(car engine revving) - Cars, trucks, vans, after over a century of innovation, automakers all agree to put the engine in the front. Why do we do this? What about cars where you pop the trunk? Porches, Volkswagens. What about those cars with the engines in the middle? What about super cars? Rear engine vehicles represent some of the best selling and best performing cars out there. So, I have to ask the question: Why are most car engines in the front? Buckle up, babe. (laughs) It's Wheelhouse time. Thanks to Blinkist for
sponsoring today's episode. If you know me, you know I love to read. I'm a registered word-perv. When I was in college,
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that help support Donut. Thank you, Blinkist for
sponsoring this episode. The answer is more of
a story than an answer. It's a world ride to automotive history. From Germany to Detroit,
to rough (beep) Canada. But first, if you want
the short boring answer, here it is: Front engine front wheel drive vehicles are more forgiving the
steer since the weight of the engine is over the front wheels. That gives them more traction. That means it's easier for
your less talented drivers to not spin out on icy roads. It's also more economical
to cool the engine if it's in the front. So, it's cheaper to manufacture. Thanks for watching, like and subscribe. Thanks. If you're still here, that
means you want the good answer. Come with me. Let's go back in time. (old school upbeat music) In the 19th century,
most horseless carriages had rear mounted engines with rear wheel drive. In 1895, French automaker Panhard, made the first front mounted
engine with rear wheel drive. To accomplish this, they
invented the modern transmission. This design was superior to rear mounted designs at the time, because it distributed the weight evenly between the front and rear wheels, which improved the handling and gave the front wheels more traction. I'm not sure how much handling is required when you're traveling
at the speed of smell, but it was a huge accomplishment. Front engine rear wheel
drive became the standard with Ford cranking out
16,500,000 model t's from 1908 to 1927, and all other car makers followed suit. In 1934, Mercedes Benz
looked at engine placement and asked a very German question: "Why don't we try it in the trunk ya?" This rear end freak fest, produced the model 130h. Czech manufacturer Tatra, followed suit and started producing rear engine cars. The rear engine design race peak in 1938, when Volkswagen released the Beetle, designed by Ferdinand Porsche. Yeah, that Porsche. Tatra immediately sued VW, due to the Beetles similarity to Tatra's rear engine V570 and 97. VW was able to avoid a lawsuit by Germany invaded Czechoslovakia. They did wind up paying a
settlement after the war though, remember guys, war can't
solve all your problems. The VW Beetle was cheap and economical. The original Beetle got
32 miles to the gallon and sold like toilet paper
in a quarantine, nope (beep). The original Beetles got
32 miles to the gallon and sold like Animal
Crossing in a pandemic. After the success of the Beetle, Everybody was dabbling
with back row bangers. Rear engine, rear wheel drive cars were great for acceleration, since the engine weight is
right on the rear tires. The main problem though, is oversteer. Since all the weight is in the back, tight turns tend to make the
rear of the car swing around in a fashion some refer to as (beep) dude. Many tried, but few succeeded
in making a rear engine, rear wheel drive vehicle
that handled well. They accelerate like a dragster and kind of handle like a dragster. The first real success in that department was the Porsche 911. Yes, that Porsche. The 911 came out in 1964
with a flat 16 pack. And they got around the oversteer
issue by keeping the car low and the wheelbase
shorter than the Beetle. That's right, sure. Some other popular rear
engine vehicles include the DeLorean DMC 12 and the Alpine a110. Not surprisingly, these
cars are two-door coupes. Rear engine, rear wheel drive cars, pretty much had to be until the Corvair. (old school upbeat music) It's the only American car
with an air-cooled rear engine. And engine that sat behind the rear tires meant no floor bump to get
in the way of your feet. The only problem though, they've
had a pretty long wheelbase for rear engine parts. 108 inches, 20 inches longer than the 911. Nevertheless, they sold like
beef cakes laced with gravy. One buyer was a young politician
by the name Ralph Nader. After driving the car, he became concerned about the car's handling ability. He published the book "Unsafe
at any speed" in 1965. The book scrutinized the
entire automotive industry, but was especially
critical of the Corvair, calling it, I quote, "one car accident". Most people do Leave a bad yelp review, but that's not Nader's style baby, Nader gang. (laughs) According to the book, The Corvair's swing axle rear suspension
would cause the rear tires to quote, tuck-under around turns, which would cause the car to drift. And since the front suspension
had no anti roll bar, the Corvair would be prone to rollovers, a sedan with rollovers. That's insane. By the time the book came out, Chevy had already redesigned the Corvair with a four wheel independent suspension, but it was too late. "Unsafe at any speed" was a bombshell and people took notice. Corvair sales were cut in half, in 1966. People were afraid to buy rear engine cars that were Unsafe at any speed. I don't blame them. Chevy decided to move on and production after the 1969 model year. Nice. And Ralph Nader went
on to run for president like a million times. Nader gang. In the meantime, automakers kept messing with front engine layouts. The British Motor Corporation
asked a very British question. "Why don't we make our
automobiles as small as possible? "So we stay out of other people's away because we're polite and
meek and love to cue (beep)." That's my British accent, I'm sorry. That's right. I'm talking about the mini designer Alec Issigonis,
had the bright idea of engineering the
transmission into the oil sump, flipping the engine around to
