Automotive Engineering - September 2022 - 31

READER
FEEDBACK
The notorious Prince of Darkness
Another great Editorial in the August issue! Reflecting back
on dealing with Lucas in the 1960s, the major impression I got
was one of arrogance born of monopoly. We had no choice in
the U.K. other than Lucas, and when we pleaded with them to
consider ventilated breaker points, or replacing the fiber distributor
cam follower with nylon, as was typical in the USA to
improve ignition system life, their attitude was typically " no
one else is complaining, what's wrong with you? "
When trying to complete 50,000mile
emissions endurance tests for
compliance with HEW (EPA predecessor)
regulations, with only prescribed
permitted maintenance, we
typically had to push-start the test
vehicles due to deterioration of the
ignition system, and then appeal to
HEW for permission to perform exceptional
unscheduled maintenance
just to complete the process. Lucas'
reaction was to simply ridicule a
country (the USA) which expected
vehicles to run almost indefinitely,
or at least 12,000 miles, with minimal
maintenance.
Bernard Robertson
Mr. Robertson is the former senior
VP of Engineering at DaimlerChrysler
and General Manager of Jeep and
Truck Operations. He joined Chrysler
in the U.K. after graduating from
Cambridge University in 1965, and
worked as a powertrain engineer on Sunbeam Tigers, Alpines,
and other Rootes Group vehicles. He was hired into Chrysler
USA in 1970 and retired from the company in 2003 after a 38year
career.
I worked in engineering at Lucas Varity after the company
was founded in 1996 from the amalgamation of the old Lucas
and Varity Corp. Despite our marketing efforts and a serious
push to improve electronics quality (which I believe we
achieved), we were never able to shake the notorious " Prince
of Darkness " stigma. Why do the English drink warm beer...?
Richard Whitley
My favorite Lucas story: I sold my MGB to an editor I worked for
(bad mistake), so naturally if I wanted to keep the client, I also
owned the car forever. Shortly after the bride and I moved into
READERS: Let us know what you think about Automotive
Engineering magazine. Email the Editor at Lindsay.Brooke@
sae.org. We appreciate your comments and reserve the
right to edit for brevity and clarity.
AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING
September 2022 31
our first house, he called, asking if I could help with some electrical
issues he was having. Well, the first issue was simple: he
had crossed the plug wires after changing the spark plugs, and
naturally the engine was misfiring. The second: virtually all the
electricals were operating intermittently. I checked the fuse
box and all the fuses were okay. So, I lifted the fuse box, which
was under hood on the sheetmetal. There was the issue: a layer
of corrosion on the underside. A generous wire-brushing and a
coating of anti-corrosion protectant, and he was good to go...
at least for at least another few months.
Paul Weissler
Mr. Weissler is a longtime SAE Media
contributor, a veteran freelance technical
journalist, and a member of the
SAE HVAC Standards committee.
RE: The poor reliability record of
Lucas electrical components: The
editorial is correct in stating much of
the bad reputation was due to bad
systems design by the British OEMs.
Armand Zeller
The old Lucas stuff was, in my experience,
no worse in its reliability than
the electrical hardware from DelcoRemy,
Packard Electric, FoMoCo,
and even Bosch in the late 20th century.
I share the editor's concerns
that the industry has entered a new
period of electronics issues.
L.P. Kenyon
Damping vs. dampening
RE: August 2022 issue, page 18: From an engineering perspective,
damping is to reduce vibration, whereas dampening
is to make moist. Would you ever call shock absorbers 'dampeners?'
No, they are called dampers. It is a ubiquitous error ...
even by many engineers, unfortunately.
Bill Draper
Bill, thanks for your correction and for reading Automotive
Engineering. - Ed.
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Automotive Engineering - September 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive Engineering - September 2022

Automotive Engineering - September 2022 - Intro
Automotive Engineering - September 2022 - Sponsor1
Automotive Engineering - September 2022 - CVRA
Automotive Engineering - September 2022 - CVRB
Automotive Engineering - September 2022 - CVR1
Automotive Engineering - September 2022 - CVR2
Automotive Engineering - September 2022 - 1
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Automotive Engineering - September 2022 - 3
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Automotive Engineering - September 2022 - CVR3
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