MacPherson (Macphersan), the inventor of this suspension system, was born in Illinois, USA, in 1891. After graduating from university, he spent many years researching aircraft engines in Europe before joining General Motors' engineering center in 1924. In the 1930s, General Motors wanted to design a truly compact car, and MacPherson was the chief designer.
He was very interested in designing compact cars, aiming to keep the mass of this four-seater car under 0.9 tons and the wheelbase under 2.74 meters. The key to the design was the suspension. MacPherson departed from the then-popular front suspension methods of leaf springs and torsion bars, creatively combining shock absorbers and coil springs and mounting them on the front axle. Practice proved that this type of suspension was simple in construction, occupied little space, and offered excellent handling. Later, MacPherson moved to Ford, and in 1950, two cars produced by Ford's subsidiary in the UK were the world's first production vehicles to use MacPherson Strut suspension.
