Car technology basics

Here in the US, libraries generally have many good books on basic auto technology and auto repair. Where you are at... I don't know.

I managed to find a site that has just what you want. It's pretty comprehensive!

-Tim

David Macaulay's book: The Way Things Work, while not limited to cars, has explanations for the internal combustion engine, standard and automatic* gearboxes, differentials, and brakes. [If you have kids that ask how things work, this is an outstanding resource, as it covers lots of stuff] Much of the book is available in CD-ROM format

The Complete Car Care Handbook (publisher and author unremembered) has a very good section on how cars work, marred only by its printing date of sometime in the early eighties.

• It explains how the hydraulics work to shift a two speed automatic from low to high, and it gives an adequite explanation of planetary gear sets.