Glossary of Automotive Terms |
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| A | |||
| A&A | Refers to "Aggravating Agitator" (in polite terms), meaning a CB user whose main purpose in life is to stir trouble and cause problems, usually under the influence of alcohol, and/or drugs. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| A-Bone | A hot rod built from a Ford Model A frame. | ||
| A-line | The line running over the car, from headlight to taillight, tracing the car's silhouette. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| ability | A term sometimes employed to express the relationship between car and engine output, more particularly used in estimating the hill climbing and speed capability of cars. No unit of ability has been agreed upon, but the output of the motor in horse power, or its piston displacement, divided by the weight of the car in hundredweights has been proposed. Thus, a car with a 30 horse power motor, and weighing 3,000 pounds, would possess an ability of 1.0, or would possess one horse power per hundred pounds of weight. Quite commonly the reciprocal of this unit is used by manufacturers, viz., the car weight in pounds divided by the output of the motor in horse power; or, in other words, the car weight per horse power. (A Dictionary of Automobile Terms (1913)) | ||
| accelerate | To increase in velocity or speed. (A Dictionary of Automobile Terms (1913)) | ||
| acceleration | The rate of increase in the speed or velocity of a moving body. Strictly speaking, the limiting ratio of the gain in velocity during an infinitely short period of time to the length of the period of time itself. In practice, acceleration is generally measured in feet per second per second. Example: If at a certain instant a car is moving at the rate of 40 feet per second, and a second later it is moving at a rate of 45 feet per second, its acceleration is at the rate of 5 feet per second per second. (A Dictionary of Automobile Terms (1913)) | ||
| accelerator | A device for the direct and rapid control of car speed by opening and closing the throttle. The term is usually applied to the pedal and attached parts which perform this function independently of the hand throttle (which can be set for any desired degree of opening), and of the automatic engine speed governor. Car speed is usually increased by the action of the foot upon the accelerator pedal, and is automatically decreased, to a predetermined point, by the action of an attached spring. (A Dictionary of Automobile Terms (1913)) | ||
| adjustable foot | Part of detachable base that raises or lowers to allow a rear-facing car seat to be installed at the correct recline angle. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| advanced technology vehicle | A vehicle that combines new engine/power/drivetrain systems to significantly improve fuel economy. This includes hybrid power systems and fuel cells, as well as some specialized electric vehicles. (U.S. Department of Energy, 2012) | ||
| advertising | A police car with its lights on. See "Blue Light Special." (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| African Violet | An African-American truck stop prostitute. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| accumulator | Edison Type: An electric storage or secondary cell the positive plates of which consist of nickel plated steel frames containing steel tubes filled with nickel hydrate, the negative plates consisting of similar frames containing pockets filled with iron oxide. The two sets of plates are immersed in a solution of caustic potash contained in a nickel plated steel jar. The method of use and the applications of this cell are similar to those of the lead cell. Synonyms: secondary cell, storage cell.  (A Dictionary of Automobile Terms (1913)) | ||
| accumulator | Lead Type: An electric cell consisting of two sets of plates immersed in dilute sulphuric acid within a containing jar, usually of glass or hard rubber. The plates of one set are known as positives, consists of grids or frames of specially prepared lead, the interstices in which are filled with lead peroxide. The plates of the negative set are lead grids filled with spongy lead. When the positive plates of such a cell are connected to the positive pole of a circuit carrying current (and vice versa), chemical changes take place and the cell becomes charged. When so charged the cell itself will furnish current to a circuit until its available chemical energy is exhausted, when recharging becomes necessary. A number of such cells electrically connected constitute a storage battery or secondary battery, which may be used to drive an electric vehicle or to furnish lighting or ignition current.  (A Dictionary of Automobile Terms (1913)) | ||
| acetylene | A hydrocarbon (C2H2) used as an illuminant in automobile lamps. It is produced by the reaction of water upon calcium carbide. In automobile lighting it may be produced, as consumed, in an automatically regulated generator, or may be drawn as desired from a storage tank in which the gas is carried under pressure dissolved in acetone or some similar absorbent. (A Dictionary of Automobile Terms (1913)) | ||
| acetylene torch | A torch used in heating the pilot light of a steam car, which burns acetylene gas derived from a supply carried upon the car. (A Dictionary of Automobile Terms (1913)) | ||
| acid cure | A method of curing rubber quickly, and without the application of heat as required in true vulcanization. It is employed in the securing of patches to inner tubes and in other tire repairs. Chloride of sulphur is supposed to be the agent employed to produce a sort of vulcanizing effect. (A Dictionary of Automobile Terms (1913)) | ||
| active material | The material which fills the spaces provided for it in the grids or frames that form the plates of storage cells. This material is the seat of the chemical changes which enable the cell to store and restore electrical energy, the grids themselves acting only as conductors. (A Dictionary of Automobile Terms (1913)) | ||
| adapter | A device for attachment to a gas or oil lamp to permit the use of an electric light therein, consisting of an electric lamp socket and bulb, with suitable electrical connections attached to a fitting which may be substituted for the gas or oil burner or clamped upon the same. In the latter case the fitting is hinged so that the electric bulb may be swung out of the way when the gas or oil burner is to be used. Synonym: converter.  (A Dictionary of Automobile Terms (1913)) | ||
| air damper | A damper inserted in the air intake of a carburetor which is normally kept open, but which, when closed, causes the carburetor to deliver a very rich mixture in order to facilitate starting the motor. Syn: Starting shutter, primary air shut-off. Also an adjustable valve in the main air intake of the carburetor used in regulating the quality of the fuel mixture. (A Dictionary of Automobile Terms (1913)) | ||
| air jacks | Compressed air activated lifting cylinders strategically mounted to the frame of and near the wheels of a racing car which project downwards to lift the car off the ground during a pit stop so to more quickly change wheels/tires or provide mechanics access to the underside of the car for repairs. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| aircraft carrier | Truck carrying a disassembled aircraft, helicopter or a small plane. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Alfisti | Plural, fans of Alfa Romeo. | ||
| Alice in Wonderland | Someone who is lost or seeking directions. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| all-in-one | This type of seat can change from a rear-facing car seat to a forward-facing car seat and then to a booster seat as a child grows. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| alligator | A large piece of a truck tire's tread in the roadway. The name comes from the tire tread's resemblance to the scaly ridges of an alligator's back, or the propensity for these pieces of tread to be drawn up between the cab and trailer by the air currents of a truck at highway speeds "like a snapping gator", and sever the air brake lines between the tractor and the trailer. Most newer trucks have shield plates designed to prevent this. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| ambulette | Vehicles that transport people with disabilities or those with medical conditions. Ambulettes accept Medicaid, Medicare, and other private insurance for travel reimbursement to specific locations such as from a client’s home to a dialysis center and then back home. Ambulettes can take several clients, whereas ambulances, in general, hold one patient for transport to a hospital. (FHWA 2012) | ||
| anchor clanker | Boat trailer. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| anteater | A Kenworth T600 (T604 Australia) tractor, because of the long sloping tilt up hood. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| apex | The part of a corner where the racing line is nearest the inside of the bend. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| apron | An area of asphalt or concrete that separates the racing surface from the infield. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Armpit | New Jersey. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Art Bell Town | Pahrump, Nevada, Art Bell's hometown. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Assville | The city of Asheville, North Carolina. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| astronaut | Police plane or helicopter. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| auto insurance | Insurance purchased by the owner of a vehicle to cover losses due to traffic accidents or theft. Synonyms: motor insurance, car insurance (US English) (Wiktionary, 2012) | ||
| autogas | The common name for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) when it is used as a fuel in internal combustion engines in vehicles as well as in stationary applications such as generators. It is a mixture of propane and butane. (Wikipedia: autogas) | ||
| Automatic Drive | Automatic Drive was the trade name for Studebaker Corporation’s first automatic transmission, designed in conjunction with Borg-Warner's Detroit Gear division. Studebaker was one of two independent American auto manufacturers to invest in development and tooling for automatic transmissions, the other being Packard with its Ultramatic product. (Wikipedia: Automatic Drive) | ||
| automatic locking retractor | This is a type of retractor that provides the ability to "lock" the seat belt at a set position. This is an important piece when installing car seats. Check vehicle owner's manual for more information. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| automobile | A type of vehicle designed to move on the ground under its own stored power and intended to carry a driver, a small number of additional passengers, and a very limited amount of other load. A car or motorcar. Etymology: From French automobile, from Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós, “self”) + French mobile (“moving”), from Latin mobilis (“movable”). The word automobile implies a car with seating for perhaps four or five passengers. However, it may seat one, two, three, six, or more passengers. A vehicle with more than six or seven seats is usually described as a limousine, minivan, van, SUV, bus, etc. Synonyms: auto, car, motorcar. Adjective Form: automotive. (US/Canadian English) (Wiktionary, 2012) | ||
| Awful Awful | North American hot rod slang for a AA/FA ("double A" Fuel Altered) drag racer. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| B | |||
| B-Main | A qualifying race before the main event, where non-qualified cars compete for a predetermined number of spots in the main event. Some races have a C-main where the top finisher(s) qualify for the B-main. At those events, the main event is known as the "A-main". (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| baboon butt | A Kenworth T2000 tractor, because of the grille styling. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| baby bear | A rookie (or at least a very young) police officer. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Back Door | The area behind a vehicle or the last vehicle in a line. To say "I got your back door" means that someone is watching another's back. "Knocking at your back door" means approaching from behind. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| back half | Referring to distance from the 1/8 mile mark to the 1/4 mark of the track in drag racing. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
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| backlight | The rear glass window glass. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| backmarker | A slower car, usually in the process of being lapped by the leaders. It is sometimes a derogatory term. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Bad News | Newport News, Virginia. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Badger Bound | Wisconsin bound. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bakkie |  A generic South African term for light pickup truck. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| baldy | A tire from which the treads have worn away, leaving the carcass as smooth as a hairless man's head. (A Hot Rod Dictionary is Born) | ||
