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Plymouth (automobile)

Plymouth was a brand of automobiles produced by Chrysler Corporation and its successor DaimlerChrysler. The brand was launched in 1928 to compete in what was then described as the "low-priced" market segment that was dominated by Chevrolet and Ford. It became a high-volume seller for the automaker until the late 1990s. Plymouth cars were marketed primarily in the United States. The brand was withdrawn from the marketplace in 2001. The Plymouth models that were produced up to then were either discontinued or rebranded as Chrysler or Dodge.

Origins

The Plymouth automobile was introduced at Madison Square Garden on July 7, 1928. It was Chrysler Corporation's first entry in the low-priced field previously dominated by Chevrolet and Ford. Plymouths were initially priced higher than the competition, but offered standard features such as internal expanding hydraulic brakes that Ford and Chevrolet did not provide. Plymouths were originally sold exclusively through Chrysler dealerships, offering a low-cost alternative to the upscale Chrysler-brand cars, listing the 4-door 5-passenger Touring Sedan at US$695. The logo featured a prow view of the ship Mayflower which landed at Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts. However, the inspiration for the Plymouth brand name came from Plymouth binder twine, produced by the Plymouth Cordage Company, also of Plymouth. The name was chosen by Joe Frazer due to the popularity of the twine among farmers.

The origins of Plymouth can be traced back to the Maxwell automobile. When Walter P. Chrysler took over control of the troubled Maxwell-Chalmers car company in the early 1920s, he inherited the Maxwell as part of the package. After he used the company's facilities to help create and launch the six-cylinder Chrysler automobile in 1924, he decided to create a lower-priced companion car, using lessons learned when he was running Buick under William C. Durant at GM. So for 1926, the Maxwell was reworked and rebadged as the low-end four-cylinder Chrysler Model 52. In 1928, the 52 was once again redesigned to create the Chrysler-Plymouth Model Q, although print advertisements called it Plymouth and did not mention engine size or model designation. The "Chrysler" portion of the nameplate was dropped with the introduction of the Plymouth Model U in 1929.

Great Depression, 1930s–1940s

While the original purpose of the Plymouth was to serve the lower end of a booming automobile market, during the Great Depression of the 1930s the division helped significantly in ensuring the survival of the Chrysler Corporation when many other car companies failed. Beginning in 1930, Plymouths were sold by all three Chrysler divisions (Chrysler, DeSoto, and Dodge). Plymouth sales were a bright spot during this dismal automotive period, and by 1931 Plymouth rose to number three in sales among all cars. In 1931 with the Model PA, the company introduced floating power and boasted, "The smoothness of an eight – the economy of a four."

In 1933, Chrysler decided to catch up with Ford, Chevrolet, and Pontiac in engine cylinder count. The 190 CID version of Chrysler's flathead-six engine was equipped with a downdraft carburetor and installed in the new 1933 Plymouth PC, introduced on November 17, 1932. However, Chrysler had reduced the PC's wheelbase from 112 to 107 in, and the car sold poorly. By April 1933, the Dodge division's Model DP chassis, with a 112 in wheelbase, was put under the PC body with DP front fenders, hood, and radiator shell. The model designation was advanced to 'PD'. The PC was redesigned to look similar to the PD and became the 'Standard Six' (PCXX). It had been the 'Plymouth Six' at the introduction and was sold through to the end of 1933, but in much lower numbers. In 1937, Plymouth (along with the other Chrysler makes) added safety features such as flat dashboards with recessed controls and the back of the front seat padded for the rear seat occupants.

The PC was shipped overseas to Sweden, Denmark, and the UK, as well as Australia. In the UK, it was sold as a 'Chrysler Kew', the town of Kew being the location of the Chrysler factory in a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The flathead six which started with the 1933 Model PC stayed in the Plymouth until the 1959 models.

In 1939, Plymouth produced 417,528 vehicles, of which 5,967 were two-door convertible coupes with rumble seats. The 1939 convertible coupe was prominently featured at Chrysler's exhibit at the 1939 New York World's Fair, advertised as the first mass-production convertible with a power-folding top. It featured a 201 CID, 82 hp version of the flathead six engine.

For much of its life, Plymouth was one of the top-selling American automobile brands; it, together with Chevrolet and Ford, was commonly referred to as the "low-priced three" marques in the American market. Plymouth almost surpassed Ford in 1940 and 1941 as the second-most popular make of automobiles in the U.S.

1950s
In 1954, Plymouth offered an optional torque converter mated to a standard three-speed transmission, marketed as "PowerFlite". It improved upon the "Hy-Drive" semiautomatic transmission which had been introduced the previous year. On March 25, 1954, Chrysler officially introduced to the public its first attempt at a turbine-powered car. Chrysler installed an experimental turbine, developed specifically for road vehicles, in a Plymouth. The car used was a standard 1954 Belvedere two-door hardtop. This was the beginning of a decades-long but unsuccessful attempt to develop and market a viable car powered by a turbine engine.

1955 saw Plymouth's dramatic redesign by Chrysler stylist Virgil Exner. Longer, lower, wider, it was a sensation and sales zoomed up 52% over 1954. In addition to the "Forward Look" styling, the new car got its first modern, overhead-valve V8 displacing 241 CID. The optional PowerFlite fully automatic transmission had a selector lever on the instrument panel.

In 1956, Plymouth introduced the Fury, a "halo" model in the Belvedere series that featured a high-performance 240-hp 303 CID V8, and gold-anodized trim on a body available in Eggshell White only and limited to the two-door hardtop. The Fury continued to be a special, high-end car until 1959, when it replaced the Belvedere as the de luxe series, available in hardtop, convertible, and sedan body styles. The 1957 and 1958 Furys were painted in Buckskin Beige, replacing Eggshell White as the only available exterior color. Optional equipment included air conditioning, automatic transmission, power steering, and brakes. In 1959, a special Sport Fury was available as the "special" sporty Plymouth. The PowerFlite automatic was now controlled by reliable mechanical push buttons on a pod on the left side of the dash.

In 1957, Virgil Exner's new Forward Look design theme, advertised by Plymouth with the tagline "Suddenly, it's 1960", produced cars with advanced styling compared to Chevrolet or Ford. The 1957 total production soared to 726,009, about 200,000 more than 1956, and the largest output yet for Plymouth. However, the 1957–1958 Forward Look models suffered from poor materials, spotty build quality, and inadequate corrosion protection; they were rust-prone and greatly damaged Chrysler's reputation.

1960s
Although Plymouth sales suffered as a result of the quality control problems and excesses of the Exner-styled models in the early 1960s, people bought enough of the cars to keep the division profitable. Starting in 1961, the Valiant compact became a Plymouth, further boosting sales. Under the impression that Chevrolet was about to "downsize" its 1962 models, Chrysler introduced a significantly smaller standard Plymouth for 1962. As is known, Chevrolet's big cars were not downsized, catching Plymouth in a sales slump in a market where "bigger was better". The 1963 Fury, Belvedere, and Savoy were slightly larger, featuring a totally new body style, highlighted by prominent outboard front parking lights. For 1964, Plymouth got another major restyle, featuring a new "slantback" roofline for hardtop coupes that would prove popular. For 1965, the Plymouth Fury models were built on the new C-body platform. The Savoy line was discontinued and the Belvedere was classified as an intermediate, retaining the B-body platform used starting 1962. The low-end series was Fury I, the mid-level model was Fury II, and the higher-end models were Fury IIIs. The Sport Fury, which featured bucket seats and a console shifter, was a mix of luxury and sport. Ford and Chevrolet had introduced luxury editions of their big cars for 1965 and Plymouth responded with the 1966 Sport Fury with a 383 CID V8 and the VIP was introduced as a more luxurious version of the Fury. Furys, Belvederes, and Valiants continued to sell well during the late-1960s and early-1970s. While Fury I and Fury II were only available in the U.S. as sedans, Fury II was available as a two-door hardtop in addition to the pillared sedans in Canada.

The performance car market segment expanded during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The 1964 Barracuda fastback is considered the first of Plymouth's sporty cars. Based on the Valiant, it was available with the Slant Six, or 273 CID small block V8. For 1967, Plymouth introduced the Belvedere GTX, a bucket-seat high-style hardtop coupe and convertible that could be ordered with either the "Super Commando" 440 CID or Hemi 426 CID V8 engines. Looking for an advantage at the drag races, 1968 had a stripped-down Belvedere coupe, the Road Runner, which featured a bench seat and minimal interior and exterior trim, but was available with Chrysler's big-block engines and a floor-mounted four-speed manual transmission. The Barracuda, originally a "compact sporty car", became available with the 426 Hemi and 440 big-block engines in 1968. The GTX, Barracuda, Road Runner, Sport Fury GT, and Valiant Duster 340, were marketed by Plymouth as the 'Rapid Transit System', which was similar to Dodge's 'Scat Pack' concept. During this time, the brand also competed in professional automobile racing. Examples include Richard Petty's career with Plymouth in NASCAR; Dan Gurney, who raced a 'Cuda as part of the All American Racers in numerous Trans Am events; and Sox and Martin, one of the most well-known drag-racing teams of the period, only raced Plymouths after 1964.

1970s

By the 1970s, emissions and safety regulations, along with soaring gasoline prices and an economic downturn, meant demand dropped for all muscle-type models. As with other American vehicles of the time, there was a progressive decrease in the Barracuda's performance. To meet increasingly stringent safety and exhaust emission regulations, big-block engine options were discontinued. The remaining engines were detuned year by year to reduce exhaust emissions, which also reduced their power output. There was also an increase in weight as bumpers became larger and, starting in 1970, E-body doors were equipped with heavy steel side-impact protection beams. Higher fuel prices and performance-car insurance surcharges deterred many buyers as the interest in high-performance cars waned. Sales of pony cars were on the decline. Sales had dropped dramatically after 1970, and while 1973 showed a sales uptick, Barracuda production ended April 1, 1974, ten years to the day after it had begun. The redesign for the 1970 Barracuda removed all its previous commonality with the Valiant. The original fastback design was deleted from the line and the Barracuda now consisted of coupe and convertible models. The all-new model, styled by John E. Herlitz, was built on a shorter, wider version of Chrysler's existing B platform, called the E-body. Sharing this platform was the newly launched Dodge Challenger; however, no exterior sheet metal interchanged between the two cars, and the Challenger, at 110 in, had a wheelbase that was 2 in longer than the Barracuda.

