Posted by Sherman in Idaho [108.162.246.24] on Friday, October 07, 2016 at 14:24:50 :
In Reply to: Interesting study in AUTO TERMS (glove box/dash board) posted by DDD [172.68.34.159] on Friday, October 07, 2016 at 08:48:59 :
At least "firewall" still has realistic meaning. As for the glove box, in the days before heaters, gloves were pretty much mandatory. I've also heard it called the "map compartment". The "boards" are definitely a hold-over from the carriage days, and of course we still buy "carriage bolts" even though nobody uses them to assemble carriages any more.
One that rubs me wrong somehow is calling the governor control pedal on a diesel vehicle the "throttle" since it doesn't really actuate a throttle plate. My favorite automotive term, though, was in an old Fiat manual that called the choke the "butterfly strangulation valve".