Full-size car
Full-size car ( English : about car full size ) refers to a class of vehicle in car , especially in the United States . Officially it is called Large Car so big car . It corresponds to the size of the German luxury class , but, unlike this, requires neither a top engine nor particularly luxurious equipment .
features
In contrast to Germany, the class is not defined by length, but by the interior volume , which must be at least 3,300 l (120 ft³ ). Previously, the criterion was a wheelbase of at least 2.79 m (110 inches ). The longer wheelbases in the middle class also made length an important factor; full-size cars should be at least 5 meters (197 inches) long. Because of their size, vehicles of this class are often used by the police and taxi service providers. While European buyers expect a connection between external dimensions, technology, quality and comfort, this is not the case in other countries - especially the USA. Vehicles that completely correspond to the German upper class are called luxury or premium full-size in the USA .
post war period
The 1920s and 1930s saw a wide variety of makes and models in all vehicle classes. The relationship between the size of the vehicle and its status became stronger. Manufacturers of more compact luxury cars failed; for example Franklin , Jordan or Stutz . The economic crisis and the production changes in connection with the Second World War caused the number of suppliers to drop sharply. After the failure of the Tucker '48 , Kaiser and Frazer were the only new providers of full-size automobiles. This class was so widespread that it was also referred to as standard size . Most manufacturers limited themselves to one or two series, each with several equipment variants. In the 1950s and 1960s, most American cars got bigger, heavier, and more powerful. Up until that time, full-size cars had grown to wheelbases of 3.07 to 3.23 m (121 to 127 in) and lengths of around 5.72 m (225 in) - the so-called road cruisers . Smaller models did not play a major role in the USA before 1960 ( Nash Rambler , Kaiser Henry J. , Hudson Jet , Aero-Willys ). That changed after a short but severe recession in 1958, and Studebaker with the Lark in the market for (US) compact car ( compact cars ) got in (1959), followed shortly thereafter by the "Big Three" ( General Motors , Ford and Chrysler ), the latter initially with the models Chevrolet Corvair and Chevy II / Nova , Ford Falcon , Plymouth Valiant and Dodge Lancer and Dart . From 1964, the gap between compact cars and full-size automobiles was closed by the new mid-size class, which roughly corresponds to the German middle class , but sometimes reached dimensions that blurred the line with the full-size class.
The following is an outline of the developments in the USA .
General Motors
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Before World War II, GM had introduced a system with three platforms that fit all corporate models. The chassis and basic structure of the body were designed for the greatest possible compatibility. The individual brands differ from each other in terms of their engines, elements of the suspension, styling of the outer skin and details typical of the brand. The classification looked roughly like this:
- GM-A platform for all Chevrolet, the smaller Pontiac and the Oldsmobile Series 60
- GM-B platform for Oldsmobile Series 70 , Buick Series 40 ( Special ) and 60 Century , LaSalle and Cadillac Series 60 and 61 .
- GM-C platform Oldsmobile Series 90 and successor 98 , Buick Series 50 ( Super ) and 80 Roadmaster as well as Cadillac Series 62 , De Ville and 60 Special .
In 1959 there was something like a new start at GM: For the first time in the company's history, all group brands were revised at the same time. There were many new model names and a new, lighter-looking design with tail fins in all variations. In addition, a new B platform appeared, in which the previous A platform was also integrated. Because all common corporate brands were now built on this chassis, this class was also referred to as the standard size . There was also a new C-platform (basically a slightly longer variant of the B-platform) for the luxury and premium full-size models of the group, i.e. Oldsmobile 98 , Buick Electra and the Cadillac series without any special extension ( 75 and 86). At this time the term "road cruiser" was formed, but it also includes other, for Europeans "big" cars and cannot be precisely defined.
In 1964, a new A platform appeared for the new intermediate or mid-size models, which were located between the full-size and the compacts (K, X and Z platforms) (typical representatives: Chevrolet Malibu or Pontiac LeMans ) . The B platform was revised in 1961, 1965, 1971, 1977 and 1991. There were also group-wide facelifts in 1969 and 1980. The B platform was not discontinued until 1996; the C platform was replaced in 1984 by the closely related D platform, which was reserved for some Cadillac models and which also expired in 1996. The full-size models from GM experienced the biggest break in their construction period from the group-wide “ downsizing ” from the 1977 model year.
