Through the years, corporations like Honda, Lamborghini and Ford have develop into fairly good at making vehicles. They’ve constructed their names round this potential to place collectively a good set of wheels. However generally, an organization can get tired of making vehicles and could be tempted to strive its hand at one thing else, like constructing electrical bikes or stuffing sausages.
And this bought us fascinated with all of the unusual, non-car issues that automakers have constructed through the years. It seems that there are much more experimental product growth concepts than you would possibly assume.
We rooted by the historical past books to uncover a number of the most attention-grabbing product tangents your favorite automobile manufacturers have taken through the years. So, sit again, loosen up and revel in a complete heap of random stuff that automobile corporations have remodeled the previous 100 years.
Honda
Picture: Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP, Getty Photographs
After killing off its candy robotic little one, Asimo, earlier this 12 months, we’re now by no means speaking about Honda’s robot-making once more. As a substitute, let’s discuss concerning the cool HondaJet.
Authentic ideas for this twin-jet airplane date again to the late 90s, and it lastly went into manufacturing in 2015. It encompasses a novel over-wing engine structure, which the agency claims will increase effectivity.
Inside, there’s area for as much as 4 folks to journey in type on a journey of round 1,200 nautical miles. The price of all this, a cool $US5.4 ($7) million.
Ford
Picture: Jonathan Daniel, Getty Photographs
However Honda isn’t the one automaker to dabble in aviation.
Henry Ford invested in American firm Stout within the 1920, shopping for the airplane maker and its designs and incorporating it into his engineering outfit. Amongst these designs had been the plans for the Trimotor.
Ford constructed 199 Trimotor planes from 1926, with most of them ending up in navy service right here within the U.S. The unique incarnation of the airplane featured three air-cooled Wright radial engines. It carried a crew of three, and had area to seat as much as 9 passengers.
Subaru
Picture: Alan Lebeda by way of Wikimedia Commons
Subaru could be identified for its off-road succesful sedans, hatchbacks and SUVs, however it additionally took a foray into an area even additional off street – the sky. That’s proper, Subaru has additionally dabbled with air journey up to now.
Subaru’s guardian firm, Fuji Heavy Industries, was based in 1915 and was beforehand generally known as “The Plane Analysis Laboratory.” And these shut ties with the aerospace business noticed the Subaru identify adorn gentle plane in years passed by.
Most notably, Subaru badges had been slapped on the Fuji FA-200 Aero Subaru craft of the Nineteen Sixties. This gentle plane is powered by a single-engine and might cowl as much as 800 miles.
Chrysler
Picture: U.S. Air Power by way of Wikimedia Commons
If you wish to fly someplace with no hope of return, then Chrysler is the agency you need to discuss to.
This stalwart of American luxurious has a previous life growing missiles for the U.S. navy. Dubbed Operation Paperclip, the mission noticed Chrysler work with Nazi scientists that had been delivered to America following the top of the Second World Conflict.
The mission spawned missiles just like the PGM-19 Jupiter, a nuclear weapon that would carry a warhead greater than 2,414 km. What a productive option to burn a number of billion {dollars}.
Buick
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Chrysler wasn’t the one agency getting in on the candy funds that include getting pally with the U.S. navy. GM stablemate Buick additionally bought in on the motion and made tanks!
Throughout World Conflict Two, Buick fired up its factories to provide ammunition for the U.S. navy and finally set about making tanks too. Most famously, it developed the M18 Hellcat – a automobile that appears rather a lot like a tank, behaves rather a lot like a tank, however will get folks in anoraks very irate in the event you name it a tank. It’s a tank destroyer, apparently, so it drives round on tracks taking pictures at tanks, relatively than folks.
Lamborghini
Picture: MarcelX42 by way of Wikimedia Commons
That’s sufficient costly demise machines for at some point, right here’s one thing much more helpful – a Lamborghini tractor.
Whereas the corporate’s ties to the famed Italian supercar maker might lie up to now, its tractors are nonetheless very twenty first century.
The agency was initially based by Ferruccio Lamborghini, who would go on to create the supercar firm. Now, whereas Lamborghini is owned by the VW group, its tractor making arm is a part of the Italian agricultural agency Identical and nonetheless makes some spectacular trying tractors to this present day.
