mitsubishi launched in January 2013 a plug-in hybrid model called Outlander PHEV. Cumulative global sales passed the 150,000 unit milestone in March 2018; as of March 2018, Europe is the leading market with 105,813 units sold, followed by Japan with 42,451. The top European markets are the Netherlands; the Outlander PHEV was the top selling plug-in electric vehicle in Europe in 2014 and again in 2015, has ranked as Europe's best-selling plug-in hybrid car for five years running, 2013 to 2017. Both in 2014 and 2015, it ranked as the world's top selling plug-in hybrid, as the third best selling plug-in car after the all-electrics Tesla Model S and Nissan Leaf.
The Airtrek was first introduced to the Japanese market on 20 June 2001, priced from ¥1.7–2.3 million. It offered a choice of either a 126 PS 4G63 2.0 L or a 139 PS 4G64 2.4 L GDI, mated to a standard INVECS-II 4-speed semi-automatic transmission. Both front- and four-wheel drive were available; the four-wheel drive version uses open differentials for the front and rear axles, with a viscous coupling unit for the center differential. A high performance model, called the Turbo R, was introduced in 2002 and used a detuned version of the Lancer Evolution's 4G63T 2.0 L I4 turbo. The engine produced 240 PS and 343 N⋅m, although in export markets the Outlander version's output was reduced to 202 PS and 303 N⋅m; the return of four-cylinder engines under 2.0 liters offered Japanese buyers a vehicle, in compliance with Japanese regulations concerning exterior dimensions and engine displacement, the exterior dimensions exceed Japanese regulations for the "compact" designation. The Outlander arrived in 2003 in North America, replacing the Mitsubishi Montero Sport, with a modified front grille and headlights which increased the overall length by 130 millimetres, the two models were manufactured in parallel thereafter.
It shared its platform with the Mitsubishi Grandis introduced in 2003. A version of the 4G64 powerplant was offered first, while a 4G69 2.4 L SOHC MIVEC I4 producing 120 kW and 220 N⋅m, the turbocharged 4G63T appeared in 2004. All had the option of front- or four-wheel drive. In several South American markets it was known as the Montero Outlander, to benefit from an association with the strong-selling Mitsubishi Montero Sport. On 17 October 2006, Mitsubishi launched the second generation model, dropping the Airtrek in Japan in favour of adopting the global name, it features a new DOHC 2.4 L 16-valve MIVEC engine. The North American version, powered by a newly designed 6B31 3.0 L V6 SOHC MIVEC was shown in April 2006 at the New York Auto Show prior to its release in October the same year. Due to the availability of a V6 engine, Mitsubishi returned to offering a shorter version of this vehicle, reintroduced the Mitsubishi RVR on 17 February 2010; the usage of a four-cylinder engine under 2.0 liters offers Japanese buyers a vehicle, in compliance with Japanese regulations concerning exterior dimensions and engine displacement, which has tax advantages, giving buyers the ability to purchase a vehicle capable of seating seven people without paying the tax penalty of a larger engine.
The Outlander, which features Mitsubishi's RISE safety body, received a four star rating from the Euro NCAP car safety performance assessment programme. One of its unique features is something Mitsubishi calls a "Flap-Fold Tailgate". S. market it achieved 1,694 and 2,108 sales in November and December 2006, the first two full months it was available.
Crossover (automobile)
Crossover, or crossover SUV, are terms predominantly used in the United States for vehicles with sport utility vehicle styling features that are based on passenger car platforms and are only intended for light off-road use. Models which are classified as crossovers in the United States are classified as SUVs in other countries; the 1948 Willys-Overland Jeepster convertible coupe is considered the earliest ancestor to the crossover, however the first model considered to be a crossover was the AMC Eagle, released in 1979. In the United States, more than 50% of the overall SUV market was crossover models in 2006. A crossover is a vehicle with SUV styling features, based on a passenger car platform; the early crossovers resembled large wagons. Crossovers have ride, handling and fuel economy characteristics similar to cars and are only intended for light off-road use. Crossovers are sometimes referred to as "crossover SUVs". Models which are classified as crossovers in the United States are classified as SUVs in other countries.
