The turbulent history of the global automotive industry began at the beginning of the last century, and we can say that it developed in segments from one bright event to another, which almost completely changed the course of history. These events were cars that appeared on the world stage like a bolt from the blue, causing the delight of a large audience or introducing something new, revolutionary, completely changing the balance of power in the market to the automotive industry. What are these cars and what is their invaluable merit? This is what we'll talk about next.
You should start with the very origins of the origin of the automotive industry. However, the very first vehicles We will not mention those who did without live horses, because the piece production of the late 19th century can hardly be called an industry, even though by the standards of that time, even this was an impressive step forward. Let's talk better about a slightly later period, or rather about 1908, when the famous was born, which was produced until 1927. What is remarkable about this car?
First of all, the world auto industry is grateful to him for the appearance of the conveyor, which made it possible to turn the car "from luxury into a means of transportation." Prior to the Ford Model T (or "Tin Lizzie"), all vehicle production was carried out in manual assembly mode, which significantly increased the cost of the finished car and limited the scale of production. The Ford Model T, which stood on the newly invented conveyor, literally “put America on wheels”, thanks to its availability and mass character, it sold over 15,000,000 copies over the years of production. It is also worth noting that the Ford Model T became the first global car in the world market, because its production was opened not only in the United States, but also in the UK, Germany, France, Australia and other countries.
It is just as hard to imagine modern roads and numerous auto shows without supercars that attract attention, conquering not so much with catchy appearance, how much power of motors and speed capabilities. But what car can be called the first-born in this class? Without a doubt, it is, the car is fast, beautiful and very expensive by the standards of its time.
The first supercar in history appeared (although it was not called such at that time) in 1919 and could boast of a fully duralumin 6-cylinder in-line gasoline power unit with a displacement of 6.6 liters and a return of about 135 hp. The car was equipped with drum brakes with a booster, 3-speed mechanical box gears, had the beginnings of a streamlined racing form in the exterior design and accelerated to 137 km / h. Later, in 1924, the Hispano-Suiza H6 received an 8.0-liter engine capable of delivering 160 hp. power, which provided the first supercar in history with acceleration to 177 km / h.
Almost simultaneously with the previous hero to the arena of the world automotive history the most successful racing car of the 20th century was also released, thanks to which millions of fans around the world fell in love with motorsport, and competitors were forced to get involved in the eternal confrontation between power and speed.
The first Bugatti Type 35 appeared on the race track in 1924, immediately began to win and managed to set 47 records in the first two years, winning 351 races along the way. In 1927, the most powerful modification of the Bugatti Type 35 saw the light, equipped with a 138-horsepower engine that allowed it to accelerate to 210 km / h, gaining the first 100 km / h in just 6 seconds, which is quite good for a car almost 100 years old. In total, during the participation of the Bugatti Type 35 and its successor Bugatti Type 37 in races, this car won over 1800 victories, becoming the most productive racing car in history.
In 1922, a rather significant event for the global automotive industry took place - the world's first mass-produced car with a monocoque body went into series. This is a rear-wheel drive open Italian car, which was not only the first in history to receive load-bearing body, starting new era automotive industry, but also added to this front independent spring suspension. What can we say, by the standards of that time, Lancia Lambda is one of the most comfortable cars with a smooth ride and good handling from the driver's point of view.
The release of Lancia Lambda did not last long, only 9 years, but during this time the car managed to go through 9 upgrades, resulting in the power of its 4-cylinder V-motor increased from 49 to 69 hp, and the three-speed manual transmission gave way to a more modern 4-speed transmission.
At the dawn of the automotive industry, all manufactured cars were driven by rear wheels, but sooner or later the era of front-wheel drive cars was to begin. Many mistakenly believe that the Citroën Traction Avant, produced from 1934 to 1957, should be considered the ancestor of this direction. But this will be fair only if we consider the essence of the issue from the position of mass character, because the Citroën Traction Avant sold 760,000 copies, becoming the best-selling front wheel drive car in the 40s of the last century. If you look from the point of view of the first appearance on the market, then the first-born must be recognized as the American one, which appeared in 1929, but because of the Great Depression, it disappeared already in 1932.
The "American" is less successful from a commercial point of view, because its release was limited to only 4400 cars, which is difficult to compare with the success of the French.
In any case, both of these cars played an important role in the history of the global automotive industry, opening front wheel drive models road to success.
The end of the 30s of the 20th century was marked by the appearance of perhaps the most legendary car in history - also known as the "Beetle". Initially, the compact and inexpensive Volkswagen Käfer was conceived as a folk german car available to every family in Germany.
The car was designed by Ferdinand Porsche on the personal instructions of Hitler, but the mass production of new items began after the Second World War. At the same time, "Zhuk" came to universal success, which lasted several decades, until 2003, when legendary car was discontinued.
But entered into history of Volkswagen Käfer is not only due to the duration of serial production (65 years) and mass production (more than 21,500,000 copies). "Beetle" played several other important roles that made his name legendary. Firstly, it became the progenitor of the no less legendary "hippie van" VW Transporter Typ 2. Secondly, it was on the basis of the "Beetle" that a new type of racing car was born - the buggy. And, thirdly, Volkswagen Käfer formed the basis of the first Porsche 911.
Since Porsche 911 we will continue our journey into history. Introduced in 1963, the sports car immediately appealed to both journalists and ordinary motorists, which determined the further success of the model, which eventually caused a general interest in sports cars and forced many other automakers to start developing in this direction, which had previously ignored the class of sports cars.
