This gave rise to the perimeter frame concept, in which the framerails curve outboard between the tires to encompass the seating positions.Many American cars of the 1950s employed an X-frame design wherein the structural rails converge in the middle of the car, but this design provides little or no structural side impact protection.Volkswagen's iconic Beetle called this design "body on pan," and Mercedes called it a "frame floor" on its "ponton" models of the '50s and '60s. The platform frame was a concept that unitized structural floor panels with the framerails for added stiffness.MotorTrend Car of the Year guest judge Chris Theodore has also patented a UniChassis backbone design tailored to low-volume specialty production. Austrian engineer Hans Ledwinka also championed it at Czechoslovakia's Tatra starting with the 1923 Tatra T11, and the design is still in use on today's Tatra heavy trucks. Britain's 1904 Rover 8hp and France's 1909 Simplicia were early adopters of this idea. An early dramatic departure was the backbone chassis, featuring a rigid spine that connected the front and rear suspension frames, one of which supported the powertrain.This design is still in use in most full-size pickups and SUVs and virtually all medium- and heavy-duty work trucks. The simplest was the ladder frame, consisting of symmetrical longitudinal rails connected by a series of lateral support members to resemble a ladder.
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