Is It A Rear Engine Or Rear Drive That Makes It A Pusher?

frankdamp wrote:
How would you classify a car with a rear engine that is front-wheel drive? There was one in Europe in the mid 1950's. I think it was a Goggomobil, but not sure.

I'd classify it as an abomination! You get all the "joys" of a big lump down the middle of the floor, poorer engine cooling, a nice long driveshaft, and extra weight over the non-driven wheels for...um...not a whole lot of useful advantage.

How would you classify a car with a rear engine that is front-wheel drive? There was one in Europe in the mid 1950's. I think it was a Goggomobil, but not sure.

wallynm wrote:
I always thought a DP was a Diesel Pickup!!!!

In my old neighborhood in Chicago a DP was what we called a non Irish immigrant, you know, Poles, Italians, Greeks, Germans, Bohemians and such. I guess that was a remnant of WW II talk.

PastorCharlie wrote:
All vehicles except those that are front wheel drive propel the vehicle from the rear. Front engines with rear wheel drive are pushers.

Why the big effort to segarate vehicle drives by engine choices?

Isn't it just another way to post engine preference? :h :R

The reference is to the engine being in the back.
There are front mounted diesels and rear mounted gasoline engines, as well. The rear gas powered UFO coaches are out of production and not so sure if any front mounted diesels are still being produced or not. The were also a Workhorse product that survived for a couple of years after the demise of the GM 8.1 engine and with WH changing hands and ownership.

I always thought a DP was a Diesel Pickup!!!!

I came through a toll booth last week (one I have been through a hundred plus times) and the lady attendant at the booth asked me if I was towing. I smiled and said that it was a Jeep Pusher....the Jeep was pushing the Motorhome.

She appeared not to appreciate the humor.

Really, does an engine placement determine the drive wheels?

hohenwald48 wrote:

PastorCharlie wrote:

Why the big effort to segarate vehicle drives by engine choices?

:h :R

I don't think there's any "big effort to segregate" anything. It's just a way to differentiate one drive train type from another. Helps you understand how things work when folks are describing a particular vehicle. Kind of like calling one vehicle a SUV and another a minivan.

In fact, Allegro has starting calling them REDs (rear engine diesel). Just a marketing way to say DP.

Tiffen only calls the Allegro RED a RED. They call their Breeze, Allegro, Phaeton, Bus and Zephyr all by their respective names and they are all diesel pushers. I don't see any effort to impose the term RED (Rear Engine Diesel) onto any of the other lines except RED - a long standing Tiffen model name. I think it was just a quirky name they came up with at one time and it stuck enough to label one of their models in the lineup.

Us humans sure spend a lot of time worrying about how terms get started and why we continue using them. Kind of pathetic. I grew up with Triple Tow meaning a camper and a boat behind a station wagon, and a Class A meaning a big rectangular box with headlights. Now the trucking industry tries to dominate the terms for double and triple tow and push their version into RV land, and I see FMCA uses "Type" A, B, and C motorhomes to avoid inferring any kind of stature associated with different classes. Jee-zoots some people have a lot of time on their hands.

PastorCharlie wrote:

Why the big effort to segarate vehicle drives by engine choices?

:h :R

I don't think there's any "big effort to segregate" anything. It's just a way to differentiate one drive train type from another. Helps you understand how things work when folks are describing a particular vehicle. Kind of like calling one vehicle a SUV and another a minivan.

In fact, Allegro has starting calling them REDs (rear engine diesel). Just a marketing way to say DP.

In a parallel universe - when the same rear engine diesel chassis was introduced into fire apparatus, the nickname "hush pumper" caught on, because they were quiet enough in the front to have a conversation. I don't think I ever heard the term "diesel pusher" until I looked at RVs.

mike brez wrote:
Engine in front pulling,engine in rear pushing

Not really. If the front engine uses a drive shaft to power the rear wheels, it's still pushing. That's the OP's point.
However, it's just a designation to help potential buyers understand where the engine is located.