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63-534: The Mercedes Simplex was designed by Wilhelm Maybach in Stuttgart , Germany . It featured powerful engines whose power ranged from 40 to 60 hp . Its large and wide body had a low center of gravity. A highlight of the Simplex family was the model 60 hp . With this car Mercedes laid the foundation of a new car segment, the super-luxury class with an imposing touring Saloon body, it was unlike anything else at

126-415: A {\displaystyle a} is the acceleration (or deceleration if the value is negative). So, as is common experience, when the vehicle accelerates, the rear usually sinks and the front rises depending on the suspension. Likewise, when braking the front noses down and the rear rises. Because of the effect the wheelbase has on the weight distribution of the vehicle, wheelbase dimensions are crucial to

189-511: A pendulum clock . In November 1885, Daimler installed a smaller version of the engine onto a wooden bicycle, creating the first motorcycle (patent 36-423 – Vehicle with gas or petroleum engine), and Maybach drove it three kilometers from Cannstatt to Untertürkheim , reaching 12 km/h (7.5 mph). It became known as the Reitwagen . On 8 March 1886, the inventors bought an American model coach built by Wilhelm Wimpff & Sohn, telling

252-591: A schizophrenia attack and spent the rest of his life in various mental institutions. (In 1940, his son was murdered by the Nazis as part of the Euthanasia Program .) In 1900, Gottlieb Daimler died of heart disease. Between April and October 1900, Maybach designed a completely new kind of car inspired by racing which would be called the Mercedes 35 hp when released in 1902. It featured: Emil Jellinek ,

315-693: A cleaner and sold in pharmacies. The company's re-foundation took place on 28 November 1890. This has been regarded as a "pact with the devil" by some German historians, as the following decade was chaotic for Daimler and Maybach. DMG continued to expand, selling engines from Moscow to New York, and additional stationary engine-making capacity was added, but the belief continued that automobile production would not be profitable. The new chairmen planned to merge DMG and Deutz-AG , in spite of Daimler's disagreement with Nicolaus Otto. Gottlieb Daimler and Chief Engineer Maybach preferred to produce automobiles and reacted against Duttenhofer and Lorenz in particular. Maybach

378-403: A deck with a long wheelbase, say 22 inches (55.9 cm), will respond slowly to turns, which is often desirable in high speeds. A deck with a short wheelbase, say 14 inches (35.6 cm), will respond quickly to turns, which is often desirable when skating backyard pools or other terrains requiring quick or intense turns. In rail vehicles, the wheelbase follows a similar concept. However, since

441-402: A house with 75,000 goldmarks from his Deutz compensation. They added a brick extension to the glass-fronted summer house in the garden, which became their workshop. Their activities alarmed the neighbours, who suspected they were engaged in counterfeiting. The police raided the property in their absence using the gardener's key, but found only engines. In late 1883, Daimler and Maybach patented

504-478: A new atomization system, improved by preheating. The engine was started up by a hand crank and helped by the use of a decompressor . Maybach's tubular honeycomb radiator featured a rectangular grill of 8,070 square shaped pipes of 6x6 mm, with improved airflow. Originally, when launched in 1902, the Mercedes Simplex radiators did not have a fan . A set of vanes mounted on the flywheel increased

567-490: A new automobile introduced in late 1902, the Mercedes model, built to the specifications of Emil Jellinek . Maybach rose to become technical director of the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG) but did not get along with its chairmen. As a result, Maybach left DMG in 1907 to found Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH together with his son Karl in 1909; they manufactured Zeppelin engines. After the signing of

630-531: A philanthropic institution at Reutlingen took in Maybach as a student. Its founder and director, Gustav Werner , discovered Maybach's technical inclination and helped to stimulate his career by sending him to the school's engineering workshop. At 15 years old (1861), Maybach was heading for a career in Industrial design and took extra classes in physics and mathematics at Reutlingen's public high school. By

