I like the whole concept of this ad. Volvo is actually using the text of this ad to explain an engineering concept. This is something that I do not believe you would find in today’s car ads.
The text of this ad states:
A Power Struggle in the Brakes Could Take Control of Your Car
A minor difference in braking power between wheels can make a tremendous difference in where your car ends up.
So every Volvo comes with disc brakes on all four wheels. Because disc brakes are less likely to produce fluctuations in braking power.
After repeated hard stops, for instance, their design makes them more resistant to fade than conventional drum brakes.
And unlike drum brakes, discs are unsusceptible to what’s called “self-servo” action. This occurs when the rotation of a brake drum pulls the shoe outwards. And it could
produce a force in one wheel strong enough to make you skid into the next lane.
Of course, there is one place where you want your brake system to work unequally: the hydraulic system.
Because in a hard stop, the rear wheels tend to lock up before the front wheels.
So every Volvo has two valves that actually proportion the hydraulic pressure between the front and rear wheels. When you slam on the brakes, it helps reduce the chances that you’ll wind up swapping ends.
At Volvo, there’s nothing more important to us than maintaining a balance in the stopping power on each wheel.
Because in a struggle between the brakes, if one wins, you lose.
VOLVO
©1974 Volvo of America Corporation. Overseas Delivery Available