| band-aid buggy | Ambulance. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| banking | 1.) The angle at which a track inclines towards the outside of a corner or from the lower to the higher side of a straight, also referred to as camber, more so when modest or negative 2.) a corner that inclines towards the outside. 3.) an earth bank where spectators sit or stand. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| baquet | Refers to cars made in the early 1900s in Europe. Baquet means bath tub. These cars had two rows of raised seats similar to horse-drawn carriages. Baquets usually did not have front doors, a top, or windshield. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| barchetta |  A roadster with no roof. The name, roughly "small boat", comes from an exclamation when the Ferrari 166MM Touring was shown. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| Barf City | Providence, Rhode Island. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Barnyard Buick | A Navistar International truck (formerly International Harvester). The terms originated because the International Harvester Company was primarily known for their farm machinery. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bash kits | In scale model building, the act of combining two or more kits to create a new custom model. | ||
| battle taxi | A slang term for an armored personnel carrier. | ||
| Batsman's Crease | A tangent break feature line running along the centreline of a car. This kind of feature can be seen on many modern Vauxhall, Opel and Chrysler models. Literally derived from the break found on the rear side of a cricket bat. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| bead | Tire bead is the term for the edge of a tire that sits on the wheel. Wheels for automobiles, bicycles, etc. are made with a small slot or groove into which the tire bead sits. When the tire is properly inflated the air pressure within the tire keeps the bead in this groove. It is common amongst drivers of off-road vehicles to decrease the air pressure in their tires. This makes the tread of the tire spread out, creating more surface area for the tire's tread to grip the terrain. If the pressure is too low, there may not be enough pressure to keep the bead on the wheel, thus causing the bead to pop off the wheel; this is often referred to as "losing a bead". Beadlocks, which clamp the bead on the wheel, are often used in this case. Often, the bead can become frozen to the rim after rusting occurs, requiring the use of a bead breaker. (Wikipedia: Tire bead) | ||
| beam | Starting line electric eye controlling prestaged and staged lights used in drag racing. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Bean Town | Boston, Massachusetts. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bean | A Ford Pinto. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bear | A police officer. The terms "Smokey" & "Bear" are both direct references to Smokey Bear, a character image commonly seen along U.S. highways, as part of warnings not to cause wildfires. He wears a campaign hat very similar to that included in many highway patrol uniforms in the U.S. It also refers to their attitude toward most law enforcement officers in general. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bear bait | An erratic or speeding driver. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bear bite | A speeding ticket. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Bear Cave/Bear's Den/Bear's Lair | A police station. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bear in a plain brown wrapper | A law officer in an unmarked police car. The term "plain white wrapper" is sometimes used, depending on the color of the vehicle. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bear in the air | A police aircraft. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bear in the grass | A speed trap. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bear taking pictures | Police with radar. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bear with ears | A police officer listening to others on the CB. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bed cap | A camper shell (also canopy, and sometimes topper, cap, bed cap, box cap, or simply shell) is a small housing or rigid canopy used as a pickup truck or coupe utility accessory. The housing is usually made of fiberglass or aluminum, but sometimes wood, and is mounted atop the pickup truck's rear bed. It usually covers the entire bed of the pickup truck, and is large enough to be used for camping purposes. Even though use for camping may have been its initial purpose, it now seems most often to be used for utility and storage purposes - particularly the protection of cargo from the elements and theft. Some camper shells are so large that they can overlap the top of the truck's cab, and some called soft-tops are made of canvas like convertibles. (Wikipedia: Camper shell) | ||
| beemer | Slang for a BMW motorcycle or car. | ||
| Beertown | Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bells and flags | A bell is when the dispatcher calls on the radio and sends a driver for a pickup. A flag is when someone on the street flags you down. (Taxi lingo and a few tricks of the trade) | ||
| belt path | This is the place on a car seat or booster seat where a seat belt or lower anchor attachment is placed to secure car seat in vehicle. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| belt-positioning booster seat | See booster seat. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| beltline | The line going from the hood which usually follows the bottom edge of the windows and continues to the trunk. The beltline is a major component of the vehicle's overall appearance, as well as the safety aspect of blind spots. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| berlina | Italian term for a sedan. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| berline |  French term for a sedan. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| berlinetta | Italian term for a sport coupé. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| bezel | The trim or bodywork that surrounds a light, holds the face of an instrument in position, or decoratively conceals gaps between bodywork and components as an escutcheon. Often chrome or plastic. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| Bibendum | The official name of Michelin's mascot, commonly known in English as The Michelin Man. | ||
| Big A | Atlanta, Georgia or Amarillo, Texas. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Big Apple | New York City. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Big Arch | St. Louis, Missouri (named for the Gateway Arch). (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| The Big Easy | New Orleans, Louisiana (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| The Big One | A large pileup during a stock car race involving up to 30 cars. The term is largely reserved for restrictor plate racing at Daytona and Talladega. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Big Orange | Skelton Truck Lines Truck. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Big R | Roadway Express truck. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| The Big Road | An interstate, particularly Interstate-80. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| The Big Stink | Las Cruces, New Mexico (Due to its waste water treatment plant being to close to I-10). (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Big Truck | A semi truck, usually an 18-wheeler, used as the opposite of the term "four-wheeler." (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Biggest Little | Reno, Nevada (named for its nickname "Biggest Little City in the World"). (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bigs and littles | A hot rodder's term for the combination of larger wheels & tires at the rear and smaller wheels & tires at the front. | ||
| Bikini State | Florida (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bimmer | Slang for a BMW car. | ||
| binders | ;Air brakes. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| binnacle | The housing for the Instrument cluster on top of or as part of the dashboard. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| bit by a bear | Received a ticket. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bitumen sniffer | A Kenworth T604, T608, or T609. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| black and white | Highway Patrol. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Black Bart | A chronic alcoholic who cannot handle his liquor. Usually shouts loudly, picking people up, etc. A general nuisance to others. An undesirable person at a party or truckstop. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| black flagged | To be ordered to the pits or penalty box, due to a rules infraction or unsafe car (loose parts, smoking, dropping fluid, etc). A black flag is shown to the car that has to stop. Also known as "being posted". (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| bleach box | Area where bleach is deposited for cars to perform burnouts before drag races. Gasoline (since discontinued for safety reasons), water, and TrackBite are also used. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| blend line | The painted line defining the exit from pit lane where it rejoins the race track. It prevents emerging race cars from driving into race traffic travelling past the pits. Competitors are penalised for crossing the blend line, ensuring cars have attained full racing speed before rejoining the race. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| blinders | High beams (headlights). (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bling | See brightwork. May also refer to the strong use of jeweled lighting. Comes from the term bling-bling. (Wiktionary: Glossary of Automotive Design) | ||
| blinkin' winkin' | School bus. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| blood box | Ambulance. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| blowover | Flipping of a car, due to air under car lifting front wheels. Commonly suffered by dragsters and powerboats. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Bluber |  A portmanteau of "blue" and "Uber," a slang term for ambulances called for by drunken people in the UK (who can't afford actual Uber taxicabs) for a ride home. | ||
| Blue Bear | A Michigan State Police Trooper. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Blue Bird | A Marten Transport truck. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Blue Goose | Nickname for dark blue Michigan State Trooper cars. | ||
| Blue Light Special | A law enforcement vehicle, especially with a stopped motorist. The term blue light special is derived from a promotion by Kmart where they would place a flashing blue light in the store next to an item, and announce a surprise sale to shoppers on the store's public address system. Truckers adopted the term and announce a "Blue Light Special" on the CB to warn other truckers when they spot a police vehicle with flashing blue lights on the road. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Bluegrass City | Lexington, Kentucky and surrounding area. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| The Bluff | Poplar Bluff, Missouri. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bob-tail | A semi-tractor operating without a trailer. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| boda boda |  A motorcycle taxi in Uganda. | ||
| body box | Ambulance. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| body in white | Base chassis before customisation. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| bogie | Threat. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bone box | Ambulance. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bonnet | The hatch covering the engine on vehicles when the engine is located forward or aft of the passenger compartment. The equivalent word in American English is "hood." (Wiktionary: Glossary of Automotive Design) | ||
| boondocking | Camping with a recreational vehicle parked without connections to water, electricity, or sewer. | ||
| booster seat | A booster seat correctly positions the seat belt by "boosting" the child so the lap and shoulder belts fit properly. The lap belt should be low and tight across the hips, and the shoulder belt should fit cross the chest and not rest against the neck or face. Proper belt fit is very important. Booster seats can have high backs (for use in vehicles with no head restraints) or can be no back/backless seats (for use in vehicles with head restraints). (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| boot | Compartment for storage of cargo which is separate from the cab. Also known as a trunk. (Wiktionary: Glossary of Automotive Design) | ||
| bōsōzoku 暴走族 |  Literally "running-out-of-control (as of a vehicle) tribe" is a Japanese youth subculture associated with customized motorcycles. (Bōsōzoku)Also used to describe a subculture of customized cars, combining five cultures of customized cars in Japan: Shakotan, Yanky style, VIP style, Kyusha style, and Grachan. (What is bosozoku?) | ||
| bottle | Refers to the nitrous system, also the jug. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| bottoming out | When the bottom of the chassis hits the track. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| box box box | An F1 term used by people on the pit wall to tell a driver to come into the pitlane for a pitstop. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| box cap | A camper shell (also canopy, and sometimes topper, cap, bed cap, box cap, or simply shell) is a small housing or rigid canopy used as a pickup truck or coupe utility accessory. The housing is usually made of fiberglass or aluminum, but sometimes wood, and is mounted atop the pickup truck's rear bed. It usually covers the entire bed of the pickup truck, and is large enough to be used for camping purposes. Even though use for camping may have been its initial purpose, it now seems most often to be used for utility and storage purposes - particularly the protection of cargo from the elements and theft. Some camper shells are so large that they can overlap the top of the truck's cab, and some called soft-tops are made of canvas like convertibles. (Wikipedia: Camper shell) | ||
