Excerpt from The Gasoline Automobile, Prepared in the Extension Division of the University of Wisconsin The purpose of this book is admirably expressed in the following quotation taken from the Buick instruction book: To derive the greatest amount of satisfaction and pleasure from the use of his car the driver should have a complete understanding of the mechanical principles underlying its operation. Merely knowing which pedal to press or which lever to pull is not enough. The really competent driver should under stand what happens in the various parts of the car's mechanism when he presses the pedal or pulls the lever. He should know the cause as well as the result. When we consider the complexity of modern automobiles from a mechanical standpoint, with the duties that are required of them, together with the fact that the great majority of them are Operated by men with little Or no experience in the handling of machinery, the automobile stands as one of the most remarkable machines that the ingenuity of man has ever produced. The operating expense of the automobile has already assumed a large place in the budget of the American people. Although it is so built that the owner may secure good service from his automobile with very little knowledge of its construction, still it is evident that an intimate acquaintance with its details should enable him to secure better service at less expense and at the same time to prolong the useful life of the car. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.