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Show feaaa S?V .vJ pi' c,ft- -i 1 K1 For example, if we want to simulate how the frame and body of a car might e The basic structure of our 1977 cars is made up of the frame and the body. By frame, we mean that steel, girder-lik- e object colored orange in the illustration. And by body, we mean the gray portion that houses the passengers and luggage. Since the frame is the underpinning for the car, it has to be strong. And since the body is what surrounds you, it has to be secure. How do we design these qualities into a car? Through a variety of techniques that include building body pracprototypes of the frame-antically by hand, physically testing them them until and then were sure they are right. In addition, for 1977 the frame and e cars had the design body of our and testing help of computers a science weve spent a long time perfecting. full-siz- s 1 d v full-siz- respond when it runs over a chuckhole, we can read engineering drawings into a computer and then mathematically drive the car over the chuckhole to evaluate frame and body response resulting from impact. The computer then plays this back on a television screen in slow motion so we can better analyze the vibration characteristics. So in hours rather than months we can learn such things as which shape and section size to use, how strong it should be, even what thickness of metal is called for. Now this is not to suggest that we n have forgotten our many testing procedures. A battery of grueling tests, including proving ground evaluations, goes into every new prototype. And the end result is that GMs 1977 e cars are strong, smooth-ridin- g automobiles designed to give you a sense of security as you drive. time-prove- full-siz- 17 |