| Boy Scouts | State Police. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| brake check | A brief traffic slowdown, where traffic flow improves after about a minute or two. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| brake lights | Red steady-burning rear lights, brighter than the rear position lamps, are activated when the driver applies the vehicle's brakes. These are called stop lamps in some countries and brake lights in others. They are required to be fitted in multiples of two, symmetrically at the left and right edges of the rear of every vehicle. International UN regulations specify a range of acceptable intensity for a stop lamp of 60 to 185 candela. In North America where the UN regulations are not recognised, the acceptable range for a single-compartment stop lamp is 80 to 300 candela. (Wikipedia: Automotive Lighting) | ||
| break | French term for a station wagon. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| breaker | Telling other CB users that you'd like to start a transmission on a channel. May be succeeded by either the channel number, indicating that anyone may acknowledge (e.g. "Breaker One-nine" refers to channel 19, the most widely used among truck drivers), or by a specific "handle", which is requesting a particular individual to respond. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| breakout | A drag racing term for running quicker than dial-in; also "breaking out." Grounds for disqualification if opponent does not commit a foul start or cross boundary lines; also known as Bustout. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Breezeway | In automotive design terminology, the name breezeway has been used to describe the reverse-slanted, power-operated rear window ("backlite") which, when opened even slightly, provided through ventilation. Typical models with this feature are late-1950s Mercury Turnpike Cruisers and Park Lanes. (Wikipedia: Breezeway) | ||
| Bridgeville | Portland, Oregon. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| brightwork | Anything reflective added to a car to enhance appearance. May also be called chrome. (Wiktionary: Glossary of Automotive Design) | ||
| Britstang | Slang for a right-hand-drive Ford Mustang. | ||
| Brodie knob | a doorknob-shaped handle that attaches to the steering wheel of an automobile or other vehicle or equipment with a steering wheel. Other names for this knob include suicide, necker, granny, knuckle buster, and wheel spinner. (Wikipedia: Brodie knob) | ||
| Bubble City | Champaign, Illinois. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bubblegummer | Teenager. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bucket | The enclosure or space for the wheel. Also known as a wheel well. (Wiktionary: Glossary of Automotive Design) | ||
| buckle | Accepts the latch plate and holds the seat belt in place. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| buggy | A Buggy is an automobile with wheels that project beyond the vehicle body. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| Buick town | Flint, Michigan. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Bull City | Washington, D.C. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bull rack | Livestock truck. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Bulldog | A Mack Tractor, noted for the bulldog hood ornament. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Bullfrog | An ABF truck. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bump and run | A move in stock car racing, where a trailing car intentionally bumps the car in front in an attempt to pass. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| bumper sticker | A tailgating vehicle. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bumper | A bumper is a structure attached to or integrated with the front and rear ends of a motor vehicle, to absorb impact in a minor collision, ideally minimizing repair costs. Invented by Briton Frederick Simms in 1901, Bumpers ideally minimize height mismatches between vehicles and protect pedestrians from injury. Regulatory measures have been enacted to reduce vehicle repair costs, and more recently impact on pedestrians. (Wikipedia: Bumper) | ||
| Bundy tube | Bundy tube, sometimes called Bundy pipe, is type of double-walled low-carbon steel tube manufactured by rolling a copper-coated steel strip through 720 degrees and resistance brazing the overlapped seam in a process called Bundywelding. It may be zinc- or terne- coated for corrosion protection. It is used in automotive hydraulic brake lines in cars manufactured in the USA since the 1930s. A 1969 study by the SAE recommended the replacement of Bundy tube with 90-10 copper-nickel alloy UNS C70600 (Kunifer pipe) because of corrosion concerns. Kunifer pipe has since been adopted by European automakers Volvo, Rolls-Royce, Lotus Cars, Aston-Martin, Porsche, and Audi. Bundy pipe retains the advantage higher rigidity, which means less volume expansion under pressure. The Bundy Tubing Company, started in the USA, was bought in the 1980s by what is now the British company TI Automotive. (Wikipedia: Bundy tube) | ||
| Bunsen Burner | Portable meth lab. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| burnout | Performed to heat the tires up for better traction. It is also used in stock car racing typically to celebrate a race win. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Buschwhacker | A driver who regularly races in the first tier NASCAR series, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, who makes guest or semi-regular appearances racing in the second-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series. The term was named originally for then sponsor of the second-tier series Anheuser-Busch brewery. Claim Jumper was a reference to second-tier sponsor Nationwide Insurance (2008–14), and Signal Pirate references current second-tier sponsor Comcast Xfinity. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Buster Brown | A United Parcel Service (UPS) truck. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| busy | A Weigh Station or Rest Area that is pulling trucks in for weighing or inspection. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| butterfly doors | A type of door sometimes seen on high-performance cars. They are similar to scissor doors. While scissor doors move straight up via hinge points at the bottom of the A-pillar, butterfly doors move up and out via hinges along the A-pillar. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| Buzzard Truck | A Stevens Transport truck, because the birds on the truck all face the same direction as if flying in a circle. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| bye | Allows a driver to advance to the next stage or heat of an event, without competing, when there are uneven numbers entered. Commonly used in speedway, drag racing and drifting etc. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Byteflight | Byteflight is an automotive databus created by BMW and partners Motorola, Elmos Semiconductor and Infineon to address the need for a modernized safety-critical, fault tolerant means of electronic communication between automotive components. It is a message oriented protocol. As a predecessor to FlexRay, byteflight uses a hybrid synchronous/asynchronous TDMA based means of data transfer to circumvent deficiencies associated with pure event-triggered databuses. (Wikipedia: Byteflight) | ||
| C | |||
| cab | Short for cabin. The enclosed compartment of a vehicle which contains the driver and passengers. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| cab back | The cab of the vehicle is moved to the rear of the vehicle. Cars such as a 1970s Corvette could be considered cab back design. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| cab forward | The cab of the vehicle is pushed forward. This design aesthetic was popular with Chrysler in the 1990s with the introduction of their LH platform cars. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| cab-over | Tractors designed with the cab directly over the engine. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| cabbie | A taxicab driver. | ||
| cabrio coach | Normally a two-door body design with special form of car roof, where a retractable textile cover amounts to a large sunroof. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| cabrio coach | A cabrio coach or semi-convertible is a type of car that has a retractable textile roof, and derives from Cabriolet. It is an inexpensive alternative to a full convertible, especially on cars with unibody designs since little or no redesign of the body is necessary. This type of roof was popular in Germany in the 1930s, and is often called a "Webasto" since a German company of that name has been the main supplier for both factory built, and aftermarket, cloth car roofs since that time. This roof was used on many older cars such as the Mercedes-Benz Ponton, Saab 92, Citroën 2CV, Fiat 500, GAZ-M20 Pobeda and the Fuldamobil. Nash Rambler was available as a cabrio coach, but they called it "convertible landau". A variant in which the original sedan's fixed rear glass window was retained first appeared in the 1930s, and had the advantage that it could be more easily retrofitted to an existing car; it was a factory option (although listed as a separate model) for the Volkswagen Beetle up to 1963. Some more modern cars also feature this roof style, for instance BMW 318ti, Volkswagen Polo, Nissan Figaro, Isuzu Amigo, Fiat 500 (2007) and Suzuki Vitara. (Wikipedia: Cabrio coach) | ||
| cabriolet | Orignally the French term for convertible, it is now frequently used across many languages, as in the German-made Volkswagen Cabriolet. | ||
| cackle fest | 1.) Referring to when 2 Top Fuel or Funny Car cars are sitting at the starting line and one or both cars refuse to stage. The motor noise at idle sounds like a cackle. At the discretion of the starter, they can order the drivers to stage or even have them pull out of the lanes and have the next race group come forward. 2.) A show and shine for hot rods where the cars are allowed to idle. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| cage driver | A motorcyclists' slang term for drivers of cars. The A-, B-, and C-pillars from a structure that resembles the "cage" and implies that car drivers aren't free. | ||
| California stop | The practice of slowing down, rather than stopping, at a stop sign. (Wikipedia) | ||
| camber | 1.) The angle at which wheels are set up to tilt in or out, measured in degrees in or out from 90 degrees (i.e. "2.5 degrees negative camber" means each wheel is tilted 2.5 degrees inwards from vertical) "Positive camber" means the top of the tyre is angled outwards from the car; "negative camber" means that the top tilts inwards. Negative camber assists cornering performance as the outside tyres lean into the corner (like a motorcycle) which keeps the lateral forces on the tire lower and causes less flex in the sidewall, although it does also have the effect of increasing tyre wear. 2.) Banking, the angle at which a corner inclines towards the outside or a straight from its lower side to its higher side. Sometimes specified as positive camber and negative camber, the latter indicating a decline from the inside of a corner. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Camel City | Winston-Salem, North Carolina (the home of Reynolds Tobacco). (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| camera | Police radar unit. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| camera car | Highway Patrol Police Car in reference to the onboard video camera set up. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| camioneta |  Brazilian Portuguese term for a station wagon (specially in the state of Rio de Janeiro). Spanish term also used in Argentina and Uruguay. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| camper shell | A camper shell (also canopy, and sometimes topper, cap, bed cap, box cap, or simply shell) is a small housing or rigid canopy used as a pickup truck or coupe utility accessory. The housing is usually made of fiberglass or aluminum, but sometimes wood, and is mounted atop the pickup truck's rear bed. It usually covers the entire bed of the pickup truck, and is large enough to be used for camping purposes. Even though use for camping may have been its initial purpose, it now seems most often to be used for utility and storage purposes - particularly the protection of cargo from the elements and theft. Some camper shells are so large that they can overlap the top of the truck's cab, and some called soft-tops are made of canvas like convertibles. (Wikipedia: Camper shell) | ||
