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118-518: A press release early in 1935 stated that Adam Opel AG, backed by the Reich government, had decided to build a new plant at Brandenburg an der Havel because the existing Rüsselsheim headquarters was operating at full capacity. Opel, a subsidiary of General Motors (GM) since 1929, were an obvious candidate for the project, having pioneered mass production techniques in German passenger car production: by

236-599: A "reinvigorated" third one. Subsequently the Nazi regime was (unofficially) called the " Third Reich "; this usage was sometimes contemporaneous, but mostly retrospective and applied by non-Germans. Following the Anschluss annexation of Austria in 1938, Nazi Germany informally named itself the Greater German Reich ( German : Großdeutsches Reich ). This name was made the official state name only during

354-566: A further 8,336 low chassis models for special conversions: these were mostly destined to support bus bodies. They were initially fitted with GM Buick Marquette flathead six-cylinder 3.5 L engines, until Opel from 1937 installed the newly developed 3.6 L overhead valve engines they also mounted in Admiral luxury cars. The four-wheel drive Blitz "A" ( Allrad ) was added to the range in July 1940, with 24,981 built until 1944. In military service,

472-473: A government demand for a four-wheel-drive passenger vehicle. The modern Geländewagen such as the Mercedes-Benz G-Class still feature some of the attributes, with the exception of fully independent suspension, since it can compromise ground clearance. The Unimog is also a result of Mercedes 4x4 technology. The first Russian-produced four-wheel-drive vehicle, also in part for civilian use, was

590-609: A halt to all civilian vehicle manufacturing and the robust Opel Blitz 3.6 truck became a standard medium-duty military vehicle of the Wehrmacht. In July 1942 one of the company's rising talents was appointed to take over as production direction: Heinrich Nordhoff would later become more widely known as the leader who built up the Volkswagen business in Wolfsburg . On 6 August 1944 a RAF air raid destroyed an estimated 20% of

708-587: A mechanical differential between the front and rear axles. An example of this is the dual-motor variant of the Tesla Model S , which controls the torque distribution between its two motors electronically. According to the SAE International standard J1952, AWD is the preferred term for all the systems described above. The standard subdivides AWD systems into three categories. Part-time AWD systems require driver intervention to couple and decouple

826-534: A production GT sports car. While most 4WD systems split torque evenly, the Jensen split torque roughly 40% front, 60% rear by gearing the front and rear at different ratios. American Motors Corporation (AMC) acquired Kaiser's Jeep Division in 1970 and quickly upgraded and expanded the entire line of off-road 4WD vehicles. With its added roadworthiness, the top-range full-sized Grand Wagoneer continued to compete with traditional luxury cars . Partially hand-built, it

944-576: A set of specific components and functions, and intended off-road application, which generally complies with modern use of the terminology. Four-wheel-drive systems were developed in many different markets and used in many different vehicle platforms . There is no universally accepted set of terminology that describes the various architectures and functions. The terms used by various manufacturers often reflect marketing rather than engineering considerations or significant technical differences between systems. SAE International 's standard J1952 recommends only

1062-550: A total of 41,674 units made by 1928. Daimler-Benz also has a history in four-wheel drive. After the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft had built a four-wheel-driven vehicle called Dernburg-Wagen , also equipped with four-wheel steering , in 1907, that was used by German colonial civil servant, Bernhard Dernburg, in Namibia ; Mercedes and BMW, in 1926, introduced some rather sophisticated four-wheel drives,

1180-399: A two-door roadster, a two-door pickup truck, and a four-door phaeton, all equipped with a transfer case that engaged the front wheels, powered by a 1.3-litre, two-cylinder, air-cooled OHV V-twin engine. The 1937 Mercedes-Benz G5 and BMW 325 4×4 featured full-time four-wheel drive, four-wheel steering, three locking differentials, and fully independent suspension. They were produced because of

1298-412: A wheel is slipping, and only activates when wheel slip is detected. Therefore, typically no mechanism exists to actively prevent wheel slip (i.e., locking the differential in advance of wheel slip is not possible); rather, the system is designed to expressly permit wheel slip to occur, and then to attempt to send torque to the wheels with the best traction. If preventing all-wheel slip is a requirement, this

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1416-598: A whole." After 1973, however, the claimed identity of the Federal Republic with the German Reich was not recognised by most other countries of the world. The Soviet Union, the three Western allies, and most other Western countries regarded the German Reich as still being one nation—not synonymous with either the West or East German state but rather the two states in collective. Other countries tended to regard

1534-423: Is a limiting design. The architecture of an AWD/4WD system can be described by showing its possible operating modes. A single vehicle may have the ability to operate in multiple modes depending on driver selection. The different modes are: In addition to these basic modes, some implementations can combine these modes. The system could have a clutch across the center differential, for example, capable of modulating

1652-430: Is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case providing an additional output drive shaft and, in many instances, additional gear ranges . A four-wheel drive vehicle with torque supplied to both axles is described as "all-wheel drive" (AWD). However, "four-wheel drive" typically refers to

1770-441: Is distributed to all four wheels, a third or 'center' differential can be used to distribute power between the front and rear axles. The described system handles extremely well, as it is able to accommodate various forces of movement and distribute power evenly and smoothly, making slippage unlikely. Once it does slip, however, recovery is difficult. If the left front wheel of a 4WD vehicle slips on an icy patch of road, for instance,

