Re: "Engineering of automobiles"

[chris.robyn@ucop.edu (Chris Robyn)]

my impression and anecdotal
evidence suggests that the "engineering" of automobiles has been (until
recently) VERY empirical.  That is, rarely has rigorous analysis been done
to components to optimize them to a given set of performance criteria

*****

Here's an example, though apologies it's not really Alfa-related.  Back in
my college days I had a non-glamorous job (washing cars) at a glamorous
location (a Ferrari dealership).  Anyway, we also sold Aston- Martins, and
I remember when the new, series 3 Lagondas started to roll in.  The buyers
complained that the cars were overheating, and numerous queries to Newport
Pagnell revealed that "the radiator is as big as we can make it," and that
was that.

An intrepid mechanic then took a saw and proceeded to "remove" a large
section of the front spoiler, covering the hole with wire mesh.  It was a
nicely done job but would have been considered sacrilege on a $200,000 car.
What's interesting was that the owner wanted this done--he cared only
about the car running well, no matter what the factory had in mind.  To do
this kind of thing usually requires a lot of disposable income, but it
ended up being a breakthrough of sorts.  The cars obviously ran cooler and
could be driven harder (when the durn thing weighs over two tons and gets
10 mpg to begin with, who cares about aerodynamics anyway?).  Incredibly,
the modification was later incorporated by the factory for future
production (short-lived though it was).

Chris Robyn
Berkeley, CA
'84 GTV-6
'91 168