Car (DK Eyewitness Books)(2)

Valve lift controlSOLID RIDEFinal-drive gearCONTROL COLUMN

Slanted steering columnHand brakeOn early cars, the engine settings – throttle, ignition advance, and valve lift – had to be adjusted constantly, using levers on the steering column or a column nearby. Speed was controlled by FIRST LESSONThe first cars were very hard moving the ignition advance to drive. To move off, the lever backward or forward.Ignition driver had to advance the advance/ignition and open the retardvalves further using the column levers, then release the hand brake and juggle Throttlethe car into gear while carefully letting out the clutch pedal – all the time watching out for traffic!Louvers to improve flow of cooling air

Reversing pedal

Emergency foot brake

Propeller shaft, which connects the gearbox with the final drive

1903 de Dion Bouton Model Q

The Model Q is typical of the French roadsters so popular in the early years of the 20th century. One of the keys to its success was the powerful little 846 cc engine. The engine was based on the old Daimlers, but was designed to run twice as fast.Wooden spoked wheels inherited from the horse-cart

老爷车

Warning signals

Early cars were hard to control – and even harder to stop. Yet the roads were full of hazards – potholes, sharp bends, steep hills, and stray animals. Even the shortest outing in a car rarely passed without incident. Road signs were put up to warn drivers of coming dangers, but unwary animals and pedestrians all too often were hit by speeding motor cars or forced to leap out of the way. To protect people from these “scorchers,” horns and other warning devices were made compulsory, and frantic tooting soon became a familiar sound on

Perforated rural roads.dirt cover

DRIVER: “HE MIGHT

HAVE KILLED US!”Mounting bracket

WARNING BELL belowThis American foot-operated gong was a popular alternative to the horn, for it left the driver’s hands free to control the car. Called the “Clarion Bell,” it made a very odd sound for a motor car.

Foot switchThe recklessness of some motorists – summed up in this cartoon – meant that accidents were common.TRUMPET HORN aboveCommon on early cars was the bulb-blown trumpet horn – not so different from the mouth-blown horns used on the old stage-coaches. This 1903 Mercedes horn has a long tube so that the horn can be mounted toward the front of the car.

Resonator

Air bulb

Not all old horns were elaborate. Horns such as this French Simplicorn, originally fitted to the dashboard of a 1903 De Dion Bouton, were simple but effective.STRAIGHT TUBE

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SWEET SOUND leftSometimes called a “sugar-pot,” this rare horn dating from 1911 has a distinctive, fluty tone. The perforated endpiece keeps dirt from getting in. It also means the horn works at high speeds, when the headwind may be too much for other horns.OUT OF CONTROL leftFarmer: “Pull up, you fool! This horse is bolting!” Motorist: “So is the car!” This cartoon shows how much difficulty early drivers had in controlling their machines – and why they were so unpopular with horseback riders and cart drivers alike.Motor cars have been restricted by speed limits right from the start. In Britain, there was the “Red Flag” Act of 1865 which required that all cars have two drivers, while a third walked in front waving a red flag. The act was repealed in 1896, but new speed limits were soon imposed everywhere.SPEED LIMIT right

OUT OF MY WAY! aboveIn the hands of many an arrogant motorist, horns were not just warning signals but devices for scaring pedestrians off the road. Fearsome boa constrictor horns like this were sold as accessories. Such horns were usually made of brass and often decorated with jeweled eyes and jutting red tongues.Mounting bracketTranslucent indicator hand

Metal tongue

HAND SIGNALS rightAs cars became more and more common on the road, drivers began to signal their intentions to other road users by standard hand signals. Those shown here mean, from top to bottom: I am stopping; I am slowing down; you may pass; I am turning left; I am turning right.Swiveling wristHAND-OUT right

Rubber-lined, flexible brass tubeFor those with money, there were soon all kinds of weird and wonderful motoring gadgets for sale. One strange device was this cable-operated hand, dating from 1910 – long before turn signals were developed. It clipped on to the car door and the driver could turn a knob on the dashboard to mimic all the hand signals. It also lit up at night.

AIR POWER below left

Diaphragm

Electric terminal

Air compressorModern horns are electrically operated, and the sound comes from a diaphragm vibrated by an electromagnet. In this air horn, compressed air vibrates the diaphragm especially loudly.

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Coachbuilt splendor

more popular, so the rich wanted more and more exclusive auto-mobiles. The luxury cars of the pre-World War I years were Elegant women and their uniformed chauffeurs made with the best technology became the subject of many a romantic storyand the best craftsmanship. No expense was spared, and these luxury autos – Hispano-Suizas, Benzes, Delauney-Belvilles, and Rolls-Royces – were built to standards rarely seen again in carmaking. Interiors were furnished with velvet and brocade, fine leather and thick pile carpets. Bodies were made precisely to the customers’ requirements by the finest coachbuilders. The engines were large, powerful, and smooth-running. But they were cars not for the rich to drive, but to be driven in, by professional chauffeurs or drivers.

Folding “Cape-cart” hood

Folding windshield for rear seat passenger

COVER UPAs cars became cheaper and FASHIONABLE MOTORINGRich women did not expect to drive; they simply wanted to be driven in style. One said, “I am not …… 此处隐藏：5977字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……