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Published in:
2009 | OriginalPaper | Chapter
General Characteristics
Published in: The Automotive Chassis
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
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Motor vehicles, like most machines, have a general bilateral symmetry. Only hypotheses can be advanced to explain why this occurs. Certainly to have a symmetry plane simplifies the study of the dynamic behavior of the system, for it can be modelled, within certain limits, using uncoupled equations. However, the reason is likely to be above all an aesthetic one: symmetry is considered an essential feature in most definitions of beauty.
All complex animals that evolved on our planet, including humans, have a symmetry plane defined by a vertical axis and an axis running in the longitudinal direction; symmetry is, however, not complete since some internal organs are positioned in an unsymmetrical way and some small deviations from symmetry are always present even in exterior appearance. When such lack of symmetry is too evident, it is felt to be incompatible with the aesthetic canons developed by all human civilizations.