Volkswagen
Picture: John MacDougall/AFP, Getty Photographs
That is a type of info that automobile nerds like to trot out once in a while and, as I’m a automobile nerd, right here it’s once more: VW makes extra sausages than vehicles.
At a plant in Germany, VW churns out greater than 18,000 sausages day by day. Constituted of pork, the VW currywurst has been in manufacturing for the reason that Nineteen Seventies. Nevertheless, it’s sausage slinging antics had been thrown into disarray in 2020 when then-CEO Herbert Deiss introduced he wished the VW cafeteria to go plant-based.
Toyota
Picture: Junko Kimura, Getty Photographs
On the lookout for someplace to prepare dinner up your final pack of VW sausages? Toyota may also help you out because it has an arm that builds inexpensive housing in Japan.
Since 1975, Toyota has provided a portfolio of various housing choices, every designed “to make Japanese properties higher.” At its peak in 2006, Toyota Housing bought greater than 5,000 prefabricated properties in a 12 months.
Apparently, Toyota isn’t the one Japanese automobile maker to dabble in development. Honda and Mitsubishi even have homebuilding divisions in Japan.
Saab
Picture: Esther Horvath / Falklands Maritime Heritage Belief
Oh Saab, my favorite shuttered Swedish automobile firm. However whereas the maker of the great 900 Turbo might need been killed off by a bunch of various elements, its identify lives on in a fleet of autonomous underwater reconnaissance robots.
In the present day, the Saab identify might be discovered on a bunch of business gear, together with the exploration bots that helped uncover Ernest Shackleton’s misplaced ship on the backside of the ocean.
Bugatti
Picture: Wikimedia Commons
Not content material with creating stunning street and race vehicles, Ettore Bugatti can be credited with constructing one of many first excessive pace trains.
The Bugatti Railcar was developed in France in 1933 as a modular different to steam trains. The Railcar comprised a carriage that packed in a a 12.7-litre fuel engine, three of those vehicles might be linked collectively to type a practice.
The quickest instance examined was powered by 4 engines that produced greater than 800hp. It may attain a prime pace of greater than 193 km/h.
Peugeot
Picture: Hoang Dinh Nam/AFP, Getty Photographs
In all probability the one instance right here that I’ve bought any private expertise with: Peugeot and its beautiful bikes.
Based in 1882, Peugeot Cycles created a number of the greatest twentieth century touring bikes on the market. They’re beautiful to trip and, if properly maintained, will final a lifetime. Greater than you may say for many of Peugeots vehicles.
Porsche
Picture: Porsche
A latest addition to the bike world is Porsche and its investigations into electrical bikes.
Porsche has invested closely in numerous electrical bike corporations, together with swanky bike builder Greyp. Now, the corporate has its personal e-bike division, which builds highly effective electrical motors for corporations to make use of in their very own bikes.
BMW
Picture: Dean Mouhtaropoulos, Getty Photographs
It’s not remotely a client product which you could come out and purchase, however BMW builds bobsleds in addition to vehicles.
The automobile firm has helped the German Olympic staff with its bobsleds for many years, and even lent a hand to the People within the early 2000s after they had been in want of a brand new steed.
Within the quest for final pace on the ice, BMW has additionally been joined by Nascar engineers that attempted to construct a brand new sled for American Olympians, and McLaren, which has labored with skeleton athletes within the UK.
Aston Martin
Picture: Aston Martin
What’s extra luxurious than a bespoke Aston Martin sports activities automobile? A bespoke Aston Martin yacht, that’s what.
In 2016, Aston Martin partnered with naval architects at Mulder Design to create the AM37, a 11.28 m Aston Martin powerboat that would attain speeds as much as 50 knots (about 92 km/h).
The boat might be ordered with both two 430hp Mercury engines that powered it to 45 knots (84 km/h), or the quicker mannequin that packed in two 520hp engines.
Hyundai
Picture: Choi Jae-ho/AFP, Getty Photographs
In the event you favor your boats with a bit extra leg room, then take a look at the providing from Hyundai.
Hyundai Heavy Industries has a complete fleet of monumental ships so that you can select from. In addition to patrol and analysis vessels, Hyundai additionally churns out submarines and navy ships.
Mitsubishi
Picture: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP, Getty Photographs
And if there’s something you need that isn’t on this record already, there’s an excellent likelihood that Mitsubishi makes it.
From TVs and displays, to fridges, plane and chemical compounds, Mitsubishi makes all of it.