The E-body Barracuda was now "able to shake the stigma of 'economy car'." Three versions were offered for 1970 and 1971: the base Barracuda (BH), the luxury oriented Gran Coupe (BP), and the sport model 'Cuda (BS). Beginning mid-year 1970, and ending with the 1971 model, there also was the Barracuda Coupe (A93), a low-end model that included the 198 CID Slant Six as a base engine, lower-grade interior, and (like other Coupe series Chrysler Corp. offered that year) had fixed quarter glass instead of roll-down rear passenger windows. The high-performance models were marketed as 'Cuda deriving from the 1969 option. The E-body's engine bay was larger than that of the previous A-body, facilitating the release of Chrysler's 426 CID Hemi for the regular retail market.

For 1970 and 1971, the Barracuda and Barracuda Gran Coupe had two six-cylinder engines available — a new 198 CID version of the slant-6, and the 225 — as well as three different V8s: a 318 CID, as well as a 383 CID with a two-barrel carburetor and single exhaust and with a four-barrel carburetor and dual exhaust producing 330 hp SAE gross. The Cuda had the 383ci 335 hp SAE gross (same as Dodge's 383 Magnum) as the standard engine. Optional were the 440 CID with four-barrel carburetor "Super Commando" or the six-barrel "Super Commando Six Pak" as well as the 426 CID Hemi. The 440- and Hemi-equipped cars received upgraded suspension components and structural reinforcements to help transfer the power to the road.

In 1970, the power plant options offered to the customer were: Other Barracuda options included decal sets, hood modifications, and unusual "high impact" colors.
 * 1) 275 hp (200 kW) SAE gross in the 340-4V.
 * 2) 335 hp SAE gross in the high performance 383-4V,
 * 3) 375 hp SAE gross in the 440-4V,
 * 4) 390 hp SAE gross in the 440-6V, and
 * 5) 425 hp SAE gross in the 426-8V.

The compact Valiant sold well and built a reputation for attractive styling, durability, economy, and value. Although the Valiant hardtop was discontinued for 1967, it was reintroduced as a virtual clone of the Dodge Dart Swinger for 1971 under the model name "Valiant Scamp". The Scamp was produced along with the Valiant, Dodge Dart, and Swinger until 1976, when it was replaced with the Volaré. Featuring transverse-mounted torsion bars and a slightly larger body, the Volaré (and its Dodge twin, the Aspen) was an instant sales success. Available as coupe, sedan, or station wagon, the Volaré offered a smoother ride and better handling than the Dart/Valiant, but suffered quality control problems and by 1980, was selling poorly.

Realizing that front-wheel drive, four-cylinder engines, and rack-and-pinion steering would become the standards for the 1980s, Chrysler introduced a new compact car for 1978, the Plymouth Horizon/Dodge Omni twins, based on a Simca platform. Horizon sold well, but suffered from a scathing report by Consumer Reports, which found its handling dangerous in certain situations. Plymouth continued to sell the Horizon until 1987, when a variety of front-wheel drive compact cars made up the line. Big Plymouths, including the Fury and Gran Fury, were sold until the early 1980s, but mostly as fleet vehicles. While attempting to compete with Ford and Chevrolet for big-car sales, Plymouth was hurt by Chrysler's financial woes in the late 1970s, when both its competitors downsized their full-size models.

1980s
Most Plymouth models, especially those offered from the 1970s onward, such as the Valiant, Volaré, and the Acclaim, were badge-engineered versions of Dodge or Mitsubishi models.

The Plymouth Reliant and Dodge Aries were introduced for the 1981 model year as the first "K-cars" manufactured and marketed by the Chrysler Corporation. The Reliant was available as a 2-door coupe, 4-door sedan, or as a 4-door station wagon, in three different trim lines: base, Custom, and SE ("Special Edition"). Station wagons came only in Custom or SE trim. Unlike many small cars, the K-cars retained the traditional 6-passenger 2-bench seat with a column shifter seating arrangement favored by many Americans. The Reliant was powered by a then-new 2.2 L I4 SOHC engine, with a Mitsubishi "Silent Shaft" 2.6 L as an option (curiously this engine also featured hemispherical combustion chambers, and all 1981 models equipped with it featured "HEMI" badges on the front fenders). Initial sales were brisk, with both Reliant and Aries each selling over 150,000 units in 1981. As rebadged variants, the Reliant and Aries were manufactured in Newark, Delaware, Detroit, Michigan, and Toluca, Mexico — in a single generation. After their introduction, the Reliant and Aries were marketed as the "Reliant K" and "Aries K".

The Reliant replaced the Plymouth Volaré/Road Runner. The Aries replaced the Dodge Aspen. The Reliant and Aries were classified by the EPA as mid-size and were the smallest cars to have 6-passenger seating with a 3-seat per row setup, similar to larger rear-wheel drive cars such as the Dodge Dart and other front-wheel drive cars such as the Chevrolet Celebrity. Chrysler marketed the car as being able to seat "six Americans." The Aries was sold as the Dart in Mexico. The Reliant and Aries were selected together as Motor Trend magazine's Car of the Year for 1981 and sold almost a million Aries and 1.1 million Reliant units over the nine-year run.

In 1982, Plymouth downsized the Gran Fury again, this time sharing the mid-size M platform with the Chrysler Fifth Avenue (called Chrysler New Yorker/New Yorker Fifth Avenue for 1982 and 1983) and the Dodge Diplomat. In addition to the R-body Gran Fury, the M-body Gran Fury replaced the M-body Chrysler LeBaron, which had moved to the compact K platform that year. Now considered a mid-sized car, this generation Gran Fury was close to the exterior size of what was once the compact Valiant and Volaré but offered more interior room. The M-body was in fact heavily based on the Volaré's F platform. Like its predecessor, the 1982 Gran Fury was introduced later than its Chrysler and Dodge siblings; the Chrysler LeBaron and Dodge Diplomat had used the M-body since 1977. 1982-1989 Plymouth Gran Furys shared the Dodge Diplomat's front and rear fascias. They were virtually identical with the exception of badging. Once again, the third generation Gran Fury was available in base and higher-end "Salon" trim. As in previous years, the higher-volume Gran Fury base model catered more towards fleet customers while Gran Fury Salons were geared more towards private customers and offered options such as full vinyl roofs, velour upholstery, turbine-spoke wheels, power windows, and power locks. Although available to private retail customers, the M-body Gran Fury was far more popular with police departments and other fleet customers, primarily since the car was reasonably priced and had a conventional drivetrain with proven components that could withstand a good deal of abuse. This generation of the Gran Fury sold in respectable numbers. However, despite having the same base prices as the Gran Fury (just under $12,000 USD for their final year), the Diplomat always outsold it, usually by several thousand units each year. The Chrysler Fifth Avenue's total sales were always more than that of the Gran Fury and Diplomat by far, even though it generally cost about $6,000 more. This was the last car to carry the Gran Fury nameplate, but it remained largely unchanged for its 7-year run. Declining sales, a lack of promotion, and technical obsolescence—the platform dated back to the 1976 Plymouth Volare and Dodge Aspen—eventually contributed to the model's demise in early 1989. That year, a driver-side airbag became standard; this would be the last RWD Plymouth until the introduction of the Prowler. While Dodge offered the 1990 Monaco, and later the 1993 Intrepid, Chrysler never replaced the Gran Fury with any other large car in the remainder of Plymouth's lineup on through to its demise in the 2001 model year.

In 1984, Chrysler marketed the rebadged Plymouth variant of its new minivan as the Voyager, using the Chrysler's S platform, derived from the K-platform (Plymouth Reliant and Dodge Aries). The Voyager shared components with the K-cars including portions of the interior, e.g., the Reliant's instrument cluster and dashboard controls, along with the K-platform front-wheel drive layout and low floor, giving the Voyager a car-like ease of entry. The Voyager was on Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list for 1985.

For 1987, the Voyager received minor cosmetic updates as well as the May 1987 introduction of the Grand Voyager, which was built on a longer wheelbase adding more cargo room. It was available only with SE or LE trim. First-generation Voyager minivans were offered in three trim levels: an unnamed base model, mid-grade SE, and high-end LE, the latter bearing simulated woodgrain paneling. A sportier LX model was added in 1989, sharing much of its components with the Caravan ES. Safety features included 3-point seat belts for the front two passengers and lap belts for the rear passengers. Standard on all Voyagers were legally mandated side-impact reinforcements for all seating front and rear outboard positions, but airbags or ABS were not available. Notably, the Voyager, along with the Dodge Caravan, are considered to be the first mass-produced vehicles to have dedicated built-in cup holders. Original commercials for the 1984 Voyager featured magician Doug Henning as a spokesperson to promote the Voyager "Magic Wagon's" versatility, cargo space, low step-in height, passenger volume, and maneuverability. Later commercials in 1989 featured rock singer Tina Turner. Canadian commercials in 1990 featured pop singer Celine Dion.

For 1987, which was the Sundance's first year, it was available in a single base model. For 1988, a higher-end RS model was available. The RS model, which stood for Rally Sport, came with standard features that included two-tone paint, fog lights, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. It was also available with a turbocharged 2.2 L I4 engine, and other amenities like an Infinity sound system, tinted window glass, and dual power mirrors. For 1991, the base model split into two distinct models: entry-level America and mid-level Highline, in addition to the high-end RS. The stripped-down America had previously been offered for the Plymouth Horizon's final year in 1990.

The AA-body cars were badge-engineered triplets, as were most Chrysler products of this time. The Acclaim differed from its siblings primarily in wheel choices, bodyside molding, and fascias where it sported its unique taillights and the corporate Plymouth eggcrate-grille. Like the K-body and E-body vehicles they replaced, the Acclaim and Dodge Spirit were both marketed as mainstream variants, while the Chrysler LeBaron was marketed as the luxury variant. Despite this, there was substantial overlap in trims and equipment among each car. For example, a fully loaded Acclaim was almost similar to a base LeBaron in features and price.

