Modern Automotive Technology [Hardcover]

James E. Duffy (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1590701860 | ISBN-13: 978-1590701867 | Publication Date: April 1, 2003

Provides an easy-to-understand, current text summarizing the operation and repair of all makes and models of vehicles. Text uses a building block approach that starts with the simple and progresses gradually to the more complex. DLC: Automobiles--Design and construction.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Goodheart-Willcox is the premier publisher for Technical, Trades, and Technology; Family and Consumer Sciences; and Business, Marketing and Career Education. Goodheart-Willcox products are designed to train everyone from students through practicing professionals. Our books and supplements contain a wealth of information on the latest theories, techniques, tools, and operations for these subject areas. Whether the subject is automotive or child care, you will find numerous features throughout our textbooks to make learning easier. High-quality presentation, authoritative content, sound topic sequence, an abundance of illustrations, involving pedagogy, real-world examples, and appropriate readability are hallmarks of Goodheart-Willcox products. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1592 pages
• Publisher: Goodheart-Willcox Co (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590701860
• ISBN-13: 978-1590701867
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.7 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #187,587 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #62 in Books > Professional & Technical > Automotive > Mechanics
  • #100 in Books > Professional & Technical > Automotive > Customize

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent text-book style piece of writing for anyone!, April 30, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Connecticut, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Modern Automotive Technology (Hardcover)

This book is very interesting for anybody interested in learning everything about modern automotive technology. It focuses mainly on the engine, drivetrain, suspension, steering, electrical and computer systems of cars. It does not really focus on the frame, body and interior of auto's. The book is great for the uninitiated and has plenty of examples and color figures. Duffy uses examples from Porsches to Toyota's and does a good job of defining every auto industry term. He explains basic car tools and teaches how to read auto specific repair manuals. If you are looking for information on cutting edge technology like fuel-cell driven cars, hybrid technology or composite body materials you won't find it. Although it is 1088 pages, to become an expert one would still need to read more books specifically geared toward certain categories like suspensions or transmissions. I would recommend this book.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Modern Automotive Technology, June 30, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Modern Automotive Technology (Hardcover)

I read this book as part of a college class, I enjoyed the detail and step-by-step education it gave. The ASE Review questions and chapter review helped pin point areas that needed more study. Two negative points I should tell you about there is no answers to the review questions in this book and no NATF Outline for areas you need to know per (ASE) areas of knollege, (A1-A8). For a Basic to Mid Level education in Auto Mechanics this book covered what was needed. In this Day of buying alot of books to get an education. Buying one well rounded book Helped keep the money in my pocket.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Generic Title Here, July 17, 2005

By 

M. Silva "blaster77" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Modern Automotive Technology (Hardcover)

Some of the best aspects of this book are: A) Many detailed color pictures that help keep interest and foster understanding B) Much more detailed than most how a car works book C) Set up as a school textbook, with ASE questions and summaries D) The author gets right to the point

The only negatives of this book I can think of are: A) Since it is about all automobiles, it's not car specific. If doing the repairs, I still would suggest a Haynes or Manufacturer manual. The repair sections are somewhat general because this book covers all cars, limiting it's use as a supplement to read before looking at a manual for repairs. B) I would have liked to see more information about hybrid vehicles. There was only about a paragraph

I highly suggest this book if you have some basic knowledge of automobiles but really want to gain an overall knowledge of all the parts of a vehicle and how they work. With some patience it is also a great choice for beginners with little knowledge. Beware though for beginners this is no quick overview and it will take a lot of time and effort. If you want to gain knowledge in a short period of time you could get a how cars work book/general book (such as Recipes for Car Care) and then if your still interested move to this book. To give you an idea this book is over 1,500 pages, with half going to fundamentals and the other half to repairing. However, if you take it one chapter at a time and just read the fundamental chapters it's not so bad (lots of pictures also). This book is designed well, with summaries and well-separated chapters making it easy for you to tackle one area of automobiles at a time. It's also well built, as no pages have fallen apart. Overall, I highly recommend it