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A lot of "new" stuff really isn't
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In this age of computers, cell phones and instant access to nearly everything it's easy to assume that all the gadgetry and technology around us is fresh and state-of-the-art. Today's vehicles are examples of extraordinary complexity, functionality and safety. Compared to older cars they are incredibly advanced. They start instantly, drive smoothly and require a fraction of the routine maintenance that "yesterday's" cars did. They have features that were only dreamed about way back when, or so we might think.
Maybe we think wrong, at least in several respects. Take the new brake systems that hold the vehicle on hills until you let out the clutch to move forward. A number of new vehicles such as the Dodge Challenger feature this clever mechanism and it's a boon to those who can't keep from drifting backwards as they start off on a hill. It's not new, however. Studebaker offered a similar system back in the late 1940s, aptly called "Hill-Holder Brakes." It worked very well.
Some new 2008 and 2009 vehicles offer headlight systems that automatically change from high to low beam as oncoming traffic appears. A very similar system appeared on 1950s GM cars, called "Magic Eye." Also featured on some upscale cars is a headlight that bends the beam into a turn for greater side visibility. Tucker had a mechanically-operated center headlight that did the same thing in 1949.
For the last 20 years or so a lot of attention has been directed toward the MaPherson Strut. Automakers tout the superiority of these suspension devices because they provide the spring, shock and steering pivot (front end) all in one unit, thus allowing for both efficient operation and low production cost. The struts are advertised as features in many vehicle specifications and are nearly universal, found in nearly every model of passenger car. There's nothing new about them, however, as the first car to feature them was the 1949 Ford Vadette in Europe. Although the strut design is credited to Earl MacPherson, patents on the design go back to the 1920s and were taken out by an Italian engineer named Fornaca.
Fuel injection is universally utilized in all production vehicles. It not only provides more power but is the only way to optimize emissions output and fuel mileage. It's not new, though, and was found in WW II aircraft as well as other machinery from many years ago. Electronic fuel injection was invented by the Bendix Corporation in the 1950s and the basic design is still used today.
Seatbelts are standard equipment on vehicles and have saved more lives than all other safety systems combined. They aren't new, however. The first seatbelt patent goes back to Edward Claghorn in 1885, described as a "safety belt for tourists." A Volvo engineer named Nils Bohlin invented the 3-point safety belt in 1958 and the car company began installing them on their cars the next year. US automakers didn't have seat belts mandated until 1963, and then only the front seat passengers were required to have them.
Laminated safety glass is another safety device touted by all the auto manufacturers and required by all countries' governments. It actually dates back to 1903 when a French chemist was experimenting with nitrocellulose (early movie film and pool balls were made of this stuff, as well as the first lacquer paints) and got it stuck between two layers of glass. GM introduced laminated safety glass in its cars in 1929 with little fanfare.
Disc brakes are now found on all passenger vehicles, at least on the front wheels. They have huge advantages over the old drum brake designs and are advertised widely as features on new vehicles. The idea isn't new, and they were first introduced in England in the 1890s. The first US car to get disc brakes was the Crosley Hotshot, of all things, and many European cars were fitted with them long before US car makers phased them in. Airplanes used disc brakes for decades before the auto industry embraced them.
All this proves that an idea doesn't have to be new to be good.
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