693-624: A successful Austrian dealer and racing driver on the French Riviera who greatly admired Maybach's work, promised to buy a shipment of 36 automobiles for 550,000 goldmarks if Maybach could design a great race car for him following his specifications. The prototype was finished in December 1900 and, in 1901 went on to have a string of racing successes. Its engine was baptized Daimler-Mercedes (Spanish for mercy) after Mercedes Jellinek , Emil's 10-year–old daughter. European high society bought

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756-418: Is loaded, its center of gravity shifts rearward and the force on the rear tires increases. The vehicle will then ride lower. The amount the vehicle sinks will depend on counter acting forces, like the size of the tires, tire pressure, and the spring rate of the suspension . If the vehicle is accelerating or decelerating, extra torque is placed on the rear or front tire respectively. The equation relating

819-460: Is so short, relative to the height of their centers of mass , that they are able to perform stoppies and wheelies . In skateboarding the word 'wheelbase' is used for the distance between the two inner pairs of mounting holes on the deck. This is different from the distance between the rotational centers of the two wheel pairs. A reason for this alternative use is that decks are sold with prefabricated holes, but usually without trucks and wheels. It

882-498: Is that, by the standards of 1901, the car was very simple to operate. The creation of the previous model, the Mercedes 35hp , predecessor of the Simplex, was due to DMG's industrial might, the know-how of its industrial designer Wilhelm Maybach and Emil Jellinek's enthusiasm for motorsport . Jellinek was DMG's foreign agent based on the French Riviera where he was the Austro-Hungarian consul. That car had resulted in

945-447: Is the distance from the CM to the front wheels, L {\displaystyle L} is the wheelbase, m {\displaystyle m} is the mass of the vehicle, g {\displaystyle g} is the acceleration of gravity (approx. 9.8 m/s ), h c m {\displaystyle h_{cm}} is the height of the CM above the ground,

1008-405: Is the force on the front tires, F r {\displaystyle F_{r}} is the force on the rear tires, L {\displaystyle L} is the wheelbase, d r {\displaystyle d_{r}} is the distance from the center of mass (CM) to the rear wheels, d f {\displaystyle d_{f}} is the distance from

1071-428: Is therefore easier to use the prefabricated holes for measuring and describing this characteristic of the deck. A common misconception is that the choice of wheelbase is influenced by the height of the skateboarder. However, the length of the deck would then be a better candidate, because the wheelbase affects characteristics useful in different speeds or terrains regardless of the height of the skateboarder. For example,

1134-435: Is too much force on the front tires and not enough on the rear tires. Also, when turning there is lateral torque placed upon the tires which imparts a turning force that depends upon the length of the tire distances from the CM. Thus, in a car with a short wheelbase ("SWB"), the short lever arm from the CM to the rear wheel will result in a greater lateral force on the rear tire which means greater acceleration and less time for

1197-494: The Ablis to Chartres race with flying start , with a top-speed of 111.8 km/h. One of his Simplex units is the oldest surviving Mercedes car. Mercedes-Simplex ' s prowesses were resonating all around the world. More than ever DMG obtained clients among the most important social figures. Meeting Maybach personally at Berlin's automobile exhibition of 1903 Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany expressed his admiration for

1260-643: The Nice- La Turbie hillclimbing race. He defeated all his opponents again and set new records. On 7 April 1902, during Nice week , Albert Lemaître finished second in the Nice – La Turbie mountain race driving a Mercedes Simplex. He was competing in the category for racing cars weighing more than 1000 kg. Also in 1902, in the United States , a Mercedes Simplex won the 5-mile track race at Grosse Pointe , Detroit . In this 1902 campaign,

1323-795: The Rover 75 came with 'limousine' versions. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair was given a long-wheelbase version of the Rover 75 for official use. and even some SUVs like the VW Tiguan and Jeep Wrangler are available with long wheelbases. In contrast, coupé varieties of some vehicles such as the Honda Accord are usually built on shorter wheelbases than the sedans they are derived from. The wheelbase on many commercially available bicycles and motorcycles

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1386-576: The Versailles Treaty in 1919 the company started producing large luxury vehicles, branded as "Maybach". He died in 1929 and was succeeded by his son Karl Maybach . From around 1936 Maybach-Motorenbau designed and made almost all the engines fitted in German tanks and half-tracks used during World War 2, including those for the Panther , Tiger I and Tiger II heavy tanks . Continuing after

