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Carter's father saw it there...
Oct. 25th, 2017 11:52 pmI'm disappointed to see the BBC giving sustenance to the urban legend that early automobiles were front-engined in blind imitation of a horse and carriage. A few minutes with Google Images should show the truth of the matter - the first automobiles universally mounted the engine in the rear, in a sort of enclosure below and slightly behind the driver's seat. The reason for doing it this way was that the old gasoline engines stank, smoked and spat oil, plus mounting that weight over the drive wheels yielded better traction.
Front-mounted engines didn't become the standard until the late 1890s / early 1900s. As automobile racing became a sport, race car designers began to mount the engine in front, which allowed the driver and his ride-along mechanic to more easily monitor the health of the engine. At that time, automobiles in general were toys for rich adventurers, rather than a practical means of travel. Unsurprisingly, rich adventurers (almost all male) started wanting their autos to be front-engined so as to look like the race cars of the day, in much the same way that today we mount useless little spoilers on the back of passenger cars, or give them fake over-sized exhaust pipes.
At about that same time, engines began to be much larger and more powerful, to the point that a liquid cooling system became desirable. That also favoured a front-mounted engine just for the practicality of the plumbing for the radiator. It's worth reflecting that the only really successful rear-engined passenger cars of the 20th century used small air-cooled engines. The VW Beetle is probably the most familiar example.
*****
If you've yet to see the "My Little Pony" movie, you really ought to! I'll post a spoilery report soon, but my enthusiasm for MLP had been cooling of late. This really got my attention.
Front-mounted engines didn't become the standard until the late 1890s / early 1900s. As automobile racing became a sport, race car designers began to mount the engine in front, which allowed the driver and his ride-along mechanic to more easily monitor the health of the engine. At that time, automobiles in general were toys for rich adventurers, rather than a practical means of travel. Unsurprisingly, rich adventurers (almost all male) started wanting their autos to be front-engined so as to look like the race cars of the day, in much the same way that today we mount useless little spoilers on the back of passenger cars, or give them fake over-sized exhaust pipes.
At about that same time, engines began to be much larger and more powerful, to the point that a liquid cooling system became desirable. That also favoured a front-mounted engine just for the practicality of the plumbing for the radiator. It's worth reflecting that the only really successful rear-engined passenger cars of the 20th century used small air-cooled engines. The VW Beetle is probably the most familiar example.
*****
If you've yet to see the "My Little Pony" movie, you really ought to! I'll post a spoilery report soon, but my enthusiasm for MLP had been cooling of late. This really got my attention.
