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28-516: The Austin was a brass era American automobile manufactured in Grand Rapids, Michigan from 1901 to 1921. The company, founded by James E. Austin and his son Walter Austin, built large, expensive and powerful touring cars with an unusual double cantilever rear spring arrangement placing the rear wheels behind (sometimes well behind) the passenger compartment, for a longer wheelbase to improve rider comfort in an era of rough roads as well as

56-443: A six with 572in (9383 cc) (4½×6 inches, 114×152 mm) engine was available in a three-passenger tourer or touring roadster . The name "Highway King" was adopted in 1916. In 1917 the company offered a V-12 model of the "Highway King", which was made up until production operations ceased in 1920, due to the postwar recession. Production was never high, running at about 30 cars a year and in total about 1,000 cars were made. After

84-541: A unique two-speed rear axle. The first car, introduced in 1902, was a two-cylinder model with the 16 hp engine under the seat driving the rear wheels through an epicyclic gearbox and chains. It was considerably larger than most other makes of the day. For several years, colors were optional, but most were painted either white with tan trim or light brown. After about 10 were sold they moved to larger engines and shaft drive. Four cylinder models followed in 1904 rated at 35 or 50 hp. The 1907 60 hp (45 kW) LX model

112-440: Is now confined mainly to engines without a battery, for example in lawnmowers and chainsaws. It is also used in modern piston-engined aircraft (even though a battery is present), to avoid the engine relying on an electrical system. As batteries became more common in cars (due to the increased usage of electric starter motors), magneto systems were replaced by systems using an induction coil . The 1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen and

140-619: The Arnold in 1898, though Robert Bosch , 1903, tends to get the credit), independent suspension (actually conceived by Bollée in 1873), and four- wheel brakes (by the Arrol-Johnston Company of Scotland in 1909). Leaf springs were widely used for suspension , though many other systems were still in use. Transmissions and throttle controls were widely adopted, allowing a variety of cruising speeds, though vehicles generally still had discrete speed settings, rather than

168-474: The 1908 Ford Model T used a trembler coil ignition system, whereby the trembler interrupted the current through the coil and caused a rapid series of sparks during each firing. The trembler coil would be energized at an appropriate point in the engine cycle. In the Model T, the four-cylinder engine had a trembler coil for each cylinder. An improved ignition system was invented by Charles Kettering at Delco in

196-464: The 1990s. An ignition magneto (also called a high-tension magneto ) is an older type of ignition system used in spark-ignition engines (such as petrol engines). It uses a magneto and a transformer to make pulses of high voltage for the spark plugs. The older term "high-tension" means "high-voltage". Used on many cars in the early 20th century, ignition magnetos were largely replaced by induction coil ignition systems. The use of ignition magnetos

224-546: The Brass Era were larger, more expensive luxury vehicles, such as those built by Packard, Peerless, Pierce-Arrow, Cadillac, and other premium manufacturers. 1915, the agreed-upon cutoff of the Brass Era, was the final year the Ford Model T was available with brass fitments. At this point the style had also begun to be considered outdated, and by the 1920s few if any vehicles continued to employ brass in their designs. In

252-621: The United States and introduced in Cadillac's 1912 cars. The Kettering ignition system consisted of a single ignition coil, breaker points, a capacitor (to prevent the points from arcing at break) and a distributor (to direct the electricity from the ignition coil to the correct cylinder). The Kettering system became the primary ignition system for many years in the automotive industry due to its lower cost and relative simplicity. The first electronic ignition (a cold cathode type)

280-401: The automobile was invented a few years before the start of the Brass Era, the 20 years that make up this era represent the beginning of the automotive industry. It was a period of small-scale manufacturing, experimental designs, and alternative power systems. The middle of this period saw the introduction of Panhard et Levassor's Système Panhard , a front-engine, rear-drive design that became

308-583: The breakerless magnetic pulse-triggered Delcotronic, on some 1963 models; it was also available on some Corvettes . The first commercially available all solid-state (SCR) capacitive discharge ignition was manufactured by Hyland Electronics in Canada also in 1963. Ford fitted a FORD designed breakerless system on the Lotus 25s entered at Indianapolis the next year, ran a fleet test in 1964, and began offering optional EI on some models in 1965. This electronic system

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336-582: The company closed the Austins moved into the real estate business. Brass era Elsewhere in the world, this period would be considered by antique car enthusiasts to consist of the veteran (pre-1904), and Edwardian eras, although these terms are really not meaningful outside the former British Empire. Early automakers turned to brass for their vehicles for both its looks and function. It held up well against tarnishing and bad weather, but required regular polishing to maintain its appearance. Though

364-439: The completeness of the present record, and in order to aid future scholars and research workers, I should like to give the list of American automobiles current thirty years ago [i.e., 1917]: A great many more names, including Brush , Duryea , Alco , Speedwell , and Waverly , had already disappeared from the scene by 1917. Ignition system Ignition systems are used by heat engines to initiate combustion by igniting

392-408: The country, just as hundreds of locomotive plants had sprung up in the early days of railroading. In both instances, however, the great majority faded out of the picture once the industry had become firmly established. As late as 1917, there were 127 different makes of American automobiles on the market, as compared with little more than a dozen in 1947 [i.e. at the time of this writing]. For the sake of

420-531: The distributor as a timing apparatus and use a magnetic crank angle sensor mounted on the crankshaft to trigger the ignition at the proper time. Modern automotive engines use an engine control unit (ECU), which is a single device that controls various engine functions including the ignition system and the fuel injection . This contrasts earlier engines, where the fuel injection and ignition were operated as separate systems. Gas turbine engines (including jet engines) use capacitor discharge ignition , however