1449-535: The Daimler Motor Corporation or DMG for short, which was dedicated to the construction of small high-speed internal combustion engines for land, water, or air transport. Maybach was Chief Designer. After spending long hours debating which fuel was best to use in Otto's four-stroke engine, which had normally used methane gas as a fuel, they turned to petroleum which until then had been used mainly as

1512-612: The First World War, the Versailles Treaty of 1919 prohibited airship production in Germany, so Maybach turned to making high-speed diesel engines for naval and railroad use, and petrol engines for automobiles, but not complete automobiles. Many of the small automakers in Germany built their own engines for cost reasons and only the Dutch Spyker company was interested in taking Maybach engines. Wilhelm Maybach turned down

1575-631: The Mercedes-Benz S-Class under the new Mercedes-Maybach brand. Wilhelm Maybach was born in Heilbronn , Baden-Württemberg, in 1846, the son of a carpenter and his wife Luise. He had four brothers. When he was eight years old the family moved from Löwenstein near Heilbronn to Stuttgart . His mother died in 1854 and his father in 1856. After his relatives published an announcement in the Stuttgarter Anzeiger newspaper,

1638-470: The Phoenix, it gained worldwide attention, pioneering the use of four cylinders in the automobile and featuring: Maybach's creations are considered among the finest motors of the late 19th century. His inventions became indispensable for any model by any automaker in the world. He became recognised as the backbone of France's early automobile industry, where he was hailed as the "King of Designers". Daimler

1701-429: The air-flow throughout the engine/radiator compartment. Its total water capacity, 7 litres , was smaller than the previous Mercedes model by 2 litres. The engine compartment was covered by metal sheets. Its chassis base was also covered, something imitated by many other car models later. Wilhelm Maybach Wilhelm Maybach ( German: [ˈvɪlhɛlm ˈmaɪbax] ; 9 February 1846 – 29 December 1929)

1764-404: The automotive world, along with brands such as Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Cadillac and other demised luxury car manufacturers. The car's predecessor, the Mercedes 35hp of 1901, had broken with the previous primitive automotive standards. Now, DMG and Maybach intended to improve this further by providing "comfort by means of simplicity", hence the name Simplex. A complementary explanation for the name

1827-442: The balance and steering. For example, a car with a much greater weight load on the rear tends to understeer due to the lack of the load (force) on the front tires and therefore the grip ( friction ) from them. This is why it is crucial, when towing a single-axle caravan, to distribute the caravan's weight so that down-thrust on the tow-hook is about 100 pounds force (400 N). Likewise, a car may oversteer or even "spin out" if there

1890-600: The car in large numbers making it the commercial success that convinced the company directors there was a future in automobiles. Production increased greatly and DMG rapidly increased in size and number of employees. DMG officially registered the Mercedes trademark in June 1902. In 1902, a fire destroyed DMG's Cannstatt facilities and the company moved to Stuttgart- Untertürkheim . Maybach continued with his innovations: DMG demoted him to an "Inventor's Office" causing him to leave

1953-433: The car. Congratulating him for all the achievements at the races, he contrasted these with car's name, commenting: "A truly beautiful engine you have here! But it's not as simple as that, you know." In 1903, Maybach designed a second version of the Mercedes Simplex , of 60 hp. Mercedes Simplex ' framework was long, wide and with a low center of gravity, giving an improved stability at high speeds. The wheelbase

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2016-470: The case of a tri-axle truck, the wheelbase would be the distance between the steering axle and a point midway between the two rear axles. The wheelbase of a vehicle equals the distance between its front and rear wheels. At equilibrium, the total torque of the forces acting on a vehicle is zero. Therefore, the wheelbase is related to the force on each pair of tires by the following formula: where F f {\displaystyle F_{f}}

2079-400: The center of mass to the front wheels ( d f {\displaystyle d_{f}} + d r {\displaystyle d_{r}} = L {\displaystyle L} ), m {\displaystyle m} is the mass of the vehicle, and g {\displaystyle g} is the gravity constant . So, for example, when a truck