Among the earliest ancestors of what evolved into the modern crossover was the 1948 Willys-Overland Jeepster convertible coupe, which combined car-like features with off-road capabilities. The Jensen FF luxury coupe, with 320 units produced from 1966-1971, was the first car platform equipped with four-wheel drive. In 1972, the Greek company Neorion designed a four-wheel drive luxury car which used the engine from the Jeep Wagoneer. Four prototypes were built, however the model did not reach production. Another contender before the crossover description became. Introduced in 1979, the AMC Eagle is identified as the first crossover SUV, prior to the terms SUV or crossover being used; the mass-market Eagle model line was based on a unibody passenger car platform, with automatic four-wheel drive and a raised ride-height. The 1988 Suzuki Vitara is considered to be an early crossover SUV. Another early crossover is the 1996 Toyota RAV4. Since the early 2010s, sales of crossover-type vehicles has been increasing in Europe.
By 2017, European sales of compact and midsized crossover models continued to surge. By 2006, the segment came into strong visibility in the U. S. when crossover sales "made up more than 50% of the overall SUV market". Sales increased in 2007 by 16%. For Audi, the Audi Q5 has become their second best-selling vehicle in the United States market after the Audi A4 sedan. Around half of Lexus' sales volume come from its SUVs since the late 1990s, the big majority of, the Lexus RX crossover. In the U. S. domestic manufacturers were slow to switch from their emphasis on light truck-based SUVs, foreign automakers developed crossovers targeting the U. S. market, as an alternative to station wagons that are unpopular there. But by the 2010 model year, domestic automakers had caught up; the segment has strong appeal to aging baby boomers. Crossovers have been produced in size categories ranging from subcompact and compact to mid-size
Mitsubishi Motors
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Japan. In 2011, Mitsubishi Motors was the sixth-biggest Japanese automaker and the nineteenth-biggest worldwide by production. From October 2016 onwards, Mitsubishi has been one-third owned by Nissan, thus a part of the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance. Besides being part of the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance, it is a part of Mitsubishi keiretsu the biggest industrial group in Japan, the company was formed in 1970 from the automotive division of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation, which builds commercial grade trucks and heavy construction equipment, was a part of Mitsubishi Motors, but is now separate from Mitsubishi Motors, is owned by the German automotive corporation Daimler AG. Mitsubishi's automotive origins date back to 1917, when the Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. introduced the Mitsubishi Model A, Japan's first series-production automobile.
An hand-built seven-seater sedan based on the Fiat Tipo 3, it proved expensive compared to its American and European mass-produced rivals, was discontinued in 1921 after only 22 had been built. In 1934, Mitsubishi Shipbuilding was merged with the Mitsubishi Aircraft Co. a company established in 1920 to manufacture aircraft engines and other parts. The unified company was known as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, was the largest private company in Japan. MHI concentrated on manufacturing aircraft, railroad cars and machinery, but in 1937 developed the PX33, a prototype sedan for military use, it was the first Japanese-built passenger car with full-time four-wheel drive, a technology the company would return to fifty years in its quest for motorsport and sales success. Following the end of the Second World War, the company returned to manufacturing vehicles. Fuso bus production resumed, while a small three-wheeled cargo vehicle called the Mizushima and a scooter called the Silver Pigeon were developed.
