Economy car is a term mostly used in the United States for cars designed for low-cost purchase and operation. Typical economy cars are small ( compact or subcompact ), lightweight, and inexpensive to both produce and purchase. Stringent design constraints generally force economy car manufacturers to be inventive. Many innovations in automobile design were originally developed for economy cars, such as the Ford Model T and the Austin Mini .
174-481: The Austin A40 Farina is a small, economy car introduced by Austin in saloon (1958) and A40 Countryman (1959) estate versions. It has a two-box body configuration. It was badged, like many before it, as an A40, consistent with Austin's naming scheme at the time, based on the approximate engine output in horsepower ; and to distinguish it from other A40 models, it was also given a suffix name – this one being
348-484: A transversely mounted , water-cooled two-cylinder , two-stroke based on a DKW design, driving the front wheels. It had aircraft derived monocoque construction, with an aerodynamic ( drag coefficient ) value of 0.30 – not bettered until the 1980s. It was later developed into the Saab 93 , Saab 95 , and Saab 96 . It was produced until 1980, switching to a V4 four stroke engine in the 1960s. The mechanicals were used in
522-470: A 'Countryman' version of the Austin A40 Farina two‑box economy car in 1959. Just like its A30 and A35 Countryman predecessors, it was a very small estate car — but instead of regular, sideways opening rear doors, it had a horizontally split tailgate, having a top-hinged upper door and bottom-hinged lower door. The 1959 A40 Countryman differed from the 1958 A40 Farina saloon, in that
696-469: A 5-door hatchback or a 5-door station wagon. Often the hatchback and the sedan shared the same wheelbase and the same overall length, and the full rear overhang length of a conventional sedan trunk was retained on the five-door hatchback version of the car. The 1989-2000 Citroën XM and second-generation Skoda Superb (2008-2015) are cars that blur the line between hatchbacks and sedans. They feature an innovative "Twindoor" trunk lid. It can be opened like in
870-439: A 5-door more horizontal hatch, for which the term Liftback was used. The first production hatchback was made by Citroën in 1938: the (11CV) "Commerciale" version of their 1934–1957 Citroën Traction Avant series. The initial target market was tradesmen who needed to carry bulky objects, like butchers, bakers, vintners, and grocers. Before World War II , the tailgate had two pieces, a top section hinged from roof level and
1044-653: A 600 cc inline two-cylinder two-stroke engine. Also, in the 1920s, Ford (with the Model T in Manchester, England), General Motors (who took over Opel in Germany and Vauxhall in Britain), expanded into Europe. Most Ford and GM European cars, especially economy cars, were technologically conservative and all were rear-wheel-drive to a smaller European size, with improvements focused mainly on styling, (apart from
1218-418: A European rather than American scale. These featured a variety of innovative in-house designed engines of less than one litre capacity. They were popular in the 1940s due to their high fuel economy during fuel rationing because of the war. There were a wide variety of two-door body styles; Sedan, Convertible Sedan, Coupe, Convertible Coupe, Covered Wagon, and Station Wagon. Also, there was a successful sports car,
1392-531: A bottom section hinged from below. When production of the Commerciale resumed after the war, the tailgate became a one-piece design that was hinged from roof level, as per the design used on most hatchbacks since. In 1949, Kaiser-Frazer introduced the Vagabond and Traveler hatchbacks. These models were styled much like a typical 1940s sedan, fully retaining their three-box profile; however, they included
1566-456: A commercial success in any given country depended on local culture. Thus in any given decade, every country has had a rough national consensus on what constituted the minimum necessary requirements for the least expensive car that wasn't undesirable, that is, that had some commercially attractive amount of market demand, making it a mainstream economy car. In many countries at various times, mainstream economy and maximum economy have been one and
1740-465: A common combustion chamber - a doubled-up version of what would later be called the " split-single " engine. The pistons in each pair drove the crankshaft together as they were coupled to it by a V-shaped connecting rod . For this arrangement to work, it is necessary for the connecting rod to flex slightly, which goes completely against normal practice. The claim was that each engine had only seven moving parts, four pistons , two connecting rods and
1914-542: A consultant engineer to Adler in December 1930. In the first months of 1931, Ganz constructed a lightweight economy car or peoples car, prototype at Adler with a tubular chassis, a mid-mounted engine, and swing axle independent rear suspension . After completion in May 1931, Ganz nicknamed his new prototype Maikäfer (German for cockchafer ) which is a species of beetle. In July 1931 he was also consultant engineer to BMW on
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#17327757183332088-403: A crankshaft. This was connected to a two-speed epicyclic gearbox , to simplify gear changing, and a chain to the rear wheels. Solid tyres were used, even though these were antiquated for car use, to prevent punctures and very long springs used to give some comfort. Before production could start war broke out and from 1914 to 1918, the company made tools and gauges for the war effort. In 1914 Ford
2262-515: A design point of view." The history of the automobile after many experimental models dating back at least a hundred years, started with the first production car – the 1886 Benz Tricycle . This began a period that was later known as the Brass era which is considered to be from 1890 to 1918 in the U.S. In the UK this is split into the pre-1905 Veteran era and Edwardian era to 1918. The U.S. Veteran era
2436-511: A flexible seating arrangement which gave the option of forming a double bed. Created by the same designer as BMC's Mini, sir Alec Issigonis – accountants had determined that the car had to use the same set of doors as the Austin / Morris 1800 , but would be marketed below it in the model range, so needed a shorter rear body. A curtailed rear end with a big hatch resulted. The Austin Maxi operated in
2610-580: A full model line-up, completed by a station wagon, as well as panel van versions. Also in 1967, Citroën released the Dyane , a redesigned 2CV with a large rear hatch, to compete with the Renault 4. The Simca was closely followed by Mini's larger stablemate, the Austin Maxi . Counting the rear hatch made it a five-door saloon. It featured a transverse-mounted SOHC engine , a five-speed transmission, and
2784-513: A half hours, to just an hour and thirty-three minutes per car. Black was the only colour available because it was the only paint that would dry in the required production time. The continuous improvement of production methods, and economies of scale from larger and larger scale production, allowed Henry Ford to progressively lower the price of the Model T throughout its production run. It was far less expensive, smaller, and more austere than its hand-built pre-first world war contemporaries. The size of
2958-617: A halt before serious production had started because of World War II. The KdF, was the Nazi state propaganda organisation to promote holiday and leisure activities of the population, approved of, and monitored by, the state. The 'price' of the free or subsidised activities was extensive Nazi ideological indoctrination. When the German car industry was unable to meet Hitler's demand that the Volkswagen be sold at 1,000 ℛ︁ℳ︁ or less,
3132-462: A huge cost which was partly met by raiding the DAF's accumulated assets and misappropriating the dues paid by DAF members. The Volkswagen was sold to German workers on an installment plan where buyers of the car made payments and posted stamps in a stamp-savings book, which when full, would be redeemed for the car. Due to the shift of wartime production, no consumer ever received a "Kdf-Wagen" (although after
3306-648: A low priced car, and along with the Chevrolet 6, showed how the U.S. was diverging from the rest of the world in its ideas about what constituted a basic economy car. In 1928 Morris launched the first Morris Minor (1928) in Britain to compete with the Austin Seven. Also that year German motorcycle manufacturer DKW launched their first car, the P15, a rear-wheel-drive, wood-and-fabric bodied monocoque car, powered by
3480-404: A mere 150 cc (100 cc for two-strokes) in 1949, dimensions and engine size limitations were gradually increased (in 1950, 1951, and 1955) to tempt more manufacturers to produce kei cars. It wasn't until the 1955 change to 360 cc as the upper limit for two-strokes as well as four-strokes that the class really began taking off, with cars from Suzuki Suzulight (front-wheel drive based on
3654-579: A mix-up with a common type of brown sugar with a similar name was believed to be unavoidable. Presented as a saloon at the London Motor Show in October 1958, the A40 Farina was intended to replace the Austin A35 , from which it inherited much of its running gear, and was a capacious thoroughly modern small car, with a brand new distinctive "two box" shape and headroom in the back seat. It
