Automotive Systems Technology

This Prelinger Archives film is an urgent message to 1950s America concerning the need for modern roads and highways, with the ultimate goal of creating the Interstate Highway System. Following an ill-equipped repair crew as it patches holes in pavement, the film bemoans an outdated transportation system that can't support "our growing greatness" (in other words, the rising numbers of cars in use) while scenes of rush-hour traffic warn that "we're running out of roads!" For solutions, the program illustrates state-of-the-art highway development across the nation and lobbies viewers on the importance of tax-supported financing so that construction can take place immediately. "If you pay as you go," warns the narrator, "you may not go at all." Jam Handy Organization, General Motors Corporation, Department of Public Relations. (22 minutes

This Prelinger Archives film (part 1 of 2) is a compilation of images and sequences from the Ford Film Collection, with excellent footage of United States history, culture, industry, and daily life between about 1915 and 1930. Highlights include Coney Island, the increasing pervasiveness of the automobile in American life, and early manufacturing footage. This first part concentrates on American life from 1914 to the mid 1920s. We see rural life, factory footage, scenes of presidents and celebrities, a great deal of material from World War I, and images that show how the introduction of the car altered the social fabric and family dynamics. U.S. National Archives and Records Service. (17 minutes)

This World War II-era newsreel includes the following segments: New Kaiser and Fraser automobiles, build by hand...front wheel drive...and more.

Davis Car, three wheeled oddity Copyright The WPA Film Library. This is a very short silent film but the car itself is pretty interesting.

This video is so old that it is not in color and it is a silent film.
Casting assembly line workers in 1904 at Westinghouse Air Brake Company

"This is the story of the creation and consequences of the greatest and the longest engineered structure ever built, the Interstate Highway System. Imagine the state of Connecticut knee deep in earth; that's how much was moved for the Interstates. . .The Great Wall of China and the Interstate Highway System are among the human creations that can be seen by astronauts from an orbiting spacecraft..."

Weyerhaeuser Environmental Books explore human relationships with natural environments in all their variety and complexity. They seek to cast new light on the ways that natural systems affect human communities, the ways that people affect the environments of which they are a part, and the ways that different cultural conceptions of nature profoundly shape our sense of the world around us.
Wells, Christopher W.. Weyerhaeuser Environmental Books : Car Country : An Environmental History. Seattle, US: University of Washington Press, 2013. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 17 May 2017.
Copyright © 2013. University of Washington Press. All rights reserved.

There are a number of inventions that have changed the course of history. One of the most significant among their number is the wheel. This circular and singular innovation first came to light thousands of years ago, yet it continues to be of vital importance in everyday modern life. The wheel has changed how virtually everything is done, most notably regarding the transportation of people and goods. This book takes a careful and considered look at the invention, design, and evolution of an assortment of wheeled vehicles throughout the ages. Rounding out the coverage is an overview of the roadways upon which these vehicles have traveled— from the earliest rutted dirt paths to the modern highway systems created by industrialized countries.

Through a reexamination of the earliest struggles against Jim Crow, Blair Kelley exposes the fullness of African American efforts to resist the passage of segregation laws dividing trains and streetcars by race in the early Jim Crow era. Right to Ride chronicles the litigation and local organizing against segregated rails that led to the Plessy v. Ferguson decision in 1896 and the streetcar boycott movement waged in twenty-five southern cities from 1900 to 1907. Kelley tells the stories of the brave but little-known men and women who faced down the violence of lynching and urban race riots to contest segregation.

When Lee Iacocca brought his Fairlane Committee together in 1962 to explore the possibilities of a new kind of car for young, forward-thinking families, no one could have predicted quite how successful this car would eventually be. Finding a styling void in the swiftly growing baby boomer market, Ford hit a marketing bullseye with the Mustang—a four-seat, sporty "pony car" perfect for the times. In the first two years of its production, more than a million Mustangs were built—redefining the Ford brand and becoming the company's most popular car since the Model T.

Zimring talks about the complex environmental legacy of the automobile shredder. On September 16, 1994, the local chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) visited Alton Newell's Newell Industries plant to designate a device of Newell's as ASME's National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark no. 179. The device was an automobile shredder--according to ASME, the second and earliest surviving automobile shredder for recycling scrap metal. Even as ASME lauded Newell's innovation, the US Environmental Protection Agency was investigating his recycling company for improper handling of wastes generated by shredders over the years. The irony of ASME lauding a device for reducing pollution as it was being investigated for producing pollution is glaring, but the advent and proliferation of the automobile shredder in the US during the second half of the twentieth century represents a particularly apt example of Thomas Hughes's statement that technology is messy and complex, rich with unintended consequences. The consequences for shredder operators reveal many of the complexities of changing environmental understandings over that period, and how those understandings affected the scarp-metal industry.