However, the zaibatsu were ordered to be dismantled by the Allied powers in 1950, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was split into three regional companies, each with an involvement in motor vehicle development: West Japan Heavy-Industries, Central Japan Heavy-Industries, East Japan Heavy-Industries. East Japan Heavy-Industries began importing the Henry J, an inexpensive American sedan built by Kaiser Motors, in knockdown kit form in 1951, continued to bring them to Japan for the remainder of the car's three-year production run; the same year, Central Japan Heavy-Industries concluded a similar contract with Willys for CKD-assembled Jeep CJ-3Bs. This deal proved more durable, with licensed Mitsubishi Jeeps in production until 1998, thirty years after Willys themselves had replaced the model. By the beginning of the 1960s Japan's economy was gearing up. Central Japan Heavy-Industries, now known as Shin Mitsubishi Heavy-Industries, had re-established an automotive department in its headquarters in 1953.
Now it was ready to introduce the Mitsubishi 500, a mass-market sedan, to meet the new demand from consumers. It followed this in 1962 with the Minica kei car and the Colt 1000, the first of its Colt line of family cars, in 1963. In 1964, Mitsubishi introduced its largest passenger sedan, the Mitsubishi Debonair as a luxury car for the Japanese market, was used by senior Mitsubishi executives as a company car. West Japan Heavy-Industries and East Japan Heavy-Industries had expanded their automotive departments in the 1950s, the three were re-integrated as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in 1964. Within three years its output was over 75,000 vehicles annually. Following the successful introduction of the first Galant in 1969 and similar growth with its commercial vehicle division, it was decided that the company should create a single operation to focus on the automotive industry. Mitsubishi Motors Corporation was formed on April 22, 1970 as a wholly owned subsidiary of MHI under the leadership of Tomio Kubo, a successful engineer from the aircraft division.
The logo of three red diamonds, shared with over forty other companies within the keiretsu, predates Mitsubishi Motors itself by a century. It was chosen by Iwasaki Yatarō, the founder of Mitsubishi, as it was suggestive of the emblem of the Tosa Clan who first employed him, because his own family crest was three rhombuses stacked atop each other; the name Mitsubishi consists of two parts: "mitsu" meaning "three" and "hishi" meaning "water caltrop", hence "rhombus", reflected in the company's logo.. Part of Mr. Kubo's expansion strategy was to increase exports by forging alliances with well-established foreign companies. Therefore, in 1971 MHI sold U. S. automotive giant Chrysler a 15 percent share in the new company. Thanks to this deal, Chrysler began selling the Galant in the United States as the Dodge Colt, pushing MMC's annual production beyond 250,000 vehicles. In 1977, the Galant was sold as the Chrysler Sigma in Australia. By 1977, a network of "Colt"-branded distribution and sales dealerships had been established across Europe, as Mitsubishi sought to begin selling vehicles directly.
Annual production had by now grown from 500,000 vehicles in 1973 to 965,000
Mitsubishi i-MiEV
The Mitsubishi i-MiEV is a five-door hatchback electric car produced by Mitsubishi Motors, is the electric version of the Mitsubishi i. Rebadged variants of the i-MiEV are sold in Europe by PSA Peugeot Citroën as the Peugeot iOn and Citroën C-Zero; the i-MiEV is the world's first modern highway-capable mass production electric car. The i-MiEV was launched for fleet customers in Japan in July 2009, on April 1, 2010, for the wider public. International sales to Asia and Europe started in 2010, with further markers in 2011 including Central and South America. Fleet and retail customer deliveries in the U. S. and Canada began in December 2011. The American-only version, called "i", is larger than the Japanese version and has several additional features. According to the manufacturer, the i-MiEV all-electric range is 160 kilometres on the Japanese test cycle; the range for the 2012 model year American version is 62 miles on the United States Environmental Protection Agency's cycle. In November 2011 the Mitsubishi i ranked first in EPA’s 2012 Annual Fuel Economy Guide, became the most fuel efficient EPA certified vehicle in the U.
