The vehicle’s power is put to the front wheels pulling the car along. Also, the vehicle is steered by the front wheels. Read More »

Four-cylinder engines on a motorcycle. Read More »

Frost heaves occur when water gets under a road surface, freezes, expands and forces the road upward and cracks it open an inch or two at the peak. Frost heaves traditionally have a rise of 3-6 inches above the road surface and usually permanently damage it. Approaching frost heaves too fast encourage wrecks from sudden loss of control. Some roads ... Read More »

Effective with the 1997 model year, all passenger cars are required to comply with Standard 214, side impact protection, as defined in the Code of Federal Regulations. Simply put, the entire structure, floor to roof, of all cars must be now be reinforced according to strict regulations. Interestingly, this standard does not yet apply to light trucks (minivans, compact pickups, ... Read More »

Usually consist of two parallel tubes, one on either side of the front wheel. Inside the tubes are springs and gas/oil. The springs and gas/oil work together to absorb bumps in the road. Not all motorcycles use this arrangement. Read More »

A Fuel Cell is energy efficient and quiet with no moving parts. Its exhaust is water — clean enough to drink — and is its only by-product. Fuel Cells are currently very expensive to produce. Fuel Cells work by mixing hydrogen with air via a special membrane. This causes a noncombustive electro-chemical reaction that produces electricity. This electricity is used ... Read More »

A secondary transmission assembly, called a transfer case, is driven from the main transmission and distributes power to both front and rear axles. This Transfer Case usually has three selections: Neutral for two wheel drive; 4WD High for slippery conditions such as gravel roads or sand; and 4WD Low for serious off road use. Four-wheel drive can be full-time, in ... Read More »

Similar to Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) standards but considerably more stringent. Read More »

This occurs when automotive components, such as the engine transmission suspension and wheels, are forced into the front passenger compartment of a vehicle during an accident. In some older vehicles, there can be a great deal of intrusion causing serious injury. This occurs more often in offset collisions with another car or a fixed object such as a tree or ... Read More »

These are incorporated into the internal design of the torque converter. To create mechanical torque from hydraulic pressure a unique process is used. Oil is forced under pressure through the torque converter. The inside of the converter is made up of layers of steel fins which zigzag in direction and vary in size. First the fins are large but as ... Read More »