Ask HN: What books would you recommend for learning about cars?

There's not really one book to handle the whole thing, it's an interdisciplinary microcosm of engineering.

- Internal combustion engines and associated drive trains

- Electric motors, batteries, electric transmissions.

- Vehicle dynamics and the wacky world of suspension and Tyre mechanics

- Vehicle body and crash structures

- Vehicle electronics and infotainment

- Ergonomics (seat design and driver position in particular is pretty interesting)

- glass house design (how do you design pillars while also giving good driver visibility and

The Bosch Automotive Handbook, now in its tenth English-language edition, is the standard one-volume reference. Older, but still useful, are Garrett et al., The Motor Vehicle, and U.S. Army TM 9-8000, Principles of Automotive Vehicles. There are also many books on specific subjects, such as Limpert, Brake Design and Safety, or Hoag & Dondlinger, Vehicular Engine Design.

If you’re more interested in servicing, I’d strongly recommend the automakers’ paper or electronic workshop manuals and training materials: for newer, more sophisticated models, these may be the only source of the information needed for safe, effective repairs and maintenance.

There are also textbooks published for use in community colleges, and works such as the Honda Common Service Manual, which was written for motorcycle and power equipment technicians but has a good deal of information applicable to full-size vehicles.

I've enjoyed the video course from How a Car Works [1]. They assemble a complete car from scratch, so you get to hear and learn about pretty much every component.

[1] https://www.howacarworks.com

What aspect of cars? If it’s working on them I’d recommend a workshop/haynes manual and just getting stuck in. There’s also loads of great stuff on YouTube (but of course that’s not a book)