| Canadian Peterbilt | Western Star Truck. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| The Canadian Turnpike | Name give to Interstate-81 because of its heavy Canadian truck traffic. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| candy car |  Highway Patrol Police Car usually with high-visibility Police decals. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| cap | A camper shell (also canopy, and sometimes topper, cap, bed cap, box cap, or simply shell) is a small housing or rigid canopy used as a pickup truck or coupe utility accessory. The housing is usually made of fiberglass or aluminum, but sometimes wood, and is mounted atop the pickup truck's rear bed. It usually covers the entire bed of the pickup truck, and is large enough to be used for camping purposes. Even though use for camping may have been its initial purpose, it now seems most often to be used for utility and storage purposes - particularly the protection of cargo from the elements and theft. Some camper shells are so large that they can overlap the top of the truck's cab, and some called soft-tops are made of canvas like convertibles. (Wikipedia: Camper shell) | ||
| Capital City | Carson City, Nevada. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| car bed | A restraint, usually for small, premature, or medically fragile babies who should ride lying down either on their backs or on their stomachs. In most cases, the baby lies flat. The vehicle seat belt is used to anchor the car bed perpendicular to the direction of travel. The infant's head is placed toward the center of the vehicle and not next to the door. An internal harness secures the child in the car bed. Be sure to carefully read the manufacturer’s instructions as there may be other methods of securing allowed for certain car beds. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| car seat | A child restraint (CR), a child restraint system (CRS), or a child restraint device (CRD): A crash-tested seat, device or system that is specially designed to provide child crash protection. General terms for these systems include child safety seats, car seats, boosters or booster seats, vests or car beds, and those items which meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 213. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| Care Bear | Police car located within a construction zone. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| carcolepsy | Slang term for being sleepy on car trips, a portmanteau of "car" and "narcolepsy." | ||
| caregiver | A person responsible for a child's well-being and safety. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| Carolina squat | A type of pickup truck modification where the rear is stock or lowered and the front is lifted. This is meant to emulate off road racing trucks where the front end is higher than the rear for the purpose of landing jumps, but can drastically reduce visibility out of the windshield. | ||
| carrinha |  Portuguese term for a station wagon. Not used in Brazilian Portuguese. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| carrosserie | Bodywork of a vehicle. Also the workshop at which automotive body work is built on a prototype or low volume production basis, typically with extensive handwork. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| carry handle | Plastic handle attached to infant car seats (rear-facing only) that can be used to carry car seat with child in it when removed from vehicle. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| Carson top | Carson top is a one-piece, padded, upholstered, removable top. The design was invented by Bob Houser in 1935 when he worked for Amos Carson at Carson Top Shop in Los Angeles, USA. The first carson top was probably made for a Ford Model A convertible and nowadays it is mostly used on hot rods and customs. (Wikipedia: Carson top) | ||
| caruggy | A "caruggy" or tarapopp is a specialized off-road vehicle. Caruggy is a portmanteau of the words car and buggy. Some people think that the caruggy nomenclature is derived from using a car frame as the basis for the vehicle, whereas a "buggy" would have started from the chassis of a Volkswagen Bug. Actually the "caruggy" is the "unlimited class", full tube chassis brainchild of Tim Lawrence (TLR Performance Fabrication) of El Cajon, Ca. With the help of Travis Rojas (the co driver). It is a morph between a "Trophy car" and a "Race Buggy". It is simply put, a giant front engined race buggy, like a car. Race buggies were historically rear engine. Caruggy are built for off-road racing. They are built at specialty shops that know and understand the rules of the racing classes. Popular racing series that include these vehicles are the Baja 1000, Baja 500, The Mint 400, the 1400-mile Vegas to Reno, etc. Caruggies are built from scratch, not heavily modified street vehicles that have been altered to the point that they barely resemble their original form. A caruggy generally has several defining features: (Wikipedia: Truggy) | ||
| Carwash | A Department of Homeland Security program for mobile application testing hosted by DHS OCIO. | ||
| cash box | A toll booth or toll plaza. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| catalytic converter | A catalytic converter is an emissions control device that converts toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas to less toxic pollutants by catalyzing a redox reaction (an oxidation and a reduction reaction). Catalytic converters are used with internal combustion engines fueled by either petrol (gasoline) or diesel—including lean-burn engines. The first widespread introduction of catalytic converters was in the United States automobile market. To comply with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's stricter regulation of exhaust emissions, most gasoline-powered vehicles starting with the 1975 model year must be equipped with catalytic converters. (Wikipedia: Catalytic converter) | ||
| catch car | Police car past radar set-up. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| catch fence | A series of and combination of chain-link fencing, welded grid fencing, and / or cables used to slow or stop out of control cars and prevent debris and tyres from hitting the crowd. It is common on short tracks, street and permanent circuits. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| cattle wagon | Livestock truck. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| center cap | A center cap, or centercap is a decorative disk on an automobile wheel that covers a central portion of the wheel. Early center caps for automobiles were small and primarily served the purpose of keeping dirt away from the spindle nut and wheel bearings of vehicles. Center caps are often found on new cars to hide the lug nuts, and/or the bearing. Center caps are a type of hubcap, the other primary type being wheel covers. Some modern center caps are retained to the wheel using spring clips, while others are retained by the wheel lugs or other threaded fasteners. (Wikipedia: Center cap) | ||
| center console | The center console (British English: centre console) in an automobile refers to the control-bearing surfaces in the center of the front of the vehicle interior. The term is applied to the area beginning in the dashboard and continuing beneath it, and often merging with the transmission tunnel which runs between the front driver's and passenger's seats of many vehicles. Traditionally, vehicles with a gear stick have placed this control where the two areas of console and tunnel merge, or at the rear-most end of the console in front-wheel-drive vehicles without transmission tunnels. In some modern vehicles – particularly vans – the gear stick is mounted in the front, more vertical part of the center console to be within better reach of the driver without requiring a long stalk mounted on the steering column. The term "center console" often extends, as well, to the armrest between the driver's and passenger's seats, which in some vehicles (e.g., the Toyota RAV4) features one or more storage compartments under the armrest. (Wikipedia: Center console (automobile)) | ||
| centerline hardening | An addition of bollards or curbing to the center line of a roadway at an intersection to prevent drivers turning left from cutting the corner. | ||
| channel 4 drunk | A chronic alcoholic who spends an extreme amount of time on the CB radio. Interchangeable with the terms Silverfish, Buck, Kool-Aid Man, or Leadfoot. Derived from the Channel Four CB club in Concord, North Carolina. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| channel | To modify the body so that it can be dropped below the frame. (A Hot Rod Dictionary is Born) | ||
| character line | A line creased into the side of a car to give it visual interest. (interchangeable with swage line) Sometimes implemented by a rubbing strip. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| Charlie Town | Charleston, South Carolina. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| chase vehicle | In off-road racing, a non-competitive vehicle that follows a competing vehicle to assist with repairs. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| checking my eyelids for pinholes | Another way of saying "I'm tired." (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Checkpoint Charlie | Old CB slang for a police checkpoint placed to look for drunk drivers, etc. This looks like a roadblock. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| cheese wagon | A school bus. See also "Swiss Cheese Wagon", "Half Cheese", "Little Cheese". (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Chelsea tractor | A large luxury SUV, usually but not always a Land Rover, most often seen in urban shopping areas and may have never been off road. Named for the affluent neighborhood of London known for its high end shops and restaurants. | ||
| chest clip | Plastic buckle or clasp that holds the harness shoulder straps together over the child’s chest and is positioned at child’s armpit level. Also called retainer clip. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| Chi-Town | Chicago, Illinois. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| chicane | An artificial feature added to the natural course of a track to slow cars or create a passing zone. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| chicken choker | Poultry truck. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| chicken coop | A weigh station. "Locked up" / "clean" (ex: "the chicken coop is clean.") means the station is closed. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Chief Hood Lifter | Service Manager at a truck repair garage. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| children with special transportation needs | Children whose physical or behavioral conditions sometimes make the use of specially designed restraint systems necessary. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| Chinese fire drill | A U.S. collegiate prank (also known as red-light green-light) performed by a vehicle's occupants when stopped at a traffic light, especially when there is a need to swap drivers or fetch something from the trunk. Before the light changes to green, each occupant gets out, runs around the vehicle, and gets back inside. (Wikipedia) | ||
| Chocolate Town | Hershey, Pennsylvania. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| chod | Slang for an old car, usually a common family car, that is not popularly seen as a desirable classic. | ||
| choke and puke | Roadside diner (named for the poor quality of food at some establishments). (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Choo Choo Town | Chattanooga, Tennessee (named for the song "Chattanooga Choo-Choo"). (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Christmas Tree | The series of lights in drag racing that signal the approach and start of a race in addition to showing starting violations. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| chrome | Brightwork using chrome plating. (Wiktionary: Glossary of Automotive Design) | ||
| church break | A compulsory time-off period in which all motorsport activities must cease for a short period on late Sunday morning to allow church services to proceed without disruption from adjacent noise, common to all motorsport venues taking place within a certain proximity of a church, or if local regulations mandate such. At Lime Rock Park, racing on Sunday is specifically prohibited. Some series intentionally do not allow any activity on the circuit until after noon on Sunday. Many series in North America reserve such time off in order to have chapel services inside the circuit, organised by a ministry traveling with the series, and spectators with chapel services organised by local churches. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| church on wheels | A church bus. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Cigar City | Tampa, Florida. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Circle | Indianapolis, Indiana. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Circus Wagon | Monfort truck. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| city bear/city kitty | Local law enforcement monitoring a particular stretch of interstate which runs through their jurisdiction. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| city car | A city car is a small automobile intended for use in urban areas. Unlike microcars, a city car's greater speed, capacity and (in perception at least) occupant protection are safer in mixed traffic environments and weather conditions. While city cars can reach highway speeds, that is not their intended use. In Japan, city cars are called kei cars. Kei cars have to meet strict size and engine requirements: engines have a maximum displacement of 660 cc and the car's length must be under 3400 mm. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| cladding | Material (usually plastic) added to exterior of the car which isn't structurally necessary. May be functional to keep out dirt/debris as in underbody cladding, or may be cosmetic. (Wiktionary: Glossary of Automotive Design) | ||