The classic Porsche 911 of the first and second generation (differences mainly in appearance) stayed afloat for an impressive 25 years, becoming the most massive and most popular sports car of the 20th century. The love of Porsche 911 fans around the world is so strong that in later versions, the manufacturer has steadily retained the familiar design DNA of a sports car, and its in-house designation 911, in fact, became an exception to the rule, turning into the name of a model that shaped an entire era around itself.
Let's go back almost 20 years ago, to the post-war 1947, which is famous in the history of the automotive industry for the appearance of the first stock car With automatic transmission gears. This event happened in the USA, where they installed the Dynaflow torque converter automatic transmission, which was based on technologies patented back in 1903 by the German professor Fettinger.
Initially, the automatic transmission was available as an option, but the high demand for the new product forced the manufacturer to make the automatic transmission the basic equipment of the Buick Roadmaster as early as 1949, and since then the percentage of cars equipped with an automatic transmission has been growing every year.
The rapid growth in the number of cars in the postwar period, periodically accompanied by various financial and fuel crises, dictated the need to create more economical cars, the maintenance and maintenance of which would not devastate the wallets of the owners. The first-born in this direction, which formed, in fact, new class("supermini") cars, became famous Mini- commercially the most successful subcompact and compact car in history.
The pre-production Mini was ready in 1957, but official sales started only at the end of the summer of 1959 almost immediately in 100 countries of the world, which predetermined the overall success of the model and ensured the growth of popularity small cars for many years to come. In terms of the need to understand the importance of fuel efficiency, Mini's contribution to the history of the global automotive industry is phenomenal. Moreover, Success Mini gave rise to even more compact cars- miniature citycars that are gaining popularity in our days.
Among the numerous sports cars of the 70s of the last century, there is a Japanese sports car Nissan S30, also known in many markets under the name Datsun 240z.
This car did not make any global merits for the global automotive industry, but it is still worth mentioning. The main success of the Nissan S30 has been in the United States, where more than low cost in comparison with competitors allowed the sports car to become very popular among middle-class buyers. A high level of sales provided an influx of finance into the Japanese auto industry, thanks to which the latter managed to get out of the post-war crisis, and today we can observe the fruits of the seeds of Japanese success, planted just the same in the early to mid-70s.
Our story would not be complete without Volkswagen Golf the first generation, which appeared in 1974. It was he who became the progenitor of a very successful class cars that received the name of the first-born (golf class).
exit and Volkswagen success Golf not only saved the German concern from economic collapse, but also marked the beginning new era in the global automotive industry, which resulted in a revision of the international classification of car types and contributed to the rapid growth in the popularity of compact cars. The first Volkswagen Golf was so successful that its production in third world countries continued until 2009, and this is a direct consequence of the achievements in the history of the global automotive industry.
There are among the creators of automotive history and a native of Russia, or rather the USSR. We are talking about the well-known "Niva" VAZ-2121. By the end of the 70s, a certain trend had developed in the global automotive industry: SUVs were produced with carrier frame, dependent suspension, with a tented top and a Spartan interior, which did not differ in comfort at all. The Soviet "Niva" made a splash when in 1977 it appeared before the public in a completely revolutionary concept at that time: a compact monocoque body, independent front suspension, permanent four-wheel drive, a lockable center differential and a comfortable passenger compartment with good level comfort.
Already in 1978, the Niva received a gold medal and the title of car of the year among SUVs at an exhibition in Brno, and two years later it achieved similar success at the Poznań International Fair. In fact, the Niva laid the foundations for the future class of compact SUVs, becoming a benchmark for many global automakers when developing their own new products. It is no secret that the VAZ-2121 was the only Soviet car exported to Japan, and up to 80% of the produced off-road vehicles were exported to more than 100 countries of the world.
But here's the father modern crossovers(more precisely, the “SUV” segment) is considered to be “American”, which appeared in 1979. This outwardly unsightly car was built on the basis of the AMC Concord passenger car and was produced in sedan, coupe, hatchback, station wagon and even convertible body styles. From other novelties of that period, the AMC Eagle was distinguished by the presence of an all-wheel drive chassis, on which an ordinary passenger body was actually “planted”.
Original for its time, the solution appealed to many customers, especially in the northern states of the United States and Canada, where good cross car, combined with its comfort, was appreciated. Later, the success of the AMC Eagle contributed to the start of the development of full-fledged crossovers, which today have become completely commonplace.
Concluding the review of historical hero cars, it is worth mentioning a couple modern models. First of all, this is a hatchback, which opened the world to the commercial prospects of hybrid cars, whose market share is steadily growing.
Well, you can’t ignore another Japanese - who is the world's first hydrogen-powered car.
Its purpose is to mark the beginning of the development of a new era in the automotive industry, in which absolutely environmentally friendly cars will prevail.
That’s all, the historical digression has come to an end, new discoveries and significant events in the automotive industry are ahead of us, which means that in the future there will definitely be fresh reasons to supplement the above “list of creators of auto history”.
According to the information provided on my website, the first car in the world was with a steam engine. Of course, this unit can and can be called a car, but something doesn’t turn around. Under the concept of a car, I associate a vehicle that is quite compact, easy to handle and, to some extent, reliable. All these definitions are clearly not suitable for machines of the 19th century. In addition, it is necessary to organize the serial production of cars so that they are available for use by a wide range of people. What exactly cannot be said about those piece copies, well, with the exception of some. So let's try together to find the answer to the question - who invented the first car?
