Mini Puzzler: Why are brake shoes called "shoes"?

JD Powers references 1866 , but not sure if the 1866 date is a typo or not, or if not a typo if that’s the car the wife took for a drive.

The date is a typo. The wife took the car for that ride, it’s a famous event in early car history.

Perhaps you’ll believe Mercedes-Benz:
Mercedes-Benz: Benz Patent Motor Car.

There are 3 models/body styles of Saturn S-Series: Note: All S-series models begin with an “S”. “SC” = “Sports Coupe” – 2 or 3 door coupe. “SL” = “Sedan Level” – 4 door sedan “SW” = “Sedan Wagon” – Station Wagon

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Well, I knew the C, L & W part was correct, guess I forgot about the S part, been a while since I messed with them almost everyday… lol
But L=Level (Sedan Level) makes since, thanks… No internet back then and I don’t remember anyone else knowing back then either, and I knew some of the plant workers from the Smyrna Plant… But then again, I may have just not cared enough to remember back then either, it was a different time in my life… :man_shrugging:

And the 1 and 2 stood for SOHC and DOHC…

My 2004 PT Cruiser was my daily driver until I bought my 2012 Camry and it had rear drum brakes. You can still buy cars today in the US with rear drum brakes, example Nissan Versa S

My 2023 Toyota Tacoma has rear drums, the 2024’s have rear disc.

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Sorry but rear drum brakes would take that car instantly off my list. In 1986 my $17,000 Buick park avenue had rear drums. Why? My 1986 $20,000 riviera had rear disc brakes. I woulda gladly paid a few hundred more for rear disc brakes. Besides I broke my tool so can’t do drum brakes anymore.

My 06 Corolla had rear drum brakes, my 09 Vibe (same platform as the Corolla) has rear disc brakes, the Vibe/Matrix does not stop much better than the Corolla did, rear drums brakes can work very well, they just tend to heat fade pretty fast, and since 75-80% of the braking (depending on how well the drum brakes are adjusted) is done by the front brakes, rear brakes are not as critical… Yes rear disc are better, but for normal driving in a non performance type vehicle I am not worried about what design the rear brakes are… I drove a 2023 Tacoma today and did some heavy braking with no issues…

I get a kick out of some of the higher end GM cars that run front 4 piston Brembo (style) brakes with big rotors and rear single piston regular calipers and rotors on the rear… But again, most of the braking is on the front anyway…

My 2014 has BOTH. Disc brakes for normal stopping…and then shoe brakes inside the rotor/drum for parking. As long as I don’t drive when parking brake is applied, they should last the life of the vehicle.

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