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#17327757183333828-800: A model never developed in the home (United Kingdom) market. 67,706 Innocenti A40 and A40S cars were produced. The A40 Farina was also produced in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia by the British Motor Corporation (Australia) Pty Ltd from 1959 to 1962. These Australian assembled vehicles had a very high degree of local content. The A40 was assembled from English CKD kits by NZ importer, the Austin Distributors Federation, at their Petone factory Associated Motor Industries. Local content included items like glass, wiring loom, trim, tyres, battery and radiator. The car
4002-573: A new fascia with imitation wood veneer covering was fitted. This version of the model remained in production until 1967. The brakes also became fully hydraulic, replacing the semi cable-operated rear system that the Mark I had inherited from the A35. Nevertheless, the introduction at the end of 1962 of the similarly sized Morris 1100, followed by an Austin-badged counterpart a year later, left the A40 looking cramped on
4176-433: A rear door (often called a tailgate in the case of an estate/wagon) that is hinged at roof level, similar to hatchbacks. Liftback cars are similar to hatchbacks from a functional perspective in having a tailgate hinged from the roof, but differ from hatchbacks from a styling perspective in having more of a sloped roofline. The term " fastback " may sometimes also be used by manufacturers to market liftback cars. A fastback
4350-550: A result, the hatch is lifted more upwards than backward, to open. The term was first used by Toyota in 1973, to describe the Toyota Celica Liftback GT. Toyota called the new body style a Liftback, signifying that it was a three-door hatchback rather than a two-door coupe. With its sloping fastback roofline, the Celica Liftback was, if anything, even less habitable for rear-seat passengers than
4524-670: A scaled-down version of the Austin Cambridge and Morris Oxford, but without an extended boot. These cars were also designed by Pinin Farina. The A40 designation had been used on a series of previous Austins, most recently the Cambridge , but the "Farina" suffix was new with this car, marketing the Pinin Farina design – contrary to all previous A40s , which had been named after counties of England . The Countryman name, on
4698-463: A sedan, using the hinges located below the rear glass; or together with the rear glass, like in a hatchback, using the hinges at the roof. Audi and BMW introduced hatchbacks in 2009, but marketed them as "Sportback" (Audi) or "Gran Turismo"/"Gran Coupe" (BMW). In the 2010s hatchback versions became available on luxury cars such as the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo , Porsche Panamera , and Audi A7 while
4872-400: A small car according to his design. The prototype of this new model, which was to be called Standard Superior , was finished in 1932. It featured a tubular chassis, a mid-mounted engine, and independent wheel suspension with swing-axles at the rear. At about the same time from 1931, two years prior to Hitler's accession to power, Ferdinand Porsche founded Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH -
5046-530: A small car for Peugeot . The 1911 Peugeot Bébé Type 19. It had an 850 cc 4-cylinder engine. The Citroën Type A was the first car produced by Citroën from June 1919 to December 1921 in Paris. Citroën had been established to produce the double bevel gears that its logo resembles, but had ended the First World War with large production facilities, from the production of much needed artillery shells for
5220-467: A steady increase in demand for cheap cars to 'motorise the masses'. Emerging technology allowed economy cars to become more sophisticated. Early post-war economy cars like the VW Beetle , Citroën 2CV , Renault 4CV , and Saab 92 looked extremely minimal; however, they were technologically more advanced than most conventional cars of the time. The 4CV was designed covertly by Renault engineers during
5394-463: A strong emphasis on good packaging and roadholding, with independent front suspension and rack and pinion steering, and American influenced styling. It was produced in different body styles including a 2-door and 4-door saloon, a 2-door convertible, a 'woody' estate car / station wagon, a van with a rear box and a pick-up truck. 1.3 million had been built by the end of production in 1971. It was designed by Alec Issigonis . The 1947 FR layout Toyota SA
Austin A40 Farina - Misplaced Pages Continue
5568-564: A sub 11 feet (3.5 metres) estate version of the 1951 Austin A30, and its 1956 A35 Countryman evolution, the all new A40 Countryman had a split lifting and lowering tailgate . Sideways opening rear doors had been fitted since the 1948 A40 Countryman . The new feature made the A40 Farina Countryman an early example of what later became popular as a hatchback . The Pinin Farina body design also offered more shoulder and headroom for
5742-475: A total of 55,807 had been built. The Anglia was restyled again in 1948 . Including all production, 108,878 were built. When production as an Anglia ceased in October 1953, it continued as the extremely basic Ford Popular entry-level car until 1959. The Ford Prefect was a differently styled and slightly more upmarket version of the Anglia launched in October 1938 and remained in production until 1941, returning to
5916-458: A two-piece tailgate as per the first Citroën 11CV Commerciale. The Vagabond and Traveler models also had folding rear seats and a shared volume for the passengers and cargo. The design was neither fully a sedan nor a station wagon, but the folding rear seat provided for a large, 8-foot (2.4 m) long interior cargo area. These Kaiser-Frazer models have been described as "America's First Hatchback". The British Motor Corporation (BMC) launched
6090-580: A water-cooled four-cylinder boxer engine driving the rear wheels through a four-speed transmission. It had a similar engine and radiator layout as the Fiat Topolino that was launched at about the same time. To save room and weight a dynastarter was used, which doubled as the axle of the radiator fan. It was regarded as the "Austrian Peoples' Car" and was affectionately referred to as the Steyr "Baby". Professor Porsche had, despite rumors, not been involved in
6264-519: Is a broad automotive term used to describe the styling of the rear of a car in having a single slope from the roof to the rear bumper . Some hatchbacks are notchback three box designs , bearing a resemblance to sedans/saloons from a styling perspective, but being closer to hatchbacks in functionality by having a tailgate hinged from the roof. This is featured on cars such as the 1951 Kaiser-Frazer Vagabond, Simca 1100 , Mazda 6 GG1 , and Opel Vectra C . As such, notchbacks are not fastbacks, as
6438-507: Is considered to be the first true economy car, because the very few previous vehicles at the bottom of the market were 'horseless carriages' rather than practical cars. The major manufacturers at the time had little interest in low-priced models. The first 'real' cars had featured the FR layout first used by the French car maker Panhard and so did the Model T. Henry Ford declared at the launch of
6612-425: Is hinged at roof level (as opposed to the boot/trunk lid of a saloon/sedan , which is hinged below the rear window). Most hatchbacks use a two-box design body style, where the cargo area ( trunk/boot ) and passenger areas are a single volume. The rear seats can often be folded down to increase the available cargo area. Hatchbacks may have a removable rigid parcel shelf, or flexible roll-up tonneau cover to cover
6786-687: Is the Mini-Camper Kit for the AMC Hornet, a low-priced canvas tent that converted an open hatchback into a camping compartment with room for sleeping. The "Mini-Camper" was a weatherproof covering that fitted over the roof section from the B-pillar back to the rear bumper that was easy to set up. Ford Motor Company 's first hatchback was the Ford Pinto Runabout, introduced in 1971. The Pinto-based 1974-1978 Ford Mustang II
6960-511: Is usually dated pre-1890. In the 1890s and into the first decade of the twentieth century; the motorized vehicle was considered a replacement for the carriages of the rich, or simply a dangerous toy, that annoyed and inconvenienced the general public. For example, the 1908 children's book The Wind in the Willows , pokes fun at early privileged motorists. The automotive industry in France were
7134-633: The AMC Gremlin . Although the Gremlin has the appearance of a hatchback, it is frequently called a Kammback coupe instead, with only its rear window being an upwards opening hatch, that gives access to the rear cargo space. The Gremlin was based on the AMC Hornet , but its abrupt hatchback rear end cut the car's overall length from 179 to 161 inches (4,500 to 4,100 mm). AMC added a hatchback version to its larger compact-sized Hornet line for
Austin A40 Farina - Misplaced Pages Continue
7308-527: The Budd Company , which initially specialized in the manufacture of pressed-steel frames for automobiles. This built on his railroad experience. In 1899 he had taken his knowledge of pressed steel to the railroad industry. He worked with the Pullman Company on a contract for Pennsylvania Railroad , building the first all-steel railcar. In 1913 in the UK, the 1018 cc "Bullnose" Morris Oxford
7482-457: The Formula 1 and McLaren F1 designer, said when designing his new Murray T.25 city car: "I would say that building a car to sell for six thousand pounds and designing that for a high-volume production, where you have all the quality issues under control, is a hundred times more difficult than designing a McLaren F1, or even a racing car. It is certainly the biggest challenge I've ever had from
