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Bradley Automotive
Bradley Automotive was an American automotive company that built and sold kits and components for kit cars as well as completed vehicles. They were based in Plymouth, Minnesota. The company began selling kits in 1970 and ceased operations in 1981. Company history In the late 1960s, Gary Courneya and David Bradley Fuller were introduced by a mutual friend. Fuller had been running a small fiberglass design company, and Courneya had earlier been in sales in Beverly Hills, California. The two partnered in a business, Gary's Bug Shop, which produced parts and kits for the dune buggy market. Fuller designed the bodies, and Courneya handled sales. Period advertising copy for Gary's Bug Shop lists a variety of different models already bearing the Bradley name, including the Bradley "T" Roadster, the Bradley Bandit and the Bradley Baron. This last model was a dune buggy with a hardtop and gull wing side panels. Also mentioned was a forthcoming Bradley Elan GT. Bradley Automotive began ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Automotive Industry
The automotive industry comprises a wide range of company, companies and organizations involved in the design, Business development, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industry (economics), industries by revenue (from 16 % such as in France up to 40 % to countries like Slovakia). It is also the industry with the highest spending on research & development per firm. The word ''automotive'' comes from the Greek language, Greek ''autos'' (self), and Latin ''motivus'' (of motion), referring to any form of self-powered vehicle. This term, as proposed by Elmer Ambrose Sperry, Elmer Sperry (1860-1930), first came into use with reference to automobiles in 1898. History The automotive industry began in the 1860s with hundreds of manufacturers that pioneered the Brass Era car, horseless carriage. For many decades, the United States led the world in total automobile production. In 1929, before the Great Depression, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fiberfab
Fiberfab was an American automotive manufacturer established in 1964. Starting with accessories and body parts, they progressed to making kit cars and fully assembled automobiles. They became one of the longest lasting kit car manufacturers. Corporate history Sports Car Engineering After moving from Wisconsin to California, Warren Harding "Bud" Goodwin began racing sports cars. He built his own racing special, topped with a Microplas Mistral body. Goodwin incorporated Sports Car Engineering (SCE) in 1957 to manufacture Mistral bodies under license and sell them as the SCE Spyder. SCE's bodies incorporated the innovation of bonding steel tubing into the fiberglass for rigidity. SCE also manufactured custom chassis. By the time Goodwin sold the company to Du Crest Fiberglass in 1958, SCE's product line had grown to include the ''Tornado'' and ''Hurricane'' models. Fiberfab Co. In 1964 Goodwin and partner John Hebler established the Fiberfab Company in Palo Alto, California. The c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Targa Top
Targa top, or targa for short, is a semi-convertible car body style with a removable roof section and a full width roll bar behind the seats. The term was first used on the 1966 Porsche 911 Targa, and it remains a registered trademark of Porsche AG. The rear window is normally fixed, but on some targa models, it is a removable plastic foldable window, making it a convertible-type vehicle. Any piece of normally fixed metal or trim which rises up from one side, over the roof and down the other side is sometimes called a targa band, targa bar, or a wrapover band. Targa tops are different from ''T-tops'', which have a solid, non-removable bar running between the top of the windscreen and the rear roll-bar, and generally have two separate roof panels above the seats that fit between the window and central t-bar. Origin The word targa first came into use from the 1965 Porsche 911 Targa, though it was not the first to use the removable roof panel system. The system first appeared i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Power Bulge
The hood (American English) or bonnet (Commonwealth English) is the hinged cover over the engine of motor vehicles. Hoods can open to allow access to the engine compartment, or trunk (boot in Commonwealth English) on rear-engine and some mid-engine vehicles) for maintenance and repair. Terminology In British terminology, ''hood'' refers to a fabric cover over the passenger compartment of the car (known as the 'roof' or 'top' in the US). In many motor vehicles built in the 1930s and 1940s, the resemblance to an actual hood or bonnet is clear when open and viewed head-on; in modern vehicles it continues to serve the same purpose but no longer resembles a head covering. Styles and materials On front-engined cars, the hood may be hinged at either the front or the rear edge, or in earlier models (e.g. the Ford Model T) it may be split into two sections, one each side, each hinged along the centre line. A further variant combines the bonnet and wheelarches into one section and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Chun
John M. Chun (Jeon: 全/전명준) (August 3, 1928 – July 6, 2013) was a Korean automotive engineering designer born during the Japanese colonial occupation of then-called, Choson/(Joseon). He was the first known Korean car designer. Born in present-day North Korea in the coastal region of Hungnam, Chun moved to South Korea in 1953 as active fighting ended during the Korean War. He immigrated to the United States in 1957, after a friend had already moved to the U.S., settling in Sacramento, California. He held a mechanical engineering degree from a university in Korea, but the degree was not useful in the American job market and had to start over. Chun enrolled at Sacramento Junior College, where a professor insisted that he apply to the Art Center College of Design (ACCD) in Pasadena, California. He worked full-time as a mechanic while studying at ACCD. Chun received his bachelor's degree in industrial design, with a specialty in transportation design, after seven years, while ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swing Axle
