ABOUT THE BOOK

All of the changes to the various systems of an automobile and the integration of those systems have made becoming a successful technician more challenging than ever before. This book, A Systems Approach to Automotive Technology, was designed and written to prepare students for those challenges. With students having so much to learn in a short time, why fill the pages of a textbook with information they do not need? The emphasis of this book is on those things that students need to know about the vehicles of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

This does not mean that the pages are filled with fact after fact. Rather, each topic is explained in a logical way, slowly but surely. After many years of teaching, I have a good sense of how students read and study technical material. I also know what things draw their interest into a topic and keep it there. These things have been incorporated in the writing and features of the book.

This edition of A Systems Approach to Automotive Technology represents the many changes that have taken place in the automotive industry over the past few years. What should I include and what should I delete? I hope that I made the right choices. Of course, if I did, I give much of the credit to the feedback I have received from those individuals who reviewed this edition while it was in the making. They all did a fantastic job and showed that they are truly dedicated to automotive education.

The first section of chapters, which give an overview of the automotive industry, careers, working as a technician, tools, diagnostic equipment, and basic automotive systems, has a totally new look. In fact, the content of these chapters has been rearranged to better match the responsibilities and career of automotive technicians.

Chapter 1 covers the basic systems of the automobile in a very basic approach and has been updated to include hybrid vehicles. Chapters 2 through 4 cover very important issues regarding hand tools, shop equipment, and safety issues (including bloodborne pathogens). Throughout these chapters, there is a strong emphasis on safely working on today's vehicles and the correct tools required to do so. Chapter 3 gives a brief look at the special and diagnostic tools required for working in each of the eight primary ASE certification areas. The tools discussed include all of the required tools for each area as defined by NATEF.

Chapter 5 is new. It goes through the procedures involved in common safety inspections and preventive maintenance programs. These are the things that students ought to know before they enter into an entry- level position as a technician.

Section 2, which includes the chapters on engines, has been changed to include more coverage on the latest engine designs and technologies. There is more coverage on the theory, diagnosis, and service to alloy engines and overhead camshaft engines. There are also discussions on the latest trends, including variable