In addition to its entry-level base model, the Acclaim was initially available in mid-range LE and high-end LX trim. The LE and LX models came equipped with features such as premium cloth seating, power windows/door locks, premium sound systems, bodyside cladding, additional exterior brightwork, and on the latter 15-inch lace-spoke aluminum wheels. In spite of this, the base model accounted for nearly 85 percent of Acclaim sales. Unlike the Spirit, the Acclaim did not receive any sport-oriented models. The Acclaim has also been characterized as the replacement for the smaller Reliant,  though the Sundance launched in 1987 is closer than the Acclaim in most dimensions to the Reliant.

Final years: 1990s–2001
By the 1990s, Plymouth had lost much of its identity, as its models continued to overlap in features and prices with its sister brands, Dodge and Eagle. Chrysler attempted to remedy this by repositioning Plymouth to its traditional target market as the automaker's entry-level brand. This included giving Plymouth its own new sailboat logo and advertisements that focused solely on value. However, this only further narrowed Plymouth's product offerings and buyer appeal, and sales continued to fall.

Chrysler considered giving Plymouth a variant of the highly successful new-for-1993 full-size LH platform, which would have been called the Accolade, but decided against it. By the late 1990s, only four vehicles were sold under the Plymouth name: the Voyager/Grand Voyager minivans, the Breeze mid-size sedan, the Neon compact car, and the Prowler sports car, which was to be the last model unique to Plymouth, though the Chrysler PT Cruiser was conceived as a concept unique to Plymouth before production commenced as a Chrysler model.

After discontinuing the Eagle brand in 1998, Chrysler was planning to expand the Plymouth line with a number of unique models before the corporation's merger with Daimler-Benz AG. The first model was the Plymouth Prowler, a hot rod-styled sports car. The PT Cruiser was to have been the second. Both models had similar front-end styling, suggesting Chrysler intended a retro styling theme for the Plymouth brand. At the time of Daimler's takeover of Chrysler, Plymouth had no models besides the Prowler not also offered in a similar version by Dodge.

From a peak production of 973,000 for the 1973 model year, Plymouth rarely exceeded 200,000 cars per year after 1990. Even the Voyager sales were usually less than 50% of that of the Dodge Caravan. In Canada, the Plymouth name was defunct at the end of the 1999 model year. Consequently, DaimlerChrysler decided to drop the make after a limited run of 2001 models. This was announced on November 3, 1999.

The last new model sold under the Plymouth marque was the second-generation Neon for 2000. The PT Cruiser was ultimately launched as a Chrysler, and the Prowler and Voyager were absorbed into that make, as well. Following the 2001 model year, the Neon was sold only as a Dodge in the US, though it remained available as a Chrysler in Canadian and other markets. The Plymouth Breeze was dropped after 2000, before Chrysler introduced their redesigned 2001 Dodge Stratus and Chrysler Sebring sedan.

Timeline

 * 1955: Plymouth first offered a V8 engine. Plymouth and the other Chrysler divisions received "The New 100-Million Dollar Look".
 * 1956: The automatic three-speed TorqueFlite transmission was introduced on some premium models. The Plymouth Fury was introduced.
 * 1957: As with all other Chrysler divisions, the Forward Look design made its debut on the 1957 Plymouths. Torsion-Aire front suspension was introduced on all models.
 * 1960: Dodge introduced the smaller, lower-priced Dart model that competed directly with Plymouth's offerings. The new compact Valiant was introduced as a marque unto itself. All Plymouths now featured unit-body construction. A new base "Slant-6" engine was introduced with a 30-degree slant and overhead valves.
 * 1961: Valiant was repositioned as a Plymouth model for the US market; Dodge got the badge-engineered Lancer version. Rambler and then Pontiac assumed third place in industry sales for the remainder of the 1960s.
 * 1962: Sales dropped dramatically with the introduction of a line of unpopularly styled, downsized full-sized models.
 * 1963: Valiant received a new, trim body resulting in a significant increase in sales. Full-sized models were restyled to look larger.
 * 1964: The new Barracuda fastback coupe was introduced in April. Full-sized models were restyled with a new "slantback" hardtop coupe roofline.
 * 1965: Plymouth rejoined the full-sized car market with the new Fury, based on the Chrysler C-body. The intermediate B-body model line became the Belvedere and Satellite for 1965. Push-button automatic transmission controls were replaced with a conventional column- or floor-mounted lever.
 * 1967: The GTX was introduced.
 * 1968: The Road Runner entered the Plymouth line-up.
 * 1970: Duster coupe was introduced in the Valiant line for 1970 as well as the new E-body Barracuda.
 * 1971: The British Hillman Avenger was imported as the Plymouth Cricket; it was discontinued in mid-1973. The new Valiant Scamp two-door hardtop was a badge-engineered Dodge Dart Swinger.
 * 1973: Plymouth production hit an all-time peak of 973,000. The Plymouth Cricket in Canada was now based on the Dodge Colt.
 * 1974: The full-sized Plymouth Voyager van, based on the similar Dodge B-series van, and Trail Duster SUV, based on the Dodge Ramcharger, were introduced. The Dodge Dart and Plymouth Valiant were, for the first time, different only in name and minor trim details (grille and tail lamps) as the two cars now shared the same 111-inch wheelbase (both divisions' fastbacks remain 108 in). The Barracuda was discontinued 10 years to the day it began production on April 1.
 * 1975: The car that was to become the 1975 Plymouth Sebring was instead released as the new Chrysler Cordoba.
 * 1976: The Volaré was launched, and the Valiant was discontinued at year-end.
 * 1977: The large Gran Fury was discontinued.
 * 1978: The mid-sized Fury was discontinued at the end of the model year. The subcompact Horizon was introduced. Chrysler Canada introduced the Plymouth Caravelle based on the Dodge Diplomat.
 * 1979–1980: Chrysler made several thousand more Dodges than Plymouths for the first time (404,266 to 372,449 in 1979 and 308,638 to 290,974 in 1980). More Plymouths would be made than Dodges for 1981 and 1982, but from then on, there would always be more Dodges made than Plymouths.
 * 1980: The Newport-based Gran Fury (R-body) was introduced. This was the last year for the Volaré and Road Runner.
 * 1981: The Plymouth Reliant K was introduced. The full-sized Gran Fury sedan and Trail Duster SUV were discontinued.
 * 1982: The mid-sized Plymouth Gran Fury, a Dodge Diplomat with a Plymouth grille, was introduced in the United States.
 * 1983: The subcompact Plymouth Scamp pickup, based on the Dodge Rampage, was introduced and sold for one year only. The Caravelle four-door sedan based on the E-body and a two-door coupe based on the K-body were introduced in Canada. The sporty subcompact Horizon TC3 was renamed Turismo. The full-sized Voyager van was discontinued.
 * 1984: The Voyager minivan and Mitsubishi-based Colt Vista multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) were introduced.
 * 1985: The E-body Plymouth Caravelle was introduced in the United States.
 * 1987: The compact P-body Plymouth Sundance entered the line-up with three- and five-door hatchbacks. The Turismo was discontinued, and the five-door Horizon was rebranded "Horizon America" with the most popular options made standard equipment with the less-popular ones dropped, along with a substantial price cut.
 * 1987.5: The Grand Voyager, an extended wheelbase version of the preexisting Voyager, is introduced.
 * 1989: The mid-sized Gran Fury (Caravelle in Canada), as well as the Reliant, were discontinued after this model year. The Reliant and E-body Caravelle are replaced by the Acclaim.
 * 1990: The Mitsubishi-based Plymouth Laser sport-compact was introduced. The L-body Horizon was discontinued.
 * 1991: The second generation of the Voyager/Grand Voyager is introduced.
 * 1992: The higher-priced Acclaim models were repositioned as entry trim Chrysler LeBarons. Total sales of Acclaim and LeBaron dropped. Total 1993 Plymouth model-year production dropped to 159,775, along with 237,875 Voyager models. Dodge built 300,666 Caravans alone, and 263,539 non-Caravan models.
 * 1994: The little-advertised Laser and the popular Sundance and Colt compacts all end production. They are replaced by a single car, the Neon, a car that Chrysler decided to offer as a Plymouth after dealers protested the loss of the Sundance and Colt with no replacement.
 * 1995: Plymouth's lineup was at its all-time low, with just three cars: the Acclaim, the Neon, and the Voyager/Grand Voyager. The number went up to four in 1997, with the introduction of the Prowler, but never got any higher.
 * 1996: Chrysler announced the new Plymouth Breeze six months after sister Dodge Stratus and Chrysler Cirrus models. Chrysler originally had no plans to replace the Acclaim model. In an attempt to move Plymouth downmarket, Chrysler made the redesigned Voyager only available in base and mid-level SE models. All of the higher-end trim levels available on the previous generation were now only found on the Dodge Caravan. The high-end trim levels could still be found in certain markets outside the US.
 * 1997: Production for the 1997 model year was 178,807 cars plus 187,347 Voyager models. Dodge built 448,394 cars and 355,400 Caravans.
 * 1999: Total 1999 production for Plymouth cars was 195,714 with Dodge at 394,052. Voyager production numbered 197,020, compared to 354,641 Caravans. The redesigned 2000 Neon became the brand's last new model.
 * 2000: The mid-sized Breeze ended production. This was also the last year for the Voyager minivan as a Plymouth. All 2000 Voyagers built in December 1999 and beyond were badged as Chrysler Voyagers. In Canada, the redesigned Neon was sold under the Chrysler name and both the Plymouth and Dodge names were dropped on all car models, save for the Prowler and Viper. The Voyager name was dropped in Canada as all Chrysler dealers sold Dodge trucks, including the Caravan. Total 2000 model year production for Plymouth was 108,546 compared to 459,988 Dodge cars. Voyager production totaled 123,869 versus 330,370 Caravan models.
 * 2001: In Plymouth's final model year, only the Neon remained. The Prowler and the Voyager became Chryslers. The Voyager gained a high-end LX trim, as well as a base eC trim, and it retained the SE trim. The Breeze was dropped as Chrysler issued the Chrysler Sebring sedan to replace the Chrysler Cirrus. The PT Cruiser was launched as a Chrysler, though it was originally planned to be a Plymouth. The final Plymouth, a Neon, was assembled on June 28, 2001, at the Belvidere Assembly Plant, with a total of 38,657 built for the model year.