This article explores the attempts in the United States in the 1970s to implement a new paradigm for automobile safety-crashworthiness, the idea that automobile passengers should be protected in the event of a crash.

This article presents a three-part framework of analysis for examining the role of regulatory performance standards in technological change.

With two separate power sources, a hybrid automobile needs two separate cooling systems—so technician training is twice as challenging. This video provides a solid instructional foundation in hybrid computer and cooling system inspection, maintenance, and repair. Overviewing electronic control modules for the power train, battery, transmission, brake system, and power steering system, the program helps viewers move beyond the standard OBD scanner to the use of master tech cards and OEM software. Steps for proper coolant and filter changes are also highlighted. A viewable/printable instructor’s guide is available online. Correlates to all National CTE Organizational Standards (including the provisions of the Perkins Act). A Shopware Production. Part of the series Hybrid Auto Repair Series II. (22 minutes)

This program covers basic inspection, checking control head and air door action, feeling and measuring line temperatures, listening for normal and abnormal sounds, as well as other techniques for finding trouble. Compares R-134a refrigerant systems with the older R-12 systems. Viewers also learn how to use a manifold gauge set to complete a performance test to diagnose system operation. A Meridian Production. Part of the series Automotive Heating and Air-Conditioning. (23 minutes)

This program covers physical principles, the basic refrigeration cycle, and the function of major parts—and compares the two major system classifications, expansion valve and orifice tube. Includes theoretical and service information on R-134a refrigerant systems. A Meridian Production. Part of the series Automotive Heating and Air-Conditioning. (24 minutes

This program complements the information given in the diagnosis and operation videos and includes service methods for heating systems, component replacement, and flushing heater cores. A Meridian Production. Part of the series Automotive Heating and Air-Conditioning. (21 minutes)

...California‘s important
experiment has lessons for all urban areas struggling to reduce automobile CO2 emissions.
It suggests that local land use controls can be added to the list of workable greenhouse gas
mitigation strategies.

Reducing energy consumption of climate-control systems is important, in order to reduce the human environmental footprint. The need to save energy becomes even greater when considering an electric car, since heavy use of the climate-control system may exhaust the battery. In this article, the authors consider a method for an automated agent to provide drivers with advice that will motivate them to reduce the energy consumption of their climate-control unit. Their approach takes into account both the energy consumption of the climate-control system and the expected comfort level of the driver.

Proponents of driverless vehicles assert that such technology could bring about a significant change in how Americans travel and will in turn greatly benefit society as a whole. They argue that replacing cars driven by humans with driverless ones will dramatically reduce the incidence of vehicular accidents, which result in the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans every year. However, driverless vehicle technology will not guarantee a lack of fatal accidents, as the May 2016 death of a driver of a semiautonomous car using Tesla Motors' Autopilot feature made clear. . .

There are several reasons to support the growth of electric vehicles (EVs) worldwide, but one of the most compelling is its potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that emanate from petroleum-driven vehicles.

This study has important implications for the hybrid vehicle industry in particular and all businesses in general. The results provide guidelines for the enhancement of business performance. Based on the significant impact of market demand on green innovation, this study strongly recommends that firms make greater efforts to understand customer needs and expectations.

Owing to their rapidly increasing numbers and very limited use of emission control technologies, motor vehicles are emerging as the largest source of urban air pollution in the developing world. Other adverse impacts of motor vehicle use include accidents, noise, congestion, increased energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Without timely and effective measures to mitigate the adverse impacts of motor vehicle use, the living environment in the cities of the developing world will continue to deteriorate and become increasingly unbearable.

"...The Kyoto Protocol formally went into effect in February 2005 after countries contributing 55 percent of all GHG emissions had finally approved the Protocol (with Russia’s approval pushing it over the threshold). Every rich country in the world adopted the Protocol except the United States and Australia. While opposition by the United States, the world’s largest GHG emitter, was hugely unpopular in Europe, it was indicative of withering enthusiasm for the Protocol itself. . .

U.S. and Canadian political scientists, sociologists, and labor educators contribute to the debate of the crisis of the Fordist regime of mass production and its implications for organized labor. They present the first comparative cross-national study of the labor relations in Japanese North American automobile transplant. Japanese joint ventures with the Big Three automakers, and Japanese-style General Motors auto plants. They specifically focus on the challenges the Japanese lean production model has posed to North American auto labor's organizing, collective bargaining, and shop floor representation experiences and how the United Auto Workers and the Canadian Auto Workers have responded to these challenges.

