To make, usually by a relatively complex process or from several parts

(Br) the dashboard of an automobile

A covering over the wheels to prevent mud from splattering. The British term for this part is "wing."

(Br) - bumper

A car accident in which only minor damage is done to body panels.

A mixture of glass fibres and resin that when cured (hardened) produces a very light and strong material. It is used to build boats, car bodies, repair damaged areas, etc. It can also be spelled "Fibreglass." Also called "glass reinforced plastic."

A trailer which is towed by a pickup truck. The tongue of the trailer fits into the bed of the truck. Like a travel trailer, it comes with all the amenities of home. The master bedroom is over the truck bed.

A fine wire inside a light bulb that heats to incandescence when current passes through it. The filament produces the light.

A device designed to remove foreign substances from air, oil, gasoline, water, etc.

(Br) a body stripe

A vehicle built on a special truck chassis equipped with fire-fighting items such as ladders, pumps, hoses, etc.

A cylinder filled with a powder, foam, or liquid which can be sprayed on a fire to put it out.

a sheet metal panel that separates the engine compartment from the passenger compartment

(Br) - bulkhead

The sequence or order in which cylinders must be fired: 1, 5, 3, 6, 2, 4, etc. It differs from the cylinder sequence which starts with cylinder number one and goes to the last cylinder: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

The lowest gear in a transmission. In a bicycle, it is the gear ratio where the drive sprocket is the smallest and the driven sprocket is the largest. This gear is the best for starting from a stop or going up a hill.

Body design typical of station wagons and most hatchbacks, with four side doors and a tailgate.

A manual transmission with five forward gears. Generally the fifth gear is an overdrive to allow the wheels to turn faster than the engine. See overdrive.

The prestige model or top model of a manufacturer's line of vehicles, e.g., "Cadillac is the flagship model for GM and Lincoln is the flagship model for Ford."

The action of paint when it starts to come off the surface in small, thin sections

A condition where an air-inflated tire is no longer pressured up with air. The problem may be a cut in the casing or tube; or may be caused by a bad valve.

A trailer with a flat deck (and no sides or top) so that any size or shape item can be loaded (within reason) regardless of height, length, or width

An engine with all the valves in the block on one side of the cylinder. Also called "L-head" because the combustion chamber is L-shaped.

excess fuel in the cylinders makes starting difficult or impossible

Frequency modulation. A term used to describe a type of radio frequency in which the frequency of the wave changes rather than the amplitude.

[1] A light (usually in pairs) mounted at the front of a vehicle which is designed to give a wide low beam which penetrates fog and rain, etc. and illuminates the sides of the road [2] A red light mounted at the back of a vehicle which has the same intensity as a brake light to help following vehicles to see your vehicle

Abbreviation for "Ford Motor Co."

The area of a tire that makes contact with the ground

A car that complies with U.S. emission standards which are less restrictive than the standards in California.

[1] to clog or cover (a spark plug) with oil or soot/carbon deposits which can cause a loss of performance and engine misfire.

A carburetor with four barrels that work like dual carburetors, with the second carburetor (third and fourth barrels) cutting in only at high speeds. Usually found on large V-8 engines.

A transmission which has four forward gears.

any car that is either built or has a nameplate from another country other than the United States of America.

A vehicle that is pulled by its front wheels rather than being pushed by its rear wheels. The driveshaft and center floor hump is eliminated in front-wheel drive cars. The engine is located over the driving wheels so that it gains better traction in snow. Wear on the front tires can be severe.

A multiple lane highway without toll charges. All exits and entrances are made through overpasses and cloverleafs. Because there is no direct cross traffic, speeds can be over 60 mph (100 kph)

A gas used as the cooling medium in older air conditioning and refrigeration systems. Usually called freon-12 or R-12. It has been replaced in automobiles with a new coolant designated 134A.

A vehicle with its engine located at the front of a vehicle above the front suspension. This is the most common layout, which may be combined with either rear-wheel or front-wheel drive.

A combustible material used to produce energy. One of the essential factors in a combustion engine (Fuel, Air, Proper proportion of mixture, compression, timing, spark).

(FI) A fuel system that uses no carburetor but sprays fuel either directly into the cylinders or into the intake manifold just ahead of the cylinders. It uses an electronic sensing device to deliver the correct amount into the combustion chamber. Throttle-body injection locates the injector(s) centrally in the throttle-body housing, while port injection allocates at least one injector for each cylinder near its intake port.

A measurement or calculation of the number of miles per amount of fuel -- usually measured in miles per gallon.

A vacuum device, operated either mechanically or electrically, that is used to draw gasoline from the tank and sends it into the carburetor or fuel injector nozzles. Mechanical pumps have a rocker arm that is activated by a cam on the camshaft; the arm causes a diaphragm to move up and down, thus pulling the gas through the pump. Some electrical pumps have a rocker arm which is activated electrically and does the same thing as the mechanical pump. Other electrical pumps are located at the bottom of the fuel tank and push the fuel through the fuel lines.

The storage compartment, under the trunk in most cars, that holds the fuel for the vehicle. Also called the "gas tank."

Foul-smelling vapors given off by a liquid or a gas, which may be poisonous