S. for all fuels until it was surpassed by the Honda Fit EV in June 2012 and the BMW i3, Chevrolet Spark EV, Volkswagen e-Golf, Fiat 500e in succeeding years. As of July 2014, Japan ranked as the leading market with over 10,000 i-MiEVs sold, followed by Norway with more than 4,900 units, France with over 4,700 units, Germany with more than 2,400 units, all three European countries accounting for the three variants of the i-MiEV family sold in Europe; as of early March 2015, accounting for all variants of the i-MiEV, including the two minicab MiEV versions sold in Japan, global sales totaled over 50,000 units since 2009. Mitsubishi i-MiEV, based on the Mitsubishi i kei car, was first exhibited at the 22nd International Battery and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Symposium & Exposition in Yokohama. Mitsubishi eschews the in-wheel motors in favour of a more conventional array of batteries and inverter to replace the "rear midship" engine and fuel tank of the conventional car. Mitsubishi Motors provided three power companies with vehicles in 2006 and 2007 in order to conduct joint research to evaluate how fast-charge infrastructure may be developed for EVs.
Fleet testing by five power companies was conducted in 2007. The car had a range of 130 kilometres for the 16 kW⋅h lithium-ion battery pack and 160 kilometres for the 20 kW⋅h pack. Top speed was 130 kilometres per hour. Plans were announced in 2008 to sell the i-MiEV in European markets as the Peugeot iOn and Citroën C-Zero. Mitsubishi began supplying the electric cars to PSA Peugeot Citroën since 2010, PSA has a contractual commitment to buy 100,000 i-MiEVs over a period that remained confidential; the production version of the 2009 i-MiEV has a single permanent magnet synchronous motor mounted on the rear axle with a power output of 47 kW and torque output 180 N⋅m. The motor is water cooled, there is a conventional automobile radiator in the front of the car with an electric fan; the coolant level is monitored via a tank under the rear load platform on the left hand side of the vehicle. The vehicle uses a single-speed reduction gear transmission driving the rear wheels and has a 16 kWh lithium-ion battery pack.
The car's top speed is 130 kilometres per hour. Under its five-cycle testing, the US EPA rated the American 2012 model year Mitsubishi i with a combined fuel economy equivalent of 112 MPGe, with an equivalent 126 mpg‑US in city driving and 99 mpg‑US on highways; this rating allowed the 2012 Mitsubishi i to get a higher MPG-e rating than the 2011 Nissan Leaf, rated at 99 MPGe combined, but the Leaf rated a better range due to the Mitsubishi i's smaller battery pack. The 16-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack consists of 88 cells placed under the base floor; the pack has 22 cell modules connected in series at a nominal voltage of 330 V. There are two 4-cell modules placed vertically at the center of the pack and ten 8-cell modules placed horizontally. Developed by Mitsubishi and GS Yuasa for both high specific energy and high rate discharge and manufactured by Lithium Energy Japan, a joint venture of GS Yuasa Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation; the entire pack has a specific energy of 80 Wh/kg.
The battery has a forced air cooling system to prevent overheating during high charge and discharge rates and consequent damage. There is an integral fan in the battery pack. For rapid charging, the battery pack is additionally cooled with refrigerated air from the car's air conditioning system. In June 2011 Mitsubishi announced the introduction of lithium titanate oxide SCiB battery technology for its two new models of electric vehicles, the i-MiEV and Minicab MiEV; the SCiB technology was developed by Toshiba, which stated that its SCiB batteries can withstand 2.5 times more charge/discharge cycles than a typical lithium-ion battery. In addition, recharging via CHAdeMO takes much less time than charging at the AC Level 2 rate used by most electric vehicle supply equipment, allowing the SCiB battery to reach 80% capacity in 15 minutes, 50% in 10 minutes and 25% in 5 minutes. In terms of performance, the SCiB battery offers a higher effective capacity than a typical lithium-ion battery, which combined with more efficient regenerative charging during braking or coasting downhill, allows the SCiB battery to deliver 1.7 times the driving range per charge of a typical lithi
Overhead camshaft
Overhead camshaft abbreviated to OHC, is a valvetrain configuration which places the camshaft of an internal combustion engine of the reciprocating type within the cylinder heads and drives the valves or lifters in a more direct manner compared with overhead valves and pushrods. Compared with OHV pushrod systems with the same number of valves, the reciprocating components of the OHC system are fewer and have a lower overall mass. Though the system that drives the camshafts may be more complex, most engine manufacturers accept that added complexity as a trade-off for better engine performance and greater design flexibility; the fundamental reason for the OHC valvetrain is that it offers an increase in the engine's ability to exchange induction and exhaust gases. Another performance advantage is gained as a result of the better optimised port configurations made possible with overhead camshaft designs. With no intrusive pushrods, the overhead camshaft cylinder head design can use straighter ports of more advantageous cross-section and length.
