What Is Automobile?
A self-propelled passenger vehicle, which is used for land transport and usually consists of four to eight tires & is powered by an internal combustion engine or an electric motor. The branches of engineering which deal with the manufacture and technologies of automotive vehicles are known as automobiles engineering.
Today automobiles play a majors role in our lives, cannot be imagined without the luxuries of the modern world. The automobile is used for both passenger and goods transportation, so it serves as a lifeline for humans. An automobile is a vehicle that is not controlled by humans but controlled by humans.
Some of the engineering attributes and disciplines that are of importance to the automotive engineer include:
Safety engineering: Safety engineering is the assessment of various crash scenarios and their impact on the vehicle occupants. These are tested against very stringent governmental regulations. Some of these requirements include: seat belt and air bag functionality testing, front- and side-impact testing, and tests of rollover resistance. Assessments are done with various methods and tools, including computer crash simulation (typically finite element analysis), crash-test dummy, and partial system sled and full vehicle crashes.
Fuel economy/emissions: Fuel economy is the measured fuel efficiency of the vehicle in miles per gallon or kilometers per liter. Emissions-testing covers the measurement of vehicle emissions, including hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), and evaporative emissions.
ormance: Performance is a measurable and testable value of a vehicle’s ability to perform in various conditions. Performance can be considered in a wide variety of tasks, but it’s generally associated with how quickly a car can accelerate ( standing start 1/4 mile elapsed time, 0–60 mph), its top speed (disambiguation) top speed, how short and quickly a car can come to a complete stop from a set speed ( 70-0 mph), how much g-force a car can generate without losing grip, recorded lap-times, cornering speed, brake fade, etc. Performance can also reflect the amount of control in inclement weather (snow, ice, rain).
Shift quality: Shift quality is the driver’s perception of the vehicle to an automatic transmission shift event. This is influenced by the powertrain (engine, transmission), and the vehicle (driveline, suspension, engine and powertrain mounts, etc.) Shift feel is both a tactile (felt) and audible (heard) response of the vehicle. Shift quality is experienced as various events: transmission shifts are felt as an upshift at acceleration (1–2), or a downshift maneuver in passing (4–2). Shift engagements of the vehicle are also evaluated, as in Park to Reverse, etc.
Durability / corrosion engineering: Durability and corrosion engineering is the evaluation testing of a vehicle for its useful life. Tests include mileage accumulation, severe driving conditions, and corrosive salt baths.
Drivability: Drivability is the vehicle’s response to general driving conditions. Cold starts and stalls, RPM dips, idle response, launch hesitations and stumbles, and performance levels.
Cost: The cost of a vehicle program is typically split into the effect on the variable cost of the vehicle, and the up-front tooling and fixed costs associated with developing the vehicle. There are also costs associated with warranty reductions and marketing.
Program timing: To some extent programs are timed with respect to the market, and also to the production-schedules of assembly plants. Any new part in the design must support the development and manufacturing schedule of the model.
Assembly feasibility: It is easy to design a module that is hard to assemble, either resulting in damaged units or poor tolerances. The skilled product-development engineer works with the assembly/manufacturing engineers so that the resulting design is easy and cheap to make and assemble, as well as delivering appropriate functionality and appearance.