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Chevrolet Corvette SS
The Chevrolet Corvette SS is a Sports car racing, sports racing car built by Chevrolet in 1957. The car raced once at the 1957 12 Hours of Sebring before Chevrolet withdrew from all racing activities in response to a ban that year by the Automobile Manufacturers Association for all of its member companies, which included GM. History By the mid-1950s GM engineer and future Director of High Performance Zora Arkus-Duntov was convinced that publicity from Corvette racing victories would increase sales of the car. Duntov took a team of three Corvettes to Daytona Beach, Daytona Speedweeks in February 1956; two cars that were essentially stock and one modified car. John Fitch (racing driver), John Fitch won the Sports Car division in one of the stock Corvettes, and Betty Skelton took second place in the other, while Duntov won the Modified Sports Car division in the modified car. Four Corvettes, all with the new SR package and one with additional modifications including an enlarged engi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ousted General Motors founder William C. Durant (1861–1947) started the company on November 3, 1911 as the Chevrolet Motor Car Company. Durant used the Chevrolet Motor Car Company to acquire a controlling stake in General Motors with a reverse merger occurring on May 2, 1918, and propelled himself back to the GM presidency. After Durant's second ousting in 1919, Alfred Sloan, with his maxim "a car for every purse and purpose", would pick the Chevrolet brand to become the volume leader in the General Motors family, selling mainstream vehicles to compete with Henry Ford's Model T in 1919 and overtaking Ford as the best-selling car in the United States by 1929 with the Chevrolet International. Chevrolet-branded vehicles are sold in most autom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Mitchell (automobile Designer)
William L. Mitchell (July 2, 1912 – September 12, 1988) was an American automobile designer. Mitchell worked briefly as an advertising illustrator and as the official illustrator of the Automobile Racing Club of America before being recruited by Harley Earl to join the Art and Color Section of General Motors in 1935. Mitchell is responsible for creating or influencing the design of over 72.5 million automobiles produced by GM, including such landmark vehicles as the 1938 Cadillac Sixty Special, the 1949 Cadillac Coupe deVille, the 1955-57 Chevrolet Bel Air, the 1959-1984 Cadillac DeVille, the 1963–65 and 1966-67 Buick Riviera, the 1961-76 Corvette Stingray, the 1970-81 Chevrolet Camaro, the 1976-79 Cadillac Seville, and the 1980-85 Cadillac Seville. Mitchell spent the entirety of his 42-year career in automobile design at General Motors, eventually becoming Vice President of Design, a position he held for 19 years until his retirement in 1977. His design stewardship at Ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
V8 Engine
A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and used in cars and speedboats but primarily aircraft; while the American 1914–1935 ''Cadillac L-Head'' engine is considered the first road going V8 engine to be mass produced in significant quantities. The popularity of V8 engines in cars was greatly increased following the 1932 introduction of the ''Ford Flathead V8''. In the early 21st century, use of V8 engines in passenger vehicles declined as automobile manufacturers opted for more fuel efficient, lower capacity engines, or hybrid and electric drivetrains. Design V-angle The majority of V8 engines use a V-angle (the angle between the two banks of cylinders) of 90 degrees. This angle results in good engine balance, which results in low vibrations; however, the downside is a larg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chevrolet Small Block Engine
The Chevrolet small-block engine is a series of gasoline-powered, V-8 automobile engines, produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors between 1954 and 2003, using the same basic engine block. Referred to as a "small-block" for its size relative to the physically much larger Chevrolet big-block engines, the small block family spanned from to in displacement. Engineer Ed Cole is credited with leading the design for this engine. The engine block and cylinder heads were cast at Saginaw Metal Casting Operations in Saginaw, Michigan. Generation I and Generation II LT engines are distinct from subsequent LS-based small-block engines. The Generation II engine is largely an improved version of the Generation I, having many interchangeable parts and dimensions. Later generation engines have only the rod bearings, transmission-to-block bolt pattern and bore spacing in common with the Generation I and II engines. Production of the original small-block began in late 1954 for th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
De Dion Tube
De Dion rear axle A de Dion tube is a form of non-independent automobile suspension. It is a considerable improvement over the swing axle, Hotchkiss drive, or live axle. Because it plays no part in transmitting power to the drive wheels, it is sometimes called a "dead axle".Setright, p.515. A de Dion suspension uses a universal joint at both the wheel hubs and differential, and uses a solid tubular beam to hold the opposite wheels in parallel. Unlike an anti-roll bar, a de Dion tube is not directly connected to the chassis nor is it intended to flex. In suspension geometry it is a beam axle suspension. History The de Dion tube was named after Comte Jules-Albert de Dion, founder of French automobile manufacturer De Dion-Bouton. The tube, however, was invented around 1894 by co-founder Charles Trépardoux for use on the company's steam tricycles. G.N. Georgano, p. 27. Advantages and disadvantages Advantages: #Reduced unsprung weight compared to the Hotchkiss drive (live axl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chevrolet Corvette (C6)
