Abandoned Automobile Projects Trivia Quiz

Answer: EA 128

When General Motors launched the Corvair in 1959, VW was concerned that it might threaten its market share in the United States. The Corvair was bigger, more powerful and more appealing than any VW product of similar design by the American standards of the time.

VW didn't waste a second and ordered a brand new design from Porsche, which came out both as a big sedan and a station wagon, using a rear mounted air cooled engine from Porsche 911. Howver, after the relative failure of the Corvair (despite being a fine automobile) and due to the huge price tag of the intended new car, VW dropped the project. The EA 128 only had 2 units produced (a sedan and a station wagon), both painted silver, using the 911's mechanics and suspension.

Answer: Carioca

Preston Thomas Tucker was literally hunted by the Detroit mob back in the day, since his revolutionary Torpedo was rather better than anything produced by Detroit automakers of the time. Facing severe accusations, he went bankrupt and found himself hopeless. Diagnosed with lung cancer, he went to Brazil in order to visit the American Doctor William Koch (who had been accused of charlatanism in the U.S. due to his promises of cancer treatment without medication and radiotherapy), where he found perfect grounds to start his revolutionary brand all over again.

Trying to resuscitate his dream in Brazil (which didn't have a proper auto industry at the time), there wasn't much of a problem finding investors.
However, Preston's health wasn't helped by the lack of effective treatment he was receiving, and he went back to the U.S. only to die of pneumonia caused by the lung cancer.

The Carioca, his ambitious project, was a sports car designed to use most of the parts used on his model 48 (the Torpedo). The car was so called in a tribute to the city of Rio de Janeiro, where he opened his office in Brazil.

Answer: A V12 air-cooled engine by Franklin Automobile Company

The Franklin V12 was a magnificent air-cooled engine. Displacing 398 cubic inches, it developed 150 hp, although only 200 automobiles were produced.

Answer: Crosley Hotshot

Back in the early fifties, the US auto industry produced a lot of powerful and huge automobiles. However, there weren't many true sports cars in production.
Against all odds, a company from Indiana named Crosley started producing a tiny, light and convertible sports car equipped with 2 cylinder engine, no doors, and a price tag below US$ 300.00 dollars.

The race in question was established on the index of performance rule, so the criteria was based on how many laps a car could make in a given time based on its power. The more power a car has, the bigger was the distance it should cover in order to win. Unfortunately, its market unfitness meant that Crosley (and the Hotshot) only lasted for a short while.

Answer: Avions Voisin

Avions Voisin was founded by Gabriel Voisin and his brother Charles Voisin (who later died in a car accident in 1912), and was at first primarily aimed at aircraft production, later expanding to automobiles in 1919.

They were pioneers, being some of the first to use light alloys on automobiles and to build a monocoque structure for a car. Their choice of using knight engines (a system in which valves work as sleeves in the cylinder walls opening windows for admission and exhaust) was due to the smoothness and soft functioning (although they didn't last very long), using it since in-line fours to the more sophisticated "V" and "in line" twelves. There were also a radial 7-cylinder engine, but this never got further than the prototype stage.

Answer: Morgan Motor Company

The British automobile industry was once rich and prolific but, as a result of various complicated factors, during the last few decades of the twentieth century most of the firms had either closed down or been taken over by international conglomorates. With a very limited annual production, producing cars to order, the Morgan Motor Company was left as one of the the last wholly British-owned car manufacturer in the UK.

Answer: ZIL

These cars featured a lot of new tecnological resources in the communist auto industry of the time, such as limited slip differentials, disc brakes on all wheels, radial tires and so on. The ZIL 112 Sport, its most powerful version, had a 6.95 liter V8 producing 270 hp with top speed reaching 260 km/h.

Answer: Ford GT 90

The Ford GT 90 was intended to have a 100 units production, but for unknown reasons the company called it off and only one was ever built. The car was designed to be a descendent of the Ford GT 40 (the "40" representing the car's height in inches), famous for beating Ferrari on Le Mans for several consecutive years.

With a 6.0 liter V 12 engine and four turbochargers, it was capable of outputting 730 hp, reaching 0-60 mph in just 3.1 seconds and having a top speed of 378 km/h. Despite being just a prototype, its design was named "New Edge", influencing the world famous Ford Focus.

Answer: Ate FR2 brake system

In 1992, Audi launched their new top of the line sedan named "the V8" with a bigger (4.2 liter) v8 engine. Besides the expected excellence, this automobile came with a bright brake system, capable of display a braking efficiency comparable to those of a much bigger disks, but still able to fit inside of 15" wheels. Obsolete by the today standards when bigger is better and 20" wheels are commonplace, smaller wheels allowed lower unsprung weight and softer and more comfortable ride for Audi's top sedan since taller tires could be used.