1888-458: Is exceeded at the low-traction side. A fairly recent innovation in automobiles is electronic traction control . It typically uses a vehicle's braking system to slow a spinning wheel. This forced slowing emulates the function of a limited-slip differential, and by using the brakes more aggressively to ensure wheels are being driven at the same speed, can also emulate a locking differential. This technique normally requires wheel sensors to detect when

2006-460: Is much less acceptable for 4WD vehicles, because 4WD vehicles have twice as many wheels with which to lose traction, increasing the likelihood that it may happen. 4WD vehicles may also be more likely to drive on surfaces with reduced traction. However, since torque is divided between four wheels rather than two, each wheel receives roughly half the torque of a 2WD vehicle, reducing the potential for wheel slip. Many differentials have no way of limiting

2124-501: Is today the location of the town's Silo Canal East industrial zone. At the time of the Opel project, the vast area was not fully needed and much of it continued to be devoted to agricultural production. It appears that the project involved displacing local residents, but the 1935 press release reassured readers that the unused portion of the plant site would, until further notice, be made available free of charge to former residents displaced by

2242-572: The Bundestag by the constitutionally required two-thirds majorities; effecting on the one hand, the extinction of the GDR, and on the other, the agreed amendments to the Basic Law of the Federal Republic. Hence, although the GDR had nominally declared its accession to the Federal Republic under Article 23 of the Basic Law, this did not imply its acceptance of the Basic Law as it then stood; but rather of

2360-568: The Canadian Military Pattern trucks , of which 4x4s were by far the most prevalent of their various driveline configurations. All told, North America built about 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 million 4x4 driven vehicles during the war, Availability of certain critical components, such transfer cases and especially constant-velocity joints affected development. Though not used much on commercial vehicles, all-wheel drive vehicles all needed these; and they would use two or three times

2478-681: The Flensburg Government he had formed. On 5 June 1945, the Allies signed the Berlin Declaration concerning the defeat of Germany and the assumption of supreme authority over Germany, by which they established the Allied Control Council and assumed supreme authority over German territory. The Federal Republic of Germany asserted, following its establishment on 23 May 1949, that within its boundaries it

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2596-632: The GAZ-61 , developed in the Soviet Union in 1938. "Civilian use" may be a bit of a misnomer, as most, if not all, were used by the Soviet government and military (as command cars), but the GAZ-61-73 version is the first four-wheel-drive vehicle with a normal closed sedan body. Elements of the chassis were used in subsequent military vehicles such as the 1940 GAZ-64 and the 1943 GAZ-67 , as well as

2714-588: The German Confederation , especially by the Prussian aristocracy and the King of Prussia himself, which opposed German nationalism , as then was associated with the idea of popular sovereignty . A 1923 book entitled Das Dritte Reich by Arthur Moeller van den Bruck counted the medieval Holy Roman Empire as the first, and the 1871–1918 monarchy as the second, which was then to be followed by

2832-639: The German question after the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, realised with the support of his national liberal allies. On the other hand, the German Reich of 1871 comprised extended Prussian territories with large non-German sections of the population, like Posen , West Prussia or Schleswig , and also territories with predominantly German populations which had never been constitutionally "German" (Holy Roman), such as East Prussia . Bismarck

2950-476: The Imperial German Navy underwent a rapid expansion concurrently to protect these new colonies. At the same time strong Pan-Germanic political forces emerged, pressing for the borders of the Reich to be extended into a multiethnic German-led Central European empire, emulating and rivalling Imperial Russia to the east. Before and during the events of World War I , the German state

3068-740: The Republic of Poland and the Soviet Union . In 1973, in a review of the previous year's Basic Treaty between East and West Germany , the German Federal Constitutional Court ( Bundesverfassungsgericht ) ruled that according to the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany the German Reich had outlasted the collapse in 1945, and hence had continued to exist as an “overall state”, albeit one not itself capable of action. The court ruled that since 1949

3186-556: The constitution of the Weimar Republic , where Article 1 identifies the Reich as deriving its authority from the German national people, while Article 2 identifies the state territory under the Reich as the lands which, at the time of the constitution's adoption, were within the authority of the German state. The identity of Reich and people ran both ways—not only did the institutions of the German state derive their legitimacy from

3304-539: The k. u. k. Hofwagenfabrik Ludwig Lohner & Co. in Vienna in 1899, presented to the public during the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris. The vehicle was a series hybrid car that used an electric hub motor at each wheel, powered by batteries, which were in turn charged by a gasoline-engine generator. It was clumsily heavy, and due to its unusual status, the so-called Lohner–Porsche is not frequently given its credit as

3422-446: The "German Empire" ( Deutsches Kaiserreich in German historiography), while the term "German Reich" describes Germany from 1871 to 1945. As the literal translation "German Empire" denotes a monarchy, the term is used only in reference to Germany before the fall of the monarchy at the end of World War I in 1918. After the unification of Germany , under the reign of the Prussian king Wilhelm I and his Chancellor Otto von Bismarck ,

3540-546: The "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" from 1512. The Holy Roman Empire however was not exclusively German-speaking but constituted a supranational entity extending beyond the frontiers of the German language area ( Sprachraum ). The first attempt to re-establish a "German Empire" during the 1848 March Revolution by the Frankfurt Constitution ultimately failed: it was aborted by the monarchs of