7656-639: The Highland Park Ford Plant that opened in 1910, after it outgrew the Piquette Avenue Plant . The River Rouge Plant which opened in 1919, was the most technologically advanced in the world, raw materials entered at one end and finished cars emerged from the other. The innovation of the moving assembly line , was inspired by the 'dis-assembly' plants of the Chicago meat packing industry, reduced production time from twelve and
7830-500: The Honda Beat and Suzuki Cappuccino , and even miniaturised MPVs. Hatchback A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to the main interior of the car as a cargo area rather than just to a separated trunk. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second-row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. While early examples of
8004-595: The Opel Laubfrosch (Opel Treefrog), was a small two-seater car introduced by the then family owned auto maker Opel, early in 1924, which bore an uncanny resemblance to the little Torpedo Citroën 5 CV of 1922. On an even smaller scale, European cars, such as the 747 cc Austin Seven , (which made cyclecars obsolete overnight. ) The Austin 7 was considerably smaller than the Ford Model T. The wheelbase
8178-510: The Porsche company to offer motor vehicle development work and consulting. Together with Zündapp they developed the prototype Porsche Type 12 "Auto für Jedermann" ("car for everyone"), which was the first time the name "Volkswagen" was used. Porsche preferred a 4-cylinder flat engine, but Zündapp used a water-cooled 5-cylinder radial engine . In 1932 three prototypes were running but were not put into production. All three cars were lost during
8352-580: The Renault 4 as a moderately upscale alternative to the Citroën 2CV . The Renault 4 was the first million-selling, mass-produced, compact two-box car with a steeply raked rear side, opened by a large, one-piece, lift-gate hatch. During its production life cycle, Renault marketed the R4 calling it a small station wagon , just like Austin's series of small Countryman estate models from 1954 until 1968 – even after
8526-497: The Saab Sonett sports cars. Also in the immediate postwar period, the monocoque FR layout Morris Minor was launched in 1948. To reduce costs it initially reused the pre-war side-valve 918 cubic centimetres (56.0 cu in) Morris 8 engine instead of an intended flat-four. Later, after the 1952 formation of British Motor Corporation it had the Austin designed 948cc and later 1098cc OHV BMC A-Series engine . It had
8700-570: The World War II German occupation of France , when under strict orders to design and produce only commercial and military vehicles. Between 1941 and 1944, Renault was under the Technical Directorship of a francophile German installed former Daimler Benz engineer called Wilhelm von Urach who turned a blind eye to the small, economy car project suitable for the period of post war austerity. The design team went against
8874-478: The 1920s reflected increasing competition from newer designs for the relatively unchanged and increasingly obsolescent Model T. In 1923 Chevrolet developed a new car to compete with the Model T, the Chevrolet Series M 'Copper-Cooled', air-cooled car, designed by General Motors engineer at AC Delco Charles Kettering , (who invented the points/condenser ignition system that was in use until the 1980s). It
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#17327757183339048-443: The 1920s. It spawned a whole industry of 'specials' builders. Swallow Sidecars switched to making cars based on Austin Seven chassis during the 1920s, then made their own complete cars in the 1930s as SS. With the advent of Nazi Germany the company changed its name to Jaguar . The Seven continued to be produced until the late 1930s along with an updated and restyled closed body, known as the "Big Seven" until World War II, but still on
9222-480: The 1930s before this technology was generally applied to economy cars. The cyclecar was an attempt in the period before 1922 in the post-First World War austerity period, as a form of "four-wheeled motorcycle ", with all the benefits of a motorcycle and side-car, in a more stable package. In 1920 Trojan in Britain made its first series of six cars from a works in Croydon and the final revised production version
9396-667: The 1932-34 BMW 3/20 successor to the BMW 3/15 model. It featured transverse leaf independent front and rear suspension and an updated overhead-valve cylinder head version of the Austin 7 based engine. After a demonstration of the Adler Maikäfer by Ganz, the German Standard Fahrzeugfabrik company (unrelated to the British 'Standard' company), then purchased a license from Ganz to develop and build
9570-620: The 1958 DB Mark III , also offered a folding rear seat. The 1954 AC Aceca and later Aceca-Bristol from AC Cars had a similar hatch tailgate, though only 320 were built. In 1965, MG had Pininfarina modify the MGB roadster into a hatchback design called the MGB GT, becoming the first volume-production sports car with this type of body. Many coupés have 3 doors , including the Jaguar E-Type and Datsun 240Z . In 1961, Renault introduced
9744-587: The 1970s led to the release of models such as the Austin Ambassador , Austin Maestro , Fiat 127 and Renault 5 . By the late 1970s and early 1980s, the majority of superminis and compact cars had been updated or replaced with hatchback models. Hatchbacks were the mainstay of manufacturers' D-segment offerings in Europe in the 1990s (they were already popular in the 1980s) and until the late 2000s. It
9918-464: The 1973 model year. The design and fold-down rear seat more than doubled cargo space and the Hornet was claimed to be the "first compact hatchback" manufactured by U.S. automaker. The 1975 Pacer featured a rear door or hatchback. A longer model with a wagon-type configuration was added in 1977 with its large rear "hatch" as one of the car's three doors, all having different sizes. The 1979 AMC Spirit
10092-510: The 1978 Dodge Omni / Plymouth Horizon models, which were based on the French Simca-Talbot Horizon . These were followed by the 3-door hatchback Dodge Omni 024 / Plymouth Horizon TC3 which were later renamed Dodge Charger and Plymouth Turismo . The first Japanese hatchbacks were the 1972 Honda Civic , Nissan Sunny , and Nissan Cherry . The Civic and Cherry had front-wheel drive powertrains, which later became
10266-534: The Austin A40 line. The 1959 A40 Countryman version stands out by its layout as a small estate car with an upward (and downward) opening tailgate, and is therefore viewed as one of the earliest examples of a volume production hatchback . Like its predecessors, the A40 Countryman version combined many of the virtues of a compact saloon and estate car in one body. But, unlike the 1954 A30 Countryman ,
10440-858: The Brazilian market, for example, the Fiat Premio and sedan versions of the Opel Corsa and Ford Fiesta . The vehicle is classified as a B-segment marque in the European single market, a segment referred to as a supermini in the British Isles. Prior to this, the "Swift" nameplate had been applied to the rebadged Suzuki Cultus in numerous export markets since 1984 and for the Japanese-market Suzuki Ignis since 2000. The Swift became its own model in 2004. Currently,
10614-444: The Crosley Hotshot. The styling of 1951 Crosley Super Sport is very similar to the 1958 Frogeye/Bugeye Austin-Healey Sprite . Production peaked at 24,871 cars in 1948. Sales began to slip in 1949, as the post war American economy took off, and even adding the Crosley Hotshot and a combination farm tractor-Jeep-like vehicle called the Farm-O-Road in 1950, could not stop the decline. In 1952, only 1522 Crosley vehicles were sold. Production
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#173277571833310788-406: The Farina, reflecting the all-new design by Italian Battista Farina 's Pinin Farina Turin studio. Austin had been merged into the British Motor Corporation (BMC) in 1952 and – unusually for BMC at the time – the A40 Farina was sold only as an Austin and not rebadged for sale under any other BMC brands. The Farina was the first Austin A40 not named after a county of England , and the last in
10962-450: The First World War, and by the time Ford made his 10 millionth car, half of all cars in the world were Fords. It was so successful that Ford did not purchase any advertising between 1917 and 1923; more than 15 million Model Ts were manufactured, reaching a rate of 9,000 to 10,000 cars a day in 1925, or 2 million annually, more than any other model of its day, at a price of just $ 240. The need for constant reductions in price through
11136-453: The Ford and a much more modern design than the ageing Austin Seven, which meant it became the UK's bestselling car by 1939. U.S. Industrialist Powel Crosley Jr. with a long track record in diverse car products and other consumer products such as phonograph cabinets, radios, and home appliances with his company Crosley , started production of cars from 1939 (switching to war production in 1942-45) until 1952. They produced small economy cars of
11310-444: The French army. Andre Citroën was a keen adopter of U.S. car manufacturing ideas and technology in the 1920s and 1930s. Andre Citroën re-equipped his factory as a scaled down version of the Ford River Rouge Plant, that he had visited in Detroit Michigan . It was advertised as "Europe's first mass production car." The Type A reached a production number of 24,093 vehicles. The Opel 4 PS, Germany's first 'peoples car', popularly known as
