GLOSSARY

AERO - Having to do with aerodynamics.  Aeroplane is an earlier spelling

for airplane.

 

AIRFLOW - The aerodynamic flow around the body of a car.  The term is also

used as a noun to describe streamlined body designs of the 1930s.

 

AJUST-O-MATIC - Electrical servo switches in an early tube type radio for

station signal seeking.

 

ALEMITE FITTING - Standard grease gun fittings used primarily on

suspension, steering, and drive shafts.

 

ALL-WEATHER - Custom coach automobile with open front or rear passenger

compartments, which could be enclosed during inclement weather.

 

ALAM - Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers.

 

ARMATURE - One meaning is the rotary part of a generator or motor, but as

applied to auto body design, it is a mock-up fixture.  See buck.

 

ARTILLERY WHEELS - Wheels with large wooden spokes like those used on early

military horse-drawn caissons.

 

AUTO SALON - An auto show, usually by invitation only.  They were

popularized by the New York Auto Salons of the early twentieth century.

 

AUTOMOBILE - From "auto," meaning under its own power, and "mobile,"

meaning not stationary.  Common name for popular motorized vehicle.

 

AUTOMOBILIA - Memorabilia relating to the automobile.

 

AUXILIARY SEATS - The fold-up opera seats located between the front and

rear passenger seats.  Also the small bench seat in a three-window coupe.

 

BANJO SPOKE - Spoke steering wheel design used in the early 1940s.

 

BARRIS - Custom body design made popular by California body shops. It is a

chopped, leaded-in, bulbous custom hot rod.  Named for George Barris.

 

BATHTUB DESIGN - See bulbous.

 

BELTLINE - The mold line around the mid-body of an automobile usually

starting just aft of the cowl and sometimes wrapping around the trunk.

 

BERLINE - Enclosed sedan, usually a seven-passenger model, with rear

compartment divider (partition window behind driver's seat).  Named for the

German city.  Normally a custom coach body.

 

BHP - Brake horsepower.  Differs in method of calculation from standard

horsepower.

 

BLACKWALL - Standard black tires, not white sidewalls.

 

BODY IN WHITE - Assembled body shell without engine, transmission, and

drivetrain fitted.

 

BORE - The diameter of the cylinder and/or piston.

 

BOXY - General term applied to squared-off 1920s body styles which preceded

the age of streamlining.

 

BRASS CARS - Early automobile designs, usually prior to 1920, so nicknamed

because of their extensive use of brass fittings and accessories.

 

BRG - British Racing Green.  Famous color of the British international race

cars.  A medium dark green.

 

BROADCLOTH - Densely textured woolen cloth with a plain or twill weave and

lustrous finish.  Sometimes has narrow rib pattern.

 

BROUGHAM - Large sedan with open driver section and with the rear passenger

compartment enclosed.  Normally chauffeur-driven.  Also referred to as a

Sedan de Ville.  Sometimes confused with the custom coach builder, Brunn &

Company.  See limousine.

 

BUCK - The framework on which the clay mock-up of a body design is built.

 

BULBOUS - Bulb-like in appearance as a balloon or a bathtub.  Inflated,

large, and rounded.

 

BUSINESS COUPE - Fixed head coupe with no rear seat, also referred to as a

Doctor's Coupe.  Three-window coupes are of this body type.

 

CAR BUFF - An automobile enthusiast, not a rag used for polishing your

car.  Derived from the buff colored uniforms of volunteer firemen, said to

be fire engine buffs.

 

CABRIOLET - Body style in which the roof above the driver can be converted

from open to closed.  Originally referred to sedan bodies similar to a

Brougham, but later applied to convertible coupes in which the top could be

partially or fully folded back.

 

CAISSON - Wagon wheel and axle used to transport cannon cases (case on

wheels).  See artillery wheels and spokes.

 

CALIFORNIA TOP - Early nickname for hardtop installed on Touring cars, and

still used the side curtains.

 

CARBURETOR - Gasoline atomizer for injecting fuel into the intake

manifold.  Updraft type sits below a side-mounted manifold and draws air

upward.  Downdraft type sits on top of manifold and draws air downward.