3658-585: The 1920s. Today in North America, the term is applied to both heavy vehicles and light passenger vehicles. When referring to heavy vehicles, the term is increasingly applied to mean "permanent multiple-wheel drive" on 2×2 , 4×4, 6×6, or 8×8 drive-train systems that include a differential between the front and rear drive shafts. This is often coupled with some sort of antislip technology, increasingly hydraulics-based, that allows differentials to spin at different speeds, but still be capable of transferring

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3776-672: The American Four Wheel Drive Auto Company (FWD) of Wisconsin , founded in 1908. (not to be confused with the term "FWD" as an initialism for front-wheel-drive ) Along with the 1 1 ⁄ 2 - and 2-ton Nash Quad (see below), the 3-ton FWD Model B became a standard military four-wheel-drive truck for the U.S. Army in World War I. Some 16,000 FWD Model B trucks were built for the British and American armies during World War I – about half by FWD and

3894-561: The August air raid, manufacturing was continued by Mercedes-Benz in Mannheim , replacing the company's L3000 model. Between 1940 and 1943 the chassis of the Wehrmacht medium standard passenger car ( Einheits-PKW ), an all-wheel drive vehicle for military use, which had been originally developed in 1935-36 by Auto Union as Horch 901 in Zwickau , was also assembled under licence at

4012-790: The Basic Law as subsequently amended in line with the Unification Treaty and the Treaty of Final Settlement. These amendments had the effect of removing all those clauses by which the Federal Constitutional Court had formerly maintained the identity of the Federal Republic with the historic 'German Reich', specifically including the very Article 23 that had provided the basis for the Volkskammer's declaration of accession. Four-wheel drive A four-wheel drive , also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD ,

4130-479: The Basic Law to be recognized as a State (albeit not organized and therefore not capable of action), and that accordingly the mutual restriction of sovereign power to the territory of the State and respect for the independence and autonomy of each of the two States in domestic and foreign affairs has its reference to the special situation in which both States find themselves vis-à-vis each other as sub-States of Germany as

4248-413: The Basic Law was repealed, closing off the possibility for any further states to apply for membership of the Federal Republic; while Article 146 was amended to state explicitly that the territory of the newly unified republic comprised the entirety of the German people; "This Basic Law, which since the achievement of the unity and freedom of Germany applies to the entire German people, shall cease to apply on

4366-542: The Empire never comprised all "German" lands; as it excluded Luxembourg , and those Cisleithanian crown lands of Austria-Hungary which had been part of the former German Confederation until 1865. Moreover, it included the whole of the Kingdom of Prussia , the eastern parts of which had never been included in historic German lands. The unification under Prussian leadership manifested Bismarck's "Lesser German" solution of

4484-597: The Federal Republic (FRG) had been partially identical with the German Reich and not merely its successor . The court further elaborated that the 'partial identity' of the FRG was limited to apply only within its current de facto territory; and hence the Federal Republic could not claim an exclusive mandate for the territory of the Reich then under the de facto government of the German Democratic Republic; "identity does not require exclusivity". This

4602-478: The Federal Republic; and hence, like them, could never be accorded by the organs of the Federal Republic full recognition as a state in international law; even though the Federal Constitutional Court recognised that, within international law, the GDR was indeed an independent sovereign state. The constitutional status of the GDR under the Basic Law still differed from that of the Länder of the Federal Republic, in that

4720-563: The G1, the G4, and G4 following. Mercedes and BMW developed this further in 1937. The American Marmon-Herrington Company was founded in 1931 to serve a growing market for moderately priced four-wheel-drive vehicles. Marmon-Herrington specialized in converting Ford trucks to four-wheel drive and got off to a successful start by procuring contracts for military and commercial aircraft refueling trucks, 4×4 chassis for towing light weaponry, and an order from

4838-586: The GDR had not declared its accession to the Basic Law; but the Constitutional Court maintained that the Basic Treaty was consistent with the GDR declaring its accession at some time in the future in accordance with its own constitution; and hence the Court determined that in recognising the GDR as a de jure German State, the Basic Treaty could be interpreted as facilitating the reunification of

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4956-471: The German Reich (as indeed it eventually did). So long as any de jure German state remained separated from the rest, the German Reich could continue to exist only in suspension; but should the GDR be reunited with the Federal Republic, the Reich would once more be fully capable of action as a sovereign state. "In Article 6 the Contracting Parties agree that they shall base themselves on

5074-569: The German Reich as having been divided into two distinct states in international law, and accordingly accorded both states full diplomatic recognition. As of 1974, East Germany's official stance was that the GDR was a new state that is German in nature, a successor of the German Reich, and that there were then two German states that were different nations. When the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany between Germany and

5192-622: The German national people according to the principle of jus sanguinis , and drawing on the rhetoric of "the sovereignty of the nation" in the Frankfurt Constitution —albeit that many ethnic " Germans " (as with the German-speaking peoples of Austria) remained outside the national people constituting the German Empire of 1871 and also that the Empire of 1871 included extensive territories (such as Posen ) with predominantly non-German populations. This transition became formalised in

5310-447: The German people, so, too, the German people derived their inherent identity and patriotic duties from their being collectively constituted as an organ and institution of the German Reich. Subsequently the term "German Reich" continued to be applied both as identifying with the national people, and also with the state territory; but increasingly, the application of the term to the German national people came to be seen as primary. Following

5428-506: The Iraqi Pipeline Company for what were the largest trucks built at the time. The early Marmon-Herringtons proved to be the exception to the rule — 4WD cars and trucks developed in the 1930s were mainly built for governments, with (future) warfare applications in mind. Dodge developed its first four-wheel-drive truck in 1934 — a military 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 ton designated K-39-X-4(USA), of which 796 units were built for