The OHC design allows for higher engine speeds than comparable cam-in-block designs, as a result of having lower valvetrain mass. The higher engine speeds thus allowed increases power output for a given torque output. Disadvantages of the OHC design include the complexity of the camshaft drive, the need to re-time the drive system each time the cylinder head is removed, the accessibility of tappet adjustment if necessary. In earlier OHC systems, including inter-war Morrises and Wolseleys, oil leaks in the lubrication systems were an issue. Single overhead camshaft is a design. In an inline engine, this means there is one camshaft in the head, whilst in an engine with more than one cylinder head, such as a V engine or a horizontally-opposed engine – there are two camshafts, one per cylinder bank. In the SOHC design, the camshaft operates the valves traditionally via a bucket tappet. SOHC cylinder heads are less expensive to manufacture than double overhead camshaft cylinder heads. Timing belt replacement can be easier since there are fewer camshaft drive sprockets that need to be aligned during the replacement procedure.
SOHC designs offer reduced complexity compared with overhead valve designs when used for multivalve cylinder heads, in which each cylinder has more than two valves. An example of an SOHC design using shim and bucket valve adjustment was the engine installed in the Hillman Imp, a small, early-1960s two-door saloon car with a rear-mounted aluminium-alloy engine based on the Coventry Climax FWMA race engines. Exhaust and inlet manifolds were both on the same side of the engine block; this did, offer excellent access to the spark plugs. In the early 1980s, Toyota and Volkswagen Group used a directly actuated SOHC parallel valve configuration with two valves for each cylinder; the Toyota system used hydraulic tappets. The Volkswagen system used bucket tappets with shims for valve-clearance adjustment; the multivalve Sprint version of the Triumph Slant-4 engine used a system where the camshaft was placed directly over the inlet valves, with the same cams that opened the intake valves directly opening the exhaust valves via rocker arms.
Honda used a similar valvetrain system in their motorcycles, using the term "Unicam" for the concept. This system uses one camshaft for each bank of cylinder heads, with the cams operating directly onto the inlet valve, indirectly, through a short rocker arm, on the exhaust valve; this allows a light valvetrain to operate valves in a flat combustion chamber. The Unicam valve train was first used in single cylinder dirt bikes and has been used on the Honda VFR1200 since 2010. A dual overhead camshaft valvetrain layout is characterised by two camshafts located within the cylinder head, one operating the intake valves and the other one operating the exhaust valves; this design reduces valvetrain inertia more than is the case with an SOHC engine, since the rocker arms are reduced in size or eliminated. A DOHC design exhaust valves than in SOHC engines; this can give a less restricted airflow at higher engine speeds. DOHC with a multivalve design allows for the optimum placement of the spark plug, which in turn improves combustion efficiency.
