Automotive industry. Learn about the evolution of vehicles in the world

 

In the past, the car belonged to a privileged minority. Today, it has become a popular product in various circles. It was only during the First World War (1914-1918) that the automobile industry came into existence in Europe, when some craftsmen were striving to operate the first "horseless carriages".

If Henry Ford, Duran and Olds were built by U.S. automakers, it was the needs generated by Europe's pressing conflicts that developed the use of motor vehicles.

After Lamarne taxis and Verdun trucks, assault armoured vehicles and self-propelled guns demonstrated the superiority of motor vehicles over all previously used modes of transport. This has given a strong and decisive boost to the automotive industry.

The Automotive Revolution

The great adventure began after the war ended, and the demand for cars became great: tourist cars, trucks transporting goods, and tractors to compensate for the absence of draft horses that were sacrificed on the battlefield, or slaughtered to cope with food shortages.

Thus, some English facilities (Morris Motors), French (Peugeot, Renault), and Italian (Fiat, LANCIA) were prepared to experiment with wholesale car manufacturing, such as American roads (Ford produced the first series of installations in 1908), or emulated Citroen, which converted gear factories to automobile production.

However, with the exception of these few and very important companies, most of the manufacturers were represented only by small and medium-sized enterprises (hispano-suiza, Lorraine-Dietrich, DELAGE, De Dion-Bouton) where technical progress was very slow.

Competition played an important role in product development: before each experiment on speed or endurance, technicians draw lessons from past failures or successes, and adjust models accordingly.

During the twenty years between (1940 and 1920), the automotive world underwent a major transformation, although there were no specialized engineers in every sense of the word, as the progress made at that time was due to mechanics and industrialists, with diverse composition, who felt and were enthusiastic about the encouraging future of the automotive industry.

They generally worked in the unknown, drawing inspiration from steam machines (pistons) and locomotives, textile making (the shaft of the shaft), or using old patents that had not been exploited.

In this period, many inventions appeared: car tires, low-pressure wheels, gearbox coordinator, ignition by means of a Delco distributor, water brake control. However, this monumental work was done without coordination, because everyone cared only what he was looking for. The technique thus developed slowly, mostly by accident.

Pomp Policy

If cars have begun to perform great services, they have not yet become popular, because they were considered as something luxurious and entertaining, and a symbol of success.

However, this would not have been contrary to the development of the product, and if the manufacturer demanded a high price, he would have the means and capabilities to carry out his research and experiments to improve the quality and ability of the cars.

The birth of international car companies

This is how the names of major companies in the field began to appear on the facades of car showrooms, which are often luxurious in the middle of major capitals: Hispano-suiza, BUGATTI, Vauzan, DELAGE and the High countries in France, Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Invicta in Britain, Alfa Romeo, Italy, Isota Fraccini, Spa and La Nesba in Italy, Horch and Maybach and Daimler-Benz in Germany. It tops the list of lists that often included hundreds of names that today have disappeared or entered the world of oblivion.

Unlike in the United States, where large enterprises created schools to train their engineers, technicians and designers, European producers founded associations that did not have technical aims, but only defended the rights and aspirations of their members.

Miscellaneous Research: Freedom and Speed

In 1922 the first independent wheeled front swings were built, which later took on various forms and are still in use today. Also visible during this period were the front brakes, which were received with reservation by drivers who feared that the car would roll over in case of excessive speed.

Race cars were used for the years 1925-1930 to test engines with main valves. However, side valves for touring cars were not abandoned until after the 1939-1945 war. In the 1930s there was a tendency towards six-cylinder engines that were characterized by great balance.

On the other hand, many devices and accessories were created that contributed to the development of comfort, safety and driving conditions: low-pressure tires, water control of the brakes that solved the problem of adjustment and balance, and the windshield wiper (which was operated manually, then electrically, or by reducing pressure).

Automotive industry. Weight

Around 1924, a wagon maker, Waman, advised the use of light boxes made of elongated wood similar to leather, in order to reduce the effort required in the engine and brakes.

However, the idea of weight control continued its course, completely changing the direction of the cart industry.

In this context, at the mechanical level, the carts of heavy engines, gearboxes and wasels, which were made of cast metal, were replaced by an aluminum mixer or a matilla.

Advances in fuels and oils on the one hand, and in steel hardness on the other, have allowed to increase the power of cars and reduce their weight.

Car without a base

Until 1932, European factories produced only car bases carrying the engine, transmission and pivot, and used as a base for the chassis of the wagon.

But if a box is made with its ends placed on the two axles, and plays the role of the leading beam, the traditional rule will be abolished all at once.