5546-493: The J1952 standard notes secondary classifications resulting in a total of eight systems, designated as: Two wheels fixed to the same axle (but on the opposite axle ends) need to turn at different speeds as a vehicle goes around a curve. The reason is that the wheel that is located on the inner side of the curve needs to travel less distance than the opposite wheel for the same duration of time. However, if both wheels are connected to

5664-616: The Jeep, and also inline-four powered, the Land Rover appeared at the Amsterdam Motor Show in 1948. Originally conceived as a stop-gap product for the struggling Rover car company, despite chronic underinvestment, it succeeded far better than their passenger cars. Inspired by a Willys MB – the ubiquitous WWII "jeep" – that was frequently run off-road on the farm belonging to chief engineer Maurice Wilks , Land Rover developed

5782-508: The Nazis as a historical aberration. The name "Weimar Republic" was first used in 1929 after Hitler referred to the period as the " Republik von Weimar " (Republic of Weimar, after the city ( Weimar ) which held its constitutional assembly) at a rally in Munich with the term later becoming mainstream during the 1930s both within and outside Germany. The Nazis also contemptuously referred to it as "

5900-536: The North American market, the term generally refers to a system optimized for off-road driving conditions. The term "4WD" is typically designated for vehicles equipped with a transfer case that switches between 2WD and 4WD operating modes, either manually or automatically. All-wheel drive (AWD) was historically synonymous with "four-wheel drive" on four-wheeled vehicles, and six-wheel drive on 6×6s , and so on, being used in that fashion at least as early as

6018-711: The Opel Brandenburg plant. Equipped with Blitz straight-six engines, Ambi Budd produced the coachwork and completed the vehicles at its plant in Berlin- Johannisthal . With an unladen weight exceeding 2.7 tons, the stiff cars largely proved impracticable on the fronts. 52°25′20″N 12°31′40″E  /  52.42222°N 12.52778°E  / 52.42222; 12.52778 German Reich German Reich ( lit.   ' German Empire, German Realm ' from German : Deutsches Reich , pronounced [ˌdɔʏtʃəs ˈʁaɪç] )

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6136-491: The Second World War, the term "German Reich" fell out of use in constitutional formulations, being replaced by the term "nation as a whole", as applied to denote the state as a totality of the German national people; and the term "Germany as a whole", as applied to denote the state as a totality of German national territory. The 1918–1933 republic , which was also called the German Reich, was ignored and denounced by

6254-441: The Soviet built Moskvitch 400-420 , the existing Opel Blitz truck range never returned as Soviet vehicles. In November 1935 the company had 680 employees, which had risen to 3,365 by 1940. The plant's peak employment level reached 4,286, in 1943. Between April 1937 and August 1944 the plant produced 82,356 Blitz 3.6-36 „S" ( Standard for rear-wheel drive) 3-tonne trucks, plus a further 14,122 3.6-42 long-wheelbase versions and

6372-564: The System ". On 8 May 1945, with the capitulation of the German armed forces, the supreme command of the Wehrmacht was handed over to the Allies . The Allies refused to recognise Karl Dönitz as Reichspräsident or to recognise the legitimacy of his Flensburg Government (so-called because it was based at Flensburg and controlled only a small area around the town) and, on 5 June 1945,

6490-428: The U.S. Army in several configurations. Timken supplied front axles and transfer cases, added to militarized a civilian truck. The Timken transfer case was the first part-time design, that allowed the driver to engage or disengage four-wheel drive using a lever inside the cab. In spite of the limited 1930s U.S. military budgets, the '34 truck was liked well-enough that a more modern 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 ton truck

6608-624: The accession of the Federal Republic to the European Union within the Basic Law; hence with the subsequent accession of Poland to the EU, the constitutional bar on pursuing any claim to territories beyond the Oder–Neisse line was reinforced. Insofar as the German Reich may be claimed to continue in existence as 'Germany as a whole', the former eastern territories of Germany in Poland or Russia, and

6726-480: The amount of engine power that gets sent to their attached output shafts. As a result, if a tire loses traction on acceleration, either because of a low-traction situation (e.g., driving on gravel or ice) or the engine power overcomes available traction, the tire that is not slipping receives little or no power from the engine. In very low-traction situations, this can prevent the vehicle from moving at all. To overcome this, several designs of differentials can either limit

6844-442: The amount of slip (these are called 'limited-slip' differentials) or temporarily lock the two output shafts together to ensure that engine power reaches all driven wheels equally. Locking differentials work by temporarily locking together a differential's output shafts, causing all wheels to turn at the same rate, providing torque in case of slippage. This is generally used for the center differential, which distributes power between

6962-613: The boundaries of East Germany, West Germany and Berlin; "The united Germany has no territorial claims whatsoever against other states and shall not assert any in the future." Furthermore the Basic Law of the Federal Republic was required to be amended to state explicitly that full German unification had now been achieved, such that the new German state comprised the entirety of Germany, and that all constitutional mechanisms should be removed by which any territories outside those boundaries could otherwise subsequently be admitted; these amendments being bound by treaty not to be revoked. Article 23 of