2142-520: The commercial issues and Maybach the design department. In 1889 they built their first automobile to be designed from scratch rather than as an adaptation of a stagecoach. It was publicly launched by both inventors in Paris in October 1889. Daimler's engine licenses began to be taken up throughout the world, starting the modern car industry in: Resources were scant to keep the business going, as neither

2205-641: The company again in 1907. DMG replaced him with Paul Daimler. That same year, the German Engineers Association (VDI) recognized Wilhelm Maybach as an honorary member. In 1900, Maybach had his first contact with Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin who sought to improve the engines of the Zeppelin LZ1 airship. Maybach built some engines for him based on sketches of a 150 hp unit created by his son, Karl, while at DMG. In 1908, Count Zeppelin attempted to sell his models LZ3 and LZ4 to

2268-562: The company at the great Paris Exposition Universelle (1889) . Sales increased, mostly from the Neckar motorboat. In June 1887, Daimler bought land in the Seelberg Hills of Cannstatt. The workshop was some distance from the town on Ludwig Route 67, because Cannstatt's mayor objected to the presence of the workshop in the town. It covered 2,903 square meters and cost 30,200 goldmarks. They initially employed 23 people. Daimler managed

2331-465: The company's early success. In 1902, Maybach decided to incorporate a series of modifications to the Simplex, anticipating a large number of sales. To suit their basically high society clients, the new Mercedes would be shown publicly "while driving through the most traditional avenues in town or to picnic in a park". When Jellinek received his first Simplex on 1 March 1902 at Nice , he rushed to incorporate it into his Mercedes race team, competing in

2394-534: The contract because he could not agree to its conditions. Instead, he opted to build complete automobiles and the factory began to produce Maybach limousines in 1921. The first model, the Maybach W3, was shown at the 1921 Automobile Exposition in Berlin and featured It was produced until 1928, selling 300 units, mostly with sedan bodies; the two-seat sport version was less successful. The Maybach W5 followed, with

2457-595: The driver to adjust and prevent a spin out or worse. Wheelbases provide the basis for one of the most common vehicle size class systems. Some vehicles are offered with long-wheelbase variants to increase the spaciousness and therefore the luxury of the vehicle. This practice can often be found on full-size cars like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class , but ultra-luxury vehicles such as the Rolls-Royce Phantom and even large family cars like

2520-497: The engine sales nor the worldwide proceeds from their patents were yielding enough money. Fresh capital was injected by bringing in the financiers Max von Duttenhofer and William Lorenz , former munitions makers, who were associated with Kilian von Steiner , the owner of a German investment bank. The company was taken public. In 1890, Daimler and Maybach together founded the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft,

2583-436: The first of their engines fueled by Ligroin . This engine was patented on 16 December 1883. It achieved Daimler's goal of being small and running fast enough to be useful at 750 rpm (soon after up to 900). Daimler had three engines built in 1884. Maybach persuaded him to put one in a vehicle, the result being the Reitwagen . In 1884, Maybach's second son Adolf was born. By the end of 1885, Maybach and Daimler developed

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2646-512: The first of their engines, which is regarded as a precursor to all modern petrol engines . It featured: In 1885, they created the first float-fed carburetor , which mixed evaporated gasoline with air to allow its efficient use as fuel. It was used that year on a larger but still compact version of the engine, now with a vertical cylinder, that featured: Daimler baptized it the Standuhr (lit. "grandfather clock" ), because of its resemblance to

2709-545: The government. On 5 August, LZ4 exploded against a row of trees after attempting an emergency landing when its engines failed. This was far from being the end for the airship project as 6.25 million goldmarks were raised in a donation campaign after the accident. Count Zeppelin founded the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH, the company that built the Zeppelin airships. Maybach had to hold off joining