Plymouth car models

 * Plymouth Model 30U (1930)
 * Plymouth Acclaim (1989–1995)
 * Plymouth Arrow (1976–1980, rebadged Mitsubishi Lancer Celeste)
 * Plymouth Arrow Truck (1979–1982, rebadged Mitsubishi Forte)
 * Plymouth Barracuda (1964–1974)
 * Plymouth Belvedere (1954–1970)
 * Plymouth Breeze (1996–2000)
 * Plymouth Business (1935–1938)
 * Plymouth Caravelle (1985–1988)
 * Plymouth Cambridge (1951–1953)
 * Plymouth Champ (1979–1982, rebadged Mitsubishi Mirage)
 * Plymouth Colt (1983–1994, rebadged Mitsubishi Mirage)
 * Plymouth Colt Vista (1984–1994, rebadged Mitsubishi Chariot)
 * Plymouth Commercial Car (1937–1941)
 * Plymouth Concord (1951–1952)
 * Plymouth Conquest (1984–1986, rebadged Mitsubishi Starion)
 * Plymouth Cranbrook (1951–1953)
 * Plymouth Cricket (1971–1975, rebadged Hillman Avenger)
 * Plymouth Deluxe (1933–1942, 1946–1950)
 * Plymouth Special Deluxe (1941–1942, 1946–1950)
 * Plymouth Duster (1970–1976)
 * Plymouth Fury (1956–1978)
 * Plymouth Sport Fury (1959, 1962–1971)
 * Plymouth VIP (1966–1969)
 * Plymouth Gran Fury (1975–1977, 1980–1989)
 * Plymouth Grand Voyager (1987–2000)
 * Plymouth GTX (1967–1971)
 * Plymouth Horizon (1978–1990)
 * Plymouth Laser (1990–1994, rebadged Mitsubishi Eclipse)
 * Plymouth Model PA (1931)
 * Plymouth Model Q (1928)
 * Plymouth Model U (1929)
 * Plymouth Neon (1994–2001)
 * Plymouth Plaza (1954–1958)
 * Plymouth Prowler (1997 and 1999–2001)
 * Plymouth Reliant (1981–1989)
 * Plymouth Roadking (1938–1941)
 * Plymouth Road Runner (1968–1975)
 * Plymouth Sapporo (1978–1983, rebadged Mitsubishi Galant Lambda)
 * Plymouth Satellite (1966–1974)
 * Plymouth Savoy (1951–1964)
 * Plymouth Scamp (1983)
 * Plymouth Six (1934)
 * Plymouth Special Six (1934)
 * Plymouth Standard (1933, 1935)
 * Plymouth Sundance (1987–1994)
 * Plymouth Suburban (1949–1961)
 * Plymouth Superbird (1970)
 * Plymouth TC3 (1979–1982)
 * Plymouth Trail Duster (1974–1981)
 * Plymouth Turismo (1983–1987)
 * Plymouth Valiant (1960–1976)
 * Plymouth Scamp (1971-1976)
 * Plymouth Volaré (1976–1980)
 * Plymouth Road Runner (1976–1980)
 * Plymouth Voyager (1974–2000)

Plymouth trucks
Plymouth built various trucks and vans over the years, mainly rebadged Dodge or Chrysler vehicles. Early pickups, delivery trucks, and other commercial trucks were available, and later an SUV, full-sized vans, and minivans. Plymouth had supplied components to the Fargo vehicles, another member of the Chrysler family, but entered the commercial market in 1937 with the PT50.

Truck models

 * Plymouth PT50 - 1937 - Express pickup, panel delivery van, cab, and chassis, as well as station wagon
 * Plymouth PT57 - 1938 - Express pickup, panel delivery van, cab, and chassis
 * Plymouth PT81 - 1939 - Express pickup, cab, and chassis
 * Plymouth PT105 - 1940 - Express pickup
 * Plymouth PT125 - 1941 - Express pickup
 * Plymouth Trail Duster - 1974-1981 - SUV, same as Dodge Ramcharger
 * Plymouth Voyager (van) - 1974-1983 - full-sized van, same as Dodge Sportsman
 * Plymouth Scamp - 1983 - front-wheel-drive pickup, same as Dodge Rampage
 * Plymouth Voyager (minivan) - 1984-2000 - minivan, same as Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country; also sold as Chrysler Voyager from 1999 to 2003
 * Plymouth Arrow Truck - 1979-1982 - compact pickup built by Mitsubishi

title: Plymouth (automobile)


text:
2 + 2 = 5

2 + 2 = 5 or two plus two equals five is a mathematical falsehood which is used as an example of a simple logical error that is obvious to anyone familiar with basic arithmetic.

The phrase has been used in various contexts since 1728, and is best known from the 1949 dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell.

As a theme and as a subject in the arts, the anti-intellectual slogan 2 + 2 = 5 pre-dates Orwell and has produced literature, such as Deux et deux font cinq (Two and Two Make Five), written in 1895 by Alphonse Allais, which is a collection of absurdist short stories; and the 1920 imagist art manifesto 2 × 2 = 5 by the poet Vadim Shershenevich.

Self-evident truth and self-evident falsehood
In the 17th century, in the Meditations on First Philosophy, in which the Existence of God and the Immortality of the Soul are Demonstrated (1641), René Descartes said that the standard of truth is self-evidence of clear and distinct ideas. Despite the logician Descartes' understanding of "self-evident truth", the philosopher Descartes considered that the self-evident truth of "two plus two equals four" might not exist beyond the human mind; that there might not exist correspondence between abstract ideas and concrete reality.

In establishing the mundane reality of the self-evident truth of 2 + 2 = 4, in De Neutralibus et Mediis Libellus (1652) Johann Wigand said: "That twice two are four; a man may not lawfully make a doubt of it, because that manner of knowledge is grauen [graven] into mannes [man's] nature."

In the comedy-of-manners play Dom Juan, or The Feast with the Statue (1665), by Molière, the libertine protagonist, Dom Juan, is asked in what values he believes, and answers that he believes "two plus two equals four".

In the 18th century, the self-evident falsehood of 2 + 2 = 5 was attested in the Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (1728), by Ephraim Chambers: "Thus, a Proposition would be absurd, that should affirm, that two and two make five; or that should deny 'em to make four." In 1779, Samuel Johnson likewise said that "You may have a reason why two and two should make five, but they will still make but four."

In the 19th century, in a personal letter to his future wife, Anabella Milbanke, Lord Byron said: "I know that two and two make four—& should be glad to prove it, too, if I could—though I must say if, by any sort of process, I could convert 2 & 2 into five, it would give me much greater pleasure."

In Gilbert and Sullivan's Princess Ida (1884), the Princess comments that "The narrow-minded pedant still believes/That two and two make four! Why, we can prove,/We women—household drudges as we are –/That two and two make five—or three—or seven;/Or five-and-twenty, if the case demands!"

France
In the late 18th century, in the pamphlet What is the Third Estate? (1789), about the legalistic denial of political rights to the common-folk majority of France, Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès, said: "Consequently, if it be claimed that, under the French constitution, 200,000 individuals, out of 26 million citizens, constitute two-thirds of the common will, only one comment is possible: It is a claim that two and two make five."

Using the illogic of "two and two make five", Sieyès mocked the demagoguery of the Estates-General for assigning disproportionate voting power to the political minorities of France—the Clergy (First Estate) and the French nobility (Second Estate)—in relation to the Third Estate, the numeric and political majority of the citizens of France.

In the 19th century, in the novel Séraphîta (1834), about the nature of androgyny, Honoré de Balzac said: "Thus, you will never find, in all Nature, two identical objects; in the natural order, therefore, two and two can never make four, for, to attain that result, we must combine units that are exactly alike, and you know that it is impossible to find two leaves alike on the same tree, or two identical individuals in the same species of tree.

That axiom of your numeration, false in visible nature, is false likewise in the invisible universe of your abstractions, where the same variety is found in your ideas, which are the objects of the visible world extended by their interrelations; indeed, the differences are more striking there than elsewhere."

In the pamphlet "Napoléon le Petit" (1852), about the limitations of the Second French Empire (1852–1870), such as majority political support for the monarchist coup d'Ḗtat, which installed Napoleon III (r. 1852–1870), and the French peoples' discarding from national politics the liberal values that informed the anti-monarchist Revolution, Victor Hugo said: "Now, get seven million, five hundred thousand votes to declare that two-and-two-make-five, that the straight line is the longest road, that the whole is less than its part; get it declared by eight millions, by ten millions, by a hundred millions of votes, you will not have advanced a step."

In The Plague (1947), French philosopher Albert Camus declared that times came in history when those who dared to say that 2 + 2 = 4 rather than 2 + 2 = 5 were put to death.

Russia
In the late 19th century, the Russian press used the phrase 2 + 2 = 5 to describe the moral confusion of social decline at the turn of a century, because political violence characterised much of the ideological conflict among proponents of humanist democracy and defenders of tsarist autocracy in Russia. In The Reaction in Germany (1842), Mikhail Bakunin said that the political compromises of the French Positivists, at the start of the July Revolution (1830), confirmed their middle-of-the-road mediocrity: "The Left says, 2 times 2 are 4; the Right, 2 times 2 are 6; and the Juste-milieu says, 2 times 2 are 5".

In Notes from Underground (1864), by Feodor Dostoevsky, the anonymous protagonist accepts the falsehood of "two plus two equals five", and considers the implications (ontological and epistemological) of rejecting the truth of "two times two makes four", and proposed that the intellectualism of free will—Man's inherent capability to choose or to reject logic and illogic—is the cognitive ability that makes humanity human: "I admit that twice two makes four is an excellent thing, but, if we are to give everything its due, twice two makes five is sometimes a very charming thing, too."

