Cars - http://maxpages.com/carsinhistory/A

automobile: four-wheeled passenger motor vehicle having a seating capacity for not more than 10 people. It includes police cars and racing cars but not ambulances, hearses, or trucks. In Britain, the word "automobile" is not in frequent use and has been replaced by "motor car."

automobile association: A motoring club which provides assistance to drivers including insurance, maps, travel arrangements, etc. See AA and AAA

automobile engineering: See automotive engineering

automobile industry: The manufacturing industry for building automobiles. also called "motor industry"

automobile manufacturer: An company which designs, builds, and distributes cars and trucks. Also called "motor manufacturer"

automobile mechanic: An individual who repairs and maintains cars and trucks. Also called (especially in Britain) "motor mechanic"

automobile polish: A wax or synthetic which is designed to give a glossy, protective finish to a painted surface. Also called "car polish."

automotive: Relating to or occurring in automobiles

automotive adhesive: A glue used in the manufacturing of automobiles.

automotive electrician: An individual who works with designing the electical system for automobiles

automotive electronics: The use of electronic equipment in automobiles

automotive emissions: All the different types of fumes that are expelled into the atmosphere (exhaust gas, fuel fumes, crankcase fumes) as well as the noise it makes.

automotive engineering: The design and construction of automobiles

automotive tool: Any of the tools used in the construction, maintenance, or repair of automobiles

Auto Pact base year: With respect to the Auto Pact, the 12 month period beginning on August 1, 1963, and ending on July 31, 1964.

Auto Pact Canadian value added: the aggregate of the costs of parts, material, labour costs, and transportation costs that are reasonably attributed to the production of vehicles or parts by manufacturers producing vehicles in Canada.

Autopar: Trade name of Chrysler Corp for its automobile parts (i.e., AUTOmobilePARts). Chrysler also uses the name Mopar to indicate its motor parts (i.e., MOtorPARts).

auto parts store: jobber and retail auto parts stores which primarily sell automotive products and conduct business at the retail level.

auto reverse: A feature on a cassette player which will automatically play the next side of a cassette tape when one side is finished.

autostick: A trademark name for a form of semi-automatic transmission. It combines an automatic transmission with the gear-shifting feature of a manual transmission without the use of a foot-operated clutch. In the normal automatic transmission drive mode, the transmission behaves like any other automatic. The manual-shifting feature allows more control over the full range of rpms an engine offers. Porsche and Audi offer a related transmission technology called "Tiptronic." The Lexus GS400 also has a similar transmission but instead of using a stick to change gears it employs buttons on the steering wheel. Several other automakers offer similar technologies.

autothermic piston: An aluminum piston in which steel or alloy inserts are cast to control expansion of the piston skirt.

AUX: Abbreviation for "auxillary" usually indicating those terminals on the fuse panel for non-standard equipment

auxiliary: additionally, supplementary

auxiliary brake light: additional brake lights mounted at eye level in the rear window or on the rear fenders. They are designed to give a following vehicle more notice of your presence and intention of stopping

auxiliary drive shaft: A secondary drive shaft which powers the fuel pump, water pump, or distributor

auxiliary driving lamp: A light which supplements the headlights such as a fog light or spot light

auxiliary driving light: A light which supplements the headlamps such as a fog light or spot light

auxiliary gearbox: An extra gearbox used in conjunction with the main (manual) gearbox to provide an additional range of speeds.

auxiliary leaf: An extra leaf in a set of leaf springs. Also called "helper leaf" or "helper spring"

auxiliary lighting: Extra lighting such as fog lights, spot light, and driving lights which are intended to improve visibility under adverse conditions.

auxiliary transmission: Additional gear box increasing the gear ratio combinations when used with main transmission or multi-speed axles.

AVC: Acronym for automatic volume control

average: A calculation in which the mean value or rate is determined. The average speed is determined by dividing the distance by the time (e.g., 273 kilometers divided by 3 hours = 91 kph). Average fuel consumption is determined as a ratio of fuel and distance. In the metric system, this is determined by multiplying the number of liters by 100 and dividing the result by the number of kilometers (e.g., 31.38 liters times 100 divided by 273 kilometers = 11.49 liters / 100 km). In the Imperial system divide the number of miles by the amount of fuel in gallons (e.g., 173 miles divided by 6.9 gallons = 25 mpg)

average weekly earnings: gross taxable payrolls divided by the number of employees.

aviation fuel: A high octane fuel used primarily in aircraft but also used in racing vehicles to improve performance.

AWD: Acronym for "all-wheel drive."

awl: A pointed or flat tool used to probe nail holes and injuries as well as for installing a repair plug.

awning: A canvas roof which is stretched out from a parked trailer or camper to give protection from the sun and rain

axis: The centerline, whether real or imaginary, around which a thing rotates. Also see cam-ground piston, eccentric bolt, hotchkiss drive, kingpin inclination, moment of inertia, self-aligning torque, static balance, steering axis, steering axis inclination, steering geometry, steering knuckle angle, torque, and trailing arm.

axle: An axle is a shaft on which the wheels revolve. A full-floating axle is used to drive the rear wheels. It does not hold them on nor support them. A semi- or one-quarter floating axle is used to drive the wheels, hold them on, and support them. A three-quarter floating axle is used to drive the rear wheels as well as hold them on, but it does not support them. A live axle holds the wheels and transmits power to the wheels. A dead axle or beam axle merely holds the wheels, but does not transmit power to the wheels. Also see, cambered axle, dropped axle, Elliot type axle, full-floating axle, low pivot swing axle, rear axle housing, rear axle ratio, reverse-Elliot type axle, semi-floating axle, and swing axle.

axle articulation: The degree to which an axle can move up and down. Off-road vehicles need a great deal of axle articulation to allow for extremely uneven terrain, such as rocks or gullies.

axle casing: A British term indicating a tubular housing which encloses the differential and half-shafts along with their bearings. The US term is "axle housing"

axle drive: [1] See final drive. [2] The ring gear and pinion inside a differential housing

axle end gear: See axle end gears.

axle end gears: The two gears, one per axle, that are splined to the inner ends of the drive axles. They mesh with and are driven by the spider gears.

axle housing: An American term indicating a tubular housing which encloses the differential and half-shafts along with their bearings. The British term is "axle casing"

axle load: See axle weight

axle parallelism: Axles are determined to be parallel, thus minimizing tire wear, if a measurement between two or more axles is equal at both ends of the axle.

axle shaft: [1] The short shaft which connects the differential and the drive shaft on each side of an independent suspension configuration. [2] The drive shaft or half-shaft of a rigid axle.

axle stand: An adjustable height tripod used to support a vehicle when working underneath it. Although you can raise the car with the jack, use an axle stand for safety

axle track: Distance between centerlines of tire tread measured across axle.

axle tramp: A form of wheel hop which is usually found in live rear axle cars. It occurs when sudden torque loads on the suspension cause the driven wheels to shake violently by slightly rotating the wheels and then springing back.

axle tube: The part of the axle housing which covers the half-shaft or a tubular rigid axle

axle weight: The part of the weight of the vehicle which rests on the wheels of the axle

axle wind up: The phenomenon in which the torque transmitted to the wheels by the axle which causes the live axle to turn in its own centerline.

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Page Updated Sun May 20, 2001 8:08pm EDT