Daimler and Benz, as the founders of the automotive industry.
Time passed, and the cars did not change. We can say that the evolutionary process in this industry has come to a standstill. How was it engine invented internal combustion and appeared before the world in 1885 the very first car tricycle of Karl Benz. The car was quite unpretentious, it was a kind of Kulibin invention, only it was set in motion not by muscular strength, but gasoline engine. Almost at the same time, Gottlieb Daimler invented the motor-driven bicycle, and a year later, the motor-powered “carriage”.
For the record, the first truck equipped with an internal combustion engine and a truck battery appeared in 1896. An analogue with a diesel engine saw the light only in 1923. As the automotive industry developed and production became cheaper, trucks and more powerful truck batteries also gained popularity.
The first car in the world was invented by Karl Benz in 1886. It received public recognition and was put into industrial production. It was a three-wheeled vehicle, with a 1.7-liter engine, which was located horizontally. The large flywheel protruded strongly from the rear. This vehicle was controlled using a T-shaped steering wheel.
At this point the story first car goes to new level, since Benz was the first to offer buyers a ready-made and usable prototype of a modern car, and Daimler was the first to launch a functional automobile engine into production.
feature this car was that it used a water-cooled engine. At the same time, the engine and flywheel were located horizontally. The crankshaft was open. Through a simple differential, with the help of a belt and chains, the engine drove the rear wheels. The main achievement of conductor thought could be considered the use of a mechanically operated intake valve and electric ignition. Initially, the engine displacement was only 985 cubic meters. see, this is not enough even to overclock the car. Therefore, the first cars put on sale were equipped with more powerful engines with a displacement of 1.7 liters and a two-speed gearbox. Over the years, engine power has increased 4 times and amounted to 2.5 hp. Thus, Benz's car developed a maximum speed of 19 km / h, which is not bad for the first car in the world. However, this did not suit Karl Benz, and he continued his search. And soon his offspring successfully performed in the then famous races London-to-Brighton Run, having average speed 13 km/h. Mass production of the car began only in 1890.
Three years later, "Benz" released the first four-wheeled cars. Based on a three-wheeled design, they seemed too old-fashioned at the time. But, despite their slowness and primitiveness, they were distinguished by simplicity, accessibility, in terms of maintenance and repair, and durability. Later, a two-cylinder modification appeared, but, at the insistence of Benz, the original technical solutions remained largely unchanged.
Preview - Click to enlarge. In the pictures - model "Victoria" 1893. Improvements to the four-wheeled "Benz" (1892) continued until 1901. Despite the undemanding design, more than 2300 of these machines were produced.
In 1909, the firm ran into difficulties. Against the will of Benz, a group of French engineers had to be assembled to design a more advanced model of the car. They tried to put it into production in 1903, but it all ended in failure, which made Karl Benz forget about his ambitions: he proposed a modern four-cylinder in-line engine that met the requirements of the new chassis. After launching this new "hybrid" model into production, the company's business slowly took off.
Preview - Click to enlarge. Gottlieb Daimler's first model of 1886 is an attempt to use a horse-drawn carriage as a power unit. The basic mechanical parts are still very primitive, but the single-cylinder engine is the prototype of modern automobile engines.
Daimler showed himself to be a more restrained and patient designer. Unlike Benz, he did not rush forward. Relying on stationary engines, he, together with his colleague Wilhelm Maybach, created his first functional car "Daimler" in 1889 and put it into production in 1895. Also, along with the cars, the company licensed its own engines, to lay the foundation for the release of the latest, never-before-seen models, such as the French "Panhard" and "Peugeot". In 1889, the first car in history appeared capable of reaching speeds of more than 80 km / h. Its filling was a four-cylinder engine with a capacity of 24 hp. and others technical innovations. This car was very heavy, bulky, unmanageable, and most importantly - unsafe. In this connection, the further policy of the company was aimed at making the car lighter in weight and more manageable. Soon there were many people who wanted to have such a car.
As a result, the now widely known model was born, named after his daughter, Mercedes. It was published at the very end of 1900 and became, according to historians, the prototype of the modern car.
Preview - Click to enlarge. In the pictures - the first "Mercedes" (December 1890) - a prototype of a modern car with a simple body, intended for participation in car races. Instead, a four-seater "walking" body could be installed. The gear lever is clearly visible in the picture.
Model "Mercedes" 35 hp combined: gear shifting, honeycomb radiator and magnet ignition low voltage- from previous Daimler models - and technical innovations - a low-lying lightweight stamped frame and a mechanical intake valve drive (although this novelty had to be abandoned later). Together, these technical solutions gave life to a car that differed from its predecessors in more reliable operation and was unusually docile for the driver. Braking systems have become much more reliable, and the quality of the car itself has been talked about all over the world.
At that time, the most interesting thing happened, all Daimler models were renamed Mercedes.
Preview - Click to enlarge. In the pictures - one of the models of the company "Daimler" - "Mercedes-Simplex" in 1904, which has an excellent four-cylinder engine 5.3 liters with side valves. Even today, the model does not look old-fashioned.
Automobile- ground trackless motor vehicle driven by its own engine and having at least four wheels. In some cases, three-wheeled vehicles are also classified as cars if their own weight exceeds 400 kg.
The supply of energy source for engine operation can be located directly on the vehicle (fuel in tanks, electrical energy of traction batteries) or supplied from stationary devices (trolley bus contact network).