| Claim Jumper | (NASCAR) A driver who regularly races in the first tier NASCAR series, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, who makes guest or semi-regular appearances racing in the second-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series. The term was named originally for then sponsor of the second-tier series Anheuser-Busch brewery. Claim Jumper was a reference to second-tier sponsor Nationwide Insurance (2008–14), and Signal Pirate references current second-tier sponsor Comcast Xfinity. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| classy chassis | Nice truck. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| clean air | Air that has not been affected by turbulence from other cars. The opposite of dirty air. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| clean and green | No police or obstructions ahead. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Clerk of the Course | The official responsible for all on-track activities including demonstrations and parades. They oversee the track conditions, supervise the marshals and emergency services, control the deployment of the safety car and decide upon suspending a session. If a race director is appointed the clerk is junior and the race director has ultimate authority; if not they are often the most senior official at a racing event. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| closing the door | A driver takes an early defensive racing line into a corner to block the car behind from overtaking along the preferred line. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| co-driver | In rally racing, a co-driver directs the driver through the course by reading pacenotes which describe the turns and obstacles ahead. Also called a navigator historically when the reading of maps played a larger part in rallies prior to the widespread adoption of pacenoting. The term is also used in long-distance sports car and touring car racing where more than one driver is sharing the same vehicle. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| coal rolling | see Rollin' Coal | ||
| Cocaine Cowboy | Drug Enforcement Police, usually used when a car is pulled over and being searched. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Colorado Cadillac | Jeep Grand Wagoneer. The Wagoneer was very popular in Colorado in the 70s, and 80s and more were sold there than in any other state. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| coloring book/comic book | A trucker's log book. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Combi Coupé | A 2-door, 4-seat car with hatchback door at rear and, collapsible rear seats, resembling a fastback. The idea is to maximize the carrying capacity without bargaining on the performance. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| combination seat | A type of forward-facing car seat that is used with an internal harness system to secure a child. With removal of the internal harness, it is used as a belt-positioning booster. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| come back | A request for someone to acknowledge a transmitted message or reply to a question. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| comedian | The median between a divided highway. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| commercial company | Prostitute who hangs out on the radio, usually around truck stops. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| compact car | Small family/compact cars refer to the hatchbacks and shortest saloons and estate cars with similar size. They are approximately 4,250 mm (167 in) long in case of hatchbacks and 4,500 mm (177 in) in the case of saloons and estate cars. Compact cars have room for five adults and usually have engines between 1.4 and 2.2 litres, but some have engines of up to 2.5 litres. Some early "muscle" compacts had optional V8 engines of up to 6.6 liters. These are the most popular vehicles in most developed countries. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| compact executive car | These are luxurious equivalents to mid-size and compact cars. Rear seat room and trunk space are smaller than executive cars simply because of their smaller overall size. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| competition caution | A preplanned full course yellow, mandated by the sanctioning body, where drivers bring their vehicles into the pits. Frequently done to change tires because of excessive tire wear. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| component speaker | A component speaker is a car audio speaker matched for optimal sound quality. Typically a pair of tweeters and mid-bass drivers are matched with a crossover to limit the frequency range each speaker must accurately reproduce. Component speakers drivers are physically separated so the tweeter, which is very directional, can be placed in an optimal position, usually on the dash facing the listener, while the larger mid-bass driver can be placed where there is room, often in the lower front of the car doors. Component speaker pairs are offered by all of the high-end audio manufacturers. (Wikipedia: Component speaker) | ||
| compression space | An older term for combustion chamber. (Automobile Catechism, 1910) | ||
| control | Where the series organisers specify that all competitors in the race must use an identical part; as in control tyre or control engine. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| control panel | Generally used in a Car/Truck for heating and cooling inside car environment according to the passenger requirements. Basically it is divided into Different modes, Blower speed functions, AC, Temperature, Fresh recirculation of air. Worldwide control panel manufacturers are BHTC, Delphi, Visteon, Valeo, etc. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| converter | A device for attachment to a gas or oil lamp to permit the use of an electric light therein, consisting of an electric lamp socket and bulb, with suitable electrical connections attached to a fitting which may be substituted for the gas or oil burner or clamped upon the same. In the latter case the fitting is hinged so that the electric bulb may be swung out of the way when the gas or oil burner is to be used. Synonym: adapter. (A Dictionary of Automobile Terms (1913)) | ||
| convertible seat | A car seat that converts from rear-facing for babies and smaller children to forward-facing for older and larger children. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| convertible | A body design that features a flexibly operating roof for open or enclosed mode driving. Also known as a cabriolet or roadster (if a 2-seater). Historically, convertibles used folding roof structures with fabric or other flexible materials. Some designs have roofs made of metal or other stiff materials that retract into the body. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| convict wagon | Prison Transport used by the Department Of Corrections, named after the caged wagons used to haul convicts to prison and/or to executions in the US in the 19th century. Usually it is a large bus that is the size of a standard city bus, painted white, has the D.O.C. markings on it, state or Federal markings on it as well. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| convoy | A group of 3 or more truckers in a line, usually exceeding the speed limit. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Coon Town | Albany, Georgia or the rural south Georgia and rural south Alabama area. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Cop Shop | Police station. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| corn flaker | Consolidated Freight Lines truck. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| cornbinder | A Navistar International truck (formerly International Harvester). The terms originated because the International Harvester Company was primarily known for their farm machinery. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Cornfield Cadillac | A John Deere tractor. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Counciltucky | Council Bluffs, Iowa. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| county mountie | A Sheriff's deputy car. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| coupé | A 2-door, 2- or 4-seat car with a fixed roof. Its doors are often longer than those of an equivalent sedan and the rear passenger area smaller; the roof may also be low. In cases where the rear seats are very small and not intended for regular use it is called a 2+2 (pronounced "two plus two"). Originally, a coupé was required to have only one side window per side, but this consideration has not been used for many years. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| coupé convertible | Also retractable hardtop or Coupé Cabriolet. A type of convertible forgoing a foldable textile roof in favor of a multi-segment rigid roof retracts into the lower bodywork. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| Coupé utility | A passenger-car derived vehicle with an integral exterior cargo area. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| covered wagon | A trailer that resembles a Covered Wagon of the old west, normally used for carrying steel rolls. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Cow Town | Fort Worth, Texas, Dodge City, Kansas, Columbus, Ohio and Calgary, Alberta. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Cowboy Cadillac | Coupé utility vehicle. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| cowl | The base of the windshield. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| cowl shake | Scuttle shake (sometimes called cowl shake in the US) is the term used for the phenomenon experienced in many convertible or open top automobiles where, due to lower structural rigidity caused by the lack of a roof, the middle section of the chassis flexes, causing the bulkhead in front of the passenger compartment to move and vibrate when the vehicle is subject to uneven road surfaces. Passengers feel it as a noticeable vibration and shudder. (Wikipedia: Scuttle shake) | ||
| Crashville | Nashville, Tennessee. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| crate motor | An engine that is ready-built and sealed by an independent company. Crate motors are sometimes mandated and sometimes optional. They are commonly used in regional touring series down to local tracks in divisions from late models on down. Crate motors are implemented to limit costs and it ensures that the entire field has the same equipment. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Creeper Cop | Department of Transportation or Commercial Vehicle Enforcement officer so named because of the use of wheeled creepers when inspecting trucks. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Crest/Crust | CRST truck. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| crossed sticks | Two curled up flags held out in form of a cross signal the halfway mark in many American racing series. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| crossmember | A crossmember is a structural section, usually of steel, usually boxed, that is bolted across the underside of a monocoque / unibody motor vehicle, to support the internal combustion engine and / or transmission. For the suspension of any car to operate as it should, for proper handling, and to keep the body panels in alignment, the frame has to be strong enough to cope with the loads applied to it. It must not deflect, and it has to have enough torsional strength to resist twisting. A "K" member is a crossmember in a vehicle with a longitudinally-mounted engine, contains the engine mounts. (Wikipedia: Crossmember) | ||
| crossover SUV | Crossover SUVs are derived from an automobile platform using a monocoque construction with light off-road capability and lower ground clearance than SUVs. They may be styled similar to conventional "off-roaders", or may be look similar to an estate car or station wagon. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| crotch-rocket cowboy | An individual on a sport bike (motorcycle) riding recklessly. Usually used as a warning to other drivers to watch for erratic behavior. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| cub | A rookie (or at least a very young) police officer. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Cub Scouts | Sheriffs' Deputies. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| curbstoning | Car dealers who sell as private individuals instead of as a dealership to gain the confidence of a customer. Can also refer to licensed dealers selling away from their lots or private individuals who sell for a living but don't have a license or a lot. | ||
| The Curve | I-90 & I-39 interchange; I-90 turn north at Rockford, Illinois. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| cushion | In dirt or off-road racing, when dirt is kicked up from the track that lands near the wall after trucks drift through the corners. The dirt builds up after time and can slow a driver down if they slide too deep into it while sliding through the turn. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| customer car | When a racing team uses a car built for them, either by another team, or by a specialist racing chassis manufacturer. Primarily a Formula One term where the majority of teams build their own cars. The practice has since been banned from F1. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| cyclecar | A small four-wheeled automobile produced in the 1910's and 1920's, so named for their use of small motorcycle engines and wheels. Some two-seat cyclecars were narrower than regular automobiles and had tandem seating, one behind the other. | ||
