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Auto101; Pillars

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 The pillars on a car with permanent roof body style (such as four-door sedans) are the vertical or nearly vertical supports of its window area or greenhouse—designated respectively as the A, B, C and (in larger cars such as 4-door station wagons and sport utility vehicles) D-pillar, moving from front to rear, in profile view. NOMENCLATURE: Car pillars are vertical or inclined components of an enclosed automobile's body that both support its roof and reinforce the torsional rigidity of the body. An alphabetical convention for designating a car's pillars has developed over time, used variously by the automotive press in describing and reviewing vehicles, insurance companies in identifying damaged components, and first-responder rescue teams to facilitate communication, as when using the jaws of life to cut their way into a wreck. The letters A, B, C, and D are used (in upper case): The A-pillar is the forward-most pillar on a vehicle, supporting its roof at each corner of the wi

Auto101; quarter panel

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 The quarter panel (British English: rear wing) is the body panel (exterior surface) of an automobile between a rear door (or only door on each side for two-door models) and the trunk (boot) and typically wraps around the wheel well. The similar front section between the door and the hood (bonnet) is called a fender (front wing), and may sometimes also be referred to as a quarter panel. Quarter panels are typically made of sheet metal, but are sometimes made of fiberglass, carbon fiber, or fiber-reinforced plastic.   A quarter panel is typically a welded-on  component of the unibody structure. Replacement of a sheet metal quarter panel typically requires it to be cut off the vehicle and a replacement part to be welded (or sometimes bonded) to the vehicle. Due to the high amount of specialized labor, a quarter panel may often be repaired rather than replaced by hammering the damaged area to a relatively flat surface, and then applying a body filler to smooth out the damaged area to matc

Auto 101; Fender

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 Fender is the American English term for the part of an automobile, motorcycle or other vehicle body that frames a wheel well (the fender underside). Its primary purpose is to prevent sand, mud, rocks, liquids, and other road spray from being thrown into the air by the rotating tire. Fenders are typically rigid and can be damaged by contact with the road surface. Sticky materials, such as mud, may adhere to the smooth outer tire surface, while smooth loose objects, such as stones, can become temporarily embedded in the tread grooves as the tire rolls over the ground. These materials can be ejected from the surface of the tire at high velocity as the tire imparts kinetic energy to the attached objects. For a vehicle moving forward, the top of the tire is rotating upward and forward, and can throw objects into the air at other vehicles or pedestrians in front of the vehicle. In British English, the fender is called the wing. (This may refer to either the front or rear fenders. However, i

Auto101; Fascia

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 Fascia (/ˈfeɪʃə/) is a term used in the automotive world that refers to the decorative panels of a car's dashboard or the dashboard assembly. Regulations affecting bumper design in the late 1970s saw the increasing use of soft plastic materials on the front and rear of vehicles. Fascia was adopted then as the term to describe these soft areas, but is now increasingly used as a general term for a car's set of front-end components: grille, headlamps, front bumper, and other details. A bumper valance panel, a piece that is mounted on top of the bumper, or is right under it, is also considered a part of the vehicle's fascia. Carmakers often design the body panels that form the nose of their vehicles to have a unified look across their model design The word comes from the Italian word fascia (pronounced [ˈfaʃʃa]), meaning stripe.

Auto101;bumper

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 A bumper is a structure attached to or integrated with the front and rear ends of a motor vehicle, to absorb impact in a minor collision, ideally minimizing repair costs. Stiff metal bumpers appeared on automobiles as early as 1904 that had a mainly ornamental function.Numerous developments, improvements in materials and technologies, as well as greater focus on functionality for protecting vehicle components and improving safety have changed bumpers over the years. Bumpers ideally minimize height mismatches between vehicles and protect pedestrians from injury. Regulatory measures have been enacted to reduce vehicle repair costs and, more recently, impact on pedestrians. PHYSICS Bumpers offer protection to other vehicle components by dissipating the kinetic energy generated by an impact. This energy is a function of vehicle mass and velocity squared. The kinetic energy is equal to 1/2 the product of the mass and the square of the speed. In formula form: k= 1/2mv^2 A bumper that protec

Auto101; grille

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 In automotive engineering, a grille covers an opening in the body of a vehicle to allow air to enter or exit. Most vehicles feature a grille at the front of the vehicle to protect the radiator and engine. Merriam-Webster describes grilles as "a grating forming a barrier or screen; especially: an ornamental one at the front end of an automobile."The word 'grille' is commonly misspelled as 'grill' which instead refers to the cooking method. Other common grille locations include below the front bumper, in front of the wheels (to cool the brakes), in the cowl for cabin ventilation, or on the rear deck lid (in rear engine vehicles). Grilles evolved from previously installed gravel shields that were designed to protect exposed radiators typically used on cars until the early 1930s. HISTORY Grilles on automobiles have taken on different designs through the years. This feature first appeared on automobiles in 1903. Several years later, the arch-shaped design became c

Auto 101; spoiler

 A spoiler is an automotive aerodynamic device whose intended design function is to 'spoil' unfavorable air movement across the body of a vehicle in motion, usually manifested as lift, turbulence, or drag. Spoilers on the front of a vehicle are often called air dams. Spoilers are often fitted to race and high-performance sports cars, although they have become common on passenger vehicles as well. Spoilers are added to cars primarily for styling purposes and either have little aerodynamic benefit or even worsen the aerodynamics. The term "spoiler" is often mistakenly used interchangeably with "wing". An automotive wing is a device designed to generate downforce as air passes around it, not simply disrupt existing airflow patterns. As such, rather than decreasing drag, automotive wings actually increase drag. OPERATION Since spoiler is a term describing an application, the operation of a spoiler varies depending on the particular effect it is trying to spoil.