Humble Beginnings
Despite its ubiquity on our roads these days, the modern car was invented only in 1885 with the creation of the Benz Patent-Motorwagen. At first glance, the car design seems overly simple, perhaps even a bit spartan, almost like it is a tricycle fitted with an internal combustion engine. Yet its humble appearance belies the sheer technical achievement that this car was and will continue to be.
As time went on, more and more features were added to the newer models of Karl Benz’s new creation, the automobile. The first models only had two gears, which was nowhere near enough. Karl’s wife, Bertha, found this out the hard way in a publicity tour around Germany with her two sons, as they had to push the car uphill multiple times in the journey.
The start of mass production
Large scale production of these vehicles soon started, with the Benz Velo considered the world’s first large scale production car. However, as always, scale was different back in those days, and only about 1200 cars were made in the 8 years that the vehicles were made available for purchase (between 1894 and 1902).
As a result of the cost-cutting measures implemented on this model, as well as the improvements in technology in the preceding years, the Velo looked significantly different from the Patent-Motorwagen. It has 4 wheels, instead of 3, and every wheel was thicker for increased stability and speed. The engine was capable of more horsepower, and the automobile was much larger, safer and more reliable.
Despite all the new advancement in technologies, large, widespread adoption of the automobile will continue to be slow. Many of the components must handcrafted individually and thus cars of that era continue to be rare, expensive and somewhat unreliable. This all changed with the Ford Model T, regarded as the first car made for the masses. Unlike previous models, the Model T was made on an assembly line and efficient manufacturing process, leading to widespread success.
The car was so successful that by 1918, half of all the cars in the United States were Model Ts. However, sacrifices were made, and one of the most distinctive was the colour of the car, black. While black was not initially an option in the early years of production between 1908 and 1913. Black paint was cheaper, more durable and dries faster, all of which are positive attributes that make a car better while maintaining its low price. The Model T was also known for its diverse use cases, such as being a homemade tractor, while also being able to transport passengers over different types of terrains, from the paved asphalt roads in the cities and to the muddy farmlands due to it ruggedness.
The success of the Model T caught the attention of a certain German leader by the Adolf Hitler, who also wanted a cheap car for his people to drive on the newly paved Autobahns. It was in this political environment that Volkswagen was created, with the primary aim of creating a “people’s car” as the German name implies. The car was supposed to cost only 990 Reichsmarks (RM), and affordable for the masses who were only making about 32RMs a week, on a 5RMs per week savings plan.
Unlike the Model T, the Beetle was significantly more aerodynamic as compared to the Model T, with a drag coefficient of 0.48 as compared to 0.79 for the Ford. The Beetle was also known for seemingly unchanged appearance over more than half a century, as well as placing the engine at the back. In many ways, the car was marketed in US as a protest to the planned obsolescence culture created by other car companies such as Ford and General Motors. This too will help explain the popularity of the Volkswagen Type 2 Microbus as a hippie icon.
Aerodynamics and safety improvements
As stated earlier, European cars such as the Beetle tend to look a lot sleeker compared to their boxier counterparts in the US. Part of this might be due to the difference in oil prices on the two sides of the Atlantic, with prices much higher in Europe and making it less economical to run high-powered cars designed to look like Tetris squares. However, this all changed in the 1970s oil crisis, as troubles in the Middle East sent oil prices skyrocketing. This led to a drastic change in consumer behaviour, and manufacturers were forced to take car design, comfort, and fuel efficiency much more seriously.
The American manufacturers, were of course starting off on the wrong foot, often falling behind their European counterparts who had years of experience designing such cars. The most notable and iconic of these is the Citroën DS launched in 1955, widely considered to be a pioneer in aerodynamics as well as driving experience.
Despite its runaway success in Europe, it failed to find a market in the North American markets. This is partly due to its relatively underpowered engine which was specifically designed to comply with French emissions standards. Ironically, had the car launched 20 years later at the height of the 1973 Oil Crisis, it might have found a bigger audience in its target market.
It was not until the 1980s that American car makers started making cars that looked much curvier than their predecessors, with the 1986 Ford Taurus being a notable example. While many may laugh at its design now, back then it was revolutionary, and the car was widely considered to be a success for an aerodynamic mass market car. The rest as they say was history, and cars have continued to be even more streamlined till now, and futuristic science fiction movies often feature models that will continue to push the boundaries of aerodynamics.
Well, besides the Tesla Cybertruck that is. But it is made from the same material as a SpaceX Starship, and can only be bent in certain angles to maintain structural rigidity. So we don’t talk about the Cybertruck. 😊
Another factor that seriously affected the design of cars is safety, which are often mandated by governmental agencies around the world. The US created National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the 70s, and this coupled with the oil crisis in the same era, forced manufacturers to create big boxy cars with many safety equipment but underpowered engines. However, things started to turn for the better in the 1980s, when computers started to be used more frequently in the design and development of car models. Computer-aided design, or CAD as it is commonly known, allows car makers to create multiple models and test them quickly and efficiently. This resulted in shorter and more economical development time as they only build prototypes after most of the testing have been done.
The data from the computer models also created a side effect, one that has since influenced the way modern cars are designed. In the past, the entire car body was made rigid, with the rationale being that this provides a better chance of survival for the occupants in a potential accident. However, computer models have shown that this had the opposite effect, as a rigid frame caused a sudden deceleration which may cause serious injuries, possibly death to the occupants. Instead, modern cars are now designed with a crumple zone at the front and back of the car, with the middle portion being significantly stronger structurally. This has led to changes in bumper design, as soft and relatively flexible bumpers are now commonly used, resulting in some questionable design decisions, like the Chrysler PT Cruiser as shown below.
Gone are the days where cars are a giant piece of steel with an overpowered engine, cars nowadays are more like bumper cars with a quiet, modest and economical engine aimed at providing the most comfortable experience for the occupants. And it sure seems certain to stay this way.
