Text C. Toyota Land Cruiser

The Toyota Land Cruiser 4 x 4 has a long evolutionary history beginning back in 1951 when the vehicle was primarily used by the military overseas. At that time, the off road vehicle that had been manufactured and designed using the army surplus materials available from Toyota's government contract was a lightweight vehicle with a heavy duty engine and transmission. In 1954 the aggressive 4 x 4 was officially named the Land Cruiser.

Years of engineering and design expertise have been incorporated into the Land Cruiser. By 1965 the Land Cruiser was the best selling Toyota vehicle in the United States. Although this powerful 4 x 4 was designed to excel during off road driving, as the vehicle itself grew in popularity, the overall size of the Land Cruiser grew as well to accommodate the needs and desires of a larger group of automotive consumers that did not spend the majority of the time off road. However, off road capability never diminished. It only stands to reason with the vehicle's increase in overall size, upgraded materials, advanced engineering and new technologies that the cost of the vehicle would increase as well. Though the initial investment is comparatively high, the majority of Land Cruiser owners and industry analysts do agree that you get what you pay for with this vehicle-true 4 x 4 off road capabilities and utility within a constantly distinctive exterior and a more lavish interior.

The success of the Land Cruiser in the United States can be measured by high sales and customer satisfaction statistics as well as by the prestigious recognition this hard working and chameleon-like vehicle has received from experts in the automotive industry. In 1980, the Land Cruiser was the recipient of Off Road Magazine's 4 x 4 of the Year Award. From that point on, barely a year was missed when this evolutionary vehicle did not receive a highly recognized award in America, including the 'Most Reliable SUV' from Consumer Reports and the 'Best Buy Premium Large SUV' from Consumer Guide for the 2005 model year.

For the 2007 model year, the full size luxury 4X4 Toyota Land Cruiser SUV is equipped with a 4.7 liter V8 engine and smoothly transports driver and passengers in a luxuriously appointed interior over a variety of terrain. The versatile design of the cargo and passenger areas enable a variety of interior configurations to easily adapt to your changing needs.

Source: http://www.carseek.com/reviews/toyota/land-cruiser/

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Text D. Exterior design

The subject of surface treatments is a very wide one, and I should take a few words to establish the scope of what you are about to read. What this article won’t cover is the broad topic of coatings, which was covered most recently in RET 47 (June/July 2010). The scope here is to deal with heat treatments whose aim is to alter the surface of the material in question, and mechanical or chemical treatments that fundamentally alter the nature of the surface or the state of stress within it. There are always going to be areas of contention (спор, разногласия); nitrided titanium produces titanium nitride and, within the realm of this article, this is a surface treatment, although titanium nitride PVD coating (покрытие, полученное путем физического осаждения в парогазовой среде) on steel is not. I hope the reasons behind this become clear as the article progresses.

Surface treatments allow us to design and develop the modern race engine, to use materials that would otherwise be unsuitable or to develop components that are very much lighter and more durable than they would be in the absence of such treatments. They can mitigate (смягчать, уменьшать, ослаблять) the effects of friction, improve surface finish, decrease wear and improve the endurance limit of many components. By their judicious (продуманный, целесообразный) application, we are able to imbue (насыщать) our new designs of racing components with such attributes. Due to mechanical reasons or those of economy, however, we cannot use them on every component, so we need to give careful thought to which surface treatments we should use, and on which components, in order to obtain maximum benefit.

We can split the subject broadly into two categories – chemical treatments and mechanical treatments – although even here the boundaries are blurred (размытый). Chemical treatments, such as nitro-carburising or anodising, fundamentally change the chemical composition of both the surface and a thin layer beneath it. Mechanical treatments, of which peening (дробеструйная обработка поверхности, обдувка дробью (для поверхностного упрочнения)) and polishing are examples, mechanically change the surface, either by working it or by removing minute amounts of material to produce a different surface topography. Laser texturing isn’t a mechanical or a chemical treatment, but its aims are to engineer the nature of the surfaces of critical components.

Source: http://www.ret-monitor.com/articles/pdf/surface-treatments.pdf pages 46-48

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