11484-471: The German Lloyd with a DKW type engine) and then Subaru 360 , finally able to fill people's need for basic transportation without being too severely compromised. Early generation keicars on the market were mostly rear-engined, rear drive RR layout cars. From the end of the 1960s Keicars switched to front-engined, front-wheel-drive FF layout . This market has thrived ever since, with the cars increasing in size and engine capacity, including sports cars such as
11658-418: The Gestapo in June 1944, and deported to Buchenwald concentration camp. The Gestapo transferred him to Metz for interrogation, but the city was deserted because of the advancing allied front, the Germans abandoned their prisoner. In November 1945 the French government invited Ferdinand Porsche to France looking to relocate the Volkswagen project as part of war reparations. On 15 December 1945, Porsche
11832-429: The Joneses." Later in 1937, the Art and Color Section was renamed the Styling Section, and a few years afterward became one of the GM technical staff operations as the Styling Staff. It was funded by high-interest/low-regular-payments consumer credit, as was the 1920s boom in other consumer durable products. It marked the beginning of mass market consumerism , that had been enabled by the efficiency of mass production and
12006-595: The Model T was arrived at, by making its track to the width of the ruts in the unsurfaced rural American roads of the time, ruts made by horse-drawn vehicles. It was specifically designed with a large degree of axle articulation, and a high ground clearance, to deal with these conditions effectively. It had an under stressed 177 cu in (2.9 L) engine. It set the template for American vehicles being larger than comparable vehicles in other countries, which would later on have economy cars scaled to their narrower roads with smaller engines. In 1912 Edward G. Budd founded
12180-415: The New York Motor Show in January 1915, William C. Durant the head of Chevrolet (and founder of GM), launched the Chevrolet Four-Ninety , a stripped-down version of the Series-H, to compete with Henry Ford's Model T, and went into production in June. To aim directly at Ford, Durant said the new car would be priced at US$ 490 (the source of its name), the same as the Model T touring. Its introductory price
12354-409: The Panhard type manual gearbox , which in a developed form is still in common use today. The innovations involved in making it a successful design were in its production and materials technology; particularly the use of new vanadium steel alloys. Model T production was a leading example of the Taylorism school of scientific management (also known as Fordism ) and its production techniques evolved at
12528-553: The SA and the later Publica and Corolla . In the post war austerity of the late 1940s, when most of the Japanese population could not afford a car, but could afford a motorcycle , the Japanese codified a legal standard for extremely economical small cars, known as the keicar . The aim was to promote the growth of the car industry, as well as to offer an alternative delivery method to small business and shop owners. Originally limited to
12702-526: The Skoda Octavia was always available as a hatchback. Meanwhile, three-door hatchbacks have seen a fall in popularity, compared with 5-door models. This has led to many models no longer being offered in 3-door body styles, for example, the Audi A3 and Renault Clio . In 1970, American Motors Corporation (AMC) released the first North American subcompact car since the 1953-1961 Nash Metropolitan ,
12876-720: The Standard Superior was introduced at the IAMA (Internationale Automobil- und Motorradausstellung). It had a 396 cc 2-cylinder 2-stroke engine. Because of some criticism of the body design, not in the least by Josef Ganz in Motor-Kritik , it was followed in April 1933 by a slightly altered model. In November 1933, the Standard Fahrzeugfabrik introduced yet another new and improved model for 1934, which
13050-644: The Steyr 55 and went on sale in 1940. A total of 13,000 Steyr "Babies" were sold. The production of Steyr cars was discontinued during World War II , after bombing of the factory. After the war, the factory was rebuilt and specialized in Austrian versions of the Fiat 500 and Fiat 1500. Today the Steyr factory produces the BMW X models for Europe. The pre-war European car market was not one market. Trade barriers fragmented it into national markets, apart from luxury cars where
13224-737: The Swift is positioned between Ignis and Baleno in Suzuki's global Holden produced the Torana Hatchback from 1976 to 1980 across the LX and UC generations. Up until recent years, buyers in Australia have preferred the station wagon body style, with the big three Australian manufacturers; Holden , Ford Australia , and Chrysler Australia all producing station wagon models of their sedan models. Australia started moving to hatchbacks partially in
13398-469: The Trojan Utility Car went onto the market at £230, reducing to £125 in 1925, the same as a Model T Ford . Nothing was conventional. Rather than a chassis the car had a punt shaped tray which housed the engine and transmission below the seats. This is a similar idea to the chassis-less design of the contemporary 1922 Italian Lancia Lambda luxury car. The transmission used a chain to drive
13572-517: The U.S. It had two seats, but was less versatile than the vehicle that inspired it. It was produced after a fire at the Oldsmobile plant, when the prototype was saved by a nightwatchman named Stebbins (who later became the Mayor of Detroit ) and was the only product available to the company to produce. Although cars were becoming more affordable before it was launched, the 1908–1927 Ford Model T
13746-571: The U.S., and have gone on to be successful around the world. Since the 1990s, the automotive industry has become extensively globalized , with all major manufacturers being multinational corporations who use globally sourced raw materials and components, with most moving assembly to the lowest labour cost countries. Today, a majority of major manufacturer offers economy cars, including at least one truly small car that may fall into subclassifications such as subcompact car , supermini , B-segment; city car ; microcar ; and others. Gordon Murray ,
13920-523: The Western Allies. In 1948 Hirst recruited Heinrich Nordhoff to run Volkswagen GmbH and in 1949 ownership was handed over to the West German government. The Volkswagen Type 1 'Beetle' was to become the most popular single design in history. Its production surpassed The Ford Model T on February 17, 1972. It was withdrawn from the European market in 1978. The Volkswagen Beetle was an icon of
14094-509: The ability to cruise on the autobahn for long periods reliably. This cruising ability and engine durability was gained by high top gearing, and by restricting the engine breathing and performance to well below its maximum capability. Production was restarted after the war by the British Army Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers , under Major Ivan Hirst after it was dismissed as valueless for war reparations by
14268-477: The anticipated post Second World War U.S. car market recession hadn't materialised. The MacPherson strut , probably the world's most common form of independent suspension, evolved in the GM Cadet project by combining long tubular shock absorbers with external coil springs, and locating them in tall towers that directed the vertical travel of the wheels and also formed the "king pin" or "swivel pin axis" around which
14442-564: The automotive industry, at the instigation of those that he had ferociously criticized. He was eventually released, but his career was systematically destroyed and his life endangered. He fled Germany in June 1934 – the same month Adolf Hitler gave Ferdinand Porsche the brief for designing a mass-producible car for a consumer price of 1,000 ℛ︁ℳ︁. Production of the Standard Superior ended in 1935. The Standard company
14616-494: The autumn of 1962 by a larger 1098 cc version with an output of 48 bhp. The A40 shared this engine with the Morris Minor , which was also rear-wheel drive – both models retaining the traditional north–south engine layout – and also with the recently introduced front-wheel drive, transverse-engined Morris 1100 . An improved gearbox was fitted to the A40 at the same time. Further changes were minimal. However, in 1964
14790-529: The blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces. The Ford Model T was a large scale mass-produced car; that very innovation, along with the attributes it required a simple inexpensive design, that allowed it to be the first car to exemplify the ideals of the economy car. Although it followed the Panhard mechanical layout, it used an epicyclic gearbox more like later automatic gearboxes , rather than
14964-491: The body configuration can be traced to the 1930s, the Merriam-Webster dictionary dates the term itself to 1970. The hatchback body style has been marketed worldwide on cars ranging in size from superminis to small family cars , as well as executive cars and some sports cars . They are a primary component of sport utility vehicles . The distinguishing feature of a hatchback is a rear door that opens upwards and
15138-454: The car in the new democratic West Germany , where it would be a success. From 1936 to 1955, Fiat in Italy produced the advanced and very compact FR layout Fiat 500 "Topolino" or "little mouse", the precursor of the 1950s Fiat 500 , it was designed by Dante Giacosa . The inline four cylinder 569 cc 13 + 1 ⁄ 2 hp engine was placed right at the front of the chassis with