The crew of Nicolas Cugno with a steam engine
Attempts to create horseless "self-running" carriages have been made since the 17th century. The figure shows a three-wheeled cart with a steam engine, created by the military engineer Nicolas Cugno in France in 1769. A steam engine that developed a power of about 2 liters. with., located on the front wheel and turned with him. The wagon could carry up to 3 tons of cargo at a speed of 2–4 km/h. When driving required frequent stops to keep the fire in the furnace, to constantly provide required pressure pair. In those years, steam-powered crews could not compete with horse-drawn carts and therefore not widely used.
The situation fundamentally changed after the creation of the internal combustion engine (ICE). In 1859–1860 The French mechanic Etienne Lenoir built a piston engine that worked by burning light gas in a cylinder. True, the design of such an engine was closer to steam engine than to the internal combustion engine known to us. A more successful engine design was created in 1876 in Germany by Nikolaus-August Otto. Otto's piston gas engine worked on a four-stroke cycle (one stroke of the piston and three preparatory strokes), the mixture of gas and air was compressed in the cylinder before being ignited by a glow plug.
First cars:
a - Karl Benz;
b - Gottlieb Daimler
Realistically apply an internal combustion engine to wheeled carriage succeeded only after transferring it from gas fuel to liquid petroleum (gasoline). The credit for creating such an engine belongs to Gottlieb Daimler. In 1885–1886 German engineers G. Daimler and K. Benz independently patented strollers with an internal combustion engine, which are considered to be the first cars in the world. The Daimler engine had a speed 4-5 times higher than that of gas engines the time when equal power allowed to significantly reduce the size and weight of the engine.
The first Russian car built by E. A. Yakovlev and P. A. Frese
The beginning of the history of the Russian automotive industry was laid by a car built by St. Petersburg industrialists E. A. Yakovlev and P. A. Frese in 1896. The crew had a single-cylinder four stroke engine and could reach speeds of over 20 km / h. The engine had a number of technical innovations: electric ignition, removable cylinder head, pressure lubrication.
It is curious that in the late XIX - early XX century. With petrol cars cars with electric and steam drives successfully competed: a fairly large number of them were created and produced. But the advantages of internal combustion engines led to the fact that gradually (after 1910) the production of electric and steam vehicles was reduced to a minimum. Steam passenger cars manufactured by Stanley, White and Doble in the USA were produced until the mid-30s. In England steam trucks Foden and Sentinel were produced in the 50s. In general, the reason for the termination of their production was not so much low efficiency as operational inconveniences: a long warm-up of the boiler, the difficulty of controlling power plant freezing water in winter.
Russo-Balt K-12/20
Late XIX - early XX century. characterized by the beginning of industrial production of automobiles in many countries of the world. In Russia, among other manufacturers, the largest at that time was automotive department Russian-Baltic Carriage Works in Riga. In total, from 1909 to 1915, the enterprise produced more than 800 Russo-Balt cars of various models.
The design of most cars produced during this period had common technical solutions:
- a four-wheeled (two-axle) carriage, the front wheels are steerable, - the rear, driving wheels were equipped with pneumatic tires;
- the supporting element of the car was the frame, in the front of which was installed longitudinally multi-cylinder engine internal combustion;
- transmission consisted of friction clutch, one or more gear reducers (chain or belt drives were also used);
- steering included steering wheel, which through the gearbox was connected to the front swivel wheels. The pivots of the right and left steered wheels were connected by an articulated steering linkage.
Many of the fundamental decisions incorporated in the design of the car in those years are successfully applied at the present time.
The development of motorization in this period was held back by the fact that the produced cars had a high price with low reliability. They were acquired either by wealthy people or to equip the army.
The first mass car Ford-T (USA)
The beginning of the mass production of cars can be considered the creation by the American entrepreneur Henry Ford of the successful design of the Ford-T car and the use of a specialized assembly line for its assembly since 1913, which made it possible to sharply increase production volumes and, as a result, reduce the cost of the car. Over 15 million of these cars have been produced in 19 years. The car became available to citizens with an average income. We can say that it was then that the car turned from an exotic toy into a mass vehicle.
Truck with diesel MAN engine 3Zc, 1924
An important milestone in the history of the automotive industry is the start of the use of an internal combustion engine with compression ignition in cars, which was patented by the German engineer Rudolf Diesel in 1892, but diesel began to be installed in series on cars (primarily trucks) in the 1920s. .
The period from the end of the 20s to the beginning of World War II was characterized by the improvement of individual vehicle systems, an increase in engine power and speed. Manufacturers are experimenting with the location of the engine, with the suspension and transmission device. By order of the army, multi-axle vehicles are being created, including off-road vehicles. The designs of vehicles for various purposes begin to differ significantly from each other.
After World War II (in the 1950s and 1960s) there was a sharp increase in the production of automobiles.
The revolutionary solution of that time was the massive use of load-bearing (frameless) bodies in the design of cars and buses. This made it possible to lighten the car, experiment with the shape of the body, position the engine across the car, make the front wheels drive, etc.
But a sharp increase in the number of cars led to negative consequences: the number of dead and injured on the roads has increased, the environment has become polluted, and a shortage of hydrocarbon fuel has begun to be felt. To reduce the severity of the consequences of mass motorization, manufacturers, under pressure from society and the state, began to make significant changes to the design. It is possible to trace three stages of improving the design of cars:
1. Improvement of constructive safety (since the beginning of the 60s). During this period, the car began to use belts and airbags, safety glass, double-circuit brake systems, shock absorbing bumpers, etc.