This system was first used on Porsche's 1962 F1 car (the 804).

Answer: DMC-24, a medium-sized sedan seating four based upon the Giugiaro's Lancia Medusa Concept.

When John DeLorean was about to see his entire company shatter in Ireland, there were a lot of plans going on about new cars and market segments which DMC was eager to explore. The DMC-24 was DMC's plan for 1983. Based upon the Giugiaro's Medusa, the most aerodynamical car of its era, it was meant to include a more advanced technological package and become a full-fledged DMC product. Curious fact was its powertrain, including a proposition of using two boxer engines mounted in both front and rear of the car.

Answer: NSU

Wankel engines displayed several sealing wear problems, making them initially unreliable. High oil consumption and temperature were also a huge problem. It only became practical due to Mazda's development of the technology.

However, Felix Wankel's design was an object of desire by then for a considerable number of manufacturers due to its compact size and high power output. Amongst the companies studying the production of Wankels under license were Ford, General Motors, American Motors, Citroën, Alfa Romeo, Nissan, Porsche, Mazda, Toyota and even Rolls-Royce.

The NSU Ro80 was the car in question. Displaying a very advanced design for its era, the car suffered from a severe unreliability due to the under-development of the Wankel engine, often lasting less than 30,000 miles. NSU did eventually solve all the unreliability problems, but by then it was too late for both NSU and the Ro 80. VW bought the company in 1969.

Answer: Detroit Electric Model 43

Electric vehicles are just as old as conventional internal combustion engines. In fact, when the automobile was becoming a popular mean of transportation, it wasn't clear what would be the predominant energy source to follow the industry's development. The internal combustion engine won the quest.

However, electric cars remained a subject for research and study, and modern battery technologies and electronics have enabled them to become once again a possible viable proposition.

The Detroit Electric produced several of the many electric cars on American roads of the time. Commonly seen as cars "made for women", men often avoided being seen driving them. Unlike the internal combustion cars of the time, that required a lot of time and effort to put in motion, electric ones were quick to start and use, also being preferred by doctors for this reason.

When the electric starter was first developed by Delco and used in the Cadillacs in 1912, the table was about to turn in favor of internal combustion engines. The fact they become faster and achieving a considerable higher autonomy in those days also gave substantial advantage. Detroit Electric survived until 1939.

Answer: Tatra T97

Chrysler was experimenting with an aerodynamically enhanced body and, using a wind tunnel to help them, they built what was called the Airflow.

Sleeker design wasn't all this car had to offer, also featuring a better weight distribution, smoother ride and a monocoque design which was stronger than any body built by then. It was so strong, actually, that Chrysler produced a commercial where an Airflow was launched from a steep hill, rolled over and hit the ground. The car could still run normally after that.

The Airflow was years ahead of its time, and became a complete commercial failure for that very reason. Buyers just couldn't assimilate its quirky "noseless" design.

The Tatra T97 had nothing to do with it, and was just a smaller version of the Tatra 87, both using rear-mounted engines and based on the Tatra 77, the first mass-produces automobile designed focusing on aerodynamics (drag coefficient of only 0.21). This car is also considered the inspiration for Ferdinand Porsche when he designed the Volkswagen Typ 1 (Beetle).

Answer: Elsbett Elko

The first engine able to use vegetable oils, introducing the direct injection system, could run on any kind of oil and even gasoline, alcohol and kerosene. Its efficiency could reach the consumption of superb 98.5 miles per gallon, depending on what it was burning. Its cooling system used oil instead of water in order to avoid excessive temperature loss and maintain it homogeneous.

However, the Garavelo group, which held the rights for building these engines bankrupted, and the project soon vanished quite before entering into production. Its disappearance remains a mystery. The Elsbett Elko engine was a promising and fully functional project that suddenly vanished from the market, never entering into production. It was announced as a revolution and, given its characteristics, could have established a new benchmark for internal combustion engines.

Answer: Mercury

Directly employing water with the air-fuel mixture into turbocharged internal combustion engines chambers might actually sound controversial, but was used several times in both aircrafts and automobiles. The effects resulting from this procedure include reducing the fuel consumption and emissions and also increasing the power output and compression rate. It also reduces the temperature inside the engine and piston heads, allowing a more efficient combustion.

Saab employed water injection in their 99 Turbo model. Chrysler did something similar, with a sort of high displacement engine. The Oldsmobile F85 carried this feature along with its Fluid-Injection Jetfire engine. Mercury, however, never employed this system on any of their models.

The water injection system often mixed both alcohol and water (usually 50/50), containing eventually a bit of water-soluble oil to prevent it from corrosion.
When intercoolers appeared, the water-injection system became almost obsolete, but it is still very efficient in dropping the NOx emissions, which is very desirable on the restrictive pollution standards for automobiles nowadays.