7080-473: The complete front-engine, four-wheel-drive system. The AMC Eagle was offered as a sedan , coupe , and station wagon with permanent automatic all-wheel drive passenger models. The new Eagles combined Jeep technology with an existing and proven AMC passenger automobile platform . They ushered a whole new product category of "sport-utility" or crossover SUV . AMC's Eagles came with the comfort and high-level appointments expected of regular passenger models and used

7198-556: The connotation of "Realm" or "State", its original (1871) definition. "German Reich" was used in legal documents and English-language international treaties—for example, the Kellogg–Briand Pact and the Geneva Conventions . Apart from official documents, post-World War I Germany was referred to as the "German Reich"—never as the "German Empire"—for example, by British politicians —and in the aftermath of World War II

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7316-424: The day on which a constitution freely adopted by the German people takes effect". This was confirmed in the 1990 rewording of the preamble; "Germans..have achieved the unity and freedom of Germany in free self-determination . This Basic Law thus applies to the entire German people." In place of the former Article 23 under which the former GDR had declared its accession to the Federal Republic, a new Article 23 embedded

7434-457: The development. The groundbreaking took place on 7 April 1935, and on 10 August 1935 it was possible to celebrate the completion of the building's shell. On 18 November 1935, just 190 days after the cornerstone had been laid, the first truck came off the production line. Production took place in one of several 24,200-square-metre (260,000 sq ft) two-storey production halls 178 metres (584 ft) long. Coach work and painting took place on

7552-409: The differential to the wheel, at different speeds. The differential does this by distributing angular force (in the form of torque ) evenly, while distributing angular velocity (turning speed) such that the average for the two output shafts is equal to that of the differential ring gear . When powered, each axle requires a differential to distribute power between the left and right sides. When power

7670-545: The driver of getting out to lock hubs and having to manually select between 2WD and 4WD modes, it dominated all other makes in FIA rally competition. Gene Henderson and Ken Pogue won the Press-on-Regardless Rally FIA championship with a Quadra Trac-equipped Jeep in 1972. American Motors introduced the innovative Eagle for the 1980 model year. These were the first American mass-production cars to use

7788-587: The early years of the war, they relied significantly on Lend-Lease vehicles, provided by the western allies. In 1943, they launched a further-developed version: the GAZ-67 . By contrast, the Axis powers ' closest equivalent to the jeep, the VW Kübelwagen , of which only some 50,000 were built, though being equipped with portal gear hubs, only had rear-wheel drive. Willys introduced the model CJ-2A in 1945,

7906-483: The expanded Federal Republic describes itself as "United Germany ", emphasizing that it does not now recognize any territories once included in the former German Reich outside its boundaries as having a valid claim to be a part of Germany as a whole. In referring to the entire period between 1871 and 1945, the partially translated English phrase " German Reich " ( /- ˈ r aɪ k / ) is applied by historians in formal contexts; although in common English usage this state

8024-431: The first four-wheel driven automobile. The world's first four-wheel-drive car directly powered by an internal-combustion engine, and the first with a front-engine, four-wheel-drive layout , was the Dutch Spyker 60 H.P., Commissioned for the Paris to Madrid race of 1903, it was presented that year by brothers Jacobus and Hendrik-Jan Spijker of Amsterdam . The two-seat sports car featured permanent four-wheel drive and

8142-425: The first full-production four-wheel-drive vehicle for sale in the general marketplace. Due to the ubiquitous World War II Jeep's success, its rugged utilitarianism set the pattern for many four-wheel-drive vehicles to come. Dodge also started production of the civilian 4WD Power Wagon trucks, for the 1946 model year. Both the Willys and the Dodge were developed directly from their WW II predecessors. Equally boxy to

8260-540: The forerunner of the designs that followed from other manufacturers. The automobile press at the time tested the traction of the Eagles and described it as far superior to the Subaru's and that it could beat many so-called off-road vehicles. Four Wheeler magazine concluded that the AMC Eagle was "The beginning of a new generation of cars." The Eagles were popular (particularly in the snowbelt ), had towing capacity, and came in several equipment levels including sport and luxury trims. Two additional models were added in 1981,

8378-429: The four powers signed the Berlin Declaration and assumed de jure supreme authority with respect to Germany. The declaration confirmed the complete legal extinction of the Third Reich with the death of Adolf Hitler on 30 April 1945, but asserted the continued subsequent existence of a German people and a German national territory; although subject to the four signatory powers also asserting their authority to determine

8496-400: The front and the rear axles. While a drivetrain that turns all wheels equally would normally fight the driver and cause handling problems, this is not a concern when wheels are slipping. Some designs use gearing to create a small rotational difference that hastens torque transfer. A typical Torsen II differential can deliver up to twice as much torque to the high-traction side before traction

8614-457: The front axle torque from a full-time mode with the 30:70 torque split of the center differential to the 0:100 torque split of the 2WD mode. In 1893, before the establishment of the modern automotive industry in Britain, English engineer Bramah Joseph Diplock patented a four-wheel drive system for a steam-powered traction engine , including four-wheel steering and three differentials , which

8732-532: The front two in front-wheel drive or the rear two in rear-wheel drive . Similarly, a 6×4 vehicle has three axles, two of which provide torque to two axle ends each. If this vehicle were a truck with dual rear wheels on two rear axles, so actually having ten wheels, its configuration would still be formulated as 6x4. During World War II, the U.S. military would typically use spaces and a capital 'X' – as "4 X 2" or "6 X 4". Four-wheel drive (4WD) refers to vehicles with two axles providing torque to four axle ends. In