Engines having more than one bank of cylinders with two camshafts in total remain SOHC and "twin cam" unless each cylinder bank has two camshafts. Although the term "twin cam" is used to refer to DOHC engines, it is imprecise, as it includes designs with two block-mounted camshafts. Examples include the Harley-Davidson Twin Cam engine, Riley car engines from 1926 to the mid 1950s, Triumph motorcycle parallel-twins from the 1930s to the 1980s, Indian Chief and Scout V-twins from 1920 to the 1950s; the terms "multivalve" and "DOHC" do not refer to the same thing: not all multivalve engines are DOHC and not all DOHC engines are multivalve. Examples of DOHC engines with two valves per cylinder include the Alfa Romeo Twin Cam engine, the Jaguar XK6 engine and the Lotus Ford Twin Cam engine. Most recent DOHC engines are multivalve, with between five valves per cylinder. More than two overhead camshafts are not known to have been tried in a production engine. However, MotoCzysz has designed a motorcycle engine with a triple overhead camshaft configuration, with the intake ports descending through the cylind
North America
North America is a continent within the Northern Hemisphere and all within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers, about 16.5% of the earth's land area and about 4.8% of its total surface. North America is the third largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, the fourth by population after Asia and Europe. In 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 579 million people in 23 independent states, or about 7.5% of the world's population, if nearby islands are included. North America was reached by its first human populations during the last glacial period, via crossing the Bering land bridge 40,000 to 17,000 years ago; the so-called Paleo-Indian period is taken to have lasted until about 10,000 years ago. The Classic stage spans the 6th to 13th centuries.
The Pre-Columbian era ended in 1492, the transatlantic migrations—the arrival of European settlers during the Age of Discovery and the Early Modern period. Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect interactions between European colonists, indigenous peoples, African slaves and their descendants. Owing to the European colonization of the Americas, most North Americans speak English, Spanish or French, their culture reflects Western traditions; the Americas are accepted as having been named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by the German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann. Vespucci, who explored South America between 1497 and 1502, was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a different landmass unknown by Europeans. In 1507, Waldseemüller produced a world map, in which he placed the word "America" on the continent of South America, in the middle of what is today Brazil, he explained the rationale for the name in the accompanying book Cosmographiae Introductio:... ab Americo inventore... quasi Americi terram sive Americam.
For Waldseemüller, no one should object to the naming of the land after its discoverer. He used the Latinized version of Vespucci's name, but in its feminine form "America", following the examples of "Europa", "Asia" and "Africa". Other mapmakers extended the name America to the northern continent, In 1538, Gerard Mercator used America on his map of the world for all the Western Hemisphere; some argue that because the convention is to use the surname for naming discoveries, the derivation from "Amerigo Vespucci" could be put in question. In 1874, Thomas Belt proposed a derivation from the Amerrique mountains of Central America. Marcou corresponded with Augustus Le Plongeon, who wrote: "The name AMERICA or AMERRIQUE in the Mayan language means, a country of perpetually strong wind, or the Land of the Wind, and... the can mean... a spirit that breathes, life itself." The United Nations formally recognizes "North America" as comprising three areas: Northern America, Central America, The Caribbean.
This has been formally defined by the UN Statistics Division. The term North America maintains various definitions in accordance with context. In Canadian English, North America refers to the land mass as a whole consisting of Mexico, the United States, Canada, although it is ambiguous which other countries are included, is defined by context. In the United States of America, usage of the term may refer only to Canada and the US, sometimes includes Greenland and Mexico, as well as offshore islands. In France, Portugal, Romania and the countries of Latin America, the cognates of North America designate a subcontinent of the Americas comprising Canada, the United States, Mexico, Greenland, Saint Pierre et Miquelon, Bermuda. North America has been referred to by other names. Spanish North America was referred to as Northern America, this was the first official name given to Mexico. Geographically the North American continent has many subregions; these include cultural and geographic regions. Economic regions included those formed by trade blocs, such as the North American Trade Agreement bloc and Central American Trade Agreement.
Linguistically and culturally, the continent could be divided into Latin America. Anglo-America includes most of Northern America and Caribbean islands with English-speaking populations; the southern North American continent is composed of two regions. These are the Caribbean; the north of the continent maintains recognized regions as well. In contrast to the common definition of "North America", which encompasses the whole continent, the term "North America" is sometimes used to refer only to Mexico, the United States, Greenland; the term Northern America refers to the northern-most countries and territories of North America: the United States, Bermuda, St. Pierre and Miquelon and Greenland. Although the term does not refer to a unifie
