Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1947-09-26

| Date of arrival of the "neW" We
hicles depends in part upon when en-
cheering controversy over relative
advantages of various ways of &C.
comprising desirable results shall
have been clarified; in larger part
upon when the American industrial
atmosphere shall have become IA
vorable for large-scale production
In other words, when the world fully
is rid of the frenzy that was war
Then the American people
and other peoples-will have We
hicles perhaps unlike those of
which they have dreamed, yet
better even than they have
imagined. There are those who
believe all this can happen late
in 1913; others profess to expect
the "all clear" in 1850.
These possibilities are foreshad-
owed by proceedings of the Society
of Automotive Engineers. For 40
years sac meetings have been rea-
sonably reliable induces of engineer
ing thought and action. Two to five
years in advance of materiali-
cation, new ideas and developments
get thorough going over by work.
ing engineers inclined to be critical
of themselves, of others and Of
everything new and different.
The normal course of automotive
engineering thinking and planning
naturally was redirected by war.
World War II, in effect, converted
the world into an automotive testing
ground. 1t broadened performance
requirements. The military, refus-
ing to permit engineering difficulties
to road block desirable improve
ments, proved to be a demanding
yet inspiring customer.
Changed Concepts.
Planning for specific accomplish
ments and service broadened auto
motive engineering thinking. A mo-
tor vehicle engine no longer is re-
garded necessarily as an internal
combustion job fueled by gasoline.
1t is a powerplant. Whether it be
reciprocating engine, turbine, diesel
or something else has become rela-
lively unimportant. Objective is
power production by the most effec-
tive means.
The vehicle itself has become not
merely an engineering phenomenon,
but a tool of transportation. And
transportation is not just the bust
ness of getting somewhere by high
way, but of moving merchandise and
people quickly, safely, comfortably,
cheaply.
| Insofar as the new vehicles
are concerned, such lines of
thought resolve themselves into
such practical betterments as
improved performance, greater
safety, higher economy, easier
operation, more satisfa Glory and
economical maintenance. Con-
| templated are such functional
| Improvements as greater rid
ing comfort, automatic gear
shifting, fuel injection, weight
reduction, air-conditioning, bet
ter materials, economy of man.
ufacture and operation.
For commercial vehicles, engi-
neering preparation is for higher
speeds with safety, larger payloads,
less weight, increased power, re-
duced fuel consumption, better road
ability, more efficient brakes, two
way radio communication, driver
comfort, more satisfactory service
to the public.
Engineers were headed for these
goals before the war. The war
served to accelerate progress. Pres
ent plans contemplate making mo-
tor trucks fast not merely to
achieve speed, but also to transport
more payloads in less time. Motor
coaches are aforementioned because
resulting passenger comfort invites
trade. Passenger cars are stream
lined primarily for functional rea-
sons, such as increased fuel econ
omy resulting from reduced wind
resistance.
Torsion-Bar Springing.
Typical of contemplated functional
and practical changes is torsion-
bar springing. Coil and leaf springs
are eliminated. Arms of metal link
axles to frames through bars of
metal, or cylinders combining metal
and rubber. Road shocks are abb
sorbed by twisting the metal bars
or rubber cylinders instead of fex-
ing springs.
Background thinking on this SUBJ
| ject is intriguing. Studies of spring.
ing and of suspension actually
transcend engineering. 1t appears
that human beings are conditioned
by nature to absorb the compare
lively limited shocks, jars and shak-
ing occasioned by walking. Nature
never provided for human resistance
to the greater amplitudes occa-
stoned by vehicular travel. 1t is
the engineers job to bring the am
plitudes within the acceptance range
Of the human system.
Current and abiding engineering
interest in automatic gear-shifting,