 

CARRERA - Road race such as the Pan American Road Races held in Mexico

during the 1950s and 1960s.

 

CARRIAGE - Device to carry.  Word from which the shorter word "car" was

derived.

 

CARROSSIER - French name for coachbuilder.

 

CARRY-OVER - Using a component from an existing model again on a newer

model.

CATWALK - Area between the engine cowl and front fenders.  Does not exist

on modern automobiles.

 

CHROMED - Nickel plating of parts.

 

CID - Cubic Displacement in Inches.

 

CLASSIC CAR - Car of distinctive body styling and limited production. 

Normally characterized by long hood design and powerful appearance.  The

CCCA lists cars which they classify as classics.  Term remains broad and is

often misused.

 

CLOISONNE - Metal emblem with raised thin strips.  A relief casting with

enamel coloring within the recessed areas; cloisonnie (Fr.).

 

CLOSED - An enclosed body style such as a coupe or sedan.

 

CLUB COUPE - Two-door body style with trunk, and having a rear passenger

seat.  Often called five-window coupes.  Not to be confused with a business

coupe with an auxiliary seat installed or a two-door sedan which has a

full-size rear seat area.

 

COACH BARS - Convertible tops with an outside brace bar which folds with

the top.  Also called Landau irons.  Often installed as a dummy accessory,

simulating a folding top.

 

COACHBUILT - The art of coachbuilding.  Construction of a coach body on an

existing manufactured chassis and power train.  Such work is generally

considered custom order or limited production.

 

COACHING BROUGHAM - Automobile body styling which imitated the famous

stagecoach styling of the nineteen century.

 

COACH SILL - That area along the top part of the body where the driver or

passenger might rest an elbow.  Where the convertible top or sidecurtain

would be snapped on or where the top of the window would be when cranked

down.

 

COINCIDENTAL LOCK - Steering column or gearshift pin locking mechanism

operated by a key.  Used to prevent auto theft.

 

COLUMBIA - Type of vacuum-shifted two speed rear axle.

 

CONCOURS D'ELEGANCE - French name for high-class automobile show or auto

competition like a car meet.

 

CONTINENTAL - Body styling said to be influenced by mid-1930s European (the

Continent) designs.  Proper name for several Lincoln models.

 

CONVERTIBLE - Body style on which the top folds or retracts and having

roll-up windows.  May be a two-door or four-door body style.

 

COSMOPOLITAN - Citizen of the Cosmos.  Having to do with modern city

living.  As applied to automobiles, the term would imply prestige or

success.

 

COUPE - Two-door hardtop car, usually sloping to the rear, seating two or

three persons in the front and may have a small rear seat.  A coupe differs

from a two-door sedan which has a full-size rear seat like a sedan.

 

COWL - Engine enclosure.  Refers to the side panels below and on either

side of the hood, and includes that area between the hood and the

windshield.

 

 

COWL LAMPS - The small parking lights or running lights on the upper rear

cowl.

 

CRUCIFORM - Dropping the floor board in between the frame.  Also known as

double dropped frame.

 

CUSTOM - To build or modify an automobile body in such a manner as to

personalize it to the owner's specifications.

 

DASHBOARD - Area forward of the driver's compartment.  Is sometimes

confused with the instrument panel and firewall.  Although technically

incorrect, the instrument panel is often referred to as the dash or

dashboard.

 

DICKY - Older term for rear outside auxiliary seat.  Also called rumble

seat.  Derived from the old coach term for the seat where the footman

rode.  Also spelled dickey.

 

DISC WHEELS - Solid metal wheels with bolt-on outside rims, popular on

automobiles during the period of wooden spoke and wire spoke wheels.  They

predate modern drop-center steel rim wheels.

 

DORSAL - Like the dorsal fin of a shark.  A dorsal is a vertical blade

shape molded into the auto body or the accessory.

 

DRIVE TRAIN - The mechanism which delivers engine power to the drive

wheels.  It includes transmission, driveshaft and differential.

