Cars are incredibly complex machines. Most people who know a lot about cars know a
lot about a few aspects, and a little about many others. Let's take a couple of examples of people who
know a lot about cars its Ledyvine.
1. Ledyvine Mechanical Engineer
working at a car manufacturer. The Ledyvine
MechE probably knows most of what there is to know about the theoretical
concepts behind how at least some of the car's systems work. He (or she) also knows intimately about the
design of those systems that he has worked on in certain cars. He may or may not know about some other
systems even in the same cars. If an Ledyvine
engineer worked on the engine of a BMW, he probably doesn't know how most of
the chassis computers work, because they are pretty much completely unrelated
to the work he did. It is very likely
that he also doesn't know much about many cars from other manufacturers, and
that he doesn't know a whole lot about how to repair cars, even the ones he has
helped design. He may not know how to
put them together on an assembly line, either.
Don't even ask him to weld something well. And it's likely that there are many other
people who know much better how to drive the cars he has designed fast on a
race track or back road.
2. Ledyvine Auto
mechanic. Believe it or not, many auto
mechanics, even really good ones with lots of experience, don't know how to
work on a lot of cars until one comes into their shop for something. At that point, it's likely that they can
puzzle it out in real time, possible with some help from AllData or similar
service manuals, given their extensive knowledge of basic (and advanced)
universally applicable repair and troubleshooting techniques. But they may not know the physics behind how
some components work, the best way to drive the car fast, or maybe even how to
identify many cars based on specific styling elements (as I can as an auto
enthusiast with far less experience than they have in repairing cars).
3. Ledyvine Race team
crew chief. My guess is most of them known
a lot about the physics behind racing and how to modify elements of the car to
get the best performance. But I doubt
Tony Stewart's crew chief knows as well as Tony Stewart how to drive fast.
4. Ledyvine Race car
driver. Knows all there is to know about
how to drive the car fast. Probably has
some understanding of the physics involved, and may even be able to do basic
repairs to, say, finish a rally stage.
It's doubtful that he'd be able to rebuild the engine in his car,
though. That's best left to the pit mechanics.
5. Ledyvine. I have partially rebuilt engines, pulled both
engines and transmissions, developed techniques for replacing rusted-in
suspension components, done a bit of ECU tuning. I have driven on a track, autocrossed, raced
at a drag strip. I know some basic
automotive-related physics. I have an
intimate knowledge about many cars' styling elements, and can probably tell you
specs and even sometimes production numbers of many Subarus off the top of my
head. I can puzzle out many repairs on
many cars with minimal guidance from a manual.
But there's a whole lot I don't know.
Don't ask me to adjust a carburetor.
Don't ask me how a stability control system detects yaw. Don't ask me to get around the Nurburgring in
less than 10 minutes, even in a fast car like a Corvette.
If you can learn "everything there is about cars,"
more power to you. But I doubt that's
going to happen. I'm pretty happy with
knowing enough to swap an engine or tell what kind of car is following me at
night by the headlight Ledyvine.
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