2772-462: The neighbors that it was a birthday gift for Mrs. Daimler. Maybach supervised the installation of an enlarged 1.5 hp Grandfather Clock engine onto the coach, and installed a belt drive to the wheels. The vehicle reached 15 km/h (9.3 mph) when tested on the road to Untertürkheim. Maybach and Daimler went on to prove the engine in many other ways, including: By 1887 they were licensing their first patents abroad, and Maybach represented

2835-546: The new company for a while as he was still in litigation with DMG, so Karl took his place. On 23 March 1909, a deal was finally signed, creating an engine subsidiary to Luftschiffbau Zeppelin at Bissingen /Enz, in Württemberg . Wilhelm Maybach was Technical Assistant and Karl was Technical Manager. Their first designs reached 72 km/h (45 mph). Wilhelm Maybach moved his company to Friedrichshafen and renamed it Luftfahrzeug-Motoren-GmbH . Karl and Wilhem held 20% of

2898-792: The post office in Maulbronn . On 6 July 1879 Karl Maybach was born, the first of their three children. In 1880, Daimler and Otto had serious disagreements, resulting in Daimler's leaving Deutz-AG. Daimler received 112,000 goldmarks in Deutz-AG shares as compensation for patents granted to him and Maybach. Maybach also left shortly afterwards, and followed his friend to found a new company in Cannstatt . In 1882, Maybach moved to Taubenheimstrasse in Cannstatt, Stuttgart, where Daimler had purchased

2961-517: The shares with an arrangement for Karl to inherit. They kept supplying Zeppelin , but worked on other airship engines too. In 1912, the company adopted the name Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH (Maybach Engine Construction Company). In 1916, they developed a 160 hp aircraft engine which sold 2000 units before the end of World War I . In 1916, Wilhelm Maybach was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Technical University of Stuttgart . After

3024-506: The third step involved William K. Vanderbilt Jr , a US multimillionaire and race car enthusiast who created in 1904 the American Vanderbilt Cup . He had already set several records with the previous Mercedes , in some of the most popular races around the turn of the century, usually long distance ones. Now, with the Mercedes Simplex , Vanderbilt took part in the 600-mile race to Paris . Later, he broke all records in

3087-401: The time and quickly established itself well with royalty and aristocrats. Its immense size and luxuries were to set the milestones for the development of this segment, which was continued on by numerous models over the next 70 odd years, including the 630 , 770 Grand , 300 Adenauer and terminating in 1981 with the demise of the 600 Grand . All these models occupied the absolute top segment in

3150-776: The time he was 19 years old, he was a qualified designer working on stationary engines. His workshop manager, Gottlieb Daimler, then 29, noticed his efforts and took him on as his main assistant, a post he held until Daimler's death in 1900. In 1869, Maybach followed Daimler to Maschinenbau-Gesellschaft Karlsruhe AG in Karlsruhe , a manufacturer of heavy locomotives. Daimler was on the Executive Committee and they spent long nights discussing new designs for engines, pumps, lumber machinery, and metalworking. In 1872, Daimler moved to Deutz-AG-Gasmotorenfabrik in Cologne , then

3213-414: The top speed increased to 135 km/h (84 mph); 250 units sold in 1927 and 1929. Wheelbase In both road and rail vehicles , the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front) axle and the centerpoint of the driving axle group. In

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3276-432: The two powerful brake systems, one hand-operated and the other by foot: Both systems were water-cooled by a sprinkling system over 'hot zones' when braking. Both axles were rigid, featuring semi-elliptic springs . The steering-axles were located at the extremes, decreasing the transmission of road shocks to the driver's hands. The Mercedes Simplex ' engine was mounted over the front axle. The engine's power

3339-541: The war, Maybach Motorenbau remained a subsidiary of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin , making diesel engines. During the 1960s Maybach came under the control of Daimler-Benz and was renamed MTU Friedrichshafen . In 2002 the Maybach brand name was revived for a luxury make but it was not successful. On 25 November 2011 Daimler-Benz announced they would cease producing automobiles under the Maybach brand name in 2013. In 2014, Daimler announced production of an ultra-luxury edition of

