Before we move forward, a very basic question to answer here, What is an automobile?

An automobile is a wheeled vehicle carrying its own motive power unit.

In this video, we will discuss about the General Automobile layout. Automobile layout refers to the positions where the engine and drive wheels are found on a vehicle.

Various kind of combinations of engine location and driven wheels are found, with each dependent on the application for which the vehicle will be used.

Lets first, go through the various components of an automobile:1. Basic structure2. Power plant3. Transmission system4. Auxiliaries, e.g. battery, starter, ignition system, driving lights etc.5. Controls, e.g. Steering system, brakes6. Superstructure

1 to 5 comprise of the automobile chassis, which we will study in another video of this course.

Lets start with Basic Structure. This is the unit, on which the rest of the units, engine, body etc. are built upon. The basic structure consists of Frame Suspension system Axles Wheels Tyres The frame is of two distinct types:1. Pressed steel frame, in this all the mechanical units are attached and body is superimposed.2. Frameless construction, in this the body structure is so designed so as to combine the functions of body and frame.

Frameless construction is only possible in a closed car.

Each component from 2 to 5 is discussed as separate section in this course, so if there is some ambiguity about the understanding of these topics, please be patient as you will have a very good level of understanding by the end of this course about all these components.

Now lets focus on the automobile layout. As we talked that there various layouts used in practice depending upon the application, layouts can be roughly divided into two categories: front and rear wheel drives.

Make note: Four wheel drive may take the characteristics of either, depending on how power is distributed to the wheels. Front wheel drive layouts:In this layout the front wheels are driving wheels and the rear wheels are driven wheels. The most popular layout is front engine, front wheel drive because this layout creates a compact package. FF automobiles are considered superior to FR (front engine, rear wheel drive) layout in conditions of snow, wet road etc. FF in these conditions is superior because the weight of the engine on the driving wheels provides a good grip of driving wheels on the road surface.