A serious drawback to electric vehicles [batteries only] is the idle time needed to recharge their batteries. In this challenge, students can develop ideas and concepts for battery change-out at automotive service stations. Such a capability would extend the range of electric vehicles.

Improperly inflated car tires can reduce gas mileage and car performance, speed up tire wear, and even cause a tire to blow out. The AAA auto club recommends that someone check the air pressure of one's car's tires at least once a month. Wouldn't it be nice, though, if someone came up with a tire pressure-monitoring system that automatically kept…

Most people don't realize that the history of electric vehicles (EVs) predates the Civil War. This article provides a historical snapshot of EVs to spark the interest of both teachers and students in this important transportation technology.

As the General Motors Corporation shuts assembly plants and veers toward bankruptcy, the lonely remnants of one of its top technological achievements--the first modern mass-produced electric car--lie scattered across a few dozen American college campuses. GM produced and leased to customers more than 1,000 "EV1" automobiles beginning in 1996. In…

We physics teachers are forever in search of real-life applications of the theoretical concepts we teach. In mechanics we often utilize vehicle motion exercises, yet most textbook problems involving these are rather tame and deal with constant acceleration. What often captures the imagination of students is the actual performance of cars they…

Diesel engine technicians maintain and repair the engines that power transportation equipment such as heavy trucks, trains, buses, and locomotives. Some technicians work mainly on farm machines, ships, compressors, and pumps. Others work mostly on construction equipment such as cranes, power shovels, bulldozers, and paving machines. This article…

Supplies procedure, testing questions, and sample working graph for an activity in testing an operating principle of small gasoline engine. (MU)

This article summarizes the inventory findings related to nonfossil energy technologies and energy conservation. It is divided into four trade clusters that are most significantly affected: construction; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning; automotive; and power generation. (Author/CT)

Discusses the value students receive from analyzing and diagnosing engines at work when using an engine or chasis dynamometer. (GR)

Describes how small engine repair and marketing can be merged into a venture for the student to earn-and-learn while pursuing a course in power mechanics instruction. (GR)

Describes and illustrates a portable device for teaching principles of hydraulics through the automobile brake system. (GR)

The materials in this document are an extension of a catalog of occupational duties, tasks, and performance objectives relevant to maintaining automotive suspension systems, brakes, and steering mechanisms. This document provides the following for each occupational task within each duty: (1) a standard of performance; (2) the conditions under…