8850-405: The fundamental amendments to the Basic Law required by the Treaty of Final Settlement) was achieved constitutionally by the subsequent Unification Treaty of 31 August 1990; that is through a binding agreement between the former GDR and the Federal Republic now recognising each another as separate sovereign states in international law. This treaty was then voted into effect by both the Volkskammer and

8968-614: The future boundaries of Germany. At the Potsdam Conference , Allied-occupied Germany was defined as comprising "Germany as a whole"; and was divided into British , French , American and Soviet occupation zones; while the Allied Powers exercised the state authority assumed by the Berlin Declaration in transferring the former eastern territories of the German Reich east of the Oder–Neisse line to

9086-487: The ground floor, while chassis, engines, and axles were assembled on the upper floor. There were a total of 1,200 production machines, each with its own motor, which allowed for a greater flexibility than the belt-driven machines characteristic of more traditional factory layouts. Twenty-seven production lines had a total length in excess of 5,000 meters (over 3 miles). The plant had its own power station which produced 4,000 kW of power, consuming 7 tonnes of coal per hour in

9204-615: The he official name "German Reich ". According to the decree of the Chief of the Reich Chancellery Hans Lammers of 26 June 1943, the name "Greater German Reich " became mandatory in official documents. The German Reich collapsed de facto with the death of Adolf Hitler on 30 April 1945, when the Allies decided not to recognise Karl Dönitz as the Reich President and to grant no legitimacy to

9322-580: The historic German states ( e.g. Bavaria and Saxony ) were united with Prussia under imperial rule, by the Hohenzollern dynasty . On 18 January 1871, Wilhelm I was proclaimed "German Emperor" at the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles , the German Reich was officially declared Deutsches Reich , or "German Empire", explicitly harking back to the extinct Holy Roman Empire . The title "German Emperor"

9440-404: The inclusion or exclusion of a low-range gear. On-demand AWD systems drive the secondary axle via an active or passive coupling device or "by an independently powered drive system". The standard notes that in some cases, the secondary drive system may also provide the primary vehicle propulsion. An example is a hybrid AWD vehicle where the primary axle is driven by an internal combustion engine and

9558-567: The last two years (1943–1945) of Nazi rule under Adolf Hitler , although the change was never proclaimed. After World War II , the denotation "German Reich " quickly fell into disuse in Allied-occupied Germany , however, and the state's continued existence remained a matter of debate; the post-war Bonn Republic maintained the continued existence of the German Reich as an 'overall state", but dormant while East and West Germany continued to be divided. Nevertheless, when Germany

9676-586: The late 1920s the company held more than 25% of the domestic passenger car market. Rapid progress was envisaged, with the factory scheduled to be ready for use in October 1935, in order to free up capacity at Rüsselsheim ahead of the launch of the 1936 passenger car range. The available site in Brandenburg covered 850,000 square metres (9,100,000 sq ft) on the southern bank of the Silo Canal and

9794-415: The military on a large scale, four-wheel drive and all-wheel-drive vehicles had not found their place. The World War II Jeep , originally developed by American Bantam , but mass-produced by Willys and Ford, became the best-known four-wheel-drive vehicle in the world during the war. The American Dodge WC series and Chevrolet G506 4x4 variants were also produced by the hundreds of thousands, as well as

9912-460: The more refined yet still off-road capable luxury 4WD Range Rover in the 1970s. With the acquisition of the "Jeep" name in 1950, Willys had cornered the brand. Its successor, Kaiser Jeep , introduced a revolutionary 4WD wagon called the Wagoneer in 1963. Not only was it technically innovative, with independent front suspension and the first automatic transmission coupled to 4WD, but also it

10030-522: The number of driven axles, meaning more gears to cut for all the differentials. Produced up to the war by a few specialized firms with limited capacity, from spring 1942, Ford, Dodge, and Chevrolet joined in fabricating these in a quantity more than a 100-fold greater than in 1939. Although Russia had their own jeep-like vehicle (the GAZ-64) up and running in 1940, a year earlier than the American jeep, in

10148-425: The off-road technology for an extra margin of safety and traction. The Eagle's thick viscous fluid center differential provided a quiet and smooth transfer of power that was directed proportionally to the axle with the greatest traction. This was a true full-time system operating only in four-wheel drive without undue wear on suspension or driveline components. No low range was used in the transfer case. This became

10266-621: The plant. Despite this, it would have been possible to resume production at the end of the war. However, Brandenburg found itself in the Soviet occupation zone , and it quickly became apparent that the victorious powers had their own plan for Opel's production facilities, and the plants in Rüsselsheim and Brandenburg were dismantled and transported to the Soviet Union. Unlike the company's Kadett principal passenger car, which re-emerged as

10384-572: The postwar GAZ-69 , and the properly civilian GAZ-M-72, based on the rear-wheel drive GAZ-20 "Victory" and built from 1955 to 1958. Soviet civilian life did not allow the proliferation of civilian products such as the Jeep in North America, but through the 1960s, the technology of Soviet 4×4 vehicles stayed on par with British, German, and American models, even exceeding it in some aspects, and for military purposes just as actively developed, produced, and used. Until "go-anywhere" vehicles were needed for

10502-429: The principle that the sovereign power of each of the two States be confined to its State territory and that they will respect the independence and autonomy of each of the two States in domestic and foreign affairs. This agreement too is compatible with the Basic Law only if interpreted to the effect that for the Federal Republic of Germany the basis of this Treaty is the continued existence of Germany, which has according to

