How to Speak Car Specs

There's practically no way to avoid 'em—statistics, dimensions, measures and techno-hype. Carmakers and car reviewers bombard the hapless car shopper with highly technical information. In the case of road tests and reviews by reputable sources, it can be useful and enlightening. As spouted by amped-up marketing machines, it can be nothing more than pure artifice.


To make a proper purchase decision, do you really need to understand how many cams a car should have? Actually, no. Trust the opinions of the right people, or the seat of your pants on a thorough test drive, and you won't go far wrong. Still, there is interesting and often relevant information on the spec sheet. Let's take a look at a typical spec sheet and decipher some of the information encoded within.

Body Style
Most of what you find on a typical automotive spec sheet is relatively self-explanatory. The vehicle's body style is something that is categorized by the Federal Government for various regulatory reasons. It can offer a useful reference point, even if some vehicles that are clear competitors in the marketplace are considered by the government to be in different size classes.

Airbags & Weight
Most spec sheets devote a line to safety equipment like airbags. In the fast-evolving field of safety engineering, the more inflatable devices you've got, the better off you are. This is by no means the entire safety story, however, since the structural design of the car is a critical (if difficult to quantify) part of vehicle safety. Another big element is vehicle weight. Though heavy vehicles are typically less maneuverable than lighter ones and may have a harder time avoiding an accident, if a crash with another vehicle is inevitable, you always want to be in the heavy vehicle. It's simple physics, and explains why you never see lightweights working as NFL linemen.

Drivetrain
Though many manufacturers make a big deal about it, drivetrain (meaning where the engine is and which wheels are doing the driving) is only an important issue if you've got a wicked sporting streak or drive on snow or dirt regularly. Sports car people will want rear drive for the handling advantage it offers at the outer limits of traction. Snow and dirt folks will appreciate all-wheel or four-wheel drive. All the rest of us can be perfectly happy with front-wheel drive year-round, even in rain, snow, and on most dirt roads.