15312-399: The cargo space behind the rear seats. When describing the body style, the hatch is often counted as a door, therefore a hatchback with two passenger doors is called a three-door and a hatchback with four passenger doors is called a five-door . Estates/station wagons and liftbacks have in common a two-box design configuration, a shared interior volume for passengers and cargo and
15486-542: The cars were in very short supply for the next year or so. On the 4CV's launch, it was nicknamed " La motte de beurre " (the lump of butter); this was due to the combination of its shape and the use of surplus paint from the German Army vehicles of Rommel's Afrika Korps , which were a sand-yellow color. The VW featured a 1.1-litre, rear engined air-cooled 'boxer' flat four with rear-wheel drive, all round fully independent suspension, semi monocoque construction and
15660-690: The common configuration for a hatchback. Along with the Honda Civic, other Japanese hatchback models included the Nissan Pulsar , Toyota Corolla , and Suzuki Swift . Almost all Japanese Kei cars ("city cars") use a hatchback body style, to maximize cargo capacity given the overall vehicle size is limited by the regulations applicable to these vehicles. Kei cars include the Mitsubishi Minica , Honda Life , Suzuki Fronte , Subaru Vivio , and Daihatsu Mira . The first Soviet hatchback
15834-467: The conditions prevailing at the time, such as fuel prices, disposable income of buyers, and cultural mores. It typically refers to a car that is designed to be small and lightweight to offer low-cost operation. In any given decade globally, there has generally been some rough consensus on what constituted the minimum necessary requirements for a highway-worthy car, constituting the most economical car possible . However, whether that consensus could be
16008-449: The design of the Renault 4CV, and Porsche cautiously went on record saying that the car would be ready for large scale production in a year. Lefaucheux was a man with contacts, as soon as the 4CV project meetings had taken place, Porsche was arrested in connection with war crimes allegations involving the use of forced labour including French in the Volkswagen plant in Germany. Ferdinand Porsche , despite never facing any sort of trial, spent
16182-403: The design or production of the 50. Moreover, the little Steyr offered better seating and luggage space than Porsche's Volkswagen with shorter overall length, a large sheet metal sliding roof and was available with hydraulic brakes (instead of the early Volkswagens' cable-operated ones). In early 1938, the car was revised. It got a more powerful engine and a longer wheelbase. The new model was called
16356-408: The early 1920s running gear, but with a slightly enlarged chassis and widened track. In the late 1920s, General Motors finally overtook Ford, as the U.S. new car market doubled in size, and fragmented into niches on a wave of prosperity, with GM producing a range of cars to match. This included a Chevrolet economy car that was just an entry-level model for the range of cars. It was only a small part of
16530-488: The emerging designer, Dante Giacosa . It was powered by a 1,089 cc four cylinder overhead-valve engine . Drive was to the rear wheels through a four-speed gearbox, and for the period, its comfort, handling, and performance were prodigious, making it "the only people's car that was also a driver's car". The Steyr 50 streamlined small car was introduced in 1936 by the Austrian manufacturer Steyr-Puch . The car had
16704-543: The entire car in Italy. Innocenti's A40 Berlina and Combinata corresponded to the saloon and Countryman versions of the Austin A40 Farina. The cars began using the larger 1098 cc engine in 1962, being renamed A40S at that time. For 1965 Innocenti also designed a new single-piece rear door for the Combinata. This top-hinged door used struts to hold it up over a wide cargo opening and was a true hatchback –
16878-604: The extra cost of tariffs could actually make cars more exclusive and desirable. The only way for a car maker to enter another national market of a major European car making country, (and their colonial markets of the time), was to open factories there. For example, Citroën and Renault opened factories in England in this period. This situation only changed with the post-war growth of the EEC ( European Community ) and EFTA . The British RAC (Royal Automobile Club) horsepower taxation system had
17052-422: The first Oxford. The post– First World War Oxford was a deluxe version of that, now made plainer, 1915-1919 Cowley. They were larger cars with 50% bigger engines than the 1913 Oxford. By 1925 Cowleys and Oxfords were 41 per cent of British private car production and limousine and landaulet bodies for 14/28 Oxfords were supplied ex-factory. Morris then added a commercial vehicle operation and bought Wolseley Motors
17226-528: The first steel-bodied four-seater saloon to sell for £100; previously the only four-wheeled car to sell for that price had been the two-seater tourer model of the Morris Minor. The Model Y was reworked into the more streamlined Ford 7Y for 1938-1939. This was restyled again into the 1939 launched Ford Anglia . Initial sales in Britain actually began in early 1940. Production was suspended in early 1942, and resumed in mid-1945. Production ceased in 1948 after
17400-708: The following year. Cecil Kimber, a Morris employee, founded MG (Morris Garages) aiming to sell more Morrises. After the Second World War Morris Motors, having swept in Riley , merged with the Austin Motor Company together forming the British Motor Corporation . In 1913 the British Trojan company had its prototype ready for production. It had a two-stroke engine with four cylinders arranged in pairs, and each pair shared
17574-456: The footsteps of the 1959 BMC Mini with front-wheel drive, a more space-efficient transverse engine layout, unitary bodywork, and independent suspension (features which became key design concepts used by almost every mass-market family car since) - and it was the first hatchback with these features. The Simca 1100 also came in both three and five-door variants, and the hatchback models took a central position, traditionally taken up by saloons, in
17748-403: The front wheels could turn. It was elegantly simple, with just three links holding the wheel in place - the strut itself, the single-piece transverse lower arm, and the anti-roll bar that doubled as a drag link for the wheel hub. MacPherson took his ideas to Ford instead. They were first used in the French 1948 Ford Vedette . Next in the 1950 British Ford Consul and Zephyr (British mid-size cars,
17922-408: The front, with a bench at the rear that could fold down to increase luggage capacity. The trim material was a vinyl treated fabric. Options included a heater, radio, windscreen washers and white-wall tyres. The gearchange lever was floor-mounted with the handbrake between the seats. The door windows were not opened by conventional winders, but pulled up and down using finger grips; a window lock position
18096-519: The inside and outclassed in terms of road holding and ride; sales of the A40 Mark II progressed at a slower rate than had been achieved by the Mark I. A Mark II was tested by The Motor in 1962. The updated version had a higher top speed of 75.2 mph (121.0 km/h) and faster acceleration from 0–50 mph (80 km/h) of 17.4 seconds. The fuel consumption at 36.5 miles per imperial gallon (7.7 L/100 km; 30.4 mpg ‑US )
18270-537: The introduction of the 1935 monocoque Opel Olympia , and the Macpherson strut by Ford in the 1950s), until the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1931 the DKW F1 was launched. This was the first successful mass-produced front-wheel drive car in the world. It was priced at 1,700 ℛ︁ℳ︁ . (The British 1928-30 Alvis cars 'FWD' models had handling problems and only 150 were made. The British 1929 BSA
18444-632: The larger Chevrolet Nova became available in a hatchback body style. The Nova hatchback was also rebadged as the Chevrolet Concours , Pontiac Ventura , Pontiac Phoenix , Oldsmobile Omega , Buick Apollo , and Buick Skylark . In 1980, General Motors released its first front-wheel drive hatchback models, the Chevrolet Citation and Pontiac Phoenix . Both AMC and GM offered a dealer accessory that turned their compact hatchback models into low-cost recreational vehicles. An example
18618-466: The market in 1945. The car was face lifted in 1953 from its original perpendicular or sit-up-and-beg style to a more modern three-box structure. It was sold until 1961. The Anglia, Popular and Prefect sold well for a long time despite their old fashioned technology using transverse leaf springs and beam axles for front and rear suspension, side valve engines and only partly synchromeshed three speed gearboxes. They sold on price because of limited car supply on
18792-485: The marketing strategy - "A car for every purse and purpose" of GM head Alfred P. Sloan . Harley Earl was appointed as head of the newly formed GM "Art and Color Section" in 1927. Harley Earl and Alfred P. Sloan implemented planned obsolescence and the annual model change to emphasise design as an engine for the success of the company's products. This moved cars from being utilitarian items to fashionable status symbols - that needed regular replacement "to keep up with
