Have you ever wondered what happened to the days of the old-school, pure, driver’s car? The days when the only thing a person needed was a chassis, a motor, three pedals on the floor and a steering wheel are long gone. Now, the automotive market consists of supposed luxury or sports cars with so many amenities and electronic nannies that the driver no longer controls the car at its limit, but the car controls its own limit whether or not the driver approves. To get a better understanding of the two engineering philosophies, let’s take a look a few time periods, the late 80s-early 90s, and today.
Cars introduced in the late 80s through the early 90s were quintessential driver’s cars. Cars had no amenities like power windows, doors, climate control, and navigation. One would be lucky to get power steering and brakes. The cars had the meat and potatoes, an engine, a gearbox, a suspension, and a steering wheel to hold on to. Cars were built lightweight, nimble and responsive.
Vehicles like Audi’s Quattro, Ford’s Escort RS, Toyota’s Celica GT-4 all had one purpose in mind: drive the car like it was meant to be driven. Steering was sharp, dangerously quick and precise. Braking was linear and communicative, without any conceivable electronic aids. When the driver stepped on the gas or brake pedals, he or she received the exact amount of feedback from them, as was expected.
The cars could be whipped around corners and would never make a fuss; they were at the driver’s mercy. At the same time, one could just as easily take a corner with all four wheels gripping the road simply by understanding the vehicle’s dynamics and driving to its strengths. Cars essentially were built such that if the driver made a mistake, he would often times be punished for it; while if the driver understood and had the feel of the vehicle, it would reward him with an exhilarating experience.
It was during these years that automotive technology progressed. Audi introduced the first performance All-Wheel Drive system named Quattro, limited-slip differentials helped keep traction, and companies began to really develop engines, with the likes of variable valve timing and lift. The driving experience offered by these cars was simply so raw, that it would not be replicable in any modern-day vehicle short of a professional rally vehicle. Now that we’ve looked at some engineering principles of the past, let’s take a look at modern-day engineering and design.
In the latter half of the 90s and the early 21st century, cars began to move away from the idea of lightweight, nimble, raw performers. People wanted comfort, options, as well as performance. Many vehicles were and continue to be released with all three of these needs in mind. The problem is, though, that in adding comfort and options, performance and feel are compromised.
Cars have gained significant amounts of weight. Even redesigned versions of past models are growing in size and weight. Steering has been numbed as drivers require less feedback, pedal feel has gone from precise to downright floaty. Now, if one is to press the clutch, gas, or brake pedal, he or she is most likely to get the impression he is pressing on a sponge, as the car responds unpredictably to the driver’s input.
Also, cars are being fitted with electronic nannies such as stability and traction control. These electronic big-brothers serve the purpose of watching over the entire vehicle in order to correct for any “irregularity” in driving dynamics. This, in turn, limits the driver’s freedom to drive cars to their full potential, as the feeling of an electronic nanny kicking in is nothing short of painful, with annoying lights, sounds, and unexpected jerks to stop a vehicle from either over-rotating, a tire from spinning, or the motor revving too freely.
The new millennium has thus brought with it a new design direction. The 80s and 90s were a time of raw, unassisted, undeterred driving pleasure. Cars from those years virtually had nothing that could interfere with the driver. On the other hand, cars of today are more powerful, only somewhat sharp, and sacrifice the raw experience for comfort. They rely on the driver, softened suspension components and excessive electronics to deliver a compromised, yet still somewhat enjoyable drive while cars of old offered pain and discomfort for the person willing to suffer in order to truly be one with the road. Purists will forever drive raw, no-nonsense performance vehicles, but with road conditions and traffic as they are today, it is understandable why most people would prefer a comfortable cruise to and from work rather than one filled with rough bumps and road noise.
-KF