448-411: The early part of this period, steam-car development had advanced, making steam cars some of the fastest road vehicles of their day. Electric cars also held a market share throughout the era. Development of automotive technology was rapid, due in part to hundreds of small manufacturers competing to gain the world's attention. Key developments included the electric ignition system (by dynamotor on

476-478: The entire range of automobiles available to the mass market in the United States. This list included: Fred H. Colvin , who covered the American automotive industry for many years as a journalist and editor of trade journals, wrote in his memoir (1947) about his experiences: I have already indicated how the early "craze" for horseless carriages caused automobile plants to spring up like mushroom growths all over

504-401: The fuel-air mixture. In a spark ignition versions of the internal combustion engine (such as petrol engines), the ignition system creates a spark to ignite the fuel-air mixture just before each combustion stroke . Gas turbine engines and rocket engines normally use an ignition system only during start-up. Diesel engines use compression ignition to ignite the fuel-air mixture using

532-482: The heat of compression and therefore do not use an ignition system. They usually have glowplugs that preheat the combustion chamber to aid starting in cold weather. Early cars used ignition magneto and trembler coil systems, which were superseded by Distributor -based systems (first used in 1912). Electronic ignition systems (first used in 1968) became common towards the end of the 20th century, with coil-on-plug versions of these systems becoming widespread since

560-474: The industry standard for decades. Through this period, electric, gasoline, and steam propulsion power were the powertrains of choice, though gas-powered internal combustion engines were dominant by the end of this period. Various body styles were also in vogue at the time, including the high-wheel motor buggy (resembling the horse buggy of before 1900), runabouts , tonneaus , and other more expensive closed bodies. The vehicles most closely associated with

588-511: The infinitely variable system familiar in cars of later eras. Safety glass also made its debut, patented by John Wood in England in 1905, but would not become standard equipment until 1926 on a Rickenbacker . Angle steel took over from armored wood as the frame material of choice, and in 1912, Hupp pioneered the use of all-steel bodies, joined in 1914 by Dodge . In January, 1904, Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly magazine catalogued

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616-399: The non-CD Prest-O-Lite system introduced on AMC products in 1972, and made standard equipment for the 1975 model year.) A similar CD unit was available from Delco in 1966, which was optional on Oldsmobile , Pontiac, and GMC vehicles in the 1967 model year. Also in 1967, Motorola debuted their breakerless CD system. The most famous aftermarket electronic ignition which debuted in 1965,

644-437: The same time); in the four-cycle engine this means that one plug will be sparking during the end of the exhaust stroke while the other fires at the usual time, a so-called " wasted spark " arrangement which has no drawbacks apart from faster spark plug erosion; the paired cylinders are 1/4 and 2/3 on four cylinder arrangements, 1/4, 6/3, 2/5 on six cylinder engines and 6/7, 4/1, 8/3 and 2/5 on V8 engines. Other systems do away with

672-499: Was an eight-seat tourer. The Model XC in 1908 was a 90 hp (67 kW) 13-litre six and described as the "sportiest kind of car it is possible to get", by Walter S. Austin . Depending on coachwork it could cost up to $ 7000. The car's wheelbase was extremely large at 147 in (3,700 mm). By 1911, the vehicles were equipped with electric lights and left-hand steering and in 1913 two speed rear axles were introduced. The four cylinder models were dropped after 1908 and for 1915,

700-486: Was tested in 1948 by Delco-Remy , while Lucas introduced a transistorized ignition in 1955, which was used on BRM and Coventry Climax Formula One engines in 1962. The aftermarket began offering EI that year, with both the AutoLite Electric Transistor 201 and Tung-Sol EI-4 (thyratron capacitive discharge) being available. Pontiac became the first automaker to offer an optional EI,

728-564: Was the Delta Mark 10 capacitive discharge ignition, which was sold assembled or as a kit. The Fiat Dino was the first production car to come standard with EI in 1968, followed by the Jaguar XJ Series 1 in 1971, Chrysler (after a 1971 trial) in 1973 and by Ford and GM in 1975. In 1967, Prest-O-Lite made a "Black Box" ignition amplifier, intended to take the load off the distributor's breaker points during high rpm runs, which

756-614: Was used by Dodge and Plymouth on their factory Super Stock Coronet and Belvedere drag racers . This amplifier was installed on the interior side of the cars' firewall, and had a duct which provided outside air to cool the unit. The rest of the system (distributor and spark plugs) remains as for the mechanical system. The lack of moving parts compared with the mechanical system leads to greater reliability and longer service intervals. A variation coil-on-plug ignition has each coil handle two plugs, on cylinders which are 360 degrees out of phase (and therefore reach top dead center (TDC) at

784-688: Was utilized on the GT40s campaigned by Shelby American and Holman and Moody. Robert C. Hogle, Ford Motor Company, presented the, "Mark II-GT Ignition and Electrical System", Publication #670068, at the SAE Congress, Detroit, Michigan, January 9–13, 1967. Beginning in 1958, Earl W. Meyer at Chrysler worked on EI, continuing until 1961 and resulting in use of EI on the company's NASCAR hemis in 1963 and 1964. Prest-O-Lite 's CD-65, which relied on capacitance discharge (CD), appeared in 1965, and had "an unprecedented 50,000 mile warranty." (This differs from

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