18966-601: The maximum-economy position in their home countries. By the 1970s the hatchback had become the standard body type for new economy car models. From 1960-1994 the Soviet Union sold the economy car Zaporozhets (and in the 80s, its successors, ZAZ-1102 , and VAZ-1111 ) on the world market. In the mid-1980s, the Yugoslavian Zastava Koral (Yugo), was being sold as the cheapest new car on the U.S. market. South Korea's Hyundai models also sold well in
19140-677: The mid-1990s with relatively cheap offerings from Hyundai and Honda . Australia now sells mostly hatchbacks, after the last domestic-built wagon, the Holden Commodore Sportwagon ceased production in October 2017. The Ford Laser hatchback was produced in Australia. Nissan produced the Pulsar and Pintara hatchbacks and Mitsubishi built the Colt hatch. Toyota produced the Corolla hatchback, and more recently Holden produced
19314-548: The moving production line. Until this time, manufacturers of consumer goods were concerned, by the possibility that the market would be fulfilled and demand would dry up. The seller's market in new cars in the U.S. was over, as customers wanted choice. The 'one model' policy had nearly bankrupted the Ford Motor Company. By the end of production in 1927 it seemed outdated, and was replaced by the Model A . The Ford Model T
19488-903: The new Autobahns that were to be built. They had been planned under the Weimar Republic , but he stole the credit for them. Many of the design ideas were plagiarised from the work of Hans Ledwinka , the Tatra T97 and Tatra V570 with the Czechoslovakian Tatra (car) company. It was also suspiciously similar in many ways to the Josef Ganz–designed cars, it even looked very similar to the Mercedes-Benz 120H prototype of 1931. The Nazi Kraft durch Freude (German for Strength through Joy , abbreviated KdF) "KdF-Wagen" or "Strength through Joy - Car" project ground to
19662-486: The next twenty months in a Dijon jail. The 760 cc rear-mounted four-cylinder engine, three-speed manual transmission 4CV was launched at the 1946 Paris Motor Show and went on sale a year later. Volume production with the help of Marshall Plan aid money, was said to have commenced at the company's Parisian Boulogne-Billancourt plant a few weeks before the Paris Motor Show of October 1947, although
19836-453: The other hand, had been used on several previous Austin (A40) estate models. Early examples including the somewhat larger 1948 Countryman estate of the 1947 A40 Devon / Dorset , and the more upscale 1948 A70 Countryman – but also on the estate versions of the A40 Farina's direct A30 and A35 predecessors. The Farina name was not used in Sweden, where the car received the name "Futura" because
20010-490: The post-war West German reconstruction known as the Wirtschaftswunder . The 375 cc Citroën 2CV had interconnected all round fully independent suspension, rack and pinion steering, radial tyres and front-wheel drive with an air-cooled flat twin engine and four-speed gearbox. It was some 10 to 15 MPG (Imperial) more fuel efficient than any other economy car of its time – but with restricted performance to match. It
20184-435: The primitive roads in much of the country at the turn of the 20th century. For the same reason, it usually had a wider track than normal automobiles. The first car to be marketed as an 'economy car' was the 1901–1907 Oldsmobile Curved Dash - it was produced by the thousands, with over 19,000 built in all. It was inspired by the buckboard type horse and buggy, (used like a small two-seat pickup truck) popular in rural areas of
20358-559: The project was taken over by the German Labour Front (Deutsche Arbeitsfront, DAF). This was the national labour organization of the Nazi Party , which replaced the various independent trade unions in Germany during the process of Gleichschaltung or Nazification. Now working for the DAF, Porsche built a new Volkswagen factory at Fallersleben, called "Stadt des KdF-Wagens bei Fallersleben" ( Wolfsburg after 1945), at
20532-449: The radiator behind it. This allowed for a sloping front and good legroom when combined with lowered seating. This also allowed Fiat to lower the roofline. Although nominally a two-seater more were often squeezed in behind the seats. Initially it had quarter elliptic leaf spring rear suspension , but with an axle locating trailing arm , that was upgraded to stronger semi-elliptic to cope with overloading by customers. The front suspension
20706-421: The rear passengers, through the angular instead of curved lines of the roof and upper-rear body, while as a two-seater (with the rear seat folded), it provided an exceptionally large luggage space. The original saloon version's luggage boot had a tail board that swung down, while the rear window remained fixed, and the space behind the rear seat was usually covered by a vinyl tonneau cover. This could be removed, and
20880-474: The rear seats folded to permit all of the back of the car to be used for luggage, though the loading floor achieved was far from flat. Farina's design came at a time when the Turin automotive-design studios were, for the most part, consulted only by builders of expensive "exotic" cars, and BMC made much of the car's Italian styling, with both Battista and his son Sergio attending its UK launch. The car appeared as
21054-466: The rear window was marginally smaller, to allow for a frame that could be lifted with roof-mounted hinges and side support struts so that the car now incorporated a horizontal-split two-piece tailgate. The lower panel was now flush with the floor and its bottom-mounted hinges were strengthened. In 1953, Aston Martin marketed the DB2 with a top-hinged rear tailgate, manufacturing 700 examples. Its successor,
21228-588: The repetitive and stressful nature of working on the production line, and more radically, to turn his semi-skilled workers into potential customers. The Ford Model T was the first automobile produced in many countries at the same time. It was the first 'World Car', since they were being produced in Canada and in Manchester, England starting in 1911 and were later assembled in Germany , Argentina , France, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Brazil, Mexico, and Japan. At
21402-603: The same market segment as the Renault 16, and the two competitors were closely matched in specifications and exterior dimensions, although the Maxi had significantly more interior space due to its transverse engine. In 1974, the Volkswagen Golf was introduced, intended to replace the ubiquitous Beetle . In 1976 British Leyland introduced the Rover 3500 , a rear wheel drive executive car five-door hatchback. Increasing demand for compact hatchbacks in Europe during
21576-621: The same size as the Cadet), which owed more to the Cadet than just the MacPherson strut suspension, and caused a sensation when they were launched. In 1953, a miniaturised economy car version, the Anglia 100E was launched in Britain. These early 1950s British Fords used styling elements from the U.S. 1949 Ford 'Shoebox'. As Europe and Japan rebuilt from the war, their growing economies led to
21750-471: The same time period, as a Datsun Type 11 that may have been pirated, at the start of their own automobile industry. It was also produced as a BMW Dixi and BMW 3/15 in Germany, Rosengart in France with French styled bodywork, and by American Austin Car Company with American styling, (later American Bantam) in the U.S. It displaced the motorcycle and sidecar combination that was popular in Europe in
21924-693: The same. From its inception into the 1920s, the Ford Model T fulfilled both of these roles simultaneously in the U.S. and in many markets around the world. In Europe and Japan in the 1920s and 1930s, this was achieved by the much smaller Austin 7 and its competitors and derivatives. From the 1940s and into the 1960s, the Volkswagen Beetle played both roles throughout much of the world, particularly in Germany and Latin America – due to high fuel consumption, British, French, Italian, and Japanese models, all with better fuel economy, were able to capture
22098-611: The secondary function of excluding foreign vehicles. It was specifically targeted at the Ford Model T, which the then government feared would wipe out the fledgling indigenous motor industry. It crippled car engine design in Britain in the inter-war period, causing British car makers to produce under-square, low revving, long stroke engines. It was abolished after World War II as part of the British export drive for desperately needed, hard foreign currency, because it made British cars uncompetitive internationally. The technologically conservative 1930s Morris Eight , Ford Eight (Ford Model Y which
22272-410: The slope of the roofline on a notchback is interrupted by its three-box design. An estate/wagon typically differs from a liftback or hatchback by being longer (therefore more likely to have a D-pillar ). Other potential differences of a station wagon include: "Liftback" is a term for hatchback models in which the rear cargo door or hatch is more horizontally angled than on an average hatchback, and as
22446-427: The solid tyre shod wheels. The 1527-cc engine to the ingenious Hounsfield design was started by pulling a lever on the right of the driver. To prove how economical the car was to run, the company ran the slogan "Can you afford to walk?" and calculated that over 200 miles (320 km) it would cost more in shoes and socks than to cover the distance by Trojan car. The astronomical success of the Model T accelerated after
22620-480: The term "hatchback" appeared around 1970. The company only offered one two-box body style. The Renault 4 continued in production through 1992, selling over 8 million cars. In 1965, the R4 economy car was complemented by the D-segment Renault 16 , the first volume production two-box, hatchback family car . Its rear seats were adjustable, would fold down, or could be completely removed. The Renault 16
