The story of Porsche could begin in 1950 with the introduction of the Porsche 356 to the United States by Max Hoffman. It could begin in 1948, when the first auto bearing the name of Porsche came out. However, to get a real grip on the heritage of Porsche, you must go back as far as 1875. In September of that year, Ferdinand Porsche was born in the bohemian village of Haffersdorf.

Ferdinand Porsche showed indications of his technical genius at the age of 18 when he wired the family home for electricity. His only formal education was received when he was a part-time engineering student in Vienna, although the title ‘Doctor’ is often appended to his name. By the time he was 25, Porsche had gone into automotive design. The Viennese firm of Loyner & Co. accepted his first car design. Over the next twenty years, he successfully associated himself with every major car manufacturer in Germany, and he designed about a dozen of the most technically important automobiles in history at the same time.

When he worked for Mercedes-Benz, he helped to create the SSK series, while for NSU, he designed the Auto Union Wandered and the Type 32, which as an ancestor of the Volkswagen Beetle. His disagreements with Mercedes-Benz over the company’s engineering policies prompted him to establish his own engineering group, which became Porsche A.G. He collected a premier group of engineers to work under the name of “Doctor of Engineering Ferdinand Porsche, Inc. Construction Facility for Land, Air, and Sea Transportation” in Stuttgart. His son, Ferry, was one of his employees, and his major interest was in sport and racing cars.

The elder Porsche and his engineers were busy. They developed for Steyr, a luxury sedan in Austria, but this vehicle did not make it out of the prototype stage. They also worked for Auto Union, which is now Audi, the firm that created the Front, the first front-drive economy car in the world. They also created the mid-engine Grand Prix cars and supercharged V-12 and V-16 engines. These, along with the racers from Mercedes-Benz, dominated European auto racetracks for almost ten years.

The company created its most well-known designs for NSU and Zundapp. Prototypes were characterized by Porsche’s torsion-bar suspension and rear-mounted engine. Neither of the firms manufactured the designs, so Porsche sold the idea to the German government. He then provided the oversight on the construction of a plant in Wolfsburg to build the design. He called it the Type 60, but the world knows it as the Volkswagen Beetle.

After World War II, the Porsche Company began to create the vehicles that now bear the name of Porsche. Almost one hundred years later, Porsche became the marque, and the family that developed the unique and lasting contributions to automotive design and engineering has gone down in history.

We recently met up with Carroll Shelby at the Recent Peterson Museum Trans Am Tribute, where he’s been honored before.  We were asked how the Shelby Driving shoes were doing at a2zracergear.com.  Actually, the shoes one of our best sellers at ShelbyGear.com, we trumpeted proudly.

The Shelby Driving shoe was our first line and when we were trying to come up with an idea of design & style, the Cobra leaped out at us.  Its no wonder, the Peterson Museum refers to Mr. Shelby as the father of American hi performance vehicles.

Many may not be aware that Shelby personally raced automobiles in the 1950s (sometimes while donning his unique striped overalls). Motor vehicles Mr. Shelby raced includes the MG TC (similar to the one in which he won his 1st race), and the scarce 1959 Corvette Italia, which was instrumental in creating his collaboration with Ford.

Of course, the cars he is best known for are the sexy Cobras. The first one was finished in 1962, model number CSX2000.  Back then, Mr. Shelby designed and built several, now priceless, racing Cobras like the first of five 289FIA models, which won their class at Le Mans, and Mr. Shelby’s Daytona Coupe, the only US vehicle to win FIA World Manufacturers Championship.  Putting an exact value on Carroll original competition versions is next to impossible; experts suggest their worth in the many millions of dollars.

Carrol Shelby sullied forth to manage several racing teams for other Ford-powered race cars, like the 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning GT40 Mark I, laquered with the blue & orange of the Le Mans-winning Gulf Oil team cars.
Only twenty two of these awesome big-block 427 Competition Cobra cars were built before the introduction of the only slightly more tractable Street Competition (S/C) version. Carrol Shelby even created a drag racer; a threatening small-block powered Dragonsnake, which, in its day, outran every vehicle in its class, including the big-block Corvettes.  Carroll painstakingly modded other Ford-powered comp vehicles, like the 1965 GT350 Mustang. One of them was used in the Carroll Shelby School of High Performance Driving.

After making his unmistakable mark in motorsports history with Ford racer cars, he was lured away to create a number of Mopar-powered cars, including the turbocharged GLH (which he claimed stood for “Goes Like Hell”) and the GLHS (“Goes Like Hell Some More”). Only 500 of the latter model were ever made. In the 90′s he also designed a Dodge-powered CAN-AM spec racecar. Eventually, his collaboration with Chrysler resulted in the jaw dropping Dodge Viper.

A crowning achievement in Shelby’s life is the design of the Shelby Series I, powered by an Olds V-8. This association with General Motors and Olds made Shelby the first man ever to be involved in the creation of performance machines for each of the Big Three automakers. To this day, Carroll Shelby continues to be active, overseeing the daily activities of Carroll Shelby International, which designs and engineers high-performance cars. Among its many interests is the ongoing manufacture of quality Shelby Cobras, the legendary sports car that first made Shelby famous over four decades ago.

What is automation? Wikipedia defines it as “the use of control, in concert with other applications of information technology, to control industrial machinery and processes, reducing the need for human intervention.” Sound confusing? Automation is really just what it sounds like. Automating a process so that it requires minimal human interaction. Industrial automation is a large and complex industry. It involves the design and implementation of control systems which control robots, machinery, and other complex systems. All major manufacturing companies use automation to make physical goods. Automation engineering involves building those automation systems.

There are many different components of automation. The brain of an automation system is the PLC, a programmable logic controller. This is essentially a small computer that can be programmed to control a machine. It coordinates with other process control instrumentation to automate a process. The other main components are drives, motors, motion control, industrial controls, and software. These different segments all coordinate and are controlled through the PLC. The major players in this industry are companies like Rockwell Automation and Siemens. They provide all the necessary equipment to control a process.

An automation engineer can be many things but is often someone who assembles the automation components into machinery. Many times the end user will contract this work to a systems integrator. This type of company does nothing but construct automation systems for companies. This process can be extremely detailed and difficult and often requires a large engineering team to complete. Most often automation engineers are degreed in electrical or mechanical engineering. Some colleges may offer automation or control engineering degrees. Many EE programs do offer control courses which specialize in process control and automation.

Automation is still growing as more and more processes are control by robots and machinery than people. This is why its important to keep up with technology if you want to have a successful and lasting career. Assembly line jobs are quickly fading and automated systems take their place. There will always be a need for a certain degree of human interaction, but that degree is shrinking. Most automotive plants, packaging, and assembly is done with automation and process control. Distributed control systems are used in just about any type of industry, no matter how low tech they may seem. In fact just about everything you see is in some way controlled by automation, right down to the traffic lights that you use daily.

Automation and automation engineering are certainly unique and interesting careers. Most people never even consider how things go from raw materials to their doorstep. This is where automation fits in. Everything from your car to your TV is a product of industrial automation and control. As technology grows, so does the automation industry. It’s a great field to be in during these modern times. So if you’re looking for a fun and exciting career move, look into automation jobs. There’s no shortage of openings and the growth potential is large. It’s a great move for any high tech professional.