KEY POINTS:
If your eyes glaze over when talk turns to cars, you can now nod along without blowing a gasket.
AIR DAM
A front spoiler intended to divert air from travelling underneath the car. Air dams can improve aerodynamics, reduce lift and increase the airflow through the
front radiator.
A-PILLAR
The support on either side of a vehicle's windshield.
BERLINETTA
Term invented by Enzo Ferrari to designate his coupe designs. Applied more broadly to any make of sports coupes.
BLOWER
Supercharger.
BOXER
Also known as a flat engine. A motor with opposed cylinder banks; the name boxer derives from the idea of the pistons thrusting or boxing towards the opposing bank. Advantages to the boxer design include low centre of gravity, improved cooling and low height that makes the engine valuable for cars with a low profile.
B-PILLAR
Pillar running behind the front window and the rear window, should the vehicle have one.
CABRIOLET
A convertible with windows.
CHANNELLED
A vehicle that has had the body lowered relative to the frame.
CLASSIC
There are two technical definitions for this, in addition to the broader sense of any vehicle with collector interest. A classic can refer to any car that is 25 years old or older. It can also refer to a range of vehicles built mostly from 1925 to 1948. The non-technical use of the term would acknowledge, say, that an Aston Martin or Dodge Viper is a classic from the moment it is rolled out of the factory.
COUPE
Closed car with two doors and, technically, less than 33 cubic feet of rear interior volume.
DESTROKED
An engine with a shorter throw crankshaft, usually done to increase RPM capacity or to fulfil racing restrictions that may be placed on engine size.
DOHC
Double overhead camshaft. Two camshafts for each cylinder bank.
DROPHEAD
British for convertible.
DUAL COWL
A type of touring car or phaeton with the cab divided into two parts, front and back, and separated by a windshield on a folding cowl.
FLATHEAD
Introduced in 1932, this was the first truly affordable V8. The flathead utilised a valve in block design and the heads were greatly simplified compared with modern overhead valve heads.
GTO
Gran turismo omologato, Italian for grand touring homologated. The name was originally applied to the famed 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO and noted that enough of the vehicles had been built for FIA-sanctioned GT racing. Pontiac later used the term for the vehicle that launched the American muscle car phenomenon.
HARDTOP
Vehicle with no side B-pillar, meant to have the look of a convertible. Also, a removable top.
HEMI
Engine with hemispherical combustion chambers, especially the high performance Chrysler V8 engines. Most top fuel and funny car engines are based on the 426 Hemi.
INTERCOOLER
A heat exchanger that cools the air or intake charge in a forced induction system.
KNOCKOFFS
Wheels that are held in place with one large nut.
LAKE PIPES
Side exhaust pipes that run under the rocker panels.
LIMOUSINE
A chauffeured sedan, usually with an extended wheelbase, a separation between drivers and passengers, and numerous conveniences for the passengers.
MARQUE
Make or manufacturer of vehicle.
MONOCOQUE
A frameless body structure that derives its strength from a stressed, sophisticated body design.
MUSCLE CAR
This generally refers to American mid-size cars with large engines built mostly from 1964 to 1972. The first true American muscle car was the 1964 Pontiac GTO, with a 325hp V8 engine.
OVER SQUARE
An engine with a bore longer than its stroke. Most postwar motors have an over square design. Over square engines can rev higher but at the expense of low-end torque.
PONY CAR
Small to mid-sized cars emphasising sportiness and, frequently, performance.
RUMBLE SEAT
Seat located in trunk area. The trunk lid is hinged from the rear and folds up to form the seat back.
SOHC
Single overhead camshaft. One camshaft for each cylinder bank.
SPYDER
Two-seater roadster.
STREET ROD
A highly modified vehicle built prior to 1948.
STROKED
An engine with an increased stroke from a crankshaft with a larger throw. Stroked engines will typically not rev as high or as fast, but usually more than make up for it in increased torque.
SUICIDE DOORS
Doors that are hinged at the rear.
TARGA
A removable roof body style with a fixed, roll-bar style body design that runs from side to side behind the front seats.
TURBOCHARGER
Device that compresses air for forced induction, much like a supercharger, but instead of relaying on power from the crankshaft, it runs off the pressure of exhaust gases. While turbochargers are far more efficient than superchargers in that they have less parasitic drain, their operation and mechanics are less straightforward than with supercharging.
One problem of turbocharging is that it requires a substantial volume of exhaust gases to generate boost. While it far surpasses most other methods in obtaining optimal horsepower from a motor, it won't give a four-cylinder engine the torque characteristics of a V8.
UNDER SQUARE
An engine with the stroke longer than the bore, a design conducive to low-end torque, but usually not to horsepower.
VINTAGE
Vehicles built from 1915 to 1942.