22794-596: The used car market due to the Second World War, and new car market because of the British government's post war policy of exporting cars. The Morris Eight, introduced in 1935, was a deliberate close copy of the Ford and served as a lower cost, more profitable replacement for the 1928-vintage Morris Minor which had not achieved the hoped-for success. Prices for the Morris started at £112 and it offered more equipment than
22968-408: The vehicle: I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one - and enjoy with his family
23142-466: The war years. But unlike other Japanese car firms Toyota did not partner with Western companies after the war, so it was free to use German designs. Many features of the prototype Beetle were subsequently put into the SA, although the Beetle's rear-mounted air-cooled engine feature was not used. Later on, Toyota revisited the economic principles exemplified by the Beetle when designing the 1950s successors to
23316-566: The war, Volkswagen did give some customers a DM 200 discount for their stamp-books). The project was not commercially viable and only government support was able to keep it afloat. The Beetle factory was primarily converted to produce the Kübelwagen (the German equivalent of the jeep ). The few Beetles that were produced went to the diplomatic corps and military officials. After the war, the Volkswagen company would be founded to produce
23490-635: The war, the last in 1945 in Stuttgart during a bombing raid. In 1932 ASAP-Škoda in Mladá Boleslav Bohemia Czechoslovakia, produced a type Škoda 932 prototype of a streamlined 4-seater two-door car with a rear air-cooled flat-four engine designed by Karel Hrdlička and Vsevold Korolkov. This car's bodywork closely resembled the small car designs yet to come. In Berlin in February 1933, the first production model of
23664-532: The wishes of Louis Renault who in 1940 believed that post-war Renault should concentrate on mid-range cars. Only after a row in May 1941 did Louis Renault approve the project. In October 1944 after the liberation, Louis Renault who was imprisoned on charges of collaboration, died in suspicious circumstances. In January 1945, newly nationalised Renault had officially acquired a new boss, the former resistance hero Pierre Lefaucheux , (he had been acting administrator since September 1944). Lefaucheux had been arrested by
23838-594: The world leaders during this period – the Locomotives Act 1865 (the 'Red Flag Act') had obstructed automotive development in the UK until it was mostly repealed by the Locomotives on Highways Act 1896 . The high wheeler was an early car body style virtually unique to the United States. It was typified by large-diameter slender wheels, frequently with solid tires, to provide ample ground clearance on
24012-568: The world. These were fully closed roofed bodies, until this time open tourer bodies were the standard body on the market. Budd envisioned pushing his technology even further, and in 1924 he found another visionary in André Citroën . By 1934, they had developed the Citroën Traction Avant , the first unibody , pressed-steel automobile. Budd also pioneered the use of electric arc welding in automobile manufacturing. It would be
24186-547: Was US$ 550 , however, although it was reduced to US$ 490 later when the electric starter and lights were made a US$ 60 option. Henry Ford responded by reducing the Model T to US$ 440 . In 1916 Edward G. Budd 's first big order for the Budd Company was from the Dodge brothers, who purchased 70,000 bodies, mounting the steel bodies onto conventional chassis frames. During the 1920s Edward G. Budd 's pressed steel bodies were fast replacing traditional coachbuilt bodies all around
24360-645: Was 10th in General Classification. In the closing stages of June's Alpine Rally (Coupe des Alpes), Moss and Wisdom lost the use of first gear on their A40 and were obliged to retire having completed the second stage of the rally still "clean". In August 1959, in practice at Brands Hatch , Doc Shepherd broke the saloon car record in an Austin A40 and he won the 1960 British Saloon Car Championship , also driving an Austin A40 Farina. Economy car The precise definition of what constitutes an economy car has varied with time and place, based on
24534-516: Was Toyota's first true post war design. Although permission to begin full production of passenger cars in Japan was not granted until 1949, limited numbers of cars were permitted to be built from 1947, and the Toyota SA was one such car. It had a 4-cylinder engine, 4-wheel independent suspension and a smaller, aerodynamic body. The project was driven by Kiichiro Toyoda , but most of the design work
24708-424: Was a saloon , the lower rear panel dropped like a then conventional bootlid, the rear window remaining fixed. The Countryman hatchback appeared exactly a year later in October 1959, and differed from the saloon in that the rear window was marginally smaller, to allow for a frame that could be lifted up, with its own support, while the lower panel was now flush with the floor and its hinges had been strengthened. It
24882-427: Was a popular choice, in modified form, for competition work. Several examples are still to be seen taking part in historic saloon racing. In the January 1959 Monte Carlo Rally driven by Pat Moss and Ann Wisdom the A40 won the Coupe des Dames, Houbigant Cup, RAC Challenge Trophy and Souvenir Award, "L'Officiel de la Couture" and was 2nd in class for standard series production touring cars up to 1000 cc. The little car
25056-445: Was a rare failure for him, due to uneven cooling of the inline four-cylinder engine. The most development of small economy cars occurred in Europe. There was less emphasis on long-distance automobile travel, a need for vehicles that could navigate narrow streets and alleys in towns and cities (many were unchanged since medieval times), and the narrow and winding roads commonly found in the European countryside. Ettore Bugatti designed
25230-462: Was a three-wheel competitor to Morgan and the motorcycle combination market, the 1931 four-wheeler was very short-lived. The 1929 U.S. Cord L-29 having been seriously flawed, production ended at 4,429. The 1930 U.S. Ruxton made about 500, production lasted for only four months.) The F1 featured a front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout using a water-cooled 494 cc or 584 cc transverse two-cylinder two-stroke engine with chain drive. This
25404-494: Was a very small estate car with a horizontally split tailgate having a top-hinged upper door and bottom-hinged lower door. October 1959 also saw the standardisation on both cars of self-cancelling indicators and the provision of a centre interior light and, in early summer 1960, a flat lid was added over the spare wheel in the rear luggage compartment. At launch the car shared the 948 cc A-Series straight-4 used in other Austins including its A35 predecessor. The suspension
25578-548: Was available in two designs, a "sedan" with a rear lift up window and a semi-fastback "liftback" version. General Motors ' first hatchback model was the Chevrolet Vega , introduced in September 1970. Over a million Vega hatchbacks were produced for the 1971–1977 model years accounting for about half of the Vega's total production. The Vega hatchback was also rebadged and sold as the 1973–1977 Pontiac Astre , 1978 Chevrolet Monza S , 1975–1980 Buick Skyhawk , 1975–1980 Oldsmobile Starfire and 1977–1980 Pontiac Sunbird . In 1974,
25752-409: Was available with a slightly reworked Model A engine, marketed until 1933 (in U.S.) as the Model B. In Europe, it remained in the Ford lineup, as the Ford V8 in Britain in the 1930s which was re-styled and relaunched as the post-war Ford Pilot . They were viewed as large cars in Europe. The 1932 Ford V8 (Model 18) coupe became the car of choice for post-war hot rodders . It was the first V8 engine in
25926-442: Was common for manufacturers to offer the same D-segment model in three different body styles: a 4-door sedan, a 5-door hatchback, and a 5-door station wagon. Such models included the Ford Mondeo , the Mazda 626 / Mazda6 , the Nissan Primera , the Opel Vectra / Insignia , and the Toyota Carina / Avensis . There were also models in this market segment available only as a 5-door hatchback or a 4-door sedan, and models available only as
26100-430: Was designed to motorise rural communities where speed was not a requirement. The original design brief had been issued before the Second World War in the mid-1930s. It had been completely redesigned three times, as its market and materials costs had changed drastically during its development period. Engine size increased over time; from 1970 it was a still tiny 602 cc. It was in production until 1990. The Saab 92 had
26274-495: Was developed through the 1930s into the 1938 F8 model and the F9 that was not put into production because World War II started, 250,000 were made. By this time DKW had become the largest manufacturer of motorcycles in the world. Their two-stroke engine technology was to appear in the postwar products of Harley-Davidson , BSA , Trabant , Wartburg , Saab , Subaru , Piaggio , Puch , Kawasaki , Mitsubishi , Mazda , Daihatsu , Honda , and Suzuki . The DKW type of two stroke engine