| cylinder head | In an internal combustion engine, the cylinder head (often informally abbreviated to just head) sits above the cylinders on top of the cylinder block. It closes in the top of the cylinder, forming the combustion chamber. This joint is sealed by a head gasket. In most engines, the head also provides space for the passages that feed air and fuel to the cylinder, and that allow the exhaust to escape. The head can also be a place to mount the valves, spark plugs, and fuel injectors. (Wikipedia: Cylinder head) | ||
| D | |||
| Da Puke | Dubuque, Iowa. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Dagmar bumpers | A slang term for chrome conical shaped styling elements which began to appear on the front bumper/grille assemblies of certain American automobiles following World War II. The term is derived from the notable physical attributes of Dagmar, a buxom early 1950s television personality known for low-cut gowns and pronouncedly conical bra cups. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| damn-it-driver | An interjection indicating surprise (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| dash kit | A self-adhesive applique kit that contains a number of accent trim pieces designed specifically for a vehicle model, make and year. Available either in vinyl or domed polyurethane versions. Manufactured by companies such as Rvinyl.com, Sherwood Dash and B&I Trims. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| dash-to-axle ratio | The critical relationship between front wheel centers and the windshield base. The most notable differences can be seen between cars with front-engine, front-wheel drive layout and front mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout: the former tend to have longer front overhangs with a smaller dash-to-axle ratios, while the latter have shorter front overhangs with much greater dash-to-axle. Most so called premium vehicles (equipped with rear wheel drive) feature a relatively long dash-to-axle ratio. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| dashboard dining | Slang for someone eating in their car, particularly while driving. | ||
| dashboard puppy | Radar Detector or other portable monitor (usually with an audible alarm). (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| dashcam | A dash cam, dashboard camera, car DVR, or car black box is an onboard camera that continuously records the view through a vehicle's windscreen. It may be attached to the interior windscreen or to the top of the dashboard, by suction cup or adhesive-tape mount. Dashcams may provide video evidence in the event of a road accident. During parking, some dashcams still can capture video evidence if vandalism act is detected. (Wikipedia: Dashcam) | ||
| daylight opening | For openings on the side of the vehicle, other than a door opening, the locus of all points where a horizontal line, perpendicular to the vehicle longitudinal centerline, is tangent to the periphery of the opening. US DOT Term: For openings on the front and rear of the vehicle, other than a door opening, daylight opening means the locus of all points where a horizontal line, parallel to the vehicle longitudinal centerline is tangent to the periphery of the opening. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| daytime running lamp | A daytime running lamp (DRL, also daytime running light) is an automotive lighting and bicycle lighting device on the front of a roadgoing motor vehicle or bicycle, automatically switched on when the vehicle is in drive, emitting white, yellow, or amber light. Their job isn't to help the driver see the road but to help other road users see the vehicle. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| dead-heading | A truck operating with an empty trailer (see "Hauling fence post holes"). (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| death wobble | A violent shaking of the steering wheel accompanied with partial loss of steering on large pickup trucks. | ||
| deck | The horizontal surface at the rear of the car, which usually serves as the trunk lid. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| deep braking | Applying the brakes later than normal when entering a turn. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| deflection | Similar to "smuggling" in taxi slang. Driver makes up an excuse for refusing a call (which riles the cab company owner to no end). Examples include flat tires, returning a forgotten cell phone (or medication or a hat) to a customer. Sometimes a driver will simply ignore the radio. He'll call in later asking if dispatch has been trying to reach him, then apologize for accidentally having his radio volume too low. (Taxi lingo and a few tricks of the trade) | ||
| Delaware start | A style of restart where the race leader starts in the first row by himself and the other drivers start two-wide. Named after a start method for a short track in the state of Delaware in the United States. The leader can choose which lane he wants for the restart, which can be an advantage, with a clear advantage over second place. Compare that to Lane Choice. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Delaware yield | The Idaho stop law is the common name for a law that allows cyclists to treat a stop sign as a yield sign, and a red light as a stop sign. It first became law in Idaho in 1982, but was not adopted elsewhere until Delaware adopted a limited stop-as-yield law, the "Delaware Yield", in 2017. (Wikipedia) | ||
| delta time | The entire time it generally takes a driver to enter the pit lane, make a full pit stop, and exit the pit area back to the track to resume racing at optimum pace. For example, a Delta Time of 25 seconds means the entire pitting process (entering, stopping and exiting) cost the driver 25 seconds not driving at full race speed even though the car may have been stationary in the pit box for only 5 seconds. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| density altitude | (drag racing) Refers to the quality of air. Technically "quality of air" refers to the pressure drop as altitude above sea level increases. Atmospheric air pressure is lower at a race track higher above sea level. All non-turbocharged internal combustion engines produce less power as air pressure drops, as each intake stroke draws in less air per volume than normally. This may require the engine to be "tuned" to optimize the power, as it may still "think" it's at a lower altitude. Because a supercharged engine pressurizes intake air at a fixed mechanical ratio to the engines RPM's, it suffers a proportionate loss in power, but not as severe as a naturally aspirated engine will. A turbocharged engine is largely unaffected, as the lower density of the intake air is offset by the lower backpressure resisting the exhaust flow through the turbo. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Derby City | Louisville, Kentucky, home of the Kentucky Derby. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| detachable base | A separate base for a rear-facing only car seat that can be installed in the vehicle. The car seat portion can be removed from the base and used as a carrier. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| Detroit | A diesel engine manufactured by the Detroit Diesel Corporation. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Detroit Vibrator | A a Chevrolet truck. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Detroit agate | Also known as Fordite or Motor Agate, is old automobile paint which has hardened sufficiently to be cut and polished. It was formed from the buildup of layers of enamel paint slag on tracks and skids on which cars were hand spray-painted (a now automated process), which have been baked numerous times. In recent times the material has been upcycled into eco-friendly jewelry. (Wikipedia: Fordite) The layers formed from the frequent changing of paint colors resemble a kind of bright rainbow sandstone. | ||
| deuce coupe | A 1932 Ford Model B coupe. | ||
| deuce-and-a-half | Army terminology for a 2 1/2 ton truck. | ||
| dial-in | When bracket racing, drivers must estimate or "dial in" the time in which they expect to run. Therefore, two unmatched cars in weight and power can compete, by a handicap system. If one runs a faster time than dialed in, it is a breakout. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| did not attend | (DNA) Denotes a driver who was entered for a race but did not attend the circuit. Sometimes referred to as Did Not Arrive or simply a "no show." (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| did not finish | (DNF) A driver who did not finish the race. Some sanctioning bodies do not classify a driver in the final results if he did not finish completed a certain number of laps, for example in Formula One a driver must complete 90% of the completed laps to be classified as a finisher. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| did not pre-qualify | (DNPQ) A failure to qualify or pre-qualify for a race. Most often because the driver was too slow to make it into a limited number of grid positions, or was slower than the 107% rule. Refer 107% rule. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| did not qualify | (DNQ) A failure to qualify or pre-qualify for a race. Most often because the driver was too slow to make it into a limited number of grid positions, or was slower than the 107% rule. Refer 107% rule. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| did not start | (DNS) A driver who did not attempt to compete in a race, even though he may have competed in practice sessions and/or qualifying. Not the same as the DNA already mentioned. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| diesel cop/diesel bear | State department of transportation personnel, usually enforcing weight limits, diesel fuel taxes, and safety rules (brakes & tires). (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Dieselgate | A 2015-2016 scandal involving Volkswagen installing software on its TDI diesel engines that only activated certain emissions controls during emissions tests. The "gate" suffix comes from the American tendency to label scandals that way ever since Watergate in the Nixon years, and the TDI cheat software was publicly outed by the United States EPA. (American slang) | ||
| digger | Dragster (as distinct from a bodied car or flopper). (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| dim-dip lamps | A dim-dip device operates the low beam headlamps (called "dipped beam" in the UK) at between 10% and 20% of normal low-beam intensity. The running lamps permitted as an alternative to dim-dip were required to emit at least 200 candela straight ahead, and no more than 800 candela in any direction. In practice, most vehicles were equipped with the dim-dip option rather than the running lamps. (Wikipedia: Automotive Lighting) | ||
| The Dime | Interstate Highway 10. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| dinosaur drinker | Slang for a fossil fuel-powered vehicle. | ||
| dipped beam | Dipped-beam (also called low, passing, or meeting beam) headlamps provide a light distribution to give adequate forward and lateral illumination without dazzling other road users with excessive glare. This beam is specified for use whenever other vehicles are present ahead. (Wikipedia: Automotive Lighting) | ||
| dirty air | The air disrupted by a car when it moves at speed, which can cause aerodynamic difficulties for a car following closely behind. The opposite of clean air. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Dirty Dan | A disgustingly nasty, smelly, unclean, unbathed, and generally unhealthy long haul truck driver who goes weeks or even months without showering. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Dirty Side | New York and New Jersey. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| disco lights | The flashing emergency lights of a law enforcement vehicle. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| disco tin | Police Car usually with high-visibility Police decals. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| disco whistle | Police Car siren. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Disney Town | Anaheim, California and the surrounding areas (named for the Disneyland Resort). (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| dispersed camping | Camping with a recreational vehicle parked without connections to water, electricity, or sewer. | ||
| disqualify | Where a competitor is removed from the results, usually in penalty for a technical infringement. Sometimes, but not always, interchangeable with Excluded. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| dog box | General Duties caged truck/paddy wagon. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| dog clutch | A positive clutch that is either fully engaged or completely disengaged. It cannot slip. It is used only in racing. (A Hot Rod Dictionary is Born) | ||
