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, Fri, 13 Jun 2003 11:10:07
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I agree with all said except the hood/windshield interaction. While the highly sloped windshield of the 900 promotes Ari's position, history raises a question.
The 99's had a nearly vertical, nearly cylindrical windshield. It was truly weird and wonderful, sort of a "saloon car" window, as in the saloon car in an old train. (Last car on the train, wraparound windows in the rear).
Here's my wondering: Is the "sliding up the windshield" effect and accident of history? There's plenty of reasons for sloping the windshield in the 900's revision of the 99, maybe the hood-slide was one of them.
But the original hood-design comes from a car with an almost vertical windshield. I'm thinking about the cleaver-effect mentioned in Ari's post, and that was really well known. (It is one of the reasons why the 9000's have those little hooks at the rear edge of the hood: they'll deflect the hood's movement in the first instants of the accident, allowing it to fold rather than come back at ya.)
My modification here would be slight and simple: the design is safety first, as pretty much all of the 99 was. (Note how badly the last 99's and early 900's faired in the "aero wars" of marketing in the early-mid 80's,) So the rear fasteners of the hood would've been aimed at preventing the hood's entering the passenger compatment.
The tilt-movement was the result of safety first, it was the logical solution to keeping the hood simple and allowing access. After all, the windshield's spring line commited them to a semi-circular rear-line. Hinging like a conventional hood would have damned them to a ridiculously complex hood and support system. History again: the 99 was designed in the 60's, when forward opening hoods were common in the european market.
I think the last of the airplane-engineers created this car (the 99, then the mods that became the 900) with safety first, useability a strong 2nd, ergonomics (not immediately safety related) 3rd. Ok, ok, toughness is in there too. And agility*. and...
1 idiot's opinion,
Ben
*Every time I drive my wife's 900, I lust for that turning radius on any modern car. Death to transverse-mounted engines, I say. (Wait a minute...)
posted by 64.81.14...
, Thu, 12 Jun 2003 21:55:06, Fri, 13 Jun 2003 11:10:07
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