automotive book

Hi everyone!

I started to work in automotive few months ago, but I am all the time lost in the meetings.. I studies economics all my life and Im missing the basic technical terms and "vocabulary".. Does anyone knows if there is any book such as "how the car is produced for dummies?".. or a high school textbok could be fine as well.. Can be in english, german, spanish or czech.. My workplace is a mixture of these languages.. Best if available in the EU..

Thanks a lot for any tips, or even an advice where and how to search for it..

Lukas

Is there a particular automotive area that you are now working in? Engine design terms will be quite a bit different than automotive body repair or automotive assembly and Lean manufacturing.

-Rod

My boss is the project manager in charge of planning the production. The car was developed, however now it has to be checked whether it is possible to produce and prepare the assembly line, so some adjustments are being done.. And I would like to understand all those clashes between the virtuality and reality :).. Engines are not relevant to me atm. They will be delivered from the concern. (Btw it is Volkswagen concern to be even more specific..).. So german book would be handy even from the language side..

Thanks a lot

One good book to start with might be "The Toyota Way." This book is no so much about producing vehicles specifically, but it discusses Lean principles as they relate to manufacturing.

I'm struggling to think of any books that specifically discuss from a high level the various systems in a vehicle and briefly explain how they work together. You might want to spend some time searching through www.auto.howstuffworks.com and see what references they list for some of the relevant automotive topics.

-Rod

Thanks. I found something in Pdf by john shook and jeffrey k. liker, I will check that out..

Good point to notice the references on howstuffwork! they could refer to some awesome textbook, exactly the one I am looking for ;)!

. And I would like to understand all those clashes between the virtuality and reality :)..

Thanks a lot

A book is not going to help you much here.
As a person who actually designs stuff, I'll say that experience, common sense, and being very thoughtful in the design and layout, will assist greatly.
We also use physical mockups, and invite the people who will eventually put it together to give their input, when things get tight or awkward from an ergonomics standpoint.
--
Now I'm going to go out and work on my car.........and do some HONEST work for a change.
Have fun!