Ride quality refers to the degree of protection offered vehicle occupants from uneven elements in the road surface, or the terrain if driving off-road. A car with very good ride quality is also known as a comfortable car to ride in. Cars which disturb vehicle occupants with major and minor road irregularities and known as jittery, uncomfortable cars. An open surface with X-, Y-, and Z-contours shown. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Off-roading. ... ...

While pleasant, the comfort of the vehicle driver is also important for car safety, both because of driver fatigue on long journeys in uncomfortable vehicles, and also because road disruption can impact the drivers ability to control the vehicle. Car safety is the avoidance of car accidents or the minimization of harmful effects of accidents, in particular as pertaining to human life and health. ...

Automakers often perceive providing an adequate degree of ride quality as a compromise with car handling, because cars with firm suspension offer more roll stiffness, keeping the tires more perpendicular to the road. Similarly, a lower center of gravity is more ideal for handling, but leaves very little vertical space for bump absorption before these disturb the passengers. Car handling and vehicle handling is a description of the way wheeled vehicles perform transverse to their direction of motion, particularly during cornering and swerving. ... The front suspension components of a Ford Model T. Suspension is the term given to the system of springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels. ...

Early vehicles, like the Ford Model T, with its live axle suspension design, were both uncomfortable and handled poorly. Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ford Model T For the blues musician, see T-Model Ford. ... A live axle is a type of beam axle suspension system that uses the driveshafts that transmit power to the wheels to connect the wheels laterally so that they move together as a unit. ...

Over time, technology has shifted this curve outward, so that it is possible to offer vehicles that are extremely comfortable and still handle very well, like the Citroen DS, or vehicles with excellent handling that are resonably comfortable also, like the BMW 5-Series. The DS (also known as Déesse, or Goddess, after the punning initials in French) was a model of Citroen automobile manufactured and sold between 1955 and 1975. ... The BMW 5-Series is a series of medium size automobiles manufactured by BMW in Germany. ...

Technology from the latter half of the 20th Century is not the only means to acheive ride quality - massive weight coupled with with very soft suspension settings is also an option - as seen on the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud and the Cadillac in the 1950's and 1960's, which weighed over 5,000 lbs. The downside is that massive weight also contributes to poor fuel consumption. In the United States, the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard effectively prohibits the return to a passenger vehicle fleet of what now appear to be comically oversized cars from the 1950's and 1960's. In the rest of the world, the high price of gasoline effectively prevents most motorists from using massively heavy cars. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... 1962 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud The Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud is believed by many to be the most aesthetically pleasing vehicle ever produced by the British manufacturer. ... Cadillac is a brand of luxury automobile, part of the General Motors Corporation, produced and mostly sold in the United States and Canada; outside of North America, they have been less successful. ... Fuel efficiency relates the efficiency of converting energy contained in a carrier fuel to kinetic energy or work. ... The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations in the United States, first enacted by Congress in 1975, exist to regulate and improve the average fuel economy of cars and light trucks (trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles) sold in the US in the wake of the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo. ... Gasoline, also called petrol, is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting primarily of hydrocarbons and enhanced with benzenes to increase octane ratings, used as fuel in internal combustion engines. ...

Load bearing also interferes with ride quality - the suspension settings are very stiff so the vehicle doesn't change pitch when loaded - most trucks thus do not ride particularly comfortably. In passenger vehicles, self-leveling suspension has been introduced to counteract this effect. Trucks can refer to several things: The plural of: Truck, the motorized vehicle Truck, other uses of the singular As a name: Trucks was a rock band Trucks is a short story by Stephen King Trucks is a movie based on the Stephen King short story Trucks! is a television... Self-levelling refers to an automobile suspension system that maintains a constant ride height of the vehicle above the road, regardless of load. ...

Road construction quality and maintenance have a direct impact on ride quality in vehicles. In jurisdictions where all roads are as smooth as pool tables, the passengers are undisturbed already and the vehicle can be optimized for a higher degree of handling. Categories: Sports stubs | Billiards ...