Front-wheel driveFront-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitudinal engine arrangement generally found in rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive vehicles. Car layout#Front-wheel-drive layouts By far the most common layout for a front-wheel drive car is with the engine and transmission at the front of the car, mounted transversely.
Volkswagen BeetleThe Volkswagen Beetle—officially the Volkswagen Type 1, is an economy car that was manufactured and marketed by the German company Volkswagen (VW) from 1938 until 2003. It has a rear-engine design with a two-door bodystyle and is intended for five occupants (later, Beetles were restricted to four people in some countries). The need for a people's car (Volkswagen in German), its concept and its functional objectives were formulated by the leader of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler, who wanted a cheap, simple car to be mass-produced for his country's new road network (Reichsautobahn).
HatchbackA hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to the main interior of the car as a cargo area rather than just to a separated trunk. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second-row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. While early examples of the body configuration can be traced to the 1930s, the Merriam-Webster dictionary dates the term itself to 1970.
Vauxhall MotorsVauxhall Motors Limited (ˈvɒksɔːl) is a British car company headquartered in Chalton, Bedfordshire, England. Vauxhall became a subsidiary of Stellantis in January 2021. Vauxhall is one of the oldest established vehicle manufacturers and distribution companies in the United Kingdom. It sells passenger cars, and electric and light commercial vehicles under the Vauxhall marque nationally, and used to sell vans, buses, and trucks under the Bedford Vehicles brand. Vauxhall was founded by Alexander Wilson in 1857 as a pump and marine engine manufacturer.
Renault 4The Renault 4, also known as the 4L (pronounced "Quatrelle" in French), is a small economy car produced by the French automaker Renault between 1961 and 1994. Although the Renault 4 was marketed as a short station wagon, its minimal rear overhang, and single top-hinged rear opening made it the world's first mass-produced hatchback car, as well as the first front-wheel drive family car produced by Renault. The car was launched at a time when several decades of economic stagnation were giving way to growing prosperity and surging car ownership in France.
Front-engine, front-wheel-drive layoutIn automotive design, a front-engine, front-wheel-drive (FWD) layout, or FF layout, places both the internal combustion engine and driven roadwheels at the front of the vehicle. Historically, this designation was used regardless of whether the entire engine was behind the front axle line. In recent times, the manufacturers of some cars have added to the designation with the term front-mid which describes a car in which the engine is in front of the passenger compartment but behind the front axle.
RenaultGroupe Renault (UKˈrɛnoʊ , USrəˈnɔːlt,_rəˈnoʊ , ɡʁup ʁəno, also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans and in the past, has manufactured trucks, tractors, tanks, buses/coaches, aircraft and aircraft engines, and autorail vehicles. According to the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles, in 2016 Renault was the ninth biggest automaker in the world by production volume.
Torsion bar suspensionA torsion bar suspension, also known as a torsion spring suspension, is any vehicle suspension that uses a torsion bar as its main weight-bearing spring. One end of a long metal bar is attached firmly to the vehicle chassis; the opposite end terminates in a lever, the torsion key, mounted perpendicular to the bar, that is attached to a suspension arm, a spindle, or the axle. Vertical motion of the wheel causes the bar to twist around its axis and is resisted by the bar's torsion resistance.
VolkswagenVolkswagen (ˈfɔlksˌvaːɡn̩), abbreviated as VW (faʊˈveː), is a German automobile manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand after World War II by the British Army officer Ivan Hirst, it is known for the iconic Beetle and serves as the flagship brand of the Volkswagen Group, the largest automotive manufacturer by worldwide sales in 2016 and 2017. The group's biggest market is in China, which delivers 40 per cent of its sales and profits.
PeugeotPeugeot (UKˈpɜːʒəʊ, p(j)uːˈʒoʊ, pøʒo) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and then bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applied for the lion trademark. Armand Peugeot (1849–1915) built the company's first car steam tricycle. They joined forces with Léon Serpollet in 1886; this was followed in 1890 by an internal combustion car with a Panhard-Daimler engine.