 

DROPHEAD - British or sporting term for convertible top.

 

DRUM STYLE - Headlamp housing on a older body style car. Round and flat on

the back.  Predated cone or bowl-shaped types.

 

DUAL REARMOUNTS - The practice of mounting two spare tires on the back of

an automobile.  Popular in the period of time when flats were common due to

poor rubber and bad roads.

 

DUAL-COWL - Touring body style where the front and rear doors are separated

by a cowl section, usually containing a second windshield.  Also closely

resembles the tonneau cowl accessory.

 

DUESY - A popular slang term of the 1920s which made reference to something

as being fancy and stylish like the Duesenberg.

 

DURO PUMP - Hydraulic power window pump.

 

DYMAXION - A term coined by designer, Buckminster Fuller.  It refers to the

construction of an object using maximum dynamic forces.  It was also the

name of a streamlined automobile designed by Fuller.

 

E MODEL - Lincolns built from mid-1948 through 1951.  Known as the bulbous

era Lincolns.  Sub-Series EL & EH.

 

EDSEL - The first name of Henry Ford's son.  Also used as the name for a

model of car produced by Ford in the late 1950s.

 

EGG-CRATE PATTERN - Complex pattern grille work such as that used on 1946

through 1949 Lincolns.

 

ELECTRIO-FOG - An electric-fog generator uses a coil to preheat the fuel

during cold weather and help the engine to start more efficiently.

 

ELECTRICS - Term which applies to all early electrical powered automobiles.

 

ENGINE - See motor.

 

FACTORY-BUILTS - Term which differentiates the early custom body models

built by the manufacturer versus the ones built by custom coachbuilders.

 

FAIRING - The body skin which bridges an opening, normally joining major

components.  The term faired-in refers to the installation of a fairing,

generally sheet metal construction or body fill.  Modern fairings are often

rubber, plastic, or fiberglass.

 

FAIRLANE - Name of the Henry Ford estate in Dearborn, Michigan.  Originally

spelled Fair Lane.  Became the model name of a popular Ford car and was the

code name for a Ford research project.

 

FASCIA - The area in front of the driver below the windshield.  It houses

the instruments, switches and operator mechanisms.

 

FASTBACK - Body design on which the rear of the passenger compartment

slopes into the trunk.

 

FIREWALL - The area between the driver's compartment and the engine,

evolved from the early dashboard.

 

FLATHEAD - Where the cylinder head is cast solid (no rocker cover) and the

valves are in the block.

 

FMC - Ford Motor Company.

 

FOB - Not including transportation, i.e., pick up at factory.  From the

shipping term Freight On Board.

 

FORK-AND-BLADE - A connecting rod and crankshaft design which has an

extension to offset the throw, and thus provide a smoother running engine.

 

FORDOR - Ford spelling of a four-door sedan body style.

 

FREEWHEELING - A drive train mechanism which allows the engine to disengage

and idle when the car is coasting.

 

FRENCHED - Also known as frenched-in.  It means to smooth the gap between

two body parts.  Similar to faired-in, but more like lead-filled.

 

GEMMER GEAR - Steering gear on which the shaft screws a gear.  Also

referred to as worm gear.

 

GO-NOGO GAUGE - A tool used for checking parts of a specific dimension.  It

provides the minimum and maximum measurement that is acceptable for a cut

or opening.  Not normally used for critical tolerance measurements.

 

GORHAM - Designer of the greyhound symbol for the Lincoln Model L and Model

K.  Famous silversmith and jewelry house.

 

GREASE-CUP - A screw on cap in which grease can be placed.  As the cap is

tightened, the grease is forced into the shaft or bearing to be lubricated.

 

GREENHOUSE - The passengers' and driver's compartment of an automobile.  So

named because of the glass window area.

 

GREYHOUND - The decorative radiator cap ornament and symbol for the Lincoln

Model L and Model K Lincolns.  See Gorham and Lost Wax.

 

GRILLE - The decorative grate or bar work mounted in front of the radiator.

