A vehicle produced in Canada, United States or Mexico.

The hourly rates charged by dealers on standardized units of service work. Hourly rates may or may not correspond to an actual hour of work.

A four-seater auto in which four passengers face each other or sit back-to-back. Seldom seen after the early 1900s.

U.S. Department of transportation rating system for the boiling point, blend and performance of brake fluid.

A system of independent suspension in which each wheel is located on a 'knuckle' that is connected by ball joints to an upper A arm and a lower A arm. Usually, the lower A arms are longer. This system provides minimal changes in track and camber when the suspension is under load, as when going over bumps or in hard cornering.

A pin, inserted in mating holes in two different parts allowing those parts to maintain a fixed relationship.

A vertical force directed downward, produced by airflow around an object: such as a car body.

A dimensionless measure of the aerodynamic sleekness of an object. A sleek car has a drag coefficient, or 'Cd,' of about 0.30; a square, flat plate's is 1.98. Also signified by Cx. The lower the number, the greater the aerodynamic efficiency. The higher the drag coefficient, the more a car's engine must work to keep a given road speed. Also known as 'CD' for coefficient of drag.'

A one-of-a-kind futuristic, experimental automobile usually appearing at auto shows to stimulate interest in the manufacturer's products. Much design benefit spurs from dream cars and many reach the production stage.

The general qualitative evaluation of a powertrain's operating qualities, including idle smoothness, cold and hot starting, throttle response, power delivery, and tolerance for altitude changes.

The shafts that connect the transaxle to the front wheels.

The power-transmitting components in a car, including clutch, gearbox (or automatic transmission), driveshaft, universal joints, differential and axle shafts.

Everything in the drivetrain, less the engine and the transmission.

A rotating shaft that transfers power from the transmission to the rear wheels.

In rear wheel-drive cars, it connects the transmission to the differential. The shaft that transmits power from the transmission to the differential in a rear-drive power train.

See Convertible. Also called cabriolet on the Continent.

A braking system which consists of two brake shoes and one or two wheel cylinders, mounted on a fixed backing plate, and a brake drum, mounted on an axle, which revolves around the assembly.

Type of internal-combustion engine in which the lubricating oil is stored either in a separate tank or cooling radiator instead of in the crankcase pan. The oil is pumped to and taken from the engine by separate pumps.

A DOHC engine has two camshafts in each cylinder head; one camshaft actuates intake valves and the other actuates exhaust valves. The camshafts act directly on the valves, eliminating pushrods and rocker arms. This reduced reciprocating mass of the valve train enables the engine to build RPM more quickly. DOHC designs are typically high-performance, four valve per cylinder engines. (A four valve per cylinder two intake and two exhaust design helps the engine 'breathe' more freely for increased performance.)

import duties or taxes repaid by a government in whole or in part, when the imported goods are re-exported or used in the manufacture of exported goods.