Some model series experienced a realignment that resulted in a different platform. The following list therefore takes into account series that may only temporarily be assigned to the full-size class; For details, see the respective model articles. Canadian and Australian model names and those for Station Wagon are not included (e.g. Chevrolet Kingswood as a station wagon version of the Caprice).
Chevrolet Full Size
Biscayne ; Bel Air ; Impala ; Caprice / Caprice Classic
Pontiac Full Size
The Bonneville appeared in 1957 as Pontiac's top model. From 1959 the Catalina was a cheaper full-size version for many years. The model names changed frequently above this. The Personal luxury Grand Prix , the first generation of which (1962–1968) was built on the B platform, is a specialty .
Bonneville ; Star Chief , Catalina , Ventura ; Executive ; Grand Ville
Oldsmobile Full Size Oldsmobile 88 (Super 88, Delmont 88, Dynamic 88, Jetstar 88, Delta 88); Starfire
Buick Full Size
A specialty is the Personal luxury Riviera , whose 5th generation (1977–1978) was built as an interim solution on the Le Saber (B platform).
LeSabre ; Invicta , Roadmaster ; Wildcat ; Centurion , Riviera
Cadillacs were built on B, C and D platforms (front-wheel drive Eldorado: E) and thus full-size cars per se .
ford
The Ford brand had relied on a single series per model year since the days of the Model T. Later, Lincoln added with initially little in common. With the Ford Model A the division into standard and deluxe models was introduced, which in principle was to continue until the end of the V8 series in 1948. Lincoln began to offer several models, at times with V8 and V12 engines and in 1938 the Mercury was added on an extended Ford chassis and with an enlarged Ford V8. Originally, Ford intended to make the first post-war models (planned for 1949) much more compact. At the last moment they shied away from the associated risk, the “little” Ford was transferred to France and built there as the Vedette , the vehicle intended as a Mercury appeared as a Ford, and the Mercury in turn shared a platform with the “little” Lincoln . There was a new chassis for the "big" Cosmopolitan as the successor to the Continental . 1956-1960 the Continental brand was introduced above the Lincoln. The new, short-lived Edsel brand (1958–1960) initially consisted of four model series, using two Ford and two Mercury chassis. A special feature was the self-supporting construction that Lincoln and Continental used from 1958 to 1969.
Ford also used some model names multiple times and for different series. So not all model years of the following series are necessarily full-size cars ; For details, see the respective model articles. Canadian and Australian model names and those for station wagons are not included (e.g. Ford Country Squire as top combination models for several vehicle classes).
Ford Full Size
Galaxie (not to be confused with the European minivan Ford Galaxy ); LTD (without LTD II); XL ; (LTD) Crown Victoria with Police Interceptor variant.
Mercury Full Size
Turnpike Cruiser ; Park Lane ; Marquis and grand marquis ; Montclair ; Monterey ; Marauder
Edsel Full Size
All Edsel, whereby the series Ranger and Pacer as well as all Station Wagon ( Bermuda , Roundup and Villager ) were based on Ford chassis and the larger
Citation and Corsair on those from Mercury.
All Lincoln and Continental cars up to 1979 are considered full-size cars , some even after that.
Younger development
After the oil crisis , sales of full-size cars fell sharply in the 1970s. At this time, Japanese cars such as the Toyota Corolla and the Honda Civic also enjoyed increasing popularity. The American manufacturers reacted and from 1977 produced slightly scaled-down models with more efficient engines, but still basically V8s. This, and the further drop in the price of oil , made the vehicle class more popular again in the 1980s. Another round of downsizing began in 1985/86, when GM introduced a new generation of full-size cars , with front-wheel drive and without the previously almost mandatory V8 engines.
Since the 1990s, full-size SUVs with large engines have been gaining popularity and displacing all station wagons from this class. Due to the rapid increase in oil prices and the financial crisis in 2007, the remaining classic road cruisers have now finally disappeared and the current full-size models such as the Chevrolet Impala , Chrysler 300 and Ford Taurus are around 5 meters in size.
