Different Types of Body Structure
It is widely believed
one-box design offers the biggest interior space for a given external
However, I always doubt its effectiveness. Compare with conventional
hatchback, one box car frees up the space in front of the driver by
the windscreen forward. Nevertheless, as shown in the above drawing,
additional room (grey area) does not really contribute to driver's
It just create a "freer" feel to the driver.
Because the windscreen
pushed forward, visibility is actually deteriorated, as shown in the
The driver even cannot see the front end of his car, thus made arise
problems for parking.
the corners, shorten the engine compartment, move the windshield
so that its base rests near the front wheels, this is the so-called
design. Chrysler tells us Cab-foward design frees up the room for front
||.... this is
compare with long-nose traditional American cars ....
any standard European cars, Chrysler's cabin seems to be not so Forward.
Sandwich Structure - Mercedes
This stucture is called
"Sandwich" because the horizontal-orientated engine is placed above the
floorpan but under the cabin. As a result, the cabin is raised by a
200 mm and so is the roof. What is the advantage of such structure ?
because of the disappearance of the front engine compartment, it made
car more compact than any other cars but simultaneously offers
cabin space (actually runs close to C class).
Secondly, it provides
crash-protection. Under crash, the engine will be pushed underneath the
cabin instead of pushed towards the driver's legs as conventional cars.
Therefore A class will pass any foreseeable crash test in the future.
due to the inherent advantage in crash-protection, no additional crash
structure is needed, thus a lot of weight is saved.
1998-2000 by Mark Wan
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