10620-462: The process. The total cost of the plant was 14 million Reichsmarks (equivalent to 65 million 2021 euros ). The scheduled capacity provided for the production of 150 Opel Blitz trucks each day. The originally published annual capacity of 25,000 trucks was already exceeded in 1939 when 27,936 trucks were produced. After World War II began with the Invasion of Poland , the German government ordered

10738-547: The rest by other licensed manufacturers. Only about 20% of the trucks built were four-wheel drives, but the 4x4s were more often on the front lines. About 11,500 of the Jeffery / Nash Quad trucks were built for similar use between 1913 and 1919. The Quad not only came with four-wheel-drive and four-wheel brakes, but also featured four-wheel steering. The Quad was one of the first successful four-wheel drive vehicles ever to be made, and its production continued for 15 years with

10856-489: The same axle driveshaft, they always have to spin at the same speed relative to each other. When going around a curve, this either forces one of the wheels to slip, if possible, to balance the apparent distance covered, or creates uncomfortable and mechanically stressful wheel hop. To prevent this, the wheels are allowed to turn at different speeds using a mechanical or hydraulic differential . This allows one driveshaft to independently drive two output shafts, axles that go from

10974-491: The secondary axle from the primarily driven axle, and these systems do not have a center differential (or similar device). The definition notes that part-time systems may have a low range. Full-time AWD systems drive both front and rear axles at all times via a center (interaxle) differential. The torque split of that differential may be fixed or variable depending on the type of center differential. This system can be used on any surface at any speed. The definition does not address

11092-412: The secondary axle is driven by an electric motor. When the internal combustion engine is shut off, the secondary, electrically driven axle is the only driven axle. On-demand systems function primarily with only one powered axle until torque is required by the second axle. At that point, either a passive or active coupling sends torque to the secondary axle. In addition to the above primary classifications,

11210-440: The slipping wheel spins faster than the other wheels due to the lower traction at that wheel. Since a differential applies equal torque to each half-shaft, power is reduced at the other wheels, even if they have good traction. This problem can happen in both 2WD and 4WD vehicles, whenever a driven wheel is placed on a surface with little traction or raised off the ground. The simplistic design works acceptably well for 2WD vehicles. It

11328-474: The subcompact SX/4 and Kammback. A manual transmission and a front axle-disconnect feature were also made available for greater fuel economy. During 1981 and 1982, a unique convertible was added to the line. The Eagle's monocoque body was reinforced for the conversion and had a steel targa bar with a removable fiberglass roof section. The Eagle station wagon remained in production for one model year after Chrysler acquired AMC in 1987. Total AMC Eagle production

11446-460: The term "all-wheel drive" with additional subclassifications that cover all types of AWD/4WD/4x4 systems found on production vehicles. "Four-by-four" or "4×4" is frequently used to refer to a class of vehicles in general. Syntactically, the first figure indicates the total number of axle ends and the second indicates the number of axle ends that are powered. Accordingly, 4×2 means a four-wheel vehicle that transmits engine torque to only two axle ends:

11564-544: The torque from a wheel with poor traction to one with better. Typical AWD systems work well on all surfaces, but are not intended for more extreme off-road use. When used to describe AWD systems in light passenger vehicles, it refers to a system that applies torque to all four wheels (permanently or on-demand) or is targeted at improving on-road traction and performance (particularly in inclement conditions), rather than for off-road applications. Some all-wheel drive electric vehicles use one motor for each axle, thereby eliminating

11682-467: The trucks were appreciated as efficient and reliable vehicles. From 1942 onwards about 4,000 half-track ( Maultier ) and multiple rocket launcher ( Panzerwerfer ) versions were built mainly for the use on the Eastern Front ; this model accounted for an overall production of approximately 130,000 units between 1940 and 1944. As of summer 1944, production output had reached 2,600 per month. After

11800-416: The unitary nationalism of the 'German Reich' was initially specified (at Article 1 of the 1871 constitution) in territorial terms, as the lands within the former boundaries of this particular subset of German monarchies. This geographical understanding of the Reich became steadily superseded in the period up to the first World War by an understanding of the German Reich as a unitary nation state identified with

11918-514: The wartime Allies was signed on 12 September 1990, there was no mention of the term Deutsches Reich , however the Allies paraphrased the international legal personality of Germany as "Germany as a whole" in the English version of the text. Instead the states of the Federal Republic of Germany ( West Germany , FRG) and the German Democratic Republic ( East Germany , GDR) agreed to be bound by certain conditions which they had to ratify, one of which

12036-537: The western territories, such as the East Cantons or Alsace-Lorraine , are now definitively and permanently excluded from ever again being united within this Reich under the Basic Law. Hence, although the GDR had by the Volkskammer 's declaration of accession to the Federal Republic, initiated the process of reunification; the act of reunification itself (with its many specific terms and conditions; including

12154-519: The word Reich here better translates as "realm" or territorial "reach", in that the term does not in itself have monarchical connotations. The name "German Reich " was officially proclaimed on 18 January 1871 at the Palace of Versailles by Otto von Bismarck and Wilhelm I of Prussia . After the annexation of Austria to Germany on 12–13 March 1938, the name "Greater German Reich " ( German : Großdeutsches Reich ) began to be used alongside with