They called it the "Arsenal of Democracy," and it was truly one of the twentieth century's most astounding feats of industrial accomplishment. The year was 1941 and the place, Detroit, Michigan. The American automobile industry was just climbing out of an economic depression and hoping for better days ahead. Then came World War II. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, brought the Americans fully into the war. The automakers--some of whom had already begun doing contract work for the government--were shortly enlisted to become the Allies' full-time military manufacturers...

Filled with high-voltage cables and an HV battery, a hybrid vehicle requires an extremely high level of professional awareness and skill. This video guides viewers through all the steps necessary to perform work on a hybrid’s batteries and electrical system. From powering down the vehicle to monitoring and charging the AGM and standard batteries, the program provides a thorough introduction to Ford, Toyota, and Honda components. Information is also provided on testing and maintaining heavy-duty insulated gloves—essential tools for all hybrid electrical work. A viewable/printable instructor’s guide is available online. Correlates to all National CTE Organizational Standards (including the provisions of the Perkins Act).

Focusing on both conventional and hybrid vehicles, this program examines the systems that make them run and the tools that keep them running. After an introduction to the power train and the fuel, electrical, cooling, exhaust, steering, suspension, and brake systems, the video moves on to the auto tech’s personal hand tools and shared shop tools. All manner of wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers, and hammers are discussed, along with high-tech diagnostic instruments and specialized equipment for repairing or replacing automotive system components. Education and training opportunities are touched upon, and safety practices are emphasized throughout. A viewable/printable instructor’s guide is available online. Correlates to all National CTE Organizational Standards (including the provisions of the Perkins Act). Correlates to the Program Certification Standards for Automobile Technician Training Programs from the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence and the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation; the standards from the National Education Technology Standards Project; and the IHS Global Engineering Standards (Automotive).

With all major car manufacturers now producing hybrid gas-electric vehicles, it is critically important that automotive students understand the design and function of hybrid technology and the differences between various hybrid systems. This video helps develop that understanding through the use of dynamic 3-D animation and detailed live-action visuals. A helpful summary opens the program, explaining the basics of hybrid vehicle technology and its dual use of piston engine and electric traction motor. In-depth topics include the battery stack and its contents of high-efficiency lithium-ion modules; the dynamotor with its brushless armature and multi-coil stator assembly; the PCM, or power control module, which regulates current flow to the battery and dynamotor; and the cable system which connects those components. Additional video sections focus on all-electric drive mode, regenerative braking, and other unique aspects of HV operation, as well as the various configurations of hybrid drive trains. A viewable/printable instructor’s guide is available online.

With two separate power sources, a hybrid automobile needs two separate cooling systems—so technician training is twice as challenging. This video provides a solid instructional foundation in hybrid computer and cooling system inspection, maintenance, and repair. Overviewing electronic control modules for the power train, battery, transmission, brake system, and power steering system, the program helps viewers move beyond the standard OBD scanner to the use of master tech cards and OEM software. Steps for proper coolant and filter changes are also highlighted. A viewable/printable instructor’s guide is available online. Correlates to all National CTE Organizational Standards (including the provisions of the Perkins Act). A Shopware Production. Part of the series Hybrid Auto Repair Series II. (22 minutes)

Hybrid vehicles are complex machines—help your students get to know them inside and out. This video guides viewers through the system components common to hybrid automobiles, including the battery pack, the electric motor, the internal combustion engine, the transmission, and the generator. A viewable/printable instructor’s guide is available online. A Shopware Production. (16 minutes

Emergency services personnel face unique safety issues when responding to situations involving hybrid vehicles; all first responders should receive special training. General precautions emergency personnel should be aware of are addressed.

This video explains the functions of the starting system and the construction of its components in detail: the battery, starter motor, starter drive, solenoid, in-dash or in-column ignition switch, and neutral safety switch or clutch switch. A viewable/printable instructor’s guide is available online. Correlates to National CTE Organizational Standards (including the provisions of the Perkins Act).

After thoroughly reviewing the fundamentals of the ignition system, this video focuses in on five components: spark plugs, secondary wires, ignition coils, distributors, and electronic control units. Distributorless ignition systems are discussed as well. A viewable/printable instructor’s guide is available online. Correlates to National CTE Organizational Standards (including the provisions of the Perkins Act).