minimize the engine footprint, so you could squeeze it under a hood, that was a little over four feet wide. The engine could only make 33 horsepower, but since the car was so tiny and light, it was enough power for the Brits. I mean, I really want one of these things. Transverse engines allowed
the hood to be shortened and per passenger space
to be maximized inside. Plenty of companies from Fiat, Volvo to even Land Rover use transverse engines, but none as awesomely as
a 1965 Lamborghini Miura, which use a B12 transverse engine mid mounted behind the two seats. That's right. The transverse engine went from this, (car engine revving)
to this, in six years. Anyway, back in Detroit, the big three we're focusing
on the front engine, rear wheel drive layout,
producing some cars, you might have heard
them around like Mustang, Camaro, Firebird, the Charger, et cetera. With the engine in the
front, there was no danger of oversteer unless
you push that gas baby. That's what I'm talking about. They actually have a bit of understeer, but the engine weight improves
the front tire traction so it's easier for your
average driver to corner. It's also cheaper and
easier to put a radiator in the front of the car, and running hoses all the way to the back sucks from a design efficiency
and maintenance standpoint. It makes sense to have
your radiator engine in the same place. Speaking of understeer,
shout out to my Miata gang. Speaking of which, check
out our new show "Money Pit" Zeck job does that exact thing to a Miata. I can't wait to see this thing finished. I can't wait to drive it. Hopefully he lets me (beep). Thus began the muscle car era, with the big three and AMC trying to cram as many horsepowers as
possible into a car. But when you want more
horsies that usually means a bigger, heavier engine. As engines got beefier. You got a little more power
mo toke mo took, yeah. All right, we'll keep that. But less weight on the
back wheels which decreases rear wheel traction and acceleration. To keep some weight on the back tires, you have to move the engine further back and you push the passengers back towards the rear axle and you're left with an enormous hood. I'm talking 80s Camaro, 70s Firebird, 70s Chargers, pretty much
every muscle car ever. They got some big (beep) long (beep). If you push the engine far enough back, you actually get a front-mid engine car. If the engine is between the
front axle and the passenger compartment, it's technically mid-engine, but front mid-engine. Eventually you're going
to say enough is enough. If you're already
sacrificing passenger area and want to maximize power and handling, you have to rethink engine placement. Take the Corvette, for
example, the C7 Corvette was basically the best front
engine rear wheel drive car that Chevy could design. But this year, they're finally delivering the mid-engine Corvette. It's called the CA. Not only does it offer up
to 700 horsepower, rumored, it's going to be the best
handling Corvette ever. Why does moving the Corvettes engine back, improve handling? With the engine behind
the two front seats, but in front of the rear
axle, the Corvette center of gravity is in the middle of the car, which means a lower
polar moment of inertia. I'm sorry, did you think you're
getting through this without learning some rotational dynamics? You're in the science zone (beep). (bright upbeat music) Alright, the polar moment of inertia. Think about a figure skater spinning. When they pull their arms
in, they spin quicker. Think about, think about you sitting in an office
chair spinning around, when you pull your arms
in you speak faster, and if you can put your arms and legs out you spin slower. Why is that? (gentle upbeat music) The same principle applies to cars. If your car's center of
mass is centrally located, it can change direction
quickly and with less effort. Amid the engine layout
also improves braking. With the weight of the
engine distributed evenly across all four tires, all
four brakes help equally. (beep) That's why mid engine vehicles are the best handling, most expensive two-seat vehicles on the planet. Here you've BMW IA's, it's your Audi R8's, it's a Porsche Cayman's, most
Ferrari's and Lamborghini's, McLaren's lotus's, or is it low tide? No, no. Anyway, to sum it up, let's run down the pros and cons of each engine location. Rear engine, they got great acceleration, but there's less weight
on the front tires. You're more likely to Tokyo Drift, if you don't know what you're doing. Mid-engine, awesome handling and braking but no room for extra
passengers or luggage. And generally they're expensive to ship. Front engine, they're prone
to a bit of understeer, but maximum traction on the front tires. They're spacious and
they're cheap to build. Automakers have proven
that, they can make rear and mid-engine designs work super well. But most customers want a
real second row of seats and they generally don't
need all that performance for driving the children to Chili's. They offer a cheaper, more spacious front engine car that's good enough. You know what, money talks? The front engine cars have
one, at least for now. I want to hear from you. What are your experiences
with driving rear engine cars? Have you ever driven an
exotic with a mid-engine? Do you have an engine
placement preference? Does anyone have a CA I can borrow? Hey, thanks for watching. I really hope you're getting
through quarantine all right. If this video looks a little less good, that's because I filmed it in my apartment on the webcam, this quarantine
thing has been crazy. I'm gonna be totally honest with you guys, it's weird and lonely for me too but we're going to do
our best here at Donut to keep cranking out the
content for you guys, keeping minds off things, 'cause you know what,
that's my purpose in my face to keep the positivity up, keep it optimistic, you
have a lot of choices out there on what to watch. And thank you for choosing Donut. Follow Donut on social media @donutmedia if you haven't already. Check out our second
channel Donut Podcasts, follow me on Instagram @NolanjSykes, and same thing on Twitter. Be kind, let's look out for each other. I'll see you next time. Oh man, I need to get more goldfish.