12272-468: The word "Reich" was used untranslated by Allied prosecutors throughout the Nuremberg Trials , with "German Empire" only used to describe Germany before it became a federal republic in 1918. At the 1871 Unification of Germany (aside from Austria), the Reich was established constitutionally as a federation of monarchies, each having entered the federation with a defined territory; and consequently

12390-624: Was a compromise; Wilhelm I had wanted the title of "Emperor of Germany", but Bismarck refused this, so as to avoid implying a claim to extended monarchical authority over non-Prussian German kingdoms. On 14 April 1871, the Reichstag parliament passed the Constitution of the German Empire ( Verfassung des Deutschen Reiches ), which was published two days later. However, originating from the North German Confederation ,

12508-853: Was also the first car equipped with a six-cylinder engine, as well as four-wheel braking. Later used as a hill-climb racer, it is now an exhibit in the Louwman Museum (the former Nationaal Automobiel Museum) in the Hague , the Netherlands. Designs for four-wheel drive in America first came from the Twyford Motor Car Company . The Reynolds-Alberta Museum has a four-wheel-drive vehicle, named " Michigan ", from 1905 in unrestored storage. The first four-wheel-drive vehicles to go into mass production were built by (what became)

12626-478: Was and is known simply as Germany , the English term "German Empire" is reserved to denote the German state between 1871 and 1918. The history of the nation state known as the German Reich is commonly divided into three periods: However the term Deutsches Reich dates back earlier than all of this. It was occasionally applied in contemporary maps to the Holy Roman Empire (962–1806), also called

12744-585: Was called an "empire" in English and Wilhelm II was titled "His Imperial and Royal Majesty the German Emperor." After the War and the abolition of the monarchy during the German Revolution of 1918–1919 , however, when Wilhelm was forced to abdicate, the official English name for Germany was the "German Reich": Reich was left untranslated and no longer referred to an "empire" but, instead, took on

12862-617: Was developed, and 1,700 RF-40-X-4(USA) trucks were produced in 1938, and 292 TF-40-X-4(USA) in 1939. Starting in 1936, Japanese company Tokyu Kurogane Kogyo built roughly 4,700 four-wheel-drive roadsters, called the Kurogane Type 95 reconnaissance car, used by the Imperial Japanese Army from 1937 until 1944, during the Second Sino-Japanese War . Three different bodystyles were manufactured –

12980-469: Was equipped and finished as a regular passenger automobile. In effect, it was the ancestor of the modern SUV . The luxury AMC or Buick V8 -powered Super Wagoneer produced from 1966 to 1969 raised the bar even higher. Jensen applied the Formula Ferguson (FF) full-time all-wheel-drive system to 318 units of their Jensen FF built from 1966 to 1971, marking the first time 4WD was used in

13098-490: Was explained as being because the German Democratic Republic was beyond FRG authority and because the Allied powers still had jurisdiction where "Germany as a whole" was concerned. Nevertheless, the Court insisted that within the territory of the Federal Republic, the GDR could only be considered as one de jure German state amongst others, on the analogy of the pre-existing de jure German states that in 1949 had come together as

13216-604: Was otherwise unable, however, to avoid the term German Reich acquiring connotations from the English term "empire" or the Dutch term "rijk" in the context of German colonial expansion during the New Imperialism period. Following in the example of other European colonial empires , Imperial Germany (against Bismarck's intentions) started to rapidly acquire overseas colonies, including possessions in Africa, Oceania and China;

13334-443: Was relatively unchanged during its production through 1991, even after Chrysler 's buyout of AMC. Subaru introduced the category-expanding Leone in 1972, an inexpensive compact station wagon with a light-duty, part-time four-wheel-drive system that could not be engaged on dry pavement. In September, AMC introduced Quadra Trac full-time AWD for the 1973 model year Jeep Cherokee and Wagoneer. Due to full-time AWD, which relieved

13452-505: Was reunited in 1990 the term "German Reich " was not revived as a title for the Berlin Republic . The German word Reich translates to the English word "empire"; it also translates to such words as "realm" or "domain." However, this translation was not used throughout the full existence of the German Reich. Historically, only Germany from 1871 to 1918—when Germany was under the rule of an emperor ( Kaiser )—is known in English as

13570-425: Was subsequently built. The development also incorporated Bramah's Pedrail wheel system in what was one of the first four-wheel drive automobiles to display an intentional ability to travel on challenging road surfaces. It stemmed from Bramagh's previous idea of developing an engine that would reduce the amount of damage to public roads. Ferdinand Porsche designed and built a four-wheel-driven electric vehicle for

13688-429: Was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The Reich became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty entirely from a continuing unitary German Volk ("national people"), with that authority and sovereignty being exercised at any one time over a unitary German "state territory" with variable boundaries and extent. Although commonly translated as "German Empire",

13806-424: Was the recognising the reunification of East Germany, West Germany and Berlin as constituting the full achievement of a united Germany. On meeting these conditions under Article 7.2 "The United Germany [has] accordingly full sovereignty over its internal and external affairs." Under Article 1 of the Treaty on Final Settlement, the new united Germany committed itself to renouncing any further territorial claims beyond

13924-558: Was the sole legal continuation of the German Reich, and consequently not a successor state. Nevertheless, the Federal Republic did not maintain the specific title German Reich , and so consistently replaced the prefix Reichs- in all official titles and designations with Bundes- ("Federal"). Hence, for instance, the office of the Reichskanzler became the Bundeskanzler . Following German reunification on 3 October 1990,

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