A swing axle is a simple type of independent (rear wheel) suspension designed and patented by Edmund Rumpler in 1903. This was a revolutionary invention in automotive suspension, allowing driven (powered) wheels to follow uneven road surfaces independently, thus enabling the vehicle's wheels to maintain better road contact and holding; plus each wheel's reduced unsprung weight means their movements have less impact on the vehicle as a whole. The first automotive application was the Rumpler Tropfenwagen, later followed by the Mercedes 130H/150H/170H, the Standard Superior, the Volkswagen Beetle and its derivatives, the Chevrolet Corvair, and the roll-over prone M151 jeep amongst others. Some later automobile rear swing axles have universal joints connecting the driveshafts to the differential, which is attached to the chassis. Swing axles do not have universal joints at the wheels — the wheels are always perpendicular to the driveshafts; the design is therefore not suitable ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manual Transmission
A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission (mechanics), transmission system, where gear changes require the driver to manually select the gears by operating a gear stick and clutch (which is usually a foot pedal for cars or a hand lever for motorcycles). Early automobiles used ''sliding-mesh'' manual transmissions with up to three forward gear ratios. Since the 1950s, ''constant-mesh'' manual transmissions have become increasingly commonplace and the number of forward ratios has increased to 5-speed and 6-speed manual transmissions for current vehicles. The alternative to a manual transmission is an automatic transmission; common types of automatic transmissions are the Automatic transmission#Hydraulic automatic transmissions, hydraulic automatic transmission (AT), and the continuously variable transmissio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flat Engine
A flat engine is a piston engine where the cylinders are located on either side of a central crankshaft. Flat engines are also known as horizontally opposed engines, however this is distinct from the less common opposed-piston engine design, whereby each cylinder has two pistons sharing a central combustion chamber. The most common configuration of flat engines is the boxer engine configuration, in which the pistons of each opposed pair of cylinders move inwards and outwards at the same time. The other configuration is effectively a V engine with a 180-degree angle between the cylinder banks; in this configuration each pair of cylinders shares a single crankpin, so that as one piston moves inward, the other moves outward. The first flat engine was built in 1897 by Karl Benz. Flat engines have been used in aviation, motorcycle and automobile applications. They are now less common in cars than straight engines (for engines with less than six cylinders) and V engines (for engi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trailing Arm
A (semi) trailing-arm suspension, sometimes referred to as (semi) trailing-link is a vehicle axle or wheel suspension design in which one or more horizontal arms (or "links"), perpendicular to and forward of the axle, are connecting the axle or wheels with pivot joint(s) ahead of them, on the structure (unibody or chassis) of a motor vehicle. These are typically used on the rear axle or wheels of a vehicle, but also found in aircraft landing gear. Leading arms are similar horizontal arms, perpendicular to the axle, but connecting the wheels to the vehicle structure via pivot joints ''to the rear'' of them. These are typically used on the front axle or wheels, as on the Citroën 2CV and its derivatives, and on the Citroën DS, as well as on the M422 Mighty Mite jeep. Types Trailing-arm Trailing-arm designs in live axle setups often use just two or three links and a Panhard rod to locate the wheel laterally. A trailing arm design can also be used in an independent suspen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torsion Bar Suspension
A torsion bar suspension, also known as a torsion spring suspension, is any vehicle suspension that uses a torsion bar as its main weight-bearing spring. One end of a long metal bar is attached firmly to the vehicle chassis; the opposite end terminates in a lever, the torsion key, mounted perpendicular to the bar, that is attached to a suspension arm, a spindle, or the axle. Vertical motion of the wheel causes the bar to twist around its axis and is resisted by the bar's torsion resistance. The effective spring rate of the bar is determined by its length, cross section, shape, material, and manufacturing process. Usage Torsion bar suspensions are used on combat vehicles and tanks like the T-72, Leopard 1, Leopard 2, M26 Pershing, M18 Hellcat, M48 Patton, M60 Patton and the M1 Abrams (many tanks from World War II used this suspension), and on modern trucks and SUVs from Ford, Chrysler, GM, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Nissan, Isuzu, LuAZ, and Toyota. Class 8 truck manufacturer Kenworth als ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Bradley GT
Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when observing light with a dominant wavelength between approximately 450 and 495 nanometres. Most blues contain a slight mixture of other colours; azure contains some green, while ultramarine contains some violet. The clear daytime sky and the deep sea appear blue because of an optical effect known as Rayleigh scattering. An optical effect called Tyndall effect explains blue eyes. Distant objects appear more blue because of another optical effect called aerial perspective. Blue has been an important colour in art and decoration since ancient times. The semi-precious stone lapis lazuli was used in ancient Egypt for jewellery and ornament and later, in the Renaissance, to make the pigment ultramarine, the most expensive of all pigments. In the eigh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hidden Headlamp
Hidden headlamps, also commonly known as pop-up headlamps, pop-up headlights, flip-eye headlamps, or hideaway headlights, are a form of automotive lighting and an automotive styling feature that conceals an automobile's headlamps when they are not in use. Depending on the design, the headlamps may be mounted in a housing that rotates so as to sit flush with the front end as on the Lamborghini Miura or Porsche 928, may retract into the hood and/or fenders as on the 1963–2004 Chevrolet Corvette, or may be concealed behind retractable or rotating grille panels as on the 1966-1970 Dodge Charger, 1970-1971 Mercury Cyclone, or the 1965 Buick Riviera. History Hidden headlamps first appeared on the Cord 810 in November 1935 at the New York Auto Show and shortly after on a custom example of the Alfa Romeo 8C in 1936. In the Cord, a pair of cranks on either side of the dashboard could be turned by hand to bring out the headlamps when needed. Powered hidden headlamps first appeare ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