In the literary vignette "Prayer" (1881), Ivan Turgenev said that: "Whatever a man prays for, he prays for a miracle. Every prayer reduces itself to this: 'Great God, grant that twice two be not four'." In God and the State (1882), Bakunin dismissed deism: "Imagine a philosophical vinegar sauce of the most opposed systems, a mixture of Fathers of the Church, scholastic philosophers, Descartes and Pascal, Kant and Scottish psychologists, all this a superstructure on the divine and innate ideas of Plato, and covered up with a layer of Hegelian immanence, accompanied, of course, by an ignorance, as contemptuous as it is complete, of natural science, and proving, just as two times two make five, the existence of a personal god." Moreover, the slogan "two plus two equals five", is the title of the collection of absurdist short stories Deux et deux font cinq (Two and Two Make Five, 1895), by Alphonse Allais; and the title of the imagist art manifesto 2 x 2 = 5 (1920), by the poet Vadim Shershenevich.

In 1931, the artist Yakov Guminer supported Stalin's shortened production schedule for the economy of the Soviet Union with a propaganda poster that announced the "Arithmetic of an Alternative Plan: 2 + 2 plus the Enthusiasm of the Workers = 5" after Stalin's announcement, in 1930, that the first five-year plan (1928–1933) instead would be completed in 1932, in four years' time.

George Orwell

In Orwell's 1984, it appears as a possible statement of Ingsoc (English Socialism) philosophy. The Party (i.e. a political party) slogan "War Is Peace, Freedom Is Slavery, Ignorance Is Strength", is a dogma which the Party expects the citizens of Oceania to believe is true. In writing his secret diary in the year 1984, the protagonist Winston Smith ponders if the Inner Party might declare that "two plus two equals five" is a fact. Smith further ponders whether or not belief in such a consensus reality makes the lie true. About the falsity of "two plus two equals five", in the Ministry of Love, the interrogator O'Brien tells the thought criminal Smith that control over physical reality is unimportant to the Party, provided the citizens of Oceania subordinate their real-world perceptions to the political will of the Party; and that, by way of doublethink: "Sometimes, Winston. [Sometimes it is four fingers.] Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three. Sometimes they are all of them at once".

George Orwell used the idea of 2 + 2 = 5 in an essay of January 1939 in The Adelphi; "Review of Power: A New Social Analysis by Bertrand Russell":

"It is quite possible that we are descending into an age in which two plus two will make five when the Leader says so."

In propaganda work for the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) during the Second World War (1939–1945), Orwell applied the illogic of 2 + 2 = 5 to counter the reality-denying psychology of Nazi propaganda, which he addressed in the essay "Looking Back on the Spanish War" (1943), indicating that:

"Nazi theory, indeed, specifically denies that such a thing as "the truth" exists. There is, for instance, no such thing as "Science". There is only "German Science", "Jewish Science", etc. The implied objective of this line of thought is a nightmare world in which the Leader, or some ruling clique, controls not only the future, but the past. If the Leader says of such and such an event, "It never happened"—well, it never happened. If he says that "two and two are five"—well, two and two are five. This prospect frightens me much more than bombs—and, after our experiences of the last few years [the Blitz, 1940–41] that is not a frivolous statement."

In addressing Nazi anti-intellectualism, Orwell's reference might have been Hermann Göring's hyperbolic praise of Adolf Hitler: "If the Führer wants it, two and two makes five!" In the political novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), concerning the Party's philosophy of government for Oceania, Orwell said:

"In the end, the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they should make that claim sooner or later: the logic of their position demanded it. Not merely the validity of experience, but the very existence of external reality, was tacitly denied by their philosophy. The heresy of heresies was common sense. And what was terrifying was not that they would kill you for thinking otherwise, but that they might be right. For, after all, how do we know that two and two make four? Or that the force of gravity works? Or that the past is unchangeable?  If both the past and the external world exist only in the mind, and if the mind itself is controllable—what then?"

Politics and religion
In The Cult of the Amateur: How Today's Internet is Killing Our Culture (2007), the media critic Andrew Keen uses the slogan "two plus two equals five" to criticise the Wikipedia policy allowing any user to edit the encyclopedia — that the enthusiasm of the amateur for user generated content, peer production, and Web 2.0 technology leads to an encyclopedia of common knowledge, and not an encyclopedia of expert knowledge; that the "wisdom of the crowd" will distort what society considers to be the truth.

Former mathematician Kareem Carr has said "If someone says 2+2=5, the correct response is, 'What are your definitions and axioms?' not a rant about the decline of Western civilization".

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: 2 + 2 = 5


text:
1992 Governor General's Awards

Each winner of the 1992 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit received $10,000 and a medal from the Governor General of Canada. The winners were selected by a panel of judges administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.

title: 1992 Governor General's Awards


text:
Alan Jones (racing driver)

Alan Stanley Jones, (born 2 November 1946) is an Australian former Formula One driver. He was the first driver to win a Formula One World Championship with the Williams team, becoming the 1980 World Drivers' Champion and the second Australian to do so following triple World Champion Sir Jack Brabham. He competed in a total of 117 Grands Prix, winning 12 and achieving 24 podium finishes. Jones also won the 1978 Can-Am championship driving a Lola.

Jones is also the last Australian driver to win the Australian Grand Prix, winning the 1980 event at Calder Park Raceway, having lapped the field consisting mostly of Formula 5000 cars while he was driving his Formula One Championship winning Williams FW07B.

Early life and career
Jones attended Xavier College and is the son of Stan Jones, an Australian racing driver and winner of the 1959 Australian Grand Prix, and wanted to follow in his footsteps. Jones initially worked in his father's Holden dealership while racing a Mini and a Cooper. The younger Jones left for Europe in 1967, to make a name for himself, but found that he could not afford even a Formula Ford drive. He therefore returned home but was back in the UK in 1970 and set about building his career in company with compatriot Brian McGuire. The two men bought and sold second-hand cars and Jones was eventually able to afford a Formula Three, Lotus 41 which he intended to adapt to Formula Two specification and take back to Australia to sell, in order to finance a season of Formula Three. However, the machine was written off in a testing accident at Brands Hatch in which Jones suffered a broken leg.

In late 1970, Jones signed with a firm for whom McGuire was working, designed to promote drivers' interests and was selected to compete in a series of races in Brazil. However, in his first two races the engine failed and in the third the gearbox broke, which meant the opportunity ended.

For 1971, Jones campaigned a Brabham BT 28 converted to BT35 specification, in Formula Three and had a moderately successful season which led to a series of tests for March at Silverstone. However, despite the success of the test, Jones was not offered a drive by March and for 1972, drove a GRD in Formula Three. Jones did enough that season to be kept on by GRD for the next year with a new sponsor and only lost the 1973 championship due to a misfiring engine in the last round at Brands Hatch. In 1974, Jones began the season in Formula Atlantic but felt it was a very amateurish effort, but a chance meeting with Harry Stiller led to a drive in the latter's March 74. At the end of the season, Jones made his F5000 debut for Stiller in the final round of the European Championship at Brands Hatch in a Chevron B24/28 owned by John MacDonald. It was planned to enter Formula 5000 for 1975. However, Stiller's initial plans fell through but after some delay, during which Jones was effectively unemployed, Stiller arranged to purchase a Formula One Hesketh 308 and signed Jones to drive the car.

1975–1977: Hesketh, Hill, Surtees and Shadow
His first race was the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix at the fast Montjuïc circuit in the purchased Hesketh although the weekend turned out to be one of the most tragic in Formula One history when Rolf Stommelen's crash caused the death of five spectators. After four races in Formula One the team ceased racing after Stiller moved abroad. However, Jones was named as a replacement for the injured Stommelen in Graham Hill's team. His best finish with Hill, in four races for the team, was fifth at the Nürburgring. He earned his first full-time Formula One drive in 1976, in John Surtees' team. Jones' car was known for its infamous Durex sponsorship which led the BBC refusing to cover Formula One races during the season. He managed several good finishes in the TS19, a fourth in Japan in the final race of the season being the best of them. Jones refused to drive for Surtees in 1977, preferring to sit out a season than continue with the team.

Jones was racing in America when he was signed by the Shadow team as a replacement for Tom Pryce, who had been killed in a freak racing accident in South Africa. He made the most of the opportunity and won at the Österreichring for his maiden victory, finishing seventh in the championship, with 22 points.

1978–1981: Williams
By late 1977, he had caught the attention of Frank Williams as well as Enzo Ferrari. Ferrari had a meeting with him at Maranello, but in the end, Gilles Villeneuve got the drive. Williams, who was looking to rebuild his Formula One racing team. Williams Grand Prix had struggled for success in its first years and after Williams had restarted his team in 1977, Jones was entrusted to give them their first taste of it. As well as Williams, he also signed with Haas-Hall for 1978, and competed in a Lola 333CS in the Can-Am series, winning the title. Jones took nine poles in ten races but missed the Laguna Seca race due to a Formula One scheduling conflict. Stand-in Brian Redman finished twelfth in that race after the kill wire was crimped under a valve cover, resulting in intermittent ignition. Of the nine races in which he competed, Jones won five (Atlanta, Mosport, Road America, Mid-Ohio, and Riverside.) He finished second to Elliot Forbes-Robinson at Charlotte after hitting a chicane and losing a spark plug wire, retired through accident at St Jovite and lost a radiator at Watkins Glen. He finished third at Trois-Rivières after losing a shift fork and being stuck with only second and fifth gears on the tight road circuit. At that race, water-injected brakes were first used in Can-Am, developed by the Haas team and copied with varying degrees of success by others. Jones ran one Can-Am race in 1979 (Mid-Ohio), where he and Keke Rosberg finished 1–2, with Jones winning his last Can-Am start. For Williams, his best result that season was a second-place finish at Watkins Glen. Jones helped put the team on the Formula One map in 1979 using the Williams FW07, after winning four races in the span of five events near the end of the season. Jones finished third in the championship that year, and it was the springboard to an excellent 1980 campaign. Jones's best years in Formula One had just begun, in the middle of the ground-effect era.

