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9 unlikely autos that changed cars forever
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At first glance nothing about these cars and trucks jumps off the page. Yet they were the proving ground for car tech and car-building techniques that influence how our autos are built.
1984 Jeep Cherokee: Unibody
The much-beloved Cherokee was the first large-production unibody truck. A new welding process kept this light body together for great on- and off-road dynamics and a stiff chassis, with much less weight and floppiness than competitors from Nissan, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Ford, and GM. Nissan was the next to follow suit with its Pathfinder, but not until 1996.
2001 Nissan Pathfinder: Autonomous Off-Roading
Electronic ascent and descent control eliminated some driver skill (and human error) from off-roading. The Pathfinder's antilock brake system was tuned so that the driver need only hold the brake when descending steep hills, which previously was a dangerous no-no for off-road driving. Accelerating up dirt hills always required a deft touch of the throttle—prior to the Pathfinder's carefully tuned traction control system, that is. It worked best if the driver floored the gas pedal, a definite counterintuitive move in any other off-roader at the time.
1989 Toyota Celica: Rounded Design
The end of the Toyota Celica coupe's square, angled shape was not merely a styling decision. In '89, not one panel on the new Celica had a crease or a sharp angle in it. Reason: Toyota quietly said that while all previous metal stamping presses and brakes at its factories had been set up to make perfect angles, the company was anxious that budding Korean carmakers would easily copy its square cars. Toyota developed complex, compound curve stamping because it accurately predicted that would-be imitators would have a hard time copying the shape.
2005 Chevrolet Corvette: Automotive Neurology
A 22-gauge twisted-pair cable, more commonly found in computer labs and wired offices, spanned the length of the C6 Corvette when it debuted for 2005. It opened the door for connected body and component computers to monitor and control the entire car, bringing on the computerized nervous system that's common today.
