>Every time I post something to USENET, three or four people always seem to
>feel the need to respond to the contents of my .signature instead of whatever-
>the-heck I was complaining about. Some kind soul is quick to point out that
>Citroens have mid-engine FWD, and <fill-in-the-car-name> had MEFWD, so there!
>
> Well, two weekends ago I got to go to Reno NV to see the National Automobile
>Collection (nee Harah's Car Museum) and I saw something that may have put me
>in
>my place for good. See, I really wanted to say "...rear-engined FWD cars?"
>but
>felt that would brand me as a Corvair/Porsche Loon, and we couldn't have that,
>could we. Anyway, I saw in person, the 193x Dynmaxion (sp? -scott correct
>me),
Dymaxion. This word, coined by Buckminster Fuller (inventor of
the Geodesic Dome, coiner of the term "Spaceship Earth" and all-
round combination visionary/crackpot, depending on your orientation)
was used to describe a number of Bucky's products, or would have
been had it not been sullied with the scandal I shall relate
shortly. Bucky designed this car, which was unconventional in
many ways, some of them good. Its aerodynamics gave it a
theoretically high cruising speed for the power output and
fuel consumption, and the chassis layout coupled with the
zeppelin-like body shell gave it inordinate amounts of interior
room for its exterior dimensions.
>which had, that's right, Rear Engine, Front Wheel Drive! I almost had to sit
>down and catch my breath to keep from laughing out loud. The vehicle in
>question looked like a small Airstream trailer with two wheels in front and
>one
>in the middle in the back. Unfortunately, the only copy ever built was right
>there, as they had funding problems after the prottype was built. Oh well, it
>was not to be, I guess.
Actually, not quite. The car had backwards steering -- that
is, since the rear wheel steered, you turned the wheel to
the left to make the car go to the right, and vice versa.
Hard to get used to. Also, consider the vehicle dynamics
of a creature with one wheel in the rear and most of the
weight over the back. Compared to this thing, dirt-track
cars push like a Sentra that's twenty pounds down on air
in the left front. (Recall that the front wheels drove
the car but did not steer it...)
There were two cars, but one was involved in a very nasty
accident (killed at least one person) and the scandal was
enough to put a cloud over the entire program.
The classic shot of the Dymaxion, from the 1933 World's
Fair, is one of Fuller driving the car around a policeman
while making a U-turn. Basically, the driver stays about
arm's length from the cop all the way through the turn...
>But that only cements my quote, right?
"The Renault Le Car was mid-engined front-wheel-drive." :-)
(Now that will *really* cement your quote!)
--Scott "Smart-ass comments while-U-wait" Fisher
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