 

H MODEL - Several Series of Lincolns based on the original Zephyr design. 

Lincoln models built from 1935 through 1948.

 

H-PATTERN - Standard gearshift pattern with reverse gear in the upper left

corner and neutral in the center.  Originally used on floor shifts and

later moved to the steering column.

 

HEADLAMP - Older name for headlight, from the time when coal oil lamps were

used for headlights.

 

HEADLIGHTS - Forward facing lamps for night driving.  Styling shapes are: 

drum, bell, bowl, cone, bullet, faired, enclosed, and hidden.

 

HO-DYE - Handaille shock absorbers.  Early double action shock's nickname.

 

HOB-NOBBING - To travel in high society.  Derived from Hobe Sound, Florida,

where many luxurious winter estates were.

 

HOOD - Cover over the engine compartment.  The British term hood means roof

and bonnet means hood.

 

HYDRAMATIC - Automatic transmission developed by General Motors and used on

vehicles from military to Lincolns.

 

HYPOID - Type of gear arrangement where the driveshaft sets off center of

the gear to be driven.  Normally used on differentials to allow the

driveshaft to enter the rear axle at a lower point.

 

INDY - Indianapolis Speedway, also known as the Brickyard.

 

INTERNAL COMBUSTION - An engine in which power is generated internally by a

mixture of fuel and air ignited by a spark.

 

JIG - Also referred to as a fixture, it is the framework which holds an

assembly in position during construction.

 

JO-BLOCK - A standard dimension machined into metal blocks which are used

as the master dimension for setting tools and gauges, designed by C.E.

Johannsen.

 

K MODEL - Model of Lincolns following the Model L.  Developed under Edsel

Ford.  Mostly coachbuilt bodies.  Sub-Series KA & KB.

 

K-MEMBER - An angular brace on a chassis or framework forming a K.

 

KELLOGG - Type of tire pump which runs off of the transmission shaft.

 

KETTERING ELECTRIC - Electrical ignition system and self-starter designed

by Charles F. Kettering, founder of Dayton Electric Company.  Later known

as Delco.

 

L MODEL - It stood for Liberty, Leland, and Lincoln.  Lincoln automobiles

built between 1919 and 1930.

 

L-FRAME - The angular steel used to construct the frame for an automobile

chassis.  Later chassis used U-shaped channels.

 

L-HEAD - Shape of the combustion chamber in a flathead engine.  The valves

are offset to the side of the cylinder and open upward into the combustion

chamber.

 

L-SECTION - See L-frame.

 

LANDAU - Variation on the model terminology Landaulet.

 

LANDAU IRONS - See coach bars.

 

LANDAULET - Open driver compartment with all-weather top.  The enclosed

passenger compartment will also convert to an open body style by folding

down a carriage-style top.

 

LEBARON SWEEP - Raised mold line beginning at the engine cowl and moving

with a sweep down the midsection of the car body.  Originated by Ray

Dietrich to break up the boxy lines on 1920 body styles.

 

LELAND-BUILT - Motto of Henry Martyn Leland, founder of Cadillac and

Lincoln.  Meaning built by "The Master of Precision."

 

LENOIR - Earliest known design for a four-cycle gas internal combustion

engine, dating around 1850.  Held up as legal opposition to the Selden

patent.

 

LEVASSOR ENGINE - Early European engine predating Benz.  Better known as a

System Panhard engine.

 

LIDO - Coastal resort in Italy.  The word connotates holiday fun.  The name

used for a sport model Lincoln in the early 1950s.  Also Lee Iacocca's

first name.

 

LIMOUSINE - Similar to a Brougham with a large or extended passenger

compartment.  Driver's compartment may be open or enclosed, but if open

includes a top and side curtains.  Modern usage refers to stretched body

custom sedan.

 

LINCOLN - Automobile and company founded by H.M. Leland.  Named in honor of

the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln.

 

LIQUAMATIC - First automatic transmission used on Lincolns.  Introduced in

1942.

 

LMC - Lincoln Motor Company.

