Classic Cars With Bob Gelber
In my last article, I wrote about automobile quality and-focused
mainly on the build quality and look of an automobile’s interior.
However, there is another-kind of quality that is equally important,
and that is the quality of engineering. I have often said that it takes-more
engineering genius to produce a low-priced car than an expensive car.-It-requires
masterful design to-engineer-a low-priced cylinder head or a gasoline
fuel pump that, installed in a million cars,-can-run dependably for
100,000 miles. Your average supercar – you know, the one-whose
picture you drool over in Car and Driver magazine – costs $250,000
and goes 200 miles per hour.-I’m no engineering genius, but give
me $250,000 and I’ll build you, from scratch, a car that will-go
220 miles per hour.
One of the reasons for the great success of the first Ford automobile,
the Model T, was the great amount of engineering finesse that produced-that
granddaddy of American automobiles. By the standards of the time, it
was a sturdy, dependable machine that ran very well. In fact, all pre-war-Fords
had a reputation for high engineering build quality-at a low price.
Henry Ford himself was a highly prized-engineering genius.-In the late
1930s, he tried to hire-the great German automotive engineer-Dr. Ferdinand
Porsche to be the Head of Engineering for the Ford Motor Company. Dr.
Porsche refused the position. While visiting Henry Ford in Detroit,
Dr. Porsche-purchased a Ford V-8 coupe and promptly shipped-it back
to Germany. History notes that one of the reasons Porsche shipped the
little Ford coupe back to the fatherland is that he wanted to study
how Ford could have built-such a high quality car for so little money.
Several years later, Porsche designed the Volkswagen Beetle, which,
from an engineering standpoint, had absolutely no design elements of
the Ford. However, it did have excellent build quality for the price.
Yes, I know there were other low-priced cars all over the world with-engineering
sophistication. Every country had them. The early Italian Fiat Topolino
was surpassed in clever design only by some entry-level Lancia sedans.
The early rude, crude farmer’s vehicle, the French Citroen 2CV,
was brilliant in its engineering simplicity. A car only a Frenchman
could love would-eventually capture the hearts of all Europe. The original
British Mini was-one of the early champions of frontwheel drive and
minimalist engineering. This shoebox of a car still lives and is sold-today
as a chunky little rocket in Cooper S form.
So where does all this bring us,-as far as engineering quality in low-priced
cars? In modern times, entry-level car quality has taken on a different
face, because most cars are pretty well-built, as far as structure and
materials are concerned, especially with the government-mandated crash
tests they all have to-undergo. In fact, most new, entry-level cars
have overhead camshafts, ABS disc brakes and full independent-suspensions
– all items solely-relegated to high-performance cars just a few
years ago.
Today, quality of engineering has become synonymous with dependability.-The
buying public believes that if the car runs forever without any trouble,
it’s gotta be good.-The trouble is, many entry-level cars are
rather humdrum in mechanical engineering finesse, but excellent in electronic
dependability.
The main problem is that all modern cars are really devices for transporting-miniature
computers plus-people. The public’s strong desire for all sorts
of gadgets, both at home and in their cars, has led to cars becoming
electronic test beds. A car’s engine-is run by a rather large,
expensive computer buried somewhere, usually hard to service and replace
– just hope it doesn’t break. An engine management computer
system today may cost more than a 1965 Mini. Don’t forget-the
air bags, breaking system, power seats, sunroof, auto transmission and
climate control, which are-all computer controlled. The fancier the
car, the more computers it has and the more computers, the more connections,
wires, twists and turns and chafing of rubber occur. And, of course,
the more problems.
That, my friends, is why a loaded, $75,000 Mercedes Benz S Class sedan
may have more problems than an entry-level $15,000 Honda. The Mercedes-is
a much more wonderfully complicated machine. In terms of engineering
finesse, the Mercedes is lightyears ahead of the Honda, which is no
slouch when it comes to engineering, it’s just not a Mercedes.
Engineering quality is in the eye of the beholder. I love Mercedes Benz
for what they are – literally, the inventors of the automobile
and, for a century, the builders and designers of some of the finest
cars ever made. Honda,-in the scheme of things, is a relative baby in
the world of automobile manufacturing, and yet they-have become the
leader in Japanese creative automotive engineering. Both of these manufacturers
are at the top of their game, at different ends of the totem pole. Top
or bottom, there’s a lot of engineering finesse out there –
just pick the car-that turns you on.
-Bob Gelber, an automotive journalist living in the Hamptons, appears
regularly on television as an automotive expert. You can email him at
bobgelber@aol.com
 |
