Floating power
In the 1920s, the US automobile firm of Chrysler invented a new means of attaching an engine to its chassis, with the intention of reducing vibration. Four-cylinder engines of the day started and rode rather roughly, transmitting the torque to the whole chassis. By attaching the engine at only two points ("fore-and-aft"), as near to being along the crankshaft axis as possible, the engine would be able to turn a little about this axis without directly transmitting the torque by raising one side of the chassis and lowering the other. One mounting attachment was in the form of an arc concave upward and lined with rubber, the other was a post. Advertisers gave this concept a brand-name of Floating power. It was used on the Plymouth. The French firm of Citroën leased the technology for its front-wheel drive car of the 1930s.
|
|