3402-459: The wheelbase, height above the ground of the CM, and the force on each pair of tires becomes: where F f {\displaystyle F_{f}} is the force on the front tires, F r {\displaystyle F_{r}} is the force on the rear tires, d r {\displaystyle d_{r}} is the distance from the CM to the rear wheels, d f {\displaystyle d_{f}}

3465-408: The wheels may be of different sizes (for example, on a steam locomotive ), the measurement is taken between the points where the wheels contact the rail, and not between the centers of the wheels. On vehicles where the wheelsets (axles) are mounted inside the vehicle frame (mostly in steam locomotives), the wheelbase is the distance between the front-most and rear-most wheelsets. On vehicles where

3528-472: The wheelsets are mounted on bogies (American: trucks) , three wheelbase measurements can be distinguished: The wheelbase affects the rail vehicle's capability to negotiate curves. Short-wheelbased vehicles can negotiate sharper curves. On some larger wheelbase locomotives, inner wheels may lack flanges in order to pass curves. The wheelbase also affects the load the vehicle poses to the track, track infrastructure and bridges. All other conditions being equal,

3591-459: The world's largest manufacturer of stationary gas engines. Nicolaus Otto , part owner of the company, focused on engine development with Daimler. Maybach joined them as Chief Designer. In 1876, Nicolaus Otto patented the Otto cycle engine. It was a four-stroke cycle gas internal combustion engine with intake, compression, power, and exhaust strokes. One of Otto's more than 25 patents on this engine

3654-485: Was an early German engine designer and industrialist. During the 1890s he was hailed in France, then the world centre for car production, as the "King of Designers". From the late 19th century Wilhelm Maybach, together with Gottlieb Daimler , developed light, high-speed internal combustion engines suitable for land, water, and air use. These were fitted to the world's first motorcycle, motorboat, and after Daimler's death,

3717-561: Was extended to 2.45 meters (8'1"). Its carefully designed frame was made of pressed steel . The engine was welded onto it directly, keeping it at a low height. Other general modifications reduced the overall Simplex weight to 942 kg , assuring better results in racing. The original 1902 wheels were wooden, with 12 non-removable spokes and pneumatic tires . Later, in 1905, the Mercedes Simplex pioneered cast-steel wheels. The front and rear axles were modernized progressively, becoming equal in diameter around 1909: Attached to these were

3780-664: Was forced out of his post as Technical Director at DMG and resigned in 1893, which damaged DMG's prestige. However, in 1894, a British industrialist, Frederick Simms , purchased the rights to the Phoenix engine for 350,000 marks and stabilised the company's finances. He also made it a condition that Daimler be re-employed. In 1895 DMG assembled its 1,000th engine, and Maybach also returned as Chief Engineer, obtaining 30,000 goldmarks worth of shares through his original contract with Gottlieb Daimler. Maybach patented more automobile inventions, including: Around this time though Maybach suffered two setbacks. His teenage second son, Adolf, suffered

3843-543: Was later challenged and overturned, allowing Daimler and Maybach to produce their high-speed engine. Also in 1876, Maybach was sent to show Deutz's engines at the Philadelphia World's Fair (USA) . On returning to Cologne in 1877, he concentrated on improving the four-stroke design to prepare it for its impending commercial launch. In 1878, Maybach married Bertha Wilhelmine Habermaas, a friend of Daimler's wife, Emma Kunz. Her family members were landowners who ran

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3906-474: Was rejected as a member of the Board of Management and left the company on 11 February 1891, and continued his design work from his own house, financed by Daimler. In late 1892, he set up a shop in the ballroom of the former Hermann Hotel and Winter Garden where he employed 17 workers, five of which were paid by Daimler. In 1894 Maybach designed his third engine model, together with Daimler and his son Paul. Used in

3969-519: Was taken from a sprocket flywheel , 60 cm in diameter, transmitting it to the rear drive by a long roller chain . The 'gate gear' manual gearbox featured four speeds and reverse, controlling a coil spring clutch acting on the flywheel system. A lever produced both declutching and deceleration together. The engine produced 44 hp at 1300 rpm . Its four cylinders featured: It used magneto electric- spark ignition system , with single 'spray-nozzle' carburetor , for all cylinders; featuring

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