2. Reducing fuel consumption (after the oil crises of the 70s). At this time, the struggle began to reduce the own weight of the car, giving it aerodynamic forms. The design of engines and tires is being improved, and the issue of using alternative (non-petroleum) types of automotive fuel is being explored.
3. Reducing the negative impact on environment(since the mid 80s). The working process of the engine is improved, applied various filters and exhaust gas converters that reduce the volume harmful emissions car.
Through various constructive solutions the car becomes less noisy. The question arises about the suitability of the car design for recycling (disposal) after the cessation of operation. Environmentally friendly types of power units are being investigated.
Passenger car GAZ-A, 1932
Car ZIS-5, 1933
The organization of mass production of automobiles in our country falls on the period 1932–1941. and is associated with the construction of the Nizhny Novgorod Automobile Plant (now GAZ) and the reconstruction of the Moscow AMO plant (now AMO ZIL). GAZ produced GAZ-AA trucks and GAZ-A cars, the Moscow plant produced ZIS-5 trucks.
Domestic passenger cars of the 50–60s.:
a - GAZ-M20 "Victory", 1954;
b - ZAZ-965, 1965;
c - GAZ-21R "Volga", 1965;
g - Moskvich-407, 1959
During the years of the Great Patriotic War and after its completion, new plants were put into operation in the cities of Ulyanovsk (UAZ), Minsk (MAZ), Zaporozhye (ZAZ), Kremenchug (KrAZ), Miass (UralAZ), etc. MZMA cars (later Moskvich).
A sharp increase in output domestic cars associated with the commissioning in 1970 of the Volga Automobile Plant (VAZ, Togliatti) and a little later, the Kama Production Association heavy vehicles(KAMAZ, Naberezhnye Chelny).
At the end of the 20s. The national economy of the USSR was basically restored. By 1925, the production of the most important types of products reached the pre-war level. The country's economy has grown stronger and the need has come to turn the USSR into an industrial power.
The program for the radical re-equipment of Soviet industry, including the automobile industry, was formulated by the first five-year plan for the development of the national economy of the USSR (1928/29-1931/33), which, after a comprehensive discussion in the press and at meetings in May 1929, was approved by the 5th All-Union Congress Soviets.
Such an important task as the comprehensive development road transport in the country, could not be solved only in the course of one five-year plan, since it was necessary to create powerful enterprises for the production of automobiles, components, tires, fuel, special steels, machine tools and equipment. Moreover, its solution required the efforts of the entire domestic industry.
The need of the national economy for automobiles was extremely great. Thus, by the beginning of 1928, the USSR, in terms of the number of car parks, was inferior even to such small countries as Finland, Poland, Romania, and Portugal. Imports could not significantly solve the transport problem, and the capacities of domestic enterprises clearly did not correspond to the sharply increased demand for cars, mainly trucks.
In 1928-1929. the first difficult period in the development of the Soviet automobile industry was over. Three small plants (AMO, Spartak and Ya GAZ) gave the country cars. There were few of them: 1712 in 1929 and 4226 in 1930, and in general this number was a drop in the ocean. But, objectively speaking, many well-known European firms made fewer machines than the enterprises of the young Soviet republic. So YaGAZ produced in 1930 839 heavy trucks and bus chassis. This was more than what was done in the same year by such "eminent" German firms as Bussing (450 cars), MAN (400 cars) or Magirus (350 cars).
Having accumulated considerable experience in the repair of cars, the establishment of mass production, the Soviet automotive industry has approached a new milestone - the mass production of cars.
Arrival in Moscow for negotiations of representatives of the Ford Motor Company. 1929
The first Ford-AA trucks leave the gates of the Gudok Oktyabrya car assembly plant in Nizhny Novgorod. February 1930
Mass production of automobiles using conveyors, special machine tools, automated lines in these years was not widespread not only in the USSR, but also in Europe. In any case, by 1928, the French factories Citroen, Renault, Berliet, the English Morris, the Italian FIAT, the German Opel and Brennabor had introduced such technology. The vast majority of European enterprises, including AMO, Spartak and Ya GAZ, were assembling machines on slipways and widely used universal machines. This circumstance, as well as a high proportion of manual labor, predetermined the small scale of production and high cost.
For the widespread motorization of the USSR, hundreds of thousands of cars a year were needed. Consequently, the only way out was to create modern factories using high-performance technology. It was well mastered by US factories! Moreover, in relation to it, American engineers also created designs that were very technologically advanced, simple, and the selected production methods provided these cars with high quality workmanship, and therefore high durability. Road conditions in the interior of the United States more closely resembled Russian than European. This idea was well confirmed by the experience of operating American cars imported into the USSR: by 1929, Ford was the most common brand in the USSR, and in general, American cars accounted for a third of the fleet.
Analyzing all the circumstances, our specialists came to the conclusion that Professor V. Gittis most accurately expressed, speaking in April 1929 on the pages of the magazine Za Rulem: technological process production again; instead, in order to speed up new construction, it is necessary to adopt, by agreement with a foreign plant, the technological process used by it, together with the car structure being built by this plant.
