Automakers sometimes give out options that capture the imagination of the observer for a long time. “Auto 24” tried to figure out why some of them did not take root in the global automotive industry.
It is generally accepted that most innovations come to mass-produced cars from motorsports. Perhaps, in a technical sense, this is true, but in terms of comfort, the mindset of designers has always been freer.
We have selected here a few little-known or forgotten options that at one time seemed, if not revolutionary innovations, then something very strange. Not without Ukrainian participation, by the way.
Not all the interesting ideas of designers eventually end up on production cars. But those who have fallen do not always take root for a long time. And the reasons are not always clear.
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“Swamp” air conditioner
A simple in design and affordable type of air conditioner, which uses the principle of cooling air by evaporating moisture in it. The evaporative type cooler is called the “swamp cooler” (from the English swamp cooler) for the characteristic smell of dampness inherent in some models. In the 1940s – 1950s. was occasionally part of the vehicle’s factory equipment, but was usually sold as an optional extra.
The “swampy” air conditioner used a lot of water and had mediocre efficiency. But he was not as capricious at a venerable age as the current climate control systems.
Inside, the swamp “air conditioner” had no moving parts and no expensive materials. The oncoming air flow, passing through the wet filler in the form of a fiber mat, evaporated water from it and cooled itself. The device was mounted on the side glass, since it needs outside air in large quantities. The cooled air in this case was supplied to the passenger compartment through a crack in the ajar glass. Also needed a water refill. Did not take root due to relatively low efficiency.
Interestingly, this type of air conditioner is still found in stationary conditions – for example, in industrial and public buildings in regions with high temperatures and low air humidity.
Sliding rear window
An interesting idea of the designers of the American brand De Soto, tested on the Adventurer II Concept of 1954. Since air conditioners were already widespread to a certain extent by that time, apparently, the matter was different – it seems that the authors were trying to let more fresh air into the cabin. The open window did create some effect of movement on a convertible plus, of course, the uniqueness factor.
For some technical reason, the sliding rear window was easier to make than the same sunroof. But in the end, the hatches won.
But the introduction of such a system in serial cars was prevented by problems with the space to accommodate the lowered glass. Strictly speaking, the completely Desotov idea of 1954 did not die, but found its implementation in sliding roof hatches.
Torpedo fan
Heavy truck drivers have their own idea of comfort. With air conditioning, many of them today are not easy, and even more so in the recent past. Therefore, the driver’s community positively assessed the appearance of a powerful fan in the cab of the first Kremenchug all-terrain vehicle KrAZ-214. It was not a factory option or equipment for a surcharge – the fan was located at the cabin ceiling in each KrAZ 6×6.
In the 1950s, the concept of comfort in a truck did not take root easily. But the Kremenchug Automobile Plant installed a cabin fan on the KrAZ-214 by default.
It was original equipment and that “cooler” even had its own catalog number (214B-8104010A, if anyone is interested). Interestingly, road-class cars did not have such a fan by default.
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Lying control
The option is somewhat specific, but in certain circles of consumers it was very much in demand. On the LuAZ-967 amphibian, the driver could drive the car while lying down, for which his seat could be folded out, and the steering wheel could be lowered along with the steering column. This was done not for the greater comfort of the driver (in fact, lying on his stomach with his head pulled back is dubious comfort), but to minimize the silhouette of the vehicle.
One of the options for lowering the silhouette of the amphibious TPK involved the driver crawling next to the car. But then they made a folding steering wheel, and the driver was able to drive lying down.
The fact is that this LuAZ had the second name of the TPK, and for its intended purpose it was a front-line conveyor – that is, it had to go where the enemy could get into it without much stress. No other similar machines have been created so far.
Built-in printer
In 1985, the Japanese built directly into the center console of the conceptual Subaru ACX II …. matrix printer! Even today, when taxi drivers have cash registers with checks issuing through one, no one dared to make a printed device part of the car. In a word, it’s good that instead of printing trip computer data on paper, programmers taught the machines to store information in its electronic memory.
The idea of paper reporting of the car to the driver did not take root. Road information learned to store in the electronic memory of the car.
The concept, by the way, turned out to be strange then: outwardly, it turned out to be not conceptual at all, because it looked like its prototype Subaru Alcyone. At the same time, it was distinguished by electronic filling and an additional pair of cylinders in the traditional Subarovsky boxer.
Transparent roof Bubble top
Attempts to cover the crew with a transparent cap like an aircraft lantern were made not only by Chevrolet. But his Corvette with a transparent dome over the cabin turned out to be the most famous. The plexiglass roof for the first generation of the iconic roadster (1954) was designed by a General Motors designer, and the first 20 “bubbles” were purely official.
Transparent plexiglass roofs for roadsters gained some popularity in the middle of the last century. Modern designers still keep this idea in reserve.
Since this Corvette did not have a factory hardtop version, several third-party firms immediately picked up this undertaking. Perhaps, passive safety standards prevent it from being reproduced today in this form, although we are sure that modern plastics could be made both sufficiently rigid and sufficiently transparent if desired. Apparently, the stylists of the XXI century. such a promising idea has not yet reached the hands.
sliding door
Getting into the cabin through a door that slides to the side rather than opens slightly is not much more convenient. But sliding ones have other advantages – they need less space next to the car. And they can be easily automated, that is, make them open themselves. On minibuses, sliding “portals” have been used for a long time, but on serial passenger cars this is a real rarity.
Among small car models, a sliding door was implemented in the Peugeot 1007 (2004 – 2009), but this was also not a mass project.
Expensive and complex sliding doors have taken their place in the segment of buses and minivans, but on passenger cars they did not stay for a long time.
This model was made almost premium – with powerful engines of your choice, a special interior and unusual doors (electrically!). But the door did not help – sales were modest and in the end the car was considered a failure.
Recommendation Auto 24
It’s a sin for today’s motorists to complain about life – the choice of functions and capabilities of cars we have today is simply immense. True, it somehow happened that having gained freedom in choosing interior equipment, we often lose the right to choose in terms of engines and transmissions. But this is a topic for a separate discussion, to which we will try to return.
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