Jones won seven races in 1980, although the Spanish Grand Prix was later removed from the championship and the Australian Grand Prix was a non-championship race, so only five counted towards the Championship. Throughout the season he had a car which consistently made the podium, and he achieved ten during the year. At the end of the season he had beaten Nelson Piquet by 13 points in the standings, becoming Australia's first World Champion since Sir Jack Brabham. He had a good chance to repeat his success in 1981, but a very combative relationship with Carlos Reutemann led to an intense rivalry that possibly cost both drivers a chance at the championship. He finished four points behind Piquet for the championship and three behind Reutemann.

After winning the championship in 1980, Jones and Williams competed in the then non-championship Australian Grand Prix at Calder Park in November. Driving his FW07B against a field consisting mostly of Formula 5000's (and Bruno Giacomelli's Alfa Romeo 179), Jones, who had previously finished 4th in the race in 1977 (he was penalised 60 seconds for a jumped start, and officially finished just 20 seconds behind winner Warwick Brown showing that if not for the penalty he would have won by 40 seconds), joined his father Stan as a winner of the Australian Grand Prix.

From 1979 to 1981, Jones was awarded the No.1 driver of the season by the editor of the AUTOCOURSE annual. During his championship year in 1980, the AUTOCOURSE editor awarded Jones the No.1 slot not just because he was World Champion but because in the editor's opinion "Jones extracted every ounce of potential from the Williams FW07 -and more importantly, he did it consistently. All season Jones never gave anything less than his best." In 1981 despite missing the championship, the AUTOCOURSE editor still gave the No.1 driver award to Jones because "in 1981 Alan Jones was outstanding, his racing instincts sharper than ever, his driving aggressive and confident."

Later Formula One career: 1982–1986
Jones announced his retirement after the 1981 season, which he managed to cap with a win in Las Vegas, but came out of retirement for a one-time drive with Arrows in at the United States Grand Prix West at Long Beach where he qualified 12th but retired after 58 laps through driver fatigue. A week later he again drove for Arrows in the non-championship Race of Champions at Brands Hatch where he qualified and finished third behind reigning World Champion Keke Rosberg (Williams) and rookie American driver Danny Sullivan (Tyrrell). This was to be his last drive for the team, a bid to raise enough money to drive in the French Grand Prix the week after the Race of Champions failed which saw Arrows use its regular drivers Marc Surer and Chico Serra (whom Jones had replaced at Long Beach) instead.

During a 2012 Grand Prix Legends interview, Jones revealed that he had been contacted by Ferrari to drive for the team from mid-1982 after the death of Gilles Villeneuve and the injury forced retirement of Didier Pironi. As he was enjoying life back in Australia at the time, Jones did not give them an answer straight away and basically gave them the run around, a move he regrets as it was possible that, as the 1980 World Champion, Ferrari would have wanted to keep him for 1983 when he was looking to make a comeback, which would have seen him drive the car which won the Constructors' Championship in 1983. After taking too long to give them an answer, the Scuderia instead offered the drive to World Champion Mario Andretti who drove the last two races of the 1982 season at Monza and Caesars Palace.

Jones did not compete in Formula One during, though he did drive some World Sportscar Championship races in 1983 and 1984. He made a full-time comeback to F1 late in when Team Haas was created and Jones became the first driver for the team. The American owned and sponsored team was based in England and made its debut at the 1985 Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Jones qualified the new Lola THL1 9.851 seconds slower than pole man Ayrton Senna in his Lotus-Renault and retired after only 6 laps with a blown engine. Jones was joined at Haas in by former Ferrari and Renault works driver Patrick Tambay. The comeback was unsuccessful more due to the Ford V6 engine's lack of power compared to its rivals from Honda, TAG-Porsche, BMW, Ferrari and Renault, than any lack of effort from the team and its drivers.

At the end of the 1986 season after the Haas team lost its sponsorship and ran out of money, Jones retired from Formula One for good having won 12 races, 6 pole positions and one World Championship.

Sports and Touring Car racing
Jones' post Formula One career was initially spasmodic in nature. Briefly in demand for his services as a Touring Car co-driver, he raced occasionally in his home country's biggest endurance race, the Bathurst 1000 but success was elusive. In 1982 he attempted his first full season of racing, driving a Porsche 935 to dominate the 1982 Australian GT Championship. This championship included races against local touring car ace Peter Brock driving Bob Jane's 6.0 litre Chevrolet Monza. The duels between Australia's two biggest motorsport names at the time have often been regarded as some of the best racing seen domestically in Australia. Soon after he made his first failed comeback to Formula One. During 1982 he formed his own touring Car team, combining the resources of V8 Ford Falcon driver Bob Morris and rotary Mazda RX-7 racer Barry Jones into a single two-car team but results were mixed and the exercise dissipated by the end of the season, though Jones and Jones did win the CRC 300 at Amaroo Park in a Mazda RX-7 (Alan Jones was to drive with Bob Morris in the Falcon in the Oran Park 250 endurance race, but elected after the race started to let Morris drive the 100 lap race solo. Morris went on to win the race). 1984 brought a top six finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Kremer Racing, and a top four finish at the Bathurst 1000, again teaming with Warren Cullen in a Holden VK Commodore. Cullen and Jones, who drove the final stint in the race and required pain killing injections after having the steering wheel wrench out of his hands during practice which damaged ligaments in his elbow, were unlucky not to finish 2nd, but a brake problem with the car saw him forced to use more fuel than normal and a late race stop for fuel allowed the Holden Dealer Team VK Commodore of David Parsons and John Harvey to sneak into 2nd and the Mazda RX-7 of Allan Moffat and Gregg Hansford to claim 3rd.

Jones was quickly snapped up as teammate to Colin Bond in Bond's newly formed factory supported Network Alfa touring car team for the 1985 Australian Touring Car Championship driving an underpowered Alfa Romeo GTV6 in Australia's first full year using the international Group A touring car rules. After some giant killing performances in the early rounds of the championship, Jones abandoned his first serious ATCC campaign to make his second Formula One comeback with the Haas Lola team.

Jones joined Kremer Racing for the 1984 24 Hours of Le Mans where he would share a Porsche 956B with 1983 Le Mans winner (and fellow Aussie) Vern Schuppan along with former F1 driver Jean-Pierre Jarier. After dicing for the lead with the pole sitting Lancia LC2 of Bob Wollek and Alessandro Nannini for the first third of the race, damage caused when Schuppan was the innocent victim of a spinning Roger Dorchy, and finally a broken conrod, saw Jones finish his first 24 Hours of Le Mans start in 6th place. Jones had previously driven for the Kremer brothers when he and Schuppan drove a 956 to 5th place in the 1983 1000 km of Silversone. Later in 1984, Jones drove with Schuppan for the factory backed Rothmans Porsche team at the 1000 km of Sandown Park, the final round of the 1984 World Sportscar Championship and the first ever FIA World Championship race to be held in Australia. After Schuppan qualified the Porsche 956B 3rd behind teammates Stefan Bellof and Jochen Mass, Jones started the race and got the jump on the West German pair and had the honour of leading the first lap of the first FIA World Championship race ever held in Australia. Jones and Schuppan eventually finished 9th, 12 laps down on Bellof and Derek Bell after numerous punctures.

On 20 September 1987 at SUGO Jones won a round of All Japan Touring Car Championship driving Toyota Team Tom's, Group A, Toyota Supra MA70 Turbo. Unfortunately the factory backed Supra could not compete, even with the Private Ford Sierras, thus for the remaining two JGTC races he scored only one additional podium on 6 December at Suzuka where he finished 3rd. After returning home again in 1987 his career did not pick up again until a competitive 3rd placing at the 1988 Bathurst 1000 with Colin Bond's team in a Ford Sierra RS500, saw him signed up as full-time number two driver to Tony Longhurst in Longhurst's Frank Gardner run team to drive a Sierra in 1990. The Benson & Hedges sponsored Sierra's were brutally fast but disappointingly fragile and results were again elusive. The team switched to BMW M3 Evolution's in 1991 saw the return of reliability at the cost of speed. Jones took the occasional podium result while Longhurst took two wins against the all-powerful Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R's. A switch to Glenn Seton Racing mid-season in 1992 brought improved results and race wins and he finished runner up to his team leader Glenn Seton as their V8 Ford Falcons dominated the 1993 Australian Touring Car Championship. Jones' reputation as a hard charger was shown in the 1993 ATCC when he was involved in a number of incidents, most notably pushing the Holden Commodore of Mark Skaife off the track at Symmons Plains Raceway before also doing the same to the Holden Racing Team's Commodore driven by Australia's 1987 500cc Grand Prix motorcycle World Champion Wayne Gardner less than half a lap later. Rule changes to make the Commodores more competitive saw the team's dominance fade over the next few years. The 1995 Bathurst 1000 looked to be a high point with a memorable 1–2 finish for their two cars fading into just a second for the car Jones shared with veteran Allan Grice, the pair finishing behind the Holden Commodore of ex-F1 driver Larry Perkins and Russell Ingall (Seton, leading by 5 seconds with just 9 laps remaining, retired with a dead engine).

By this point the team was sundering apart and Jones took the major sponsor (Philip Morris International) to form a new team with engineering brothers Ross and Jim Stone as partners, known commercially as Pack Leader Racing (the Pack Leader name came about as the use of the Peter Jackson cigarette brand was banned following the Australian Government's blanket ban on all cigarette advertising from 1 January 1996). Initially fast, the partnership was fading by 1997 and the Stones bought Jones out, re-badging the team as Stone Brothers Racing. Jones returned to race with Tony Longhurst's Longhurst Racing team again in 1998 by this time his form was fading. From 1999 onwards he no longer raced full-time, driving just the endurance races as a hired gun. His final race was with Dick Johnson Racing, driving into a 7th-placed finish at the 2002 Bathurst 1000.

CART
In August 1985, one month before his return to Formula One at the Italian Grand Prix, Jones' association with Team Haas owner Carl Haas saw him used as a substitute for injured Newman/Haas Racing driver (and World F1 Champion) Mario Andretti in a Champ Car World Series race at Road America in Wisconsin. In his only IndyCar start and showing he had lost none of the speed, skill and determination that took him to the World Championship, Jones drove Andretti's Lola T900-Cosworth to third place behind Jacques Villeneuve Sr. (winner) and Mario's son Michael Andretti (2nd).

