
27 Vehicle structure
27.1 INTEGRAL BODY CONSTRUCTION
General background
The integration of frame and body functions into an all-
embracing shell is variously known as integral, unitary,
chassisless and originally by the French as monocoque
construction. A significant step towards integral con-
struction was the introduction of the all-steel welded
body, a concept that was developed in America by the
Budd Manufacturing Company for Dodge cars in the
late 1920s. Although a separate chassis frame was still
used, it no longer functioned as the total load-carrying
member.
Integral construction proper was introduced by
Citroen in France during the mi ...