By the way, American industrialists quickly assessed the situation - at the beginning of 1928, the heads of Ford, Dodge, and Willis-Overland published their thoughts on the motorization of the USSR in the magazine Za Rulem. In this regard, already at the end of 1928, negotiations began, first with H. Ford, and then with representatives of General Motors. Ford proposed the creation of a mixed Soviet-American society with an investment of his own capital in order to build a modern plant with a capacity of 100,000 cars a year. General Motors Corporation offered technical assistance and the right to use the design of one of the Chevrolet models (in other words, the purchase of a license) and a loan. At the same time, the second company stood for a very modest scale of production - 12.5 thousand cars a year.
Despite the urgent need for cars, Soviet economists refused to attract foreign capital into the automotive industry. Any important step, any fundamental decision in this case would have to be linked with the American partner, who could have his own views on the development of the Soviet economy and transport in particular. And then on March 4, 1929, the Supreme Council of National Economy of the USSR issued the well-known order No. 498, which stated that the government had decided to build on their own a modern automobile plant with an annual capacity of 100,000 vehicles. The place of construction was chosen near the village of Monastyrka near Nizhny Novgorod (later Gorky), the construction period was set at 3 years, that is, the plant was to be commissioned in early 1932.
Why did you choose Nizhny Novgorod? Availability of qualified labor force, low cost of raw materials transportation by water, proximity to the Urals metallurgical base, sufficient distance from state borders- here are the arguments that predetermined the choice. Negotiations with Ford, however, continued. His company was in a difficult economic situation in the post-crisis period, and a large contract with our country was a significant help for it. As a result, in Dearborn (USA) on May 31, 1929, an agreement was signed between G. Ford and the delegation of the Supreme Economic Council of the USSR. According to it, the Soviet side received from the Ford Motor Company technical assistance in the construction and commissioning of a new plant, the right to manufacture Ford models at home and train specialists in the USA. Term technical cooperation was set for nine years.
As payment, the Soviet side undertook to purchase 72 thousand sets of parts within four years, from which Ford-A cars and Ford-AA trucks would be assembled in the USSR before the start of the new plant, for a total amount of 72 million rubles.
This agreement proved beneficial from all sides. And above all, he made it possible to immediately begin the installation of machines. For this purpose, the Gudok Oktyabrya plant was reequipped in Nizhny Novgorod, which was to assemble annually 12,000 cars from Ford parts. The first cars left its gates in February 1930. An interesting fact is that on the lead car of this first column, a Ford-AA truck of the 1928 model with single rear wheels and a low (compared to the 1929 model) radiator, was reinforced poster: "We are fulfilling the five-year plan. The first Soviet Ford. Subsequently, the Oktyabrya Horn became a branch of the Gorky Automobile Plant, and now it is the Gorky Plant specialized vehicles(GZSA).
The second car assembly plant - the KIM plant (now AZLK) grew up in Moscow and went into operation in November 1930. In contrast to the "Gudok Oktyabrya", it was built anew as a modern enterprise, was designed for an annual production of 24 thousand cars. Both assembled "Ford-A" and "Ford-AA", that is, models that, after the completion of construction, were to be produced by the main plant in Nizhny Novgorod. Then the Ford parts had to gradually give way to domestic ones.
It should be noted that in the second half of 1931 "Gudok Oktyabrya" began assembling Ford-Timken three-axle trucks.
Among the domestic factories operating in those years, AMO was the largest. However, it was in need of serious reconstruction - this was an urgent requirement of life. The issue of expanding the AMO, increasing the volume of production on January 10, 1928 was considered at a joint meeting of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Council of Labor and Defense (STO). In the summer of 1928, a government commission went to the United States to negotiate with the Avtokar company on providing technical assistance in the organization of mass production trucks. The choice fell on the "Avtokar" model "CA" with a carrying capacity of 2.5 tons as the most successful design of an American car of this class. However, it was not completely manufactured by Avtokar, but was assembled from units produced by various enterprises according to its drawings or specifications. The engines were supplied by the Hercules factory, the clutches were supplied by Long, the gearboxes were supplied by Brown-Lipe, the steering gears were Ross, cardan shafts and joints "Spicer", front and rear axles - "Timken", wheels - "Budd", frames - "Scab", hydraulic brakes- Lockheed. The remaining parts and assembly were the work of the Avtokar plant.
The model itself had a considerable margin of safety, was very hardy and durable. For its production, however, the latest equipment was needed, and for its purchase, as well as drawing up a plan for the reconstruction of the AMO, in May 1929 an agreement was concluded with Brandt's American design organization. It provided for the reconstruction of the plant for the production of 25,000 trucks per year at a cost of about 7 million rubles in hard currency.
The contract provided that by June 30, 1930, all shops and the plant as a whole would be put into operation. However, only in November 1929 did Brandt present, and then only a preliminary, reconstruction project. He had many shortcomings, and at the beginning of the summer of 1930 the contract had to be terminated.
The issue of the further fate of the AMO reconstruction was discussed on January 25, 1930 by the government of the country, instructing the Supreme Economic Council of the USSR to determine the amount of additional appropriations for reconstruction. Traveled to USA and Germany large group Soviet specialists for the purchase of equipment, and in Moscow the project was being finalized and construction work was carried out in parallel with it.
While construction was going on, the AMO continued until 1931 to produce trucks of the F-15 model. In parallel, in 1930-1931. there was an assembly of American Autocar units, which were given the AMO-2 index.
When on October 25, 1931, the first 27 trucks made entirely from their parts left the gates of the reconstructed plant, they received the AMO-3 index, although they differed slightly from AMO-2 in design.
