On a hybrid vehicle’s air conditioning system that utilizes a high voltage electrical compressor, can only the oil specified by the vehicle manufacturer be used in the compressor or is PAG oil acceptable for use in an electric vehicle’s compressor?
If you read Shop Press regularly you’ve noticed we’ve been running a series for the past couple of years. It’s called “Automotive Paragons,” and it’s a series where we look at automotive entrepreneurs, designers, and engineers who were exceptional, ahead of their time, or otherwise had a major impact on the way cars were later sold, fabricated, or constructed. Here’s a recap of paragons we’ve featured to date.
Raymond Loewy was not just an automotive designer, but also a graphic and industrial designer. Loewy designed cars for Studebaker, Lincoln, and the Hupp Motor Car Company, as well as the interior of the Boeing 307, the Sears Coldspot refrigerator, the Sunbeam electric toaster, and logos for Shell, Nabisco, Exxon, and USPS. For his contributions to the look of early- to mid-20th century America, he’s arguably the Frank Lloyd Wright of the automotive and industrial world. In this piece, I take a look at all the disciplines in which he excelled.
Brooks Stevens was also an automotive, graphic, and industrial designer and a contemporary and rival of Raymond Loewy. He’s most known for popularizing the term “planned obsolescence,” but in this piece I argue that he didn’t mean it as an excuse for building crummy cars. Rather, he meant that new cars should be so attractive that customers want to buy them, even if their current car is still functional. I also talk about his work and how it reinforced his definition of the controversial term “planned obsolescence.”
Preston Tucker planned to manufacture a car called the Tucker 48 that featured many engineering and safety features that were later adopted by other car manufacturers. However, he was also accused of fraud and was the target of an SEC trial that bankrupted his company and led to only 50 complete Tucker 48s being produced. In this piece, I contend that he was a visionary, not a villain as the SEC and contemporary media attempted to portray him.
For this piece, I spoke to my friend Jack Ball about his great-grandfather, Frederic J. Ball, and his invention of the first American-built car that had a reverse gear. Although Frederic Ball’s impact on the automotive world wasn’t as profound as the others on the list, his story is still an important piece of lost automotive history. Originally designed for boats, Ball applied his reverse gear to his Ball Tonneau Touring Car. I detail this history of this invention, as well as his legal fights with Ford and Buick. It’s a fascinating, dramatic, and somewhat tragic story.
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You may be surprised at how diesels have made a name for themselves in motorsports.
Giorgetto Giugiaro influenced everything from groundbreaking supercars to beloved city vehicles.
Technician A completed a compression test, noting high readings suggest an exhaust restriction, while Technician B says the test checks volumetric efficiency.
All four cylinders are below specification by about the same amount. After performing a wet compression test, values remained unchanged. What could cause this condition?
Did you know that a modern fuel injection system can fire off multiple sprays in the same time it takes for a spark to jump across a plug?
Technician A and Technician B are discussing ways to use fuel trim as a troubleshooting aid. Technician A says that fuel trims that are correcting for a lean condition at high RPM and load conditions indicates a problem in fuel delivery. Technician B says that this condition is caused by a vacuum leak.
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