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Greenhouse (automotive)
The greenhouse (or glasshouse) of a car comprises the windshield, rear and side windows, the pillars separating them (designated A-pillar, B-pillar and so on, starting from the car's front), and the car's roof.Gustavson, Mark (1999), ''Custom Car'', Kalmbach Publishing Company, , p. 7 The shape and position of the greenhouse have a defining influence on the looks of the car and are a prime factor in differentiating between body styles such as saloon/ sedan, coupé, estate/wagon and hatchback. A greenhouse with noticeably inward side slopes is also referred to as the tumblehome. In the 2000s and 2010s, greenhouses have become narrower because of design trends and crash regulations. Some manufacturers incorporate trademark design features in the greenhouse that are present across several model series, one example being the BMW Hofmeister kink The Hofmeister kink (German: Hofmeister-Knick) is an automotive design feature consisting of a rearward/forward angle near the base ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Windshield
The windshield (North American English) or windscreen (Commonwealth English) of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike, truck, train, boat or streetcar is the front window, which provides visibility while protecting occupants from the elements. Modern windshields are generally made of laminated safety glass, a type of treated glass, which consists of, typically, two curved sheets of glass with a plastic layer laminated between them for safety, and bonded into the window frame. Motorcycle windshields are often made of high-impact polycarbonate or acrylic plastic. Usage Windshields protect the vehicle's occupants from wind and flying debris such as dust, insects, and rocks, and provide an aerodynamically formed window towards the front. UV coating may be applied to screen out harmful ultraviolet radiation. However, this is usually unnecessary since most auto windshields are made from laminated safety glass. The majority of UV-B is absorbed by the glass itself, and any remaining ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pillar (car)
The pillars on a car with permanent roof body style (such as four-door sedans) are the vertical or nearly vertical supports of its window area or greenhouse—designated respectively as the ''A, B, C'' and (in larger cars such as 4-door station wagons and sport utility vehicles) ''D-pillar,'' moving from front to rear, in profile view. Nomenclature Car pillars are components that support the structure of an enclosed automobile body. This is similar to that of a house with pillars supporting the roof over the floor. Car pillars are designed to stand in near vertical or inclined positions to support the roof. The consistent alphabetical designation of a car's pillars provides a common reference for design discussion and critical communication. This is used by insurance companies to identify damaged components and rescue teams employ pillar nomenclature to facilitate communication when cutting wrecked vehicles, as when using the jaws of life. The A-pillars on each side of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kalmbach Publishing Company
Kalmbach Media (formerly Kalmbach Publishing Co.) is an American publisher of books and magazines, many of them railroad-related, located in Waukesha, Wisconsin. History The company's first publication was ''The Model Railroader'', which began publication in the summer of 1933 with a cover date of January 1934. A press release announcing the magazine appeared in August 1933, but did not receive much interest. In 1940, business was good enough for Kalmbach to launch another magazine about railroads in general with the simple title of ''Trains Magazine''. From its first issue dated November 1940, it grew quickly from an initial circulation of just over 5,000. Kalmbach became exclusively a publisher when it discontinued its printing operations in 1973, opting to contract production from other printers. In 1985, Kalmbach purchased AstroMedia Corporation, adding its four magazines: ''Astronomy'', ''Deep Sky'', the children's science magazine ''Odyssey'' and ''Telescope Making'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sedan (car)
A sedan or saloon (British English) is a passenger car in a three-box configuration with separate compartments for an engine, passengers, and cargo. The first recorded use of the word "sedan" in reference to an automobile body occurred in 1912. The name derives from the 17th-century litter known as a sedan chair, a one-person enclosed box with windows and carried by porters. Variations of the sedan style include the close-coupled sedan, club sedan, convertible sedan, fastback sedan, hardtop sedan, notchback sedan, and sedanet/sedanette. Definition A sedan () is a car with a closed body (i.e. a fixed metal roof) with the engine, passengers, and cargo in separate compartments. This broad definition does not differentiate sedans from various other car body styles, but in practice, the typical characteristics of sedans are: * a B-pillar (between the front and rear windows) that supports the roof * two rows of seats * a three-box design with the engine at the front and the car ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coupé
A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past participle of ''couper'', "cut". __TOC__ Etymology and pronunciation () is based on the past participle of the French verb ("to cut") and thus indicates a car which has been "cut" or made shorter than standard. It was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. These or ("clipped carriages") were eventually clipped to .. There are two common pronunciations in English: * () – the anglicized version of the French pronunciation of ''coupé''. * () – as a spelling pronunciation when the word is written without an accent. This is the usual pronunciation and spelling in the United States, with the pronunciation entering American vernacular no later than 1936 and featuring in the Beach Boys' hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Station Wagon
A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door (the liftgate or tailgate), instead of a trunk/boot lid. The body style transforms a standard three-box design into a two-box design — to include an A, B, and C-pillar, as well as a D-pillar. Station wagons can flexibly reconfigure their interior volume via fold-down rear seats to prioritize either passenger or cargo volume. The ''American Heritage Dictionary'' defines a station wagon as "an automobile with one or more rows of folding or removable seats behind the driver and no luggage compartment but an area behind the seats into which suitcases, parcels, etc., can be loaded through a tailgate." When a model range includes multiple body styles, such as sedan, hatchback, and station wagon, the models typically share their platform, d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hatchback
A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. Hatchbacks may feature two- or three-box design. While early examples of the body configuration can be traced to the 1930s, the Merriam-Webster dictionary dates the term itself to 1970. The hatchback body style has been marketed worldwide on cars ranging in size from superminis to small family cars, as well as executive cars and some sports cars. They are a primary component on a sport utility vehicle. Characteristics The distinguishing feature of a hatchback is a rear door that opens upwards and is hinged at roof level (as opposed to the boot/trunk lid of a saloon/sedan, which is hinged below the rear window). Most hatchbacks use a two-box design body style, where the cargo area ( trunk/boot) and passenger areas are a single ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tumblehome
Tumblehome is a term describing a hull which grows narrower above the waterline than its beam. The opposite of tumblehome is flare. A small amount of tumblehome is normal in many naval architecture designs in order to allow any small projections at deck level to clear wharves. The term is also applied to automobile design, where a vehicle's sides taper inward as they go up. This includes a roof tapering in, and curved window glass. Origins Tumblehome was common on wooden warships for centuries. It allowed for maximizing a vessel's beam and creating a low center of gravity (by decreasing mass above the waterline), both tending to maximize stability. In the era of oared combat ships it was quite common, placing the oar ports as far abeam as possible, allowing maximum possible manpower to be brought to bear. Inward-sloping sides made it more difficult to board by a vessel by force, as the ships would come to contact at their widest points, with the decks some distance apart. W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hofmeister Kink
The Hofmeister kink (German: Hofmeister-Knick) is an automotive design feature consisting of a rearward/forward angle near the base of the rearmost pillar. It is named for Wilhelm Hofmeister, who was BMW's design chief from 1955 to 1970, though it appeared on other-brand cars made before Hofmeister's tenure at BMW. Among the first cars to feature this design element were some 1949- model 2-door cars made by General Motors, including the Cadillac Club Coupe, Buick Sedanette, and Chevrolet Fleetline (Buick and Oldsmobile had similar body styles), as well as the 1958 Lancia Flaminia Sport Zagato and the 1961 Lancia Flavia Coupé. The first BMWs to feature it were the BMW 3200 CS and the BMW 1500 shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1961 and was later named after then-BMW director of design, Wilhelm Hofmeister. Although the Hofmeister kink is commonly associated with BMW vehicles, similar C-pillar kinks have appeared on cars of numerous brands for many years. The 1951 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