 

LOST WAX - A casting process in which wax is used to make the pattern and

then melted out of the mold so that copies can be produced.  This process

was used in making the Gorham greyhounds.

 

LOUVER - A device used to allow or restrict the flow of air or light.  A

group of blades or veins arranged so as to form panels that open and close.

 

MAGNALIUM - An alloy containing aluminum.

 

MARQUE - Pronounced "Mark."  It is a French word that means the first, but

for automobiles it implies the beginning series in a group of designs.

 

MIDSIZE - A midsize car is neither large nor small in relation to other

cars in current production.  Definition has changed over the years, and a

midsize modern car is approximately the size a small car was a few decades

ago.

 

MOCK-UP - A model (usually full-scale) fabricated of non-structural

materials to look or function like the product to be built.

 

MODEL - Cars of the same make, design and period, i.e., Model L, Model K. 

An alternate meaning for the word model refers to the scaled down replica

or toy of an airplane or car, and is generally not the meaning referred to

when discussing automobiles.

 

MOHAIR - Early forerunner to velour upholstery, but is tighter in weave. 

Real mohair fabric is made from angora wool.  Common mohair is obtained

from the Nalga during the cleaning and preparation of Nalga hides.

 

MOLD LINE - Similar to beltline except with a decorative trim molding

installed.

 

MONOCOQUE - A structure riveted or welded together to form a unit or

subassembly construction.

 

MOTORCAR - Older term interchangeable with automobile, car, and motor

vehicle.  Generally, an American term.  See Motor.

 

MOTOMETER - Temperature gauge with visual sight window built into a

radiator cap.  Indicates the coolant temperature.

 

MOTOR - Term commonly interchanged with engine, but such usage is not

technically correct.  An engine contains or transports its own propellant

while a motor uses an external source of power.

 

NEOPHYTE - Early synthetic rubberized coating.

 

OHC - Overhead cam.

 

OHV - Overhead valves.

 

ONE-OFF - A single production or custom body style, usually referring to a

prototype or one-of-a-kind development model.

 

OPEN - Top down or not installed, as in the case of a Roadster or Touring.

 

OPERA WINDOW - An oval window on the side of a coupe or sedan located where

the rear seat passengers sit.

 

OVERDRIVE - A gear case located behind the transmission that provides for

an additional drive gear.  For example, if third gear allowed a 1 to 1

ratio, overdrive might provide a .7 to 1.

 

PADDED ROOF - Leather, canvas, or vinyl material placed over a hardtop roof

and padded.  Used as soundproofing and to enhance appearance.

 

PARTITION - The divider window between the passengers' compartment and the

driver's compartment on a limousine or sedan.  Usually glass, it often can

be rolled down and up for privacy.

 

PHAETON - Deluxe version of a Touring, often built in dual-cowl versions.

 

PILLARLESS - On a sedan model where the posts between the front and rear

doors are removable or nonexistent when the windows are rolled down.  Early

version of the hardtop sedan.

 

PILLARS - The uprights on an auto body which frame the doors and windows. 

The front pillar on either side of the windshield is the "A" pillar and the

center one between the front and rear door is the "B" pillar.

 

PLACARD - A plate attached to the body of a machine which identifies or

explains.  Usually metal, embossed, and permanently affixed.

 

PLASTINE - An early type of plastic coating.  Used to color-coat aluminum

and prevent oxidation.

 

PLEXIGLAS - Early plastic glass, extensively used in aircraft during World

War II.  From plexius, meaning thin and pliable.

 

PNEUMATIC - Held up by air pressure.  The term applies to tires filled with

air.  The term is not modern, and its usage predates the automobile.

 

POSH - The term means luxurious and is derived from the early English

cruise ships which sailed south to Africa.  Luxury accommodations were

always on the shady side, Port side Out and Starboard side Home.

 

PRESS SHOP - The manufacturing area where the body panels are stamped out

from sheet metal.

 

PRODUCTION - A car built in a series as opposed to a prototype, one-off, or

custom.

 

PROTOTYPE - The original operational test model of a particular design.