A1 Grand Prix
Jones then become involved in the Australian franchise of the A1 Grand Prix as Team Director in 2005 until the series demise in 2010.

Grand Prix Masters
He attempted to race in the Grand Prix Masters World Series at Kyalami in November 2005 but had to pull out before qualifying due to neck pains.

Media
After retiring from F1 for good after 1986, Jones became a commentator with Channel Nine as part of their Formula One coverage in Australia in, a role which lasted until 2002 with change of network rights for Formula 1. This association with Nine saw him hosting F1 telecasts from Nine's Sydney studios working mostly with Darrell Eastlake, but sometimes with former Grand Prix motorcycle World Champion Barry Sheene on 500cc Grand Prix telecasts. Jones also worked as a pit reporter during the Australian Grand Prix where his relationships with those in F1 made it easier for him to obtain relevant information, and also as a pit reporter for Nine's broadcasts of the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

In March 2013, Jones signed with Network Ten as a commentator for their Formula One coverage where he joins regular hosts Matthew White and former MotoGP rider Daryl Beattie.

Author
His autobiography AJ: How Alan Jones Climbed to the top of Formula One has been co-authored with motorsport writer Andrew Clarke was released in August 2017 by Penguin Random House.

Personal life
Jones separated from his wife Beverley in the late 1980s. In 1996 he began a relationship with Amanda Butler Davis and in 2001 their twins, Zara and Jack, were born.

Jones also has a daughter, Camilla, born in 1990.

Jones' adopted son Christian now races in various forms of motorsport.

His eldest daughter, Emma, has two daughters (born 2001 and 2004).

Honours and awards
Jones was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1980 for "service to motor racing" and was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1989.

Jones and his father Stan, along with Graham and Damon Hill, and Keke and Nico Rosberg, are the only father/son combinations to ever win the Australian Grand Prix.

Complete World Sportscar Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
 * Footnotes:

Complete European F5000 Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Non-championship Formula One results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Complete Shellsport International Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

American open-wheel racing
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Complete Can-Am Challenge Cup results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete European Formula Two Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete BMW M1 Procar Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

V8 Supercar Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Asia-Pacific Touring Car Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Complete Bathurst 1000 results
* Super Touring race

Complete Grand Prix Masters results
(key)

title: Alan Jones (racing driver)


text:
Talk:Continuous probability

 * Continuous probability is the field in mathematics which deals with probabilities of continuous distribution. That is, it is based on continuous sets.

As a mathematician, I would like to know what you mean by a "continuous set"?

 * Given a random variable A, the probability(P) that it equals any given value x, is defined as:
 * $$P_A(x)$$

If this is supposed to be about continuous probability distributions, then the probability that any of those assign to any particular value is always zero. But what do you mean by "defined as"? That makes sense only if the function PA(x) has already been defined.

 * That is, PA(x) is the probability that A = x.

Thus PA is known as the probability density function of the random variable A.

This makes no sense: the value of a probability density function is not the same thing as a probability, unless you're talking about a discrete probability density function, often called a "probability mass function". 131.183.84.216 21:36 29 Jun 2003 (UTC)

That's not what my Bible says.

title: Talk:Continuous probability


text:
Multitrack recording

Multitrack recording (MTR), also known as multitracking, is a method of sound recording developed in 1955 that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources or of sound sources recorded at different times to create a cohesive whole. Multitracking became possible in the mid-1950s when the idea of simultaneously recording different audio channels to separate discrete tracks on the same reel-to-reel tape was developed. A track was simply a different channel recorded to its own discrete area on the tape whereby their relative sequence of recorded events would be preserved, and playback would be simultaneous or synchronized.

A multitrack recorder allows one or more sound sources to different tracks to be simultaneously recorded, which may subsequently be processed and mixed separately. Take, for example, a band with vocals, guitars, a keyboard, bass, and drums that are to be recorded. The singer's microphone, the output of the guitars and keys, and each individual drum in the kit can all be recorded separately using a multitrack recorder. This allows each track to be fine-tuned individually, such as increasing the voice or lowering the chimes, before combining them into the final product.

Prior to the development of multitracking, the sound recording process required all of the singers, band instrumentalists, and/or orchestra accompanists to perform at the same time in the same space. Multitrack recording was a significant technical improvement as it allowed studio engineers to record all of the instruments and vocals for a piece of music separately. Multitracking allowed the engineer to adjust the levels and tone of each individual track, and if necessary, redo certain tracks or overdub parts of the track to correct errors or get a better take. Also, different electronic effects such as reverb could be applied to specific tracks, such as the lead vocals, while not being applied to other tracks where this effect would not be desirable (e.g., on the electric bass). Multitrack recording was much more than a technical innovation; it also enabled record producers and artists to create new sounds that would be impossible to create outside of the studio, such as a lead singer adding many harmony vocals with their own voice to their own lead vocal part, an electric guitar player playing many harmony parts along with their own guitar solo, or even recording the drums and replaying the track backwards for an unusual effect.

In the 1980s and 1990s, computers provided means by which both sound recording and reproduction could be digitized, revolutionizing audio recording and distribution. In the 2000s, multitracking hardware and software for computers was of sufficient quality to be widely used for high-end audio recordings by both professional sound engineers and by bands recording without studios using widely available programs, which can be used on a high-end laptop computer. Though magnetic tape has not been replaced as a recording medium, the advantages of non-linear editing (NLE) and recording have resulted in digital systems largely superseding tape. Even in the 2010s, with digital multitracking being the dominant technology, the original word track is still used by audio engineers.

Process
Multitracking can be achieved with analogue recording, tape-based equipment (from simple, late-1970s cassette-based four-track Portastudios, to eight-track cassette machines, to 2" reel-to-reel 24-track machines), digital equipment that relies on tape storage of recorded digital data (such as ADAT eight-track machines) and hard disk-based systems often employing a computer and audio recording software. Multi-track recording devices vary in their specifications, such as the number of simultaneous tracks available for recording at any one time; in the case of tape-based systems this is limited by, among other factors, the physical size of the tape employed.

With the introduction of SMPTE timecode in the early 1970s, engineers began to use computers to perfectly synchronize separate audio and video playback, or multiple audio tape machines. In this system, one track of each machine carried the timecode signal, while the remaining tracks were available for sound recording. Some large studios were able to link multiple 24-track machines together. An extreme example of this occurred in 1982, when the rock group Toto recorded parts of Toto IV on three synchronized 24-track machines. This setup theoretically provided for up to 69 audio tracks.

In the late 1970s and 1980s, digital multitrack tape machines emerged, including the 3M and Mitsubishi X-800 32-track machines, and Sony DASH PCM-3324 and later the PCM-3348 machines, which allowed greater flexibility with more available tracks for recording. As well, in order to mix using automation on the console, analogue recorders generally required adjacent tracks to the time code track to be kept blank to avoid the time code signal interfering with the audio signals, which limited available tracks to 22 or 23 track at most. Digital multitrack machines had time code inserted elsewhere on the tape, and thus did not require allocating it to an audio track, which meant all tracks were available for recording. What's more, in the case of the PCM-3348, which doubled the number of tracks from the PCM-3324, both machines could use the same ½” digital tape, and also a 24-track reel first recorded on a PCM-3324 was able to be used on a PCM-3348 and have another 24 tracks overdubbed.

For computer-based systems, the trend in the 2000s is towards unlimited numbers of record/playback tracks, although issues such as RAM memory and CPU available do limit this from machine to machine. Moreover, on computer-based systems, the number of simultaneously available recording tracks is limited by the number of sound card discrete analog or digital inputs.

When recording, audio engineers can select which track (or tracks) on the device will be used for each instrument, voice, or other input and can even blend one track with two instruments to vary the music and sound options available. At any given point on the tape, any of the tracks on the recording device can be recording or playing back using sel-sync or Selective Synchronous recording. This allows an artist to be able to record onto track 2 and, simultaneously, listen to track 1, 3 and 7, allowing them to sing or to play an accompaniment to the performance already recorded on these tracks. They might then record an alternate version on track 4 while listening to the other tracks. All the tracks can then be played back in perfect synchrony, as if they had originally been played and recorded together. This can be repeated until all of the available tracks have been used, or in some cases, reused. During mixdown, a separate set of playback heads with higher fidelity are used.

Before all tracks are filled, any number of existing tracks can be bounced into one or two tracks, and the original tracks erased, making more room for more tracks to be reused for fresh recording. In 1963, the Beatles were using twin track for Please Please Me. The Beatles' producer George Martin used this technique extensively to achieve multiple-track results, while still being limited to using only multiple four-track machines, until an eight-track machine became available during the recording of the Beatles' self-titled ninth album. The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds also made innovative use of multitracking with eight-track machines of the day (circa 1965). Motown also began recording with eight-track machines in 1965, before moving to 16-track machines in mid-1969.

Multitrack recording also allows any recording artist to record multiple takes of any given section of their performance, allowing them to refine their performance to virtual perfection by making additional takes of songs or instrumental tracks. A recording engineer can record only the section being worked on, without erasing any other section of that track. This process of turning the recording mechanism on and off is called punching in and punching out.

When recording is completed, the many tracks are mixed down through a mixing console to a two-track stereo recorder in a format which can then be duplicated and distributed. (Movie and DVD soundtracks can be mixed down to four or more tracks, as needed, the most common being five tracks, with an additional low-frequency effects track, hence the 5.1 surround sound most commonly available on DVDs.)

Most of the records, CDs and cassettes commercially available in a music store are recordings that were originally recorded on multiple tracks, and then mixed down to stereo. In some rare cases, as when an older song is technically updated, these stereo (or mono) mixes can in turn be recorded (as if it were a submix) onto two (or one) tracks of a multitrack recorder, allowing additional sound (tracks) to be layered on the remaining tracks.