| dog leg | The area behind the rear door on a four-door car. This area is part of the quarter panel just behind the door and in front of the rear wheel house. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| The Dog | Greyhound bus. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| dog-leg gearbox | A dog-leg gearbox is a manual transmission shift pattern distinguished by an up-over-up shift between first and second gear. The layout derives its name from a dog's hind leg, with its sharp angles. Dog leg gearboxes have fallen out of fashion primarily because most manual performance cars now have six-speed gearboxes, which are unsuited to the dog-leg layout. Dog leg layout gearboxes are desirable on performance cars because in road racing more frequent shifting occurs from second to third than from first to second gear. Examples of cars that have used this pattern for performance reasons include the BMW M535, Early 635CSi (non-US) and (non-US) M3 E30, BMW 2002 Tii and Turbo, Fiat Dino 2.4 (ZF Box), Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 and 2.5-16, Mercedes-Benz 300 CE-24, Mercedes-Benz CW311, Ferrari 308/328/348, Ferrari Testarossa, Porsche 914, early 911, 924 Turbo (all featuring Getrag gearboxes), Cosworth Vega, Porsche 928, Talbot Sunbeam Lotus, Vauxhall Firenza HPF, Lancia Fulvia, Lancia Stratos, Lamborghini Countach, Maserati Biturbo, and De Tomaso Pantera. (Wikipedia: Dog-leg gearbox) | ||
| dogleg | A gentle turn or kink on a racing circuit, usually associated with road courses, but also present on oval tracks. On road courses, a dogleg may be present on a long straightaway (e.g. Mid-Ohio), curving the straight slightly, but usually not enough to require drivers to slow down much for the turn. On an oval, a dogleg can be located on the frontstretch (e.g. Charlotte) or backstretch (e.g. Phoenix) creating an oblong shape, adding a challenge, increasing sightlines for fans, and again, usually not requiring drivers to slow down for the extra curve. A quad-oval is also referred to as a "double dogleg."(See Charlotte or Atlanta Motor Speedway) Some tracks classify the dogleg as a turn (Mid Ohio turn 3) or not (Charlotte). Also known as a sweeper. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| donorcycles | A slang name for motorcycles, referring to riders being organ donors after dying in crashes. | ||
| donuts | Tires. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| door car | A class of drag racing car in which the driver enters and exits the vehicle by traditional side doors as opposed to the lift-top bodies used in other classes. Slang terms for this include "doorslammer." | ||
| door slammer | Drag racing term used to group vehicles, usually sedan bodied, that still have functional doors for driver access to the vehicle, as opposed to Funny cars which have a single lightwight outer body draped over the racing chassis. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| doped | Commonly used word in the southern states if the car is using nitrous or propane injection on diesels. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| DOT Cop | State department of transportation personnel, usually enforcing weight limits, diesel fuel taxes, and safety rules (brakes & tires). (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Double A | Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| double bubble | Marked Highway Patrol Police Car. Strobe bars are now used on highway patrol vehicles in all states and territories in Australia, but some regional/country police divisions still use twin blue rotating lights positioned directly above front seat positions, hence the CB slang "Double Bubble". (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Double Deuce | U.S. Route 22. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| double nickel | The 55 mph speed limit for trucks. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| double one | Marked Highway Patrol car. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| down the road graphics | The styling of the front end of the car, which people will instantly recognize and associate with a manufacturer. For example, the grille, lights and sometimes the DLO. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| downforce | Increased force holding the car onto the track. This is created by the aerodynamics or aerodynamic aids (F1 wings, etc.) of a vehicle which causes a "reverse lift" effect. That is, creating an area of low pressure (suction) under the car and/or under the wing(s) or other aids fixed to the car, the higher pressure above forcing the tires harder to the ground, effectively increasing the static friction. This allows it to travel faster through a corner, at the cost of having a reduced overall top speed, since drag is proportionate to lift and downforce is caused by lift. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| drafting | A technique where multiple vehicles align in a close group reducing the overall effect of drag due to exploiting the lead object's slipstream. Same as slipstreaming. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| drag link | A drag link converts rotary motion from a crank arm, to a second bellcrank, usually in an automotive steering system. (Wikipedia: Drag link) | ||
| Drag Pack | Drag Pack was Ford Motor Company's marketing name for an option package available in the United States for some of its car models that included a remote mounted oil cooler and higher ratio rear axle gear (plus engine components on some models). This option is printed on the factory invoice as Drag Pack, Super Drag Pack, Drag Pak, or Super Drag Pak (the spelling "Pak" was used by the Lincoln/Mercury division of Ford). The only known exception is a factory equipped Boss 302 Mustang with the Drag Pack option, which was not marketed by Ford as such, or by any other name. At the start of the 1970 model year, Ford began installing the Drag Pack on approximately 10% of Boss 302 Mustangs. For those who were aware of it, this free Drag Pack upgrade was available simply by ordering a 4.30 rear axle ratio. The only known exceptions are two early production vehicles with 3.91 axle ratio (special factory orders which received the oil cooler), and two 4.30 axle ratio vehicles (which reportedly did not receive their intended oil cooler, possibly the result of a supply problem). The 4.30 axle ratio exceptions are insignificant in terms of establishing a meaningful pattern, as they represent a normal (1970) production line margin of error. (Wikipedia: Drag Pack) | ||
| drag reduction system | A mechanically activated element of the rear wing of modern Formula One cars, where in a predetermined position on the circuit a wing element will open, moving from steeply inclined to flat, thus reducing the amount of drag generated by the rear wing, increasing its top speed on a straightaway. The mechanism artificially assists overtaking with additional benefit of overcoming Dirty Air issues while following cars closely. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| draggin' wagon | Wrecker, or Super-Load trailer with several attachments. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| drifting | Drifting is a form of motorsport in which drivers intentionally provoke constant oversteering slides while preserving vehicle control and a high exit speed. In motor racing, drifting is a cornering technique (also called a four-wheel drift) where a car takes a high-speed corner held at an angle on the track without major steering inputs, balancing natural understeer with power oversteer. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| drive-thru penalty | A penalty applied by race officials while the race is underway. A competitor is directed to drive into the pit lane and travel its length at much reduced speed (pit lanes are mostly speed-limited to protect the pitcrew and marshals) losing significant track position in the process. When the driver is serving his drive through penalty he is not allowed to stop anywhere in the pits. See also Stop-go penalty. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| driver | A polite form of address used when you do not know someone's on-the-air nickname. (See "Handle"). (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| drivers' meeting | A meeting where drivers and officials meet before a race to discuss the upcoming event. Also referred to as Drivers' briefing or Driver and Crew Chief meeting, as in some series, the driver and his crew chief must attend. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| driving lamps | Auxiliary high beam lamps may be fitted to provide high intensity light to enable the driver to see at longer range than the vehicle's high beam headlamps may be fitted. Such lamps are most notably fitted on rallying cars, and are occasionally fitted to production vehicles derived from or imitating such cars. They are common in countries with large stretches of unlit roads, or in regions such as the Nordic countries where the period of daylight is short during winter. "Driving lamp" is a term deriving from the early days of nighttime driving, when it was relatively rare to encounter an opposing vehicle. Only on those occasions when opposing drivers passed each other would the low (dipped or "passing") beam be used. The high beam was therefore known as the "driving beam", and this terminology is still found in international UN Regulations, which do not distinguish between a vehicle's primary (mandatory) and auxiliary (optional) upper/driving beam lamps. The "driving lamp" term has been supplanted in US regulations by the functionally descriptive term "auxiliary high-beam lamp". (Wikipedia: Automotive Lighting) | ||
| driving while black |  Refers to a fictional violation that occurs when white police officers pull over African-American drivers for vague minor offenses (often rolling through a stop sign is cited) for the purpose of searching a vehicle and checking a driver's and/or passenger's identification, the driver is referred to by people who understand and disagree with the racial profiling involved as having been pulled over for "driving while black," shortened to DWB. Similar to "driving while Latino." | ||
| driving while Latino | Refers to a fictional violation that occurs when white police officers pull over Latino drivers for vague minor offenses (often rolling through a stop sign is cited) for the purpose of searching a vehicle and checking a driver's and/or passenger's identification, the driver is referred to by people who understand and disagree with the racial profiling involved as having been pulled over for "driving while Latino," shortened to DWL. Similar to "driving while black." | ||
| droop chain | A chain attached to the suspension to limit wheel travel. This prevents the tire from remaining on the ground when a car is raised on a jack for a tire change. Typically used on the left rear of a dirt track race car. | ||
| droop limiter | A device, often a chain, attached to the suspension to limit wheel travel. This prevents the tire from remaining on the ground when a car is raised on a jack for a tire change. Typically used on the left rear of a dirt track race car. | ||
| drop head coupé | Generally a European term referring to a 2-door, 4 place automobile with a retractable canvas / cloth top with both a padded headliner and rollup windows (as opposed to side curtains). (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| drop-top | A convertible. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| drop week | A motorsport rule that allows a competitor to drop their lowest points week. For example, in a ten event season a competitor's best nine performances would count towards the championship, the tenth being the "drop week." | ||
| dry camping | Camping with a recreational vehicle parked without connections to water, electricity, or sewer. | ||
| dry line | On a drying circuit, the racing line that becomes dry first as the cars displace water from it. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Dudley Do Right | A trooper with the Missouri State Highway Patrol. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| dumb iron | A dumb iron is a "curved side piece of a chassis, to which the front springs are attached." This is an older term, applicable mainly to vehicles built before 1950, and which had their front axle suspended on leaf springs. At the front of the car, dumb irons project forward, providing a location to attach the front of the leaf springs. (Wikipedia: Dumb iron) | ||
| dustcap | A dustcap is a small cover used on the valve stem of a bicycle or car tire to prevent dust or other small particles from entering the valve and damaging it. The dustcap also forms a pressure seal, helping to prevent deflation of the tire due to slight gas seepage past the tire valve. Dustcaps are usually made from plastic but may occasionally be made of metal. The dustcap is internally threaded and is secured by screwing it onto the end of the stem. To prevent corrosion due to electrolysis and malfunction of the electronics in a direct TPMS and avoid costly repairs, metal valve caps without insulating plastic linings should not be used on direct-TPMS-equipped tire valve stems. (Wikipedia: Dustcap) | ||
| Dutch reach | Opening the car door from inside the vehicle with the hand opposite the door (opening the left side door with the right hand). This forces the person exiting to turn around and check behind the vehicle for bicyclists passing by. | ||
