OCR Text |
Show 1964: auto: show Vmir nnv ni fnr?mr c thn hpcf available but engineers and stylists are working to make it even better Automotive Trends for With this in mind, Ford has encouraged one of its most talented engineers, Gordon Buehrig, to study new, untried plastics as a; body material Hopefully, large parts such as a door might be poured in liquid form into a machine and come out a finished item, even to the color. Other dramatic if unseen improvements are, around the corner. Engineers foresee the day soon when nearly the whole body can be glued together (some parts already are). You won't see anything different, but you will hear the difference because nothing can squeak and the glue will act as its "trwn ound absorbent; ultimately eliminat- - ing the need for upwards of 60 pounds of such expensive add-on- s as felt and plastic used for this purpose. currently while the cars you see in Even color on these pages are pouring from Detroit's as- sembly lines, engineers and stylists are working two, four and in certain special, heavily, guard- ed areas 10 years in advance. For these men, the 1964 models have long since been replaced by the fresh but untried ideas on their drawing boards. This does not mean that if you were to fall asleep for 10 years you would awake to find cars ulffewghi in terms of the evolutionary rather than the revolutionary change, perhaps., because many times in the past it has seen truly fresh new concepts doomed to failure in-- the market place. Well, then, what can you expect to see evolve in the future? Anything from a gas - turbine engine (Chrysler's gas tur-bicar is now being consumer-tested- ) Ever tnriiw"t3rpex)f.:body; -be-- Today's . auto body, including fenders and all exterior and interior parts, is stamped from sheet steel. This steel is strong and relatively cheap. But it is heavy and, despite elaborate protection processes, it rusts. can be done? Well, producers of -- low-volu- time-consumi- ng me ' r L. a m ib&TS -T- -rr be devoted to more elbow room or slimming down the over-a- ll car width. Much thought, too, is being given by auto engineers to changing the funda mentals of driving a car. For example, Vt .t 1 - . ' i r i AA i the lapse of time that it takes to move your foot from the accefraction-of-a-seco- nd lerator to the brake could be eliminated by combining these separate pedals into one. By hinging one pedal in the middle, you would press forward for acceleration and backward with your heel for braking. -- " used-in this glass would save space which could and even more exotic metals such as titanium think they have the answer. They recognize, though, two basic deterrents: the current generation of auin ten of to men bond with steel, and aluminum does not steel. itself as easily and as. cheaply as Lastly, of course, even the light metals are subject to a form of partial corrosion in which their surfaces will "pit" until a self generating,, protective but unsightly coating forms. This seems to leave the field to plastics, and here' some success is already evidentr Fiberglass already is used on certain cars such as the Avanti ( Stude- baker) and Corvette (Chevrolet) . But the manufacturing procedure is to the point where, after volume reaches about 20,000 units annually, it becomes cheaper to use steel. Unless there is an unforeseen breakthrough in technology, this plastic is out of the running. V notice the doors of your car? x they seem overly thick and heavy? Well, part of this bulkiness is needed to house the inflexible window glass when it is lowered. Soon, a flexible - glass may thesewindows.It won't exactly roll up and down like a household shade, but it does bend. Ford is introducing it on the rear windows of some of its '64 convertibles. The big advantage here, besides bending without cracking, is that the glass is more resistant to scratching and discoloration than the plastic used in the past. Used in doors, ne What - . -- Chrysler turbine ear has elaborate console but orthodox styling (tov). AnideaidriW been demonstrated by General Motors. This is an adaptation of the old aircraft --"joystick! principle, where forward movement would give acceleration, backward braking, and movement to either side steering. Holding upthese developments, though, is not technology but fear that the public cannot erase overnight the habits of several generations. (Continued on page 11) u : oeyona By DONALD MacDONALD Family Weekly, October S, 1963 : '. - - ' |