Auto Design Language Trivia Quiz

Answer: Pony Car - Ford Mustang

The Mustang is considered the first "pony car", a term specifically created to describe it. When it became a success, every other car company in the United States market started launching their own "pony cars"; Chevrolet with the Camaro, Dodge with the Challenger, Plymouth with the Barracuda and so on.
In retrospect, "pony car" is more like a marketing phrase describing a specific historical event rather than an actual class of automobiles.

Answer: Chevrolet Nomad

A station wagon is basically a sedan/saloon car with an extended roof, resulting in a two-box design. The Chrysler Caravan and Plymouth Voyager are both minivans, while the Reliant Scimitar is a shooting-brake.

Answer: False

A pillarless sedan is basically a sedan which doesn't have a "B" or central pillar. It's usually a stylistic cue and provides a more open experience when both windows are completely opened. Since it represents a decrease in side- impact safety and also reduces the body stiffness, pillarless designs are no longer used today in sedans.

Answer: Chrysler Airflow

Streamlined was basically how the Airflow was described when Chrysler launched it. Aerodynamical designs weren't very popular in the American market of the 30s and Airflow was a breakthrough in that regard. The Beetle, the Volvo 240 and the Ford Edsel were more commonplace (if not inefficient) in terms of their aerodynamics.

Answer: Volkswagen Passat Variant

A shooting-brake is basically a sports coupe with an extended roof, resembling a station wagon. The Ferrari FF, Reliant Scimitar GTE and Volvo 1800ES are all shooting-brakes, while the VW Passat Variant, on the other hand, is a station wagon.

Answer: False

FWD stands for Front-Wheel Drive and describes a car with traction applied to the front wheels only. A car with four-wheel drive is called AWD (all-wheel drive) or 4x4.

Answer: DKW Schnellaster

With a one-box design, front-wheel drive layout, flat floor and great seating capabilities, the DKW is considered the precursor of the minivan phenomena, although minivans were rare in the 60s, when the Schnellaster was discontinued. It took some decades until the minivan was reborn as a popular design, with the Renault Espace and Chrysler Caravan among the most outstanding examples of the contemporary minivan.

Answer: A suspension layout

MacPherson is a suspension structure that uses the axis of a damper as an upper-pivot and is hugely applied in most modern automobiles due to its transversely compact layout and simple, low priced design.

Answer: Wheels

Off-set describes the transversal distance between the center of the wheel and its point of fixation within the rim. Unsprung weight is related to all the mass that is not held by the suspension, which includes the wheels; lug nuts are the sort of nut that holds a wheel in the car's axle.

Answer: Flywheel

Flywheels are responsible for storing an engine's rotational energy. Due to its huge mass, flywheels have a great moment of inertia, resisting to the loss of kinetic energy, thus storing it. It provides a more continuous energy output from the engine, reducing the power and torque intermittency.

Pistons and Crankshafts are just responsible for transmitting energy, while the brake disc transforms kinetic energy into heat.

Answer: Limited Slip Differential

The limited-slip differential is a mechanism that acts by preventing the differential effect at some point, distributing the torque amongst the wheels of an axle regardless of the charge applied to them.

Answer: Chrysler

The term was coined by Chrysler Corporation in the early '90s. It consisted of a wider, low-profile body with "A" pillars positioned in advance and wheels dislocated to the corners of the body, allowing a wider internal space and better handling in comparison to the other automobiles of the same segment.

Answer: True

The "crossover" class includes a huge variety of models that offer qualities from diverse vehicle segments in the same car. It was initially used by Chrysler to describe some of their products when they purchased the AMC/Jeep, but now is widely referred by the whole industry.

Answer: Weight reduction

Reducing the weight of a car enhances its handling, decreases the fuel consumption and pollution emissions, increases the performance and also reduces the overall wear of its powertrain, suspension and body components. It's also relevant to the production process since a lighter car uses less materials, making it cheaper and simpler.

Increase the engine's performance either requires more sophisticated materials and complex systems, thus elevating maintenance costs and overall pricing, or the increase of fuel consumption and reduce of reliability and durability.

A bigger set of wheels enhances the unsprung weight of a vehicle, reducing its acceleration capability, braking efficiency and handling.

Lowering the suspension might actually relocate the center of gravity and increase the car's cornering and handling, but it's a limited resource and also prejudicial to the ride's quality.

Answer: Opel Astra

The Volkswagen Beetle is credited to Ferdinand Porsche, the Austin Mini is signed by Alec Issigonis and the Fiat 500 Nuova is a design by Dante Giacosa, all famous designers and engineers. Opel Astra is not credited to anyone in specific, being referred to only as an Opel design.