Flexibility
During multitracking, multiple musical instruments (and vocals) can be recorded, either one at a time or simultaneously, onto individual tracks, so that the sounds thus recorded can be accessed, processed and manipulated individually to produce the desired results. In the 2010s, many rock and pop bands record each part of the song one after the other. First, the bass and drums are often recorded, followed by the chordal rhythm section instruments. Then the lead vocals and guitar solos are added. As a last step, the harmony vocals are added. On the other hand, orchestras are always recorded with all 70 to 100 instrumentalists playing their parts simultaneously. If each group of instrument has its own microphone, and each instrument with a solo melody has its own microphone, the different microphones can record on multiple tracks simultaneously. After recording the orchestra, the record producer and conductor can adjust the balance and tone of the different instrument sections and solo instruments, because each section and solo instrument was recorded to its own track.

With the rock or pop band example, after recording some parts of a song, an artist might listen to only the guitar part, by 'muting' all the tracks except the one on which the guitar was recorded. If one then wanted to listen to the lead vocals in isolation, one would do so by muting all the tracks apart from the lead vocals track. If one wanted to listen to the entire song, one could do so by un-muting all the tracks. If one did not like the guitar part, or found a mistake in it, and wanted to replace it, one could do so by re-recording only the guitar part (i.e., re-recording only the track on which the guitar was recorded), rather than re-recording the entire song.

If all the voices and instruments in a recording are individually recorded on distinct tracks, then the artist is able to retain complete control over the final sculpting of the song, during the mix-down (re-recording to two stereo tracks for mass distribution) phase. For example, if an artist wanted to apply one effects unit to a synthesizer part, a different effect to a guitar part, a 'chorused reverb' effect to the lead vocals, and different effects to all the drums and percussion instruments, they could not do so if they had all been originally recorded together onto the same track. However, if they had been recorded onto separate tracks, then the artist could blend and alter all of the instrument and vocal sounds with complete freedom.

Multitracking a song also leaves open the possibilities of remixes by the same or future artists, such as DJs. If the song was not available in a multitrack format recording, the job of the remixing artist was very difficult, or impossible, because, once the tracks had been re-recorded together onto a single track ('mixed down'), they were previously considered inseparable. More recent software allows sound source separation, whereby individual instruments, voices and effects can be upmixed — isolated from a single-track source — in high quality. This has permitted the production of stereophonic or surround sound mixes of recordings that were originally mastered and released in mono.

History
The process was conceived and developed by Ross Snyder at Ampex in 1955 resulting in the first Sel-Sync machine, an 8-track machine which used one-inch tape. This 8-track recorder was sold to the American guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor Les Paul for $10,000. It became known as the Octopus. Les Paul, Mary Ford and Patti Page used the technology in the late 1950s to enhance vocals and instruments. From these beginnings, it evolved in subsequent decades into a mainstream recording technique.

With computers
Since the early 1990s, many performers have recorded music using only a Mac or PC equipped with multitrack recording software as a tracking machine. The computer must have a sound card or other type of audio interface with one or more Analog-to-digital converters. Microphones are needed to record the sounds of vocalists or acoustic instruments. Depending on the capabilities of the system, some instruments, such as a synthesizer or electric guitar, can also be sent to an interface directly using Line level or MIDI inputs. Direct inputs eliminate the need for microphones and can provide another range of sound control options.

There are tremendous differences in computer audio interfaces. Such units vary widely in price, sound quality, and flexibility. The most basic interfaces use audio circuitry that is built into the computer motherboard. The most sophisticated audio interfaces are external units of professional studio quality which can cost thousands of dollars. Professional interfaces usually use one or more IEEE 1394 (commonly known as FireWire) connections. Other types of interfaces may use internal PCI cards, or external USB connections. Popular manufacturers of high-quality interfaces include Apogee Electronics, Avid Audio (formerly Digidesign), Echo Digital Audio, Focusrite, MOTU, RME Audio, M-Audio and PreSonus.

Microphones are often designed for highly specific applications and have a major effect on recording quality. A single studio-quality microphone can cost $5,000 or more, while consumer-quality recording microphones can be bought for less than $50 each. Microphones also need some type of microphone preamplifier to prepare the signal for use by other equipment. These preamplifiers can also have a major effect on the sound and come in different price ranges, physical configurations, and capability levels. Microphone preamplifiers may be external units or a built-in feature of other audio equipment.

Software
Software for multitrack recording can record multiple tracks at once. It generally uses graphic notation for an interface and offers a number of views of the music. Most multitrackers also provide audio playback capability. Some multitrack software also provides MIDI playback functions not just for audio; during playback the MIDI data is sent to a softsynth or virtual instrument (e.g., VSTi) which converts the data to audio sound. Multitrack software may also provide other features that qualify it being called a digital audio workstation (DAW). These features may include various displays including showing the score of the music, as well as editing capability. There is often overlap between many of the categories of musical software. In this case, scorewriters and full-featured multitrackers such as DAWs have similar features for playback but may have less similarity for editing and recording.

Multitrack recording software varies widely in price and capability. Popular multitrack recording software programs include: Reason, Ableton Live, FL Studio, Adobe Audition, Pro Tools, Digital Performer, Cakewalk Sonar, Samplitude, Nuendo, Cubase and Logic. Lower-cost alternatives include Mixcraft, REAPER and n-Track Studio. Open-source and free software programs are also available for multitrack recording. These range from very basic programs such as Jokosher to Ardour and Audacity, which are capable of performing many functions of the most sophisticated programs.

Instruments and voices are usually recorded as individual files on a computer hard drive. These function as tracks which can be added, removed or processed in many ways. Effects such as reverb, chorus, and delays can be applied by electronic devices or by computer software. Such effects are used to shape the sound as desired by the producer. When the producer is satisfied with the recorded sound finished tracks can be mixed into a new stereo pair of tracks within the multitrack recording software. Finally, the final stereo recording can be written to a CD, which can be copied and distributed.

Order of recording
In modern popular songs, drums, percussion instruments and electric bass are often among the first instruments to be recorded. These are the core instruments of the rhythm section. Musicians recording later tracks use the precise attack of the drum sounds as a rhythmic guide. In some styles, the drums may be recorded for a few bars and then looped. Click (metronome) tracks are also often used as the first sound to be recorded, especially when the drummer is not available for the initial recording, and/or the final mix will be synchronized with motion picture and/or video images. One reason that a band may start with just the drums is because this allows the band to pick the song's key later on. The producer and the musicians can experiment with the song's key and arrangement against the basic rhythm track. Also, though the drums might eventually be mixed down to a couple of tracks, each individual drum and percussion instrument might be initially recorded to its own individual track. The drums and percussion combined can occupy a large number of tracks utilized in a recording. This is done so that each percussion instrument can be processed individually for maximum effect. Equalization (or EQ) is often used on individual drums, to bring out each one's characteristic sound. The last tracks recorded are often the vocals (though a temporary vocal track may be recorded early on either as a reference or to guide subsequent musicians; this is sometimes called a guide vocal, ghost vocal or scratch vocal). One reason for this is that singers will often temper their vocal expression in accordance with the accompaniment. Producers and songwriters can also use the guide/scratch vocal when they have not quite ironed out all the lyrics or for flexibility based on who sings the lead vocal (as The Alan Parsons Project's Eric Woolfson often did).

Concert music
For classical and jazz recordings, particularly instrumentals where multitracking is chosen as the recording method (as opposed to direct to stereo, for example), a different arrangement is used; all tracks are recorded simultaneously. Sound barriers are often placed between different groups within the orchestra, e.g. pianists, violinists, percussionists, etc. When barriers are used, these groups listen to each other via headphones.

Multitrack live recording is a lot like gigging – a lot of planning ahead of time, a lot of gear to carry and set up, a lot of waiting, and then a lot of hectic activity over the next 40 minutes or so! There is little doubt that a pseudolive studio performance can enhance certain forms of music, particularly those with a lot of intensity in the live performance, but it still lacks the atmosphere of a real gig. You may record the moment with a portable setup during the performance. You can produce wonderful live recordings with just two microphones and a building's inherent acoustics, but that will have to wait for another day. Taking a feed from the front of house (or FOH) desk directly to tape or DAT is another technique of live recording, although this will only work in large venues where everything is run through the PA system. Even so, a loud backline will result in less guitar and bass being routed via the main PA system, resulting in an unbalanced mix. A multitrack recording has distinct advantages: it allows you more control after the event because you may fine-tune the mix and correct any obvious mistakes without sacrificing the thrill of the live performance. It does, however, necessitate a lot more pre-gig planning as well as a lot more equipment.

title: Multitrack recording


text:
Talk:Bea (Dennis the Menace)

I am moving this comment here. It was added to the article page:
 * [Could we please have some context here? To which work of fiction does this refer?  If there is a link from the name of that work of fiction this article, it does not follow that that link is how the reader arrived at this article, so you cannot assume the reader knows what this is about.]

RickK 21:45 29 Jun 2003 (UTC)

Name
I thought Beas full name was Beaginnings, not beatrice?
 * Dennis says it's Beatrice in the issue which first revealed her name (issue 2933, dated 3 October 1998): "Her name is Bea- short for Beatrice!" I think 'Beaginnings' was just a play on 'Beginnings' for the comic strip. BillyH 02:12, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:Bea (Dennis the Menace)


text:
Bea

Bea or BEA, as a name, abbreviation, or acronym, may refer to:

Companies and organisations

 * Bank of East Asia
 * BEA Systems, an American software company
 * Belgian Entertainment Association, a music, video and video game industry organization
 * British European Airways
 * Broadcast Education Association, an international organization of media communication scholars
 * Spanish Bank of Algae, a national research and development service

Government agencies

 * British Electricity Authority
 * Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile, the French agency responsible for investigating aviation accidents
 * Bureau d'Enquête et d'Analyse pour la sécurité de l'aviation civile (Senegal), the Senegalese agency responsible for investigating aviation accidents
 * Bureau of Economic Analysis, an agency of the United States Department of Commerce
 * New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs, an agency of the U.S. state of New Hampshire

People

 * Bea (given name)
 * Bea (surname)

Arts, entertainment, and media

 * Bea, character from the Supercell game Brawl Stars
 * Beabadoobee, a Filipino-British singer-songwriter

Other uses

 * Bea, Aragon, a municipality in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain
 * Bail Enforcement Agent, a bounty hunter
 * Bea or Aka-Bea language, an Asian extinct language
 * Bile esculin agar, a growth medium
 * BookExpo America, a major book fair in the United States

title: Bea