>Hi David:
>
>How right you are. From recent postings I realized that I had overlooked
>two infamous GM engines.
<snip>
The engine was horribly unreliable, however, and was
>>quickly discontinued.
>>
Years ago, I bought a book by a Mr. Alfred P. Sloane,
"My Years with General Motors".
This is a book, written about 1957 when this GM big boss had just retired.
I was a bit disappointed to find that this was NOT a book about cars or
engineering, but rather about management techniques and changing concepts
and ideas about management.
I understand that this book is a MUST READ for anyone even contemplating
employment at GM in a management function, even nowadays.
However, there are also some descriptions on engineering feats,
albeit rather on the side.
(e.g. that crankshafts were first balanced in 1924 and that this gave an
enormous improvement in smooth running at the time. And that no balancing
machines were available at the time, GM had to develop them themselves.
Very interesting to me, because that's what I do for a living.
I'm the owner of an industrial balancing workshop).
Mr. Sloane also describes things that went wrong.
Since he has been working from the mid-twenties until 1957
and that has been a long time, quite a lot has been described
that went wrong.
The WORST EVER disaster described there was an air-cooled engine, called
the Copper-Clad Engine.
GM had to recall total production. This was somewhere in the mid-twenties.
A feat not even the Mercedes problems of today even come close to!
Happy New Year !
Bert
1970 MGB Roadster.
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