 

PROW - The curved nose of a moving object such as the bow of a boat or the

hood of a car.

 

PSI - Measurement of pressure, Pounds per Square Inch.

 

PURIST - Those who wish to restore vehicles to their authentic original

conditions.

 

QUADRICYCLE - The name which Henry Ford gave his first hand-built vehicle. 

Named for its four bicycle wheels.

RADIATOR SHELL - The forward portion of the hood which enclosed the

radiator and usually frames the grille.

 

READY-BUILTS - Meaning not custom built, and encompasses almost all mass

produced body styles.

 

REARMOUNT - Spare tire mounted on the back of a car between the two rear

fenders.

 

RESTYLE - As applied to auto body styling, the term means to rework an

existing design.

 

RETROFIT - To update or replace an existing component with a later,

improved version.

 

RHD - Right-Hand Drive, English style.

 

ROADABLE - Older terminology meaning to handle well on the open road or in

the countryside.  Implies a comfortable ride.

 

ROADSTER - Open body type with seating for two or three passengers.  Has

two doors, folding top, and side curtains.  Some models have fold-down

windshields.  Convertible coupes are sometimes incorrectly called

Roadsters.  Rear luggage compartment sometimes has auxiliary seating.  See

Dicky.

 

ROBE RAIL - Bar or strap behind the front seat on which the back seat

passengers may hang a blanket or lap robe.  Sometimes considered as an

egress assist for passengers.

 

ROCKER PANEL - Body panel below doors.  Often adorned with a chrome strip

called a rocker panel molding.  Earlier model cars had running boards

attached here.

 

RPM - Revolutions Per Minute.  Over 100 RPM is always stated in hundreds,

except even thousands.

 

SAE - Society of Automotive Engineers.

 

SAF - Ford France.

 

SALON - See Auto Salon.

 

SALOON - Conventional car body style, also known as a Sedan in which

luggage is carried in a separate rear compartment.

 

SEATER - Names the number of seats in a sport automobile, i.e., two-seater.

 

SEDAN - Middle Eastern term meaning an enclosed transport normally having

doors.  In modern terminology, it refers to a four-door, standard

family-style automobile.

 

SEDANCA DE VILLE. - Sedan, Brougham, or Town Car body style, "Sedan of

Town."

 

SEMI-COLLAPSIBLE - Custom coach body having some convertible top

capability, but leaves the pillars or other body structures in place.

 

SEMI-CUSTOM - Production model body style that is modified, i.e., modern

limousine coachbuilding.

 

SEMI-MONOCOQUE - A structure consisting of prefabricated barrel or box

units joined at assembly.  See Monocoque.

 

SERIES - Group of body Types of same Make and Model.  Model year or an

unchanged style over several years.

 

SIDEMOUNT - Spare tire mounted at or in the rear part of the fender well,

just behind the cowl.  Can be a single sidemount or dual sidemounts.

 

SKIN - The external paneling of the automobile.

 

SPEEDSTER - Early sports car or racing version of a stripped-down standard

body style.  Predates the terms hot rod and street rod.

 

SPOKE - Refers to wheels which are constructed of spokes, normally early

wooden automobile wheels.  Also called artillery wheels.  See caisson.

 

SPORT - Term used for early soft top coupe or sedan body styles.  They were

sporty because they appeared to have a convertible top.

 

STERKENBURG - Name given to the early streamline designs by John Tjaarda. 

Forerunner to the Zephyr.

 

STREAMLINE - (Streamlined)  Popular design motif of the 1930s which moved

away from boxy styling.  See airflow.

 

STROKE - The distance which the piston moves from top to bottom.  The

movement of a connecting rod in relation to the crankshaft throw.

 

SUBASSEMBLY - The separate production of units such as doors and fenders

feeding into the assembly line.

 

SUBURBAN - Dual-purpose estate body style, also called Shooting-brake,

Utility Town Car, and Station Wagon.  Rear seat usually folds down for

loading luggage and equipment.

