quattro digest, Vol 1 #5318 - to german engineering

[Larry C. Leung]

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Minor Correction. The first Ford Taurus went on sale in 1986. The type 44
was introduced in 1984. The development time on the Taurus was a "short"
(for the time, especially for US cars) was 36 months. So, the Taurus hit
the
boards before the type 44 was introduced. Not to say there weren't
possible
influences (due to industrial spying, etc.), but in a scientific basis,
the best possible
aero/packaging solution (again, at the time) would probably result in
similar looking
vehicles. As knowledge increased, there became differing solutions to the
aero/packaging
solutions, thus, we don't have a whole bunch of identical looking cars.
Of course, if you
want identical looking solutions for the aero/packaging issue, just look
at NASCAR,
although each model of car's aero performance (in terms of downforce)
differs, their
drag coefficients don't differ greatly. And, if it weren't for the labels
and artwork trim
(painted headlights, taillights, etc), it would be hard to tell the
differences between the
"brands" of NASCAR vehicles. Note, that their packaging issues are
because, other
than the engines, the cars ride on virtually identical "chassis/cages",
and their bodies
are "templated" to "production" cars. Talk about identical solutions. Any
wonder why
the Taurus/Sable and type 44s appeared so similar back in the '80's? So,
copied?  I
don't think one could copy to that degree to get the results desired.