re: turning radius

["John Hertzman" <johnhertzman@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Several people have agreed with Richard Welty's suspicion that "it's a front
drive thing, a limit on how far you can twist a CV joint." There is another
possible factor, indirectly suggested by Richard Bies' contrast with the
"nimble" Audi: the length (or width, depending on viewpoint) of the transverse
engine and/or transmission.

I have owned just three front-drivers - 164, Scirocco, and MG 1100 (and
briefly a Mini) and without looking it up my recollection is that the 1100 had
the tightest radius of the three, perhaps aided both by the relatively short
engine and by the relatively small diameter wheels and tires. I'm not
asserting that engine length is the dominant factor, but the designers of
longitudinal-engined FWD cars might have more latitude to play with than
transverse-engine layouts.

John H.
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