The Chevrolet Corvette (C6) is the sixth generation of the Corvette sports car that was produced by Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 2005 to 2013 model years. It is the first Corvette with exposed headlamps since the 1962 model. Production variants include the Z06, ZR1, Grand Sport, and 427 Convertible. Racing variants include the C6.R, an American Le Mans Series GT1 championship and 24 Hours of Le Mans GTE-Pro winner. Overview The Corvette C6 featured new bodywork with exposed headlamps, revised suspension geometry, a larger passenger compartment, a larger V8 engine and a higher level of refinement. It is 5.1 inches (13 cm) shorter than the C5, but the wheelbase was increased by 1.2 inches (3 cm). It is also one inch (2.5 cm) narrower. The new LS2 engine has a power output of at 6,000 rpm and of torque at 4,400 rpm. Like the C5, the Corvette C6's suspension consisted of independent unequal-length double wishbones with transverse fiberg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United States Grand Prix. It is located on the corner of 16th Street and Georgetown Road, approximately west of Downtown Indianapolis. Constructed in 1909, it is the second purpose-built, banked oval racing circuit after Brooklands and the first to be called a 'speedway'. It is the third-oldest permanent automobile race track in the world, behind Brooklands and the Milwaukee Mile. With a permanent seating capacity of 257,325, it is the highest-capacity sports venue in the world. Considered relatively flat by American standards, the track is a rectangular oval with dimensions that have remained essentially unchanged since its construction. It has two straightaways, four geometrically identical turns, connected by two short straightaways, termed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John DeLorean
John Zachary DeLorean (January 6, 1925 – March 19, 2005) was an American engineer, inventor, and executive in the U.S. automobile industry, widely known for his work at General Motors and as founder of the DeLorean Motor Company. DeLorean managed the development of a number of vehicles throughout his career, including the Pontiac GTO muscle car, the Pontiac Firebird, Pontiac Grand Prix, Chevrolet Cosworth Vega, and the DMC DeLorean sports car, which was featured in the 1985 film ''Back to the Future''. He was the youngest division chief in General Motors history, then left to start the DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) in 1973. Production delays meant that DMC's first car did not reach the consumer market until 1981, when a depressed buying market was compounded by lukewarm reviews from critics and the public. After a year, the DeLorean had failed to recover its $175 million investment costs, unsold cars accumulated, and the company was in financial trouble. In October 1982, DeLore ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mercedes-Benz 300 SL
The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (chassis code W 198) is a two-seat sports car which was produced by Mercedes-Benz as a gullwinged coupe (1954–1957) and roadster (1957–1963).Werner Oswald: ''Mercedes-Benz Personenwagen 1945–1985''. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, , S. 46 u. 70. It was based on the company's 1952 racer, the W194, with mechanical direct fuel injection which boosted power almost 50 percent in its three-liter overhead camshaft straight-six engine. Capable of reaching a top speed of up to , it was a sports car racing champion and the fastest production car of its time. Max Hoffman, Mercedes-Benz's United States importer at the time, inspired the 300 SL and saw an American market for such a car. The company introduced the 300 SL in February 1954 at the International Motor Sports Show in New York City (instead of Europe) to get it into US buyers' hands sooner. SL is the short form for "super-light" in German (super-leicht)Benjamin Bessinger: Mercedes-Konzernarch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skunkworks Project
A skunkworks project is a project developed by a relatively small and loosely structured group of people who research and develop a project, often with a very large degree of autonomy, primarily for the sake of radical innovation. The term originated with Lockheed's World War II ''Skunk Works'' project. Definition Everett Rogers defined ''skunkworks'' as an "enriched environment that is intended to help a small group of individuals design a new idea by escaping routine organizational procedures."Rogers E. (2003) ''Diffusion of Innovations'', 5th ed., p. 109. The term originated during World War II when the P-80 Shooting Star was designed by Lockheed’s Advanced Development Projects Division in Burbank, California, under similar circumstances. A closely guarded incubator was set up in a circus tent next to a plastics factory in Burbank. The strong smells that wafted into the tent made the Lockheed R&D workers think of the foul-smelling “Skonk Works” factory in Al Capp’ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anatole Lapine
Anatole Carl "Tony" Lapine (born 23 May 1930 in Riga, Latvia, died 29 April 2012 in Baden-Baden, Germany) was an automotive designer and racing driver. Lapine worked for General Motors (GM), Opel, and Porsche. During his time as chief designer at Porsche he oversaw development of the front-engined, water-cooled 928, 924 and 944 that began to appear in the mid to late 1970s, as well as two revisions to the Porsche 911. Biography Early years Lapine's earliest years were spent living in Riga, the capital of Latvia. His family fled Latvia during WWII, going first to Poznań, Poland in 1941, then to a village near Hamburg, Germany in 1944. In 1950 he apprenticed at Daimler-Benz in Hamburg. Afterwards he attended the Hamburg Wagenbauschule (Hamburg College of Motor Vehicle Studies). In 1951 the family relocated again, this time to the US. They settled in Lincoln, Nebraska, where Lapine earned a living repairing locomotives and trains. Shortly after this Lapine moved to Detroit, Michiga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Cumberford
Robert Wayne Cumberford (born August 4, 1935) is a former automotive designer for General Motors, author and design critic – widely known as Automotive Design Editor and outspoken columnist for ''Automobile'' magazine. Examples of Cumberford's critiques: :*The Dream cars of the 50s: "''myths'' created to make people dream about the future." :*The $2,500 Tata Nano: "perhaps the most significant car since the Ford Model T was introduced 100 years ago." :*The Jeep Cherokee: "One of the 20 greatest cars of all time." :*the NSU Ro80: “A handsome, modern-looking car with much cleaner lines than anything of the time.” :*The Jaguar E-Type "Elegant, extremely phallic and a great middle-aged man's compensation," and "the ultimate automotive expression of phalliform perfection." :*The Ford Five Hundred:"It's a pretty good trick to make a brand-new car look old, bland and boring right out of the box. No doubt it's a good car, but one fundamentally uninteresting visuall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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