Rating: 
Summary: Great Book
Review: I was looking for something that covered the basic car and this was perfect. It even has a test at the end of each chapter so you can see how you are doing. Recognizing that cars are complex, the author does a great job of simplifying and making good use of pictures of car parts. If you have an interest in learning about cars, this book would be a great place to start.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is useless
Review: I was planning to perform all the maintenance work on my 2 cars, an Audi S4 and a Honda CR-V. I have done oil changes and air filter changes in the past but I wanted to do more. I bought this book and the "Auto Repairs for Dummies" book in addition to the specific service manuals for the 2 cars. This book gives very very brief explanations with big text fonts and big pictures (not much meat) of how things work so don't hope to perform any actual work by following the book. If you just want to know how cars work and don't wish to perform any actual work then this book may be is for you. I highly recommend the dummy book and forget about this book if you do plan to perform work on your car. The dummy book has a lot more details and it actually shows you how to do the work. I often turned to the dummy book when the service manuals are not explaining things in detail.
Rating:
Summary: Great Gift for the New Driver
Review: If you or someone you know needs to learn the basics about cars, you need two books: How Cars Work and Auto Upkeep: Basic Car Care. Both are great gifts for new drivers. I purchase How Cars Work and Auto Upkeep: Basic Car Care for my nieces and nephews when they turn 16. Being an automobile technician, I think everyone that drives cars should know a little about them. How Cars Work does a great job using drawings to show car parts and what they do. Auto Upkeep: Basic Car Care uses actual photos to show parts. Auto Upkeep also explains how to buy a car and choose automobile insurance. How Cars Work includes a worksheet for review at the end of each chapter, while Auto Upkeep: Basic Car Care has a CD with review activities and internet links.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect for Kids
Review: Kids love cars, and kids will love this book because it explains in a straightforward manner exactly how cars work. The book divides the automobile into systems and describes each system in detail. The drawings are excellent. Knowing how cars work helps young drivers become better drivers, and mechanical knowledge helps all drivers understand their machines when something goes wrong. I give a copy to every young person I know when he or she first gets a driver's license.
Rating:
Summary: My Boys and this book...
Review: My sons are Avery (5), and Ethan (3). One unusually warm day in late fall we were walking past a neighbor's house and saw a few kids gathered around a huge fire truck engine. This neighbor is a volunteer fireman, and this engine looked newly painted. We go to take a closer look and Avery says "look Dad, the crankshaft". A moment later Ethan identifies the crescent moon shape of the top of the combustion chamber where the gas burns (his exact words escape me, but he indentified the area and function, perhaps with my prompting). We had been reading and re-reading the first few pages for a week or so prior. Beaming with pride I considered sending the author a blank check, then realized he would ask me to sign it..since I was (and still am) unemployed, I thought the better of it. But the sentiment was there. I found the book on the internet because Avery had taken to asking me how cars work whenever we drove in our van. My answers were shallow, meaningless, and likely very incorrect.
I had to do something.We never finished the book together, and lately they have been asking for it again. I have nearly completed it. When it comes to car repairs, I have been taken to the cleaners so many times that I may not even have to shower anymore. Had I read this book much earlier in my life, I would have had the confidence to at least question some repair charges. This alone makes it worth its weight in precious metals. In truth, I am a mechanical idiot. If this book can assist my young sons and me in understanding how the engine works with the crankshaft to get the wheels moving, likely it will help others too. I could have (and maybe should have) just said 'buy the book, you won't regret it. So doit. AND, if Tom ever offers a CD of his jazz guitar playing, I promise I won't write any more verbose reviews. I'll probably be too busy stealing his licks. S-
Rating: 
Summary: A Basic Understanding of Cars
Review: This book contains very basic material on the operation of the car; it appears to be a decent read for teenagers looking to grasp the basic; but the more mature readers will find this very shallow. The text contains the fundaments of auto mechanics; it is split into seven chapters; and each chapter describes a major automotive system. It has a test section at the end of each chapter to gauge how much you have learned. This book does not cover details on 2-stroke or 4-stroke engines; how the engine starts spinning after turning the ignition etc. I must admit that it was enertaining reading this books with all the descriptive pictures.
Rating:
Summary: A Basic Understanding of Cars
Review: This book contains very basic material on the operation of the car; it appears to be a decent read for teenagers looking to grasp the basic; but the more mature readers will find this very shallow. The text contains the fundaments of auto mechanics; it is split into seven chapters; and each chapter describes a major automotive system. It has a test section at the end of each chapter to gauge how much you have learned. This book does not cover details on 2-stroke or 4-stroke engines; how the engine starts spinning after turning the ignition etc. I must admit that it was enertaining reading this books with all the descriptive pictures.
Rating:
Summary: Would Recommend to Anyone
Review: This book is intended for the individual who knows very little to nothing about auto mechanics. Each page covers one specific aspect of how a vehicle operates with a short and simple explanation accompanied with large and detailed diagrams. There are seven chapters over the seven most essential automotive systems with a brief test at the end of each. One cannot rebuild a car after reading through this book, but what it does give is an overall knowledge of how a car works. The reader will gain the knowledge to understand what is going on in a mechanic's shop and to better maintain his or her own vehicle. This book is not for someone who already knows the basics of or has worked on automotive systems. However, it is excellent for anyone who has never picked up a wrench or wants a brief introduction to the subject.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book for a real beginner!
Review: This book was a joy to find and read. I have always wanted to getting started learning about how a car works but never could find a reliable source of information that put the whole picture together. If you already know the basics of how a combustible engine works and how the basic systems of a car work such as steering, brakes, etc, then you don't need this really basic guide. But if you are like me and needed a place to get started at the beginning then this book will be a real enlightening and encouraging experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good for Beginners
Review: This is a very good book for beginners. The book is broken down into general sections (body, electrical, engine, etc), and typically each page has a drawing and about half a page of text. While some people have mentioned this book is good for juveniles, this is also a great book for adults who don't know much about cars - you'll get good information on the basics without being overwhelmed by details. You can always get a more detailed book if you like this one, but this is good enough to let you speak intelligently with your mechanic. The only complaint I have is that some of the drawings seem slightly amateurish, but they do seem accurate. This is a very small complaint, other than that, great book!
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