All those car parts we talked about, are put together and ready to be driven. But how do we do that? 

See the picture, and all the controls and monitoring devices? They are different from the controls on Lila May's roadster.

Let’s go over a few of them.  If your family car still has its owner’s manual, see how closely theyr match the photo.

Sophie and Parker have already looked over the controls on their grandpa's pickup. He has promised to let them drive in the pasture of his farm when they are a bit older.

Dashboard: The place where the controls are. On horse-drawn wagons, the dashboard was the front board on the wagon that kept the dirt from the horses’ hooves from dashing up and hitting the people in the wagon.  Hence, dash-board.

"Dashing through the snow.....in a one-horse open sleigh
horse-hooves throwing mud, as we go our merry way.

we wish there was some way, to keep our faces clean
some sort of shield to block the stuff, would be so very keen."                 .... you get the idea.

Steering wheel: Turns the front wheels, side to side, to go left or right.

Ignition center: this is where we start the car, and usually where the turn signals and hazard lights are. 

Transmission Shifter: the transmission, either automatic or manual shift, manipulates the power from the engine. 

Each type of transmission has its own kind of control. Some cars have push-button transmission controls. 

Foot pedals:

Every car has a fuel pedal, that controls the speed of the engine, 

and a brake pedal, which makes the tires quit turning. 

Cars also have parking-brake pedals and releases. 

Clutch: If your car has a manual transmission, it will have a foot-operated clutch pedal. 

You'll need extra instructions to learn how to drive that kind of car. 

Some cars have ‘cruise control’ which keeps the speed constant, to be used on long strips of rural interstate. 

Parking brake: It keeps the car stopped properly applied.

Light controls: 

Cabin lights: the lights inside the cabin are called…..cabin lights, so we can see inside the car. 

Headlights, taillights and dashboard lights turn on with one switch. 

Turn signals are controlled from the cabin. 

Hazard lights, for stops in hazardous places, are usually on the steering column. 

Window controls, (I’m including these here with the lights)  are on each door, the driver's door has a master-switch.

Gauges and lights: The dashboard has gauges and lights that tell the driver what is happening: 

The speedometer tells the speed of the car. A tachometer (if included) tells the engine speed in rpms. (look it up)

There are gauges or lights that tell about oil pressure, battery charge, engine temperature and fuel level. 

There may be gauges, dials or lights that tell the time of day, tire pressure, cabin temperature, 

and if we left the parking brake on. Oops. 

Wipers and wiper fluid: Are controlled from near the steering wheel. 

Cabin comfort, heating and air conditioning, are usually controlled from the dashboard. 

Seat and mirror positions: 

Different people are different heights, so seats and mirrors need to be adjusted with each change of driver, 

for maximum safety.

Eric J Rose

middlegrademysteries.com

photo: visualdictionaryonline.com