Automotive Fast Facts, Last Updated:09/06/2010
By the 1930s, most of
the technology used in automobiles had been invented, although it
was often re-invented again at a later date and credited to someone
else. For example, front-wheel drive was re-introduced by
Andre Citroën with
the launch of the Traction Avant in 1934, though it appeared several years earlier in road
cars made by Alvis and Cord, and in racing cars by Miller (and may
have appeared as early as 1897). After 1930, the number of auto manufacturers
declined sharply as the industry consolidated and matured. Since
1960, the number of
manufacturers has remained virtually constant, and innovation
slowed. For the most part, "new" automotive technology was a
refinement on earlier work, though these refinements were sometimes
so extensive as to render the original work nearly unrecognizable.
The chief exception to this was electronic engine management, which entered into
wide use in the 1960s, when
electronic parts became cheap enough to be mass-produced and
rugged enough to handle the harsh environment of an automobile.
Developed by Bosch, these electronic systems have
enabled automobiles to drastically reduce exhaust emissions while
increasing efficiency and power. |