Filled with high-voltage cables and an HV battery, a hybrid vehicle requires an extremely high level of professional awareness and skill. This video guides viewers through all the steps necessary to perform work on a hybrid’s batteries and electrical system. From powering down the vehicle to monitoring and charging the AGM and standard batteries, the program provides a thorough introduction to Ford, Toyota, and Honda components. Information is also provided on testing and maintaining heavy-duty insulated gloves—essential tools for all hybrid electrical work. A viewable/printable instructor’s guide is available online. Correlates to all National CTE Organizational Standards (including the provisions of the Perkins Act).

Although the specific procedures for using load testers vary by car make and model, the general procedures are similar for all testers and vehicles. This video explains how to use a load tester to analyze the state of the battery, starting system, and charging system. Footage of an auto tech in action shows viewers how to check for a poor connection at the battery cables, measure battery voltage, check the amount of current drawn through the starter when cranking the engine, and measure the amperage output of the alternator and voltage regulator. A viewable/printable instructor’s guide is available online. Correlates to National CTE Organizational Standards (including the provisions of the Perkins Act).

Fixed resistors, variable resistors, ballast resistors, batteries, and various types of switches are explained in this program. Computer animation, component cutaways, and lab experiments are used to demonstrate how these basic components function. This is an informative video that will strengthen your curriculum. It is ideal for classes in electricity/electronics, technology, auto mechanics, and other technical areas. A viewable/printable instructor’s guide is available online. A Shopware Production. (22 minutes)

Transformers, relays, and motors are detailed in this training video. Computer animation, component cutaways, and lab experiments are used to demonstrate how basic components are constructed and operate. This is an essential training program for all students of electricity/electronics, technology courses, auto mechanics, and many other subject areas that involve electricity and electronics. A viewable/printable instructor’s guide is available online. A Shopware Production. (15 minutes)

This video uses 3-D animation and live action to make basic electrical circuits come to life. The properties of series, parallel, and series-parallel circuits are easy to grasp when you can see the electrons flow through each circuit leg in each circuit type. Ohm’s law is illustrated with animated pie charts and basic calculations that isolate each section of the circuit. A must-have for introductory electricity/electronics, auto mechanics, and technology courses. A viewable/printable instructor’s guide is available online. A Shopware Production. (17 minutes)

This video will review the most common methods for servicing and rebuilding a diesel engine cylinder head. It will explain how to disassemble, inspect, machine and reassemble different types of diesel cylinder heads, including the complexity of a thorough valve job and the importance of checking the head for cracks, warping, and other forms of damage. (20 minutes)

This program is a part of the Diesel Engines series of videos—which provide an overview the design, construction, and operation of diesel engines; detail the steps needed to properly disassemble, inspect, and measure the parts of diesel engines; and summarize how to install the major parts of a diesel engine back onto its short block. Turbochargers and superchargers are also described, including troubleshooting malfunctions and repair basics. Close-up shots of components and service procedures as well as computer animation give viewers maximum learning potential. (24 minutes)

This program is a part of the Diesel Engines series of videos—which provide an overview the design, construction, and operation of diesel engines; detail the steps needed to properly disassemble, inspect, and measure the parts of diesel engines; and summarize how to install the major parts of a diesel engine back onto its short block. Turbochargers and superchargers are also described, including troubleshooting malfunctions and repair basics. Close-up shots of components and service procedures as well as computer animation give viewers maximum learning potential.(23 minutes)
Other segments on this page:
Cylinder Heads04:56
Valve Train and Injectors05:58
Front End Assembly04:20
Installation of Other Components 05:15

This training video will demonstrate how to properly disassemble any kind of diesel engine, while inspecting each part for signs of wear, cracks, and damage. Viewers will learn the importance of part organization, detailed part inspection, proper part alignment, the use of special engine disassembly tools and the importance of thorough part cleaning.

Other segments on this page:
Introduction: Diesel Engine Teardown01:28
Initial Engine Teardown01:43
Engine Top Disassembly02:59
Engine Front End Disassembly04:28
Engine Bottom End Disassembly04:45
Diesel Part Inspection02:21
Diesel Part Inspection: Piston Service01:32
Cleaning Parts: Part One01:29
Cleaning Parts: Part Two02:23
Credits: Diesel Engine Teardown 00:27

This video provides a detailed overview of diesel engine technology and theory, including: a walk through of a standard four-stroke cycle piston engine; an overview of the injection system; a review of the bottom end and cylinder block, with its pistons, crankshafts and bearings; and the cylinder head in the top end, including the head gasket, intake manifold, valve train, and more.

This program covers the proper working order of the clutch and gearbox and provides step-by-step minor maintenance procedures for both. The second portion of the program looks at how to get the longest life from your tires and how to properly and safely change a flat tire. The last segment covers the suspension system and explains how to perform periodic brake system checks that will keep your vehicle operating at a safe and efficient level. (49 minutes)