 

SUICIDE DOORS - Doors opening from the forward part of the body instead of

from the rear.  So named because if the door comes open while the car is in

motion, the wind catches the door and flings it rearward.  This design was

popular on early autos that required engine cranking and later on many

chauffeur-driven body styles.

 

SUSPENSION - That part of the automobile between the wheels and the frame.

 

SYNCHROMATIC - A method of synchronizing the transmission gears in order to

prevent them from clashing during shifting.  Also known as synchromesh.

 

TARP - Fitted canvas cover to enclose the passenger compartment on open

body style models.  Also a tonneau cover can be a fitted metal panel

enclosing the same area.

 

TEARDROP - Body or component design which is streamlined into a teardrop or

raindrop form.  See airflow.

 

THERMOSTATICALLY - A method of controlling the movement of a device such as

a louver or valve.  Movement of a thermostatic control is obtained by the

effect of ambient temperature on a bimetal.

 

THREE-BOX - The boxes of an automobile are the engine compartment,

passenger compartment, and trunk area.

 

TONNEAU COWL - Similar to a dual-cowl, but it fastens over the rear doors

instead of being in a fixed area between the doors.  Usually with a second

windshield attached.  See Tarp.

 

TORPEDO BACK - See fastback.

 

TORSION BAR - The three major types of springs used on suspensions are

leaf, coil, and torsion.  The twisting of a torsion bar spring is said to

be torsional.

 

TOUCH-O-MATIC - A Ford Motor Company commercial name for overdrive.

 

TOURING - Open body four-door sedan with folding top and side curtains. 

Front and rear seats carry four or five passengers.  If installed,

auxiliary seats will carry two more passengers.  Also known as a Tourer.

 

TOWN CAR - A large formal sedan.  See Brougham.

 

TRANSMISSION - Gear box which transmits the power to the driveshaft from

the engine, allowing different ratios to be selected.

 

TRANSVERSE - Term generally applies to leaf springs which run sideways from

wheel to wheel instead of fore and aft.

 

TRI-STAR - Circle divided into three equal pie-shaped parts.  Popular

design used on Lincoln Model L and E taillight lenses.

 

TRIFON - Arrow shaped, streamlined.  See airflow.

 

TRIM - Soft finishings and interior items of an automobile such as carpet,

upholstery, and interior panels.

 

TUDOR - Ford spelling of a two-door sedan body style.  A two-door sedan

differs from a coupe in that it has a full-size sedan rear seat

 

TYPE - As applied to automobiles, the designation of a specific body style

within the same Make, Model, and Series.

 

TYRE - British term for tire.

 

UAW - United Auto Workers.

 

UNIT BODY - See monocoque.

 

V-8 AND V-12 - Design of an engine in which the cylinders are opposed at an

angle forming a V.  Digits indicate total number of cylinders in the

engine.

 

V-TYPE WINDSHIELD - Windshield which comes to a point.  A two-piece flat

windshield which replaced early flat one piece windshields, and predating

modern curved windshields.

 

VELOUR - Soft, short pile upholstery.  See mohair.

 

VENTURI - Physical narrowing of an opening such as a carburetor throat. 

Practical application of the theory that "as velocity increases, pressure

decreases."

 

VICTORIA - Coachbuilt convertible or padded roof coupe body style with a

large back seat.  Popular name "Vickey."

 

VOLTA - Early experimenter with electrical spark.  The electrical term volt

was named after him.

 

WHEELBASE - The dimension from the center hub or axle of the front wheel to

the center hub or axle of the rear wheel.

 

WHITEWALLS - Alternate name for white sidewall tires.

 

WINDSHIELD - Clear glass shield breaking the wind forward of the driver or

passengers.  British term is windscreen.

 

WIRES - Metal rimmed wheels supported by wire spokes.

 

WOODY - An estate or sport vehicle having external wood body trim.

 

ZEPHYR - Means a light wind or breeze.  Zephyr was the name originally

given to the Lincoln Model H series.  Early GM diesel engines operating on

the Burlington Line were also named Zephyr.  Zephyr was a popular name for

Art Deco objects of the 1930s.  The first digital clock built in 1936 was

named Zephyr.