26448-620: Was done by Kazuo Kumabe . The two-door body was aerodynamic in a style similar to the Volkswagen Beetle . The doors were hinged at the rear (often called suicide doors ). The front window was a single pane of flat glass with a single wiper mounted above the driver. Only right hand drive was offered. Toyota engineers (including Dr Kumabe) had visited Germany before World War II and had studied Porsche and Volkswagen designs (independent suspension, aerodynamic bodies, backbone chassis, rear-mounted air-cooled engines, economical production cost). Many Japanese companies had ties with Germany during
26622-420: Was facelifted with American influenced 'full width styling' of the frontal panels after the war, with headlights integrated into the wings/fenders. The Fiat 1100 was first introduced in 1937 as an updated version of the 508 "Balilla" (its real name was the 508C) with a look similar to the 1936 Fiat 500 "Topolino" and the larger 1500 , with the typical late-thirties heart-shaped front grille, with styling by
26796-407: Was forbidden by the Nazis from using the term 'Volkswagen'. The Volkswagen Beetle would be the longest-lasting icon of this 1930s era. Adolf Hitler admired the ideals exemplified by the Ford Model T , (even though he didn't drive himself), and sought the help of Ferdinand Porsche to create a 'peoples-car' ("volkswagen"), with the same ideals for the people of Germany. This car was to complement
26970-412: Was in charge of development. It had a unibody structure, an over-square over head valve engine, a strut-type front suspension, small-diameter road wheels, a three-speed gearbox, brake and clutch pedals suspended from the bulkhead rather than floor-mounted, and integrated fender/body styling. It was light and technically advanced, but GM's management cancelled it, stating that it was not economically viable -
27144-431: Was independent and was used as the basis of the suspension of the first English Cooper racing cars in the 1940s that became successful in the 1950s. It had a four speed gearbox (when three was common) and all hydraulic brakes. It was a similar size to the Austin Seven but much more advanced. It was exported all over the world and produced at the NSU factory in Germany, Steyr-Puch in Austria and Simca in France. It
27318-402: Was independent at the front using coil springs with a live axle and semi elliptic leaf springs at the rear. The drum brakes were a hybrid (hydromech) arrangement, hydraulically operated at the front but cable actuated at the rear. The front drums at 8 in (200 mm) were slightly larger than the 7 in (180 mm) rears. Cam and peg steering was fitted. Individual seats were fitted in
27492-407: Was introduced in 1961. It had a 3.5 in (89 mm) longer wheelbase to increase the space for passengers in the back seats, and the front grille and dashboard were redesigned. The Mark II had more power (37 hp/28 kW) and an SU replaced the previous Zenith carburettor but was otherwise similar mechanically. An anti-roll bar was fitted at the front. The 948 cc engine was replaced in
27666-441: Was invited to consult with Renault about the Renault 4CV. Lefaucheux was enraged that anyone should think the almost production-ready Renault 4CV was in any way inspired by the German Volkswagen , and that the politicians should presume to send Porsche to advise on it. The government insisted on nine meetings with Porsche which took place in rapid succession. Lefaucheux insisted that the meetings would have absolutely no influence on
27840-489: Was offered as a hatchback. The body style was continued for the redesigned Fox platform -based 1979 third generation Mustang and the Mercury Capri derivative. For 1981, Ford offered hatchback versions of its sub-compact Escort and the badge-engineered Mercury Lynx , which were now front-wheel drive. Two-seat hatchback derivatives were introduced for 1982, the Ford EXP and the Mercury LN-7. Chrysler Corporation 's first hatchbacks (and first front-wheel drive cars) were
28014-401: Was on the door handle. A de-luxe version tested by British magazine The Motor in 1958 had a top speed of 66.8 mph (107.5 km/h) and could accelerate from 0–50 mph (80 km/h) in 19.5 seconds. A fuel consumption of 38 miles per imperial gallon (7.4 L/100 km; 32 mpg ‑US ) was recorded. The test car cost £689 including taxes of £230. An A40 Farina Mark II
28188-442: Was only 1,905 millimetres (6 ft 3 in), and the track only 1,016 millimetres (40 in). Equally it was lighter - less than half the Ford's weight at 360 kilograms (794 lb). The engine required for adequate performance was therefore equally reduced and the 747 cubic centimetres (45.6 cu in) sidevalve was quite capable with a modest 7 kilowatts (10 bhp) output. It would also start to catch on in Japan during
28362-460: Was producing half a million Model Ts a year, with a sale price of less than US$ 500 . This was more than the rest of the U.S. auto industry combined and ten times the total national car production of 1908, the year of the cars launch. Also in that year Ford made headlines by increasing the minimum wage of his workers from $ 2.83 for a nine-hour day to $ 5.00 for an eight-hour day , to combat low workforce morale, and employee turnover problems because of
28536-443: Was related to the German Ford Köln ), and Standard Eight (Standard, later became Triumph) were named after their RAC horsepower car tax rating. The Ford Model Y had replaced the Model A in Europe in 1932 and ran until 1937. It was a much smaller and lighter car, weighing one third less, with an engine two thirds smaller in capacity than the Model A. The basic Model Y 'Popular' was an important milestone in British economy cars, being
28710-409: Was replaced with four strokes in western economy cars by the 1960s, but lived on in stagnating and cash strapped Communist East Germany's Trabant and Wartburg and Communist Poland's FSO Syrena until the 1980s. In the late 1920s in Germany , Josef Ganz independent car engineer/inventor and editor of Motor-Kritik magazine had been a fierce opponent of the status quo of car design. He became
28884-423: Was shown at the 1922 London Motor Show . An agreement was reached with Leyland Motors to produce the cars at their Kingston upon Thames factory where work on reconditioning ex RAF wartime trucks was running down. This arrangement would continue until 1928 when Leyland wanted factory space for truck production. During the nearly seven years of the agreement 11,000 cars and 6700 vans were made. The car known as
29058-403: Was shut down and the plant was sold to the General Tire and Rubber Company . In anticipation of a repeat of the post First World War economic recession, GM started the "Chevrolet Cadet" project (a compact car intended to sell for less than US$ 1,000 ), that ran from 1945 to 1947, to extend the Chevrolet range downwards in the U.S. new car market. Chevrolet head of engineering Earle S. MacPherson
29232-410: Was slightly higher. The car cost £693 including taxes of £218. In the popular television series Heartbeat , the character Dr Tricia Summerbee (played by Clare Calbraith ) drove a blue 1963 mark II saloon in series 10–12, with the registration BNK228A. Innocenti also produced A40s under licence from BMC. They began producing knock-down kit versions of the A40 in 1960 but soon progressed to produce
29406-427: Was slightly longer with one additional window on each side and had a small seat for children or as luggage space in the back. This car was advertised as the German Volkswagen. During the early 1930s German car manufacturers one by one adopted the progressive ideas published in Motor-Kritik since the 1920s. In the meantime in May 1933, the Jewish Josef Ganz was arrested by the Gestapo on trumped up charges of blackmail of
29580-409: Was successful in a market segment previously exclusively populated by notchback sedans and, despite making only one body style for 15 years, consumers purchased over 1 3 ⁄ 4 million R16s. Unlike the Renault 4, which had a semi-integrated body, mounted on a platform chassis , and a front mid-mounted and longitudinally placed engine behind the front axle, the 1967 Simca 1100 , which followed in
29754-422: Was the first model launched by Morris Motors . Only 1302 were made. The Oxford was available as a two-seater, or van but the chassis was too short to allow four-seat bodies to be fitted. It made extensive use of bought in components, including many from the U.S. to reduce costs. The 1915-1919 Morris Cowley (about 1400 produced) powered by a new US Continental engine was a bigger stronger better finished version of
29928-400: Was the hardtop, but the hatchback roof and folding rear seat made the Liftback more versatile for quotidian chores or the sort of "active lifestyle" pastimes that so fascinate advertising copywriters. Later, Toyota needed to distinguish between two 5-door versions of the Toyota Corolla , one of which was a conventional 5-door hatchback with a nearly vertical rear hatch while the other one was
30102-431: Was the rear-wheel drive IZh 2125 Kombi , which entered production in 1973. This was followed only in the 1980s by the front-wheel drive Lada Samara in 1984, the Moskvitch 2141/Aleko in 1986, and ZAZ Tavria in 1987. In 2014, four of the top five selling models in Brazil were hatchbacks. However, in the 1980s and 1990s, hatchbacks were less popular than sedans, leading manufacturers to develop compact sedan models for
30276-427: Was voted Car of the Century on December 18, 1999 in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 1929 Chevrolet replaced the 171 cu in (2.8 L) straight-4 engine that dated from 1913, with the 194 cu in (3.2 L) Stovebolt Six engine that was to last until the 1960s as Chevrolet's base engine. A few years later Ford developed the Model 18 with the 221 cu in (3.6 L) flathead V8 . The same car
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