The scale of the work done can be judged by the figurative comparison of the plant director I. A. Likhachev: “... if we count by the capital spent, then we can say that we sewed a coat on a button. If the fixed capital was 8 million rubles, then it was again reconstructed. .. the plant costs 87 million rubles today."
AMO-2 assembled from Avtokar nodes. 1930
At the construction of an automobile plant in Nizhny Novgorod. 1930
Assessing the successes of the engineers and workers of the AMO, one of the American specialists who worked in the USSR, Taylor wrote: "In two years you have built a plant equipped with the latest technology, which can safely become one of the largest automobile plants in America."
The construction of the automobile giant in Nizhny Novgorod proceeded at an even faster pace. The preparation of the construction site began on August 13, 1929, and on May 2, 1930, the solemn ceremony of laying the first stone of the automobile plant took place. Work went at such a pace (more than 5 thousand people worked at the construction site) that already in November 1931, most of the buildings were ready for installation and debugging of equipment. In the place of a small village and the wastelands surrounding it, a first-class modern car factory quickly grew.
First 25 trucks GAZ-AA left the assembly line of the new plant on January 29, 1932, and from April 1, their continuous production began. A grandiose enterprise, one of the largest in Europe in the production of automobiles, has grown in an unheard of short time - 19 months. "History has not allowed us to go quieter," said V. V. Kuibyshev when signing the decree on the construction of the plant.
Assembly line for GAZ-AA trucks in Nizhny Novgorod. 1932
The Gorky Automobile Plant (GAZ) did not produce entire cars - a significant part of the components were supplied by almost four dozen allied enterprises. Coordinate their work, achieve High Quality products, strictly adhere to technological discipline - these are the difficult tasks facing the new plant, whose people sometimes did not have sufficient experience.
How justified was the path taken by our automotive industry? Isn't it better to do everything on your own, saving millions of foreign currency rubles. Perhaps another way would also be possible. Having familiarized ourselves with the organization of mass production abroad, we would come to the need to create a new machine tool industry, which, only in a few years, could supply the necessary equipment for future car factories. In parallel, it would be necessary by trial and error to create a design that would fully comply with the conveyor technology. Ultimately, this path would have turned out to be longer, five years longer. Our economy could not afford this. And in order to gain time, we bought knowledge, experience, production equipment, and began to make modern cars("Ford", "Autocar"), tractors ("International", "Boat-Piller"), tanks ("Vickers", "Christie") and much more.
The country needed a quick leap into the industrial age. The path she took turned out to be the right one.
With the commissioning of GAZ and AMO, as well as a number of related enterprises in our automotive industry, technological revolution. And when they fully mastered the mass production of three basic models, then our country was able to receive not 4 thousand cars per year, as it was in 1930, but 97 thousand (1935).
But we must not forget that expensive and high-performance specialized machines, automated lines, on the one hand, and on the other hand, the need to maintain the existing tooling, served as a certain brake technical progress. "Ford" and "Avtokar" in 1935 had already switched to more advanced models, and GAZ and ZIS (such a name - "plant named after Stalin" - AMO received on October 1, 1931) were forced to adhere to the designs of 1929, only in details of their modernization.
The complex art of preparing the production of new models and the technologically difficult transition to them, our plants had yet to master. It was in the mid-1930s to buy again in large quantities abroad machine tools, equipment, and tools. it is too expensive. We had to develop our own machine-tool industry, establish the production of large dies for bodies, and pull up related industries.
Produced in 1931-1932. Our factory models were simple. Cast iron or steel was widely used in them, and expensive alloy steels, aluminum alloys, brass, and bronze were used to a very limited extent. Undoubtedly, this circumstance contributed to a significant reduction in cost, but hindered the creation of lightweight structures.
Finally, it should be taken into account that AMO-2, AMO-3, and later ZIS-5 inherited from Avtokar a design where all dimensions of parts were multiples of inches, not millimeters. By the way, this was also the case with GAZ-A and GAZ-AA, since a significant part of the machines and equipment, also purchased mainly in the USA, had fixed positions of the working bodies, expressed in sizes that were multiples of inches and fractions of an inch. It is not surprising, therefore, that the piston stroke of the six-cylinder engines AMO, ZIS and ZIL, up to the recently produced ZIL-157K, did not change - 114.3 mm, that is, it was 4 "/2 inches! The same can be said about all cars Gorky Automobile Plant, including GAZ-3102: their wheels, starting from GAZ-A, are interchangeable, since the diameter of the circle wheel studs they inherited from the "Ford-A" - 139.7 mm or 5 "/2 inches.
An analogy with our aircraft engine building is appropriate here. There, too, in the early 1930s. licenses were acquired for the production of Hispano-Suiza, Wright-Cyclone, Gnome-Ron engines. Aviation industry specialists took them as a base and, on its basis, began to develop their own concepts, which allowed them to quickly catch up with licensee firms. This has not happened in the automotive industry. It should be recognized that the country attached exceptional importance to the aviation and motorcycle construction, primarily from the standpoint of ensuring its defense capability. Hence the priorities in financing and logistics. Hence the results.
However, one important circumstance cannot be disregarded - the scale of production of aircraft engines is an order of magnitude, and sometimes two, lower than the production of cars, and, in particular, their engines. And in this sense, the narrow technological specialization dictated by mass production did not allow changing the design without significant investments in equipping factories. Technological limitations fettered (and noticeably) the initiative of designers, directing it along the path of creating only modifications of already mastered basic models.