This idea was propagated by the Citroën 7CV and then the 1ICV that played a big role in propelling the experiment forward, replacing the classic old system, – the engine was located at the front and the propulsion from the rear – invented by Leon Polly since the beginning of the twentieth century.

In this way, all the mechanical part was placed at the front of the car, thus widening its space. Load aggregation on the rear axle also improved docking and braking conditions, but at the expense of flexibility and flexibility. The principle of the self-bearing vehicle has gradually imposed itself on all cars of the medium and small type.

Machine Age

The method used by Citroën (monocarriages) is, in fact, a real breakthrough that has forced new manufacturing methods. It became necessary to prepare all the elements of the duct and collect them by welding. These elements must also be leveled so that they are then installed symmetrically.

Preparation requires giving the final shape of the piece by means of presses of enormous strength, which can mold and cut the ductile sheets precisely, and reduce their appendages so that they can be mounted on molds.

In order to avoid frequent replacement of molds and drills, there are many types of compressors, each with only one operation.

Thus, the workshops became formed from its rows of machines, some of which made doors, others metal spaces, and others produced plates and small tributaries. The same technology is used in the manufacture of engines, transmissions and pivots: machine hammers hammer hammers hammer rotors, motion arms and adjacent shafts.

Other machines sort (i.e., drill holes), drill, drill, hollow, and polish parts in successive operations, all of which are automatic.

It is the triumph of the machine as workers monitor the workflow with no actual intervention except when assembling. Everywhere there are conveyor chains that transport parts to the places where they will be used after numerous controls on raw materials, manufacturing and endurance.

A sequential system has great benefits, whether in terms of speed, safety, accuracy or cost reduction. However, it causes monotony. To combat this, consideration has begun to entrust a whole series of operations to a group of workers.

This method was started in Scandinavia, Sweden (VOLVO plants), but it is too early to judge the results obtained, both in terms of employee satisfaction and in terms of productivity and profitability of the enterprise.

Vehicles conquer markets

It is clear that these methods, which have become used worldwide, can only be used in facilities that produce in abundance, and small businesses that do not have enough capital to acquire and install robots of this size have disappeared one after another. Because the big facilities in this sector have swallowed it. However, some survived, especially in Italy and Britain (MASERATI, Ferrari, Rolls-Royce).

For comparison, Rolls-Royce and Bettley produce only 3000,15 cars a year, which is equivalent to half the working day of Ford, Fiat, Volkswagen or Renault plants. Although the prices of their cars are 20 or <> times the price of other cars, their turnover remains very small.

The sequential system of mass production of automobiles has enabled the general public to acquire a fast, relatively economical and autonomous means of transport, which has upended the living conditions of the inhabitants of the industrialized countries. However, these investments are only profitable if hundreds of thousands of units are sold.

As for the novelty of these types, it is done from time to time, by introducing some partial modifications to the shape, such as replacing the radiator guard or strong and light lamps, the driving plate ...

On the other hand, each product seeks to cover as much of the market as possible with some basic types and a range of engines and transmissions. By fitting these elements together in different shapes, the product can obtain sometimes a large number of seemingly different models, but they are made with a relatively limited number of parts.

Car Birth

Such production requires long preparation, and before creating a new model, a deep survey is used in the automotive market to see how successful this new model will be.

After the decision is made, the study and drawing offices complete the designs, where many plans are made to provide the necessary materials for the production of the thousand and two hundred pieces that make up the car on average.

At the same time, a series of prototypes that undergo rigorous experiments, whether in the laboratory, on the road or in various climatic conditions, are manually constructed to ascertain the vehicle's competencies and capabilities and correct its deficiencies. Actual production begins only after this trial period, generally of 4 to 5 years.

On the other hand, due to the increasing number of traffic accidents, the public authorities have begun to require producers to respect certain safety rules (lighting, driving signals, interior lining...) which has changed, for decades, the conditions of production and raised the cost prices, but this increase is not always reflected in the selling price.

Measures against environmental pollution allow for an atmosphere of uncertainty about the future of cars with explosive engines, and despite the complex appearance of the automotive industry, it is very complex and prone to damage.

Economic or political conditions may also positively or negatively affect this industry in terms of popularity, as it is sensitive to any possible change, and therefore is considered one of the first industries to be harmed in the event of a crisis.

That being said, if the car is practical, useful and necessary, it is not something indispensable, at least, for the majority who use it mainly for recreational purposes, as evidenced by the rise in traffic on Sundays and holidays.

At the beginning of the eighties, the concept of the "universal car" was born. Thanks to the prevalence of this concept and the adoption of robots in installation processes, and the spread of factories of a company all over the world ... This new development has reduced the cost of production.