There is an opinion that the Soviet auto industry did not indulge motorists with a variety of models. And this is fair. However, few people know that on various automobile factories USSR in different years very promising models were developed, which in a series of different reasons didn't get there. Today we will talk about unknown Soviet cars that never reached the Soviet motorists.
1. NAMI Luaz "Proto"
In 1989 in the USSR, such a machine could well get into mass production. It was positioned as a 4-seater SUV. The machine was equipped with a reinforced steel frame, which was closed with removable panels (which greatly simplified repairs). The seats in the car were laid out in such a way that one wide bed was obtained, which occupied almost the entire interior.
2. NAMI 0288 "Compact"
This car was supposed to be the first Soviet mini. "Compact" was assembled in 1988. in a single copy. He had the following indicators: maximum speed - 150 km / h, gasoline consumption of 6 liters per 100 km. In addition, the car had an on-board computer that was responsible for the operation of the suspension and other elements. NAMI 0288 Compact took 5th place (in 1989) at the Tokyo Motor Show among 30 concept cars presented there. However, the collapse Soviet Union put an end to the issue of implementation of NAMI 0288 Compact.
3. ZIS 112
At the Stalin plant, Soviet engineers tried to create worthy sports cars domestic production. Of the seven developed options, it is necessary to single out the ZIS-112 model (later ZIL-112). The designer was inspired to create this car by the legendary Buick X90. However, the ZIS 112 had its own style. Its length was almost 6 m, and it weighed a little less than 3 tons. For this reason, the car was not suitable for participation in circuit races and they began to redo it.
4. Moskvich 408 "Tourist"
In 1964 Moskvich 408 was created, which even now can occasionally be found on the roads of the CIS countries. However, few people know that almost the same period was created younger brother of this car - Moskvich-480 "Tourist". This model was made in a coupe-cabriolet body, unusual for Soviet people. This car had electronic injection fuel, a more powerful engine than a conventional Moskvich (63 hp), as well as a maximum speed of 130 km / h.
A significant drawback was the removable plastic roof, which did not fit in the trunk, which required storing it somewhere in the garage. It should be noted that at that time at AZLK all production capacity were occupied by ordinary Muscovites 408, and the “Tourist” model, released in only 2 copies, did not receive further distribution.
5. "Ohta"
This car was assembled in the Leningrad branch of NAMI. The salon was designed as a 7-seater with the possibility of transformation (the front seats could turn 180ᵒ, and the middle row easily turned into a table). The headlights of this car were built into the front bumper, from under which a spoiler extended at high speeds (to increase downforce). The collapse of the USSR prevented the mass production of this car.
6. ZIL-4102
In order to create worthy soviet car executive class, the ZIL plant acquired for a detailed study Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit. ZIL-4102 was created in only 2 copies, each of which was equipped with a powerful V-shaped 8-cylinder engine (power 315 hp, acceleration to hundreds in just 10 seconds) and a modern sound system with 10 speakers, which could play not only the radio, but even read the CD.
The fate of this machine was decided by M.S. Gorbachev. He did not like the car and the development was closed. It is interesting that one of the ZIL-4102 specimens is still kept in one of the private collections and from time to time takes part in exhibitions.
7. Muscovites of the 80s
Already in the 80s of the last century, it became clear to engineers that Moskvich was obsolete. It was clearly inferior to Western counterparts, both in terms of technical parameters and design.
This prompted the development of new models, among which it is worth highlighting:
Moskvich-2139 "Arbat" was supposed to be the first Soviet 7-seater mini-vein.
Moskvich-2143 "Yauza" with original, but strange side windows, which were divided into 2 parts, and only the lower one went down.
Moskvich-2144 "Istra" with an aluminum body and side windows that did not fall, and ventilation was supposed to be due to small windows and air conditioning.
This car was planned to be equipped with airbags and an ABS system. The image from the night vision device, as well as information about the speed of movement, was supposed to be displayed on Windshield with a small projector. Regarding all these machines, we can say that their fate ended with the existence of the Soviet Union.
8. VAZ-2702 "Pony"
Back in 1974. VAZ engineers began to create a compact cargo electric vehicle. Many interesting engineering solutions were combined in this car (from an ethyl alcohol heater to an aluminum frame made of pipes). However, field tests revealed a number of problems, such as a persistent alcohol smell in the car, spontaneous opening of the windows during movement, insufficient frame strength, and unreliable brakes. The car has been modified. However, it did not pass the second test either, and during the third crash test it completely fell apart right in front of the testers.
9. ZIL-118 "Youth"
The well-known ZIL-111 looked like a real Soviet limousine for important people of that time. In the 60s, the engineers of the USSR set out to create a bead of the same level of comfort. And so the ZIL-118 "Youth" model appeared, which had a smooth ride and quality finish salon. In 1967 At the bus exhibition in Nice, the car received 17 awards at once. However, the car was never sent into mass production due to the high cost of the project. These cars were produced several times a year on special orders from the KGB, television, and as special ambulances. For the entire period, only 93 ZIL-118 "Youth" were produced.
10. MAZ-2000 "Perestroika"
In 1985 At the Minsk Automobile Plant, the development of the MAZ 2000 model began. In the process, a team of young engineers patented more than 30 new concepts, which are currently purchased foreign companies and are used in the production of trucks. In 1988 the truck was demonstrated at the Paris Motor Show, where experts appreciated it (gold medal for technical solutions). The collapse of the USSR prevented the launch of this decent car into mass production.
It was at that time that they were made, which I would not refuse to ride today.