| Dzus fastener | DZUS turnlock fasteners—named after their inventor—William Dzus (pronounced "Zeus") refers to a type of proprietary quarter-turn lock fastener that is often used to secure skin panels on aircraft and other high-performance vehicles. Turnlock fasteners are also referred to as quick-action panel fasteners. Invented and patented by an American engineer of Ukrainian descent William Dzus (Volodymyr Dzhus) in the early 1930s, Dzus fasteners are also used to secure plates, doors, and panels that require frequent removal for inspection and servicing. These fasteners are notable in that they are of an "over-centre" design, requiring positive sustained torque to unfasten. Thus, any minor disturbance to the fastener (e.g. vibration) will tend to correct itself rather than proceed to further loosening as it would in threaded fasteners. Turnlock fasteners are available in several different styles and are usually referred to by the manufacturer's trade name. Some of the most common are DZUS, Camloc, and Airloc. The first Dzus fasteners installed on a race car were installed by the Justice Brothers, Ed Justice, Sr. and Zeke Justice while working at Kurtis-Kraft in Glendale, California. It was at the suggestion of Ed who was an A&E at Douglas Aircraft prior to World War II and had graduated from Fry Aircraft School in Kansas City, Kansas. The car the Dzus fasteners were installed upon was "Bullet" Joe Garson's Kurtis-Kraft midget. This was done while the shop owner Frank Kurtis was out of town. At first he was not happy with their alteration to his design, but later realize the benefit of using Dzus fasteners. (Wikipedia: Dzus fastener) | ||
| E | |||
| E.T. slip | E.T. stands for Elapsed Time, and is used in drag racing. Slip of paper turned in by the race timer which denotes elapsed time for both drivers, and who won the race; it may also include reaction time and "60 foot" time. This is an official document, used for timekeeping. Also known as a timeslip. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| early doors | A popular term used by competitors when referring to the early stages of the series' season. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| ears | CB radio (ex: "How bout ya JB, got ya ears on?") (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Easytronic | Easytronic is the Opel tradename for a type of transaxle-based semi-automatic transmission or gearbox, as used in some Opel/Vauxhall cars. Easytronic is not a tiptronic gearbox design; it does not have a torque converter. It is fundamentally a conventional manual transmission, with a single-plate dry clutch. The transmission is controlled by an electronic control unit (ECU). (Wikipedia: Easytronic) | ||
| eaten by a bear | Someone who is arrested by police, you can see the arrested person in the patrol car, especially if said patrol car has a "cage" in it. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| EcoDiesel | EcoDiesel is an engine used in the Ram 1500 since 2014, as well as in the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Approximately 20% of 2015 RAM 1500s are equipped with the engine, mostly ones sold in Europe. FCA uses the EcoDiesel name for two different engines. One is the VM Motori A 630 DOHC 3.0L engine used in the Grand Cherokee, and Ram. The other is a Fiat 3.0L diesel used in the Ram ProMaster. (Wikipedia: EcoDiesel) | ||
| econobox | Slang for a small economy car, particularly ones with simple, flat styling reminiscent of a box. Example: Dodge Omni. | ||
| eighteen wheeler | A Tractor/Semi-trailer or transport truck with trailer. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| elapsed time | A term used in drag racing about the total time the run took, from start, to finish. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| elbows | Spoke wheels with a center cap and spokes that stick outward as much as 24" from the rim. Also known as "swangas." | ||
| elephant race | A slang term for when two (or more, as many as there are lanes) trucks drive side-by-side at the speed limit or slower, blocking traffic behind them. Originally from Germany, where it is Elefantenrennen in German. In Texas it is known as a Mexican roadblock. | ||
| Elefantenrennen |  The German word for "elephant race," a slang term for when two (or more, as many as there are lanes) trucks drive side-by-side at the speed limit or slower, blocking traffic behind them. | ||
| emergency locking retractor | A retractor on a seat belt system that locks when the vehicle slows or stops suddenly. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| End of the World | Venice, Louisiana. One road in, one road out, 60 miles south east of New Orleans. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| energy recovery system | Part of the hybrid engines used in Formula One since 2014, that recover energy from the brakes and heat and stores it in batteries, which is then used to boost power. It combines both a kinetic energy recovery system (KERS), known officially as the Motor Generator Unit – Kinetic (MGU-K), and a system recovering heat from the turbocharger, officially known as the Motor Generator Unit – Heat (MGU-H). (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Esky | Escanaba, Michigan. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| espada | Portuguese nickname for a limousine (the same word for Sword – long piece of metal). Not used in Brazilian Portuguese. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| esses | Sequences of alternating turns on a road course, resembling the letter 'S'. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| estate car | A station wagon (also known as an estate or estate car) is an automobile with a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door (the liftgate or tailgate), instead of a trunk lid. The body style transforms a standard three-box design into a two-box design—to include an A, B, and C-pillar, as well as a D-pillar. Station wagons can flexibly reconfigure their interior volume via fold-down rear seats to prioritize either passenger or cargo volume. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| Evel Knievel | A police officer on a motorcycle. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Everflex | Everflex is a British fabric used as a roof covering on cars, and is a type of vinyl roof. Everflex is used on both hardtops and convertibles. Its usage was popular from the 1960s to the 1980s on luxury cars. Though its popularity has greatly decreased for new vehicles, it is still manufactured for restorers. The material is similar to the vinyl used on most vehicles, but is more durable and more expensive. On hardtop vehicles, fabric is placed below the Everflex material to add weight and body, often making the car look more like a genuine convertible. On older vehicles, a fabric called "Union Cloth" was used, but it quickly deteriorates; trapping water and damaging the Everflex material and roof. The Everflex is then glued down and can be screwed in around doors and windows. Three notable car companies that use Everflex material are Rolls-Royce, Bentley Motors Limited and Jaguar Cars. The feature was most popular on the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow in the early 1970s. (Wikipedia: Everflex) | ||
| excluded | Removed from competition before the race has started, generally due to an infringement during practice or qualifying. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| executive car | These are luxurious equivalents to full-size cars. This also refers to the largest hatchbacks within the similar length in this class, such as the Porsche Panamera. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| eyeballs | Headlights. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| F | |||
| factory team | A more specific version of Factory-backed referring to racing teams run directly from the factory of the vehicle manufacturer. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| factory-backed | A racing team/driver that competes with official sanction and financial support from a manufacturer. In Europe, known as a works team. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| fairing | An external structure added to increase streamlining, deflect wind, and reduce drag. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| Fairyland | San Francisco, California. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| fan car | Usually refers specifically to the Brabham BT46 Formula One car, although the concept was actually pioneered by sports car manufacturer Chaparral Cars on the Chaparral 2J. The placement of a large fan at the rear of the chassis driven either independently or by the engine with the purpose of creating negative air-pressure underneath the car to create additional downforce for increased cornering speed. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| fascia | The body-skin panel at the front of the car. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| fastback | A design where the roof slopes at a smooth angle to the tail of the car, but the rear window does not open as a separate "door". (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| fastest lap | Fastest time in which a lap was completed by a driver during a race. Sometimes rewarded with bonus championship points. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| fat cat | An overweight truck driver or other burden on society. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Faux-rari | Using the prefix "faux," meaning "fake," in place of the beginning of Ferrari, this denotes a car that is a "fake Ferrari," something styled as a Ferrari but not made by the Ferrari company, including, for example, body kits used on Pontiac Fieros to make them resemble Ferraris on the outside only, full replica kit cars often with non-Ferrari engines, and even to the most purist of Ferrari followers, the Dino 256GT. | ||
| fauxback | A sports term meaning a retro-styled uniform that is a "fake throwback." This is usually done when newer teams create uniforms in the style of a previous decade from before they existed. In motorsports, particularly NASCAR, this is when a new paint scheme is created by applying a current sponsor's old logo from before that company was associated with motorsports or when a paint scheme is created using classic themes and styles without being a copy of a specific car from the past. | ||
| Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards | Regulations that define minimum safety performance requirements for motor vehicles or items of motor vehicle equipment. These regulations are intended to protect the public from unreasonable risk of crashes that occur as a result of the design, construction, or performance of motor vehicles or related equipment. The regulations are also designed to protect the public against unreasonable risk of death or injury in the event crashes do occur. The standard that applies to car seats is FMVSS 213. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| Federal Pork Chop Express | A FedEx truck. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| feed the bear | Pay a traffic fine. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| fender bender | A road traffic accident/crash. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| fender | Term for cowl covering the wheels of the vehicles. In more modern automobiles, this refers generally to the body panel or panels starting at the front "bumper" to the first door line excluding the engine hood. The opposite of the fender is the "quarter panel". (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| fender flopper | A funny car. Coined by dragster crews in the late 1960s to separate Funny Cars, which had fiberglass bodies with fenders, from dragsters. Erroneously attributed to flip-top bodies of Funny Cars. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| fender skirts | Known in Australia and the United Kingdom as spats, they are pieces of bodywork on the fender that cover the upper portions of the rear tires of an automobile. (Wikipedia)  Hot Rods and Racing Cars #2 - January 1952 | ||
| fender shields | Pieces of bodywork on the fender that cover the upper portions of the rear tires of an automobile. The 1955 Ford Thunderbird introduced rear "fender shields" as a type of fender skirts with an edge molding and a gravel shield. In GM parts accessories books, fender skirts are known as fender shields. (Wikipedia) | ||
| field | The competing cars in an event. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| field filler | A driver or team usually slower than the majority of the field that only participates if there are open spots. See also start and park. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| fifth wheel | A type of trailering system with a hitch usually mounted in a truck bed and the trailer's attachment reaching down from above to allow the trailer to clear the truck bed's sides while turning. Can be used to refer to either the hitch or the trailer. The name is derived from a round horizontal device on horse drawn carriages that allowed the front axle to pivot on its own. | ||
| fifth wheel | On a custom car with "swangas" or "elbows" there is a fifth wheel mounted on the trunk in a fiberglass casing evocative of a continental kit. | ||
| Filthy Freddy | An overweight longhaul truck driver or other miscreant of society that goes weeks or even months without bathing. This is the male counterpart of the "Hungry Heifer." Also known as "Double F." (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Firechicken | A Pontiac Firebird. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| first or worse | In drag racing, if both drivers commit a foul, the driver who commits the foul first loses, unless it is two separate fouls, where the loser is the driver who committed the worse foul; (a foul start is worse than a break out, in a bracket class with breakout rules in effect, then a lane violation is worse than foul start, and failure to participate in a post-run inspection is worst). The "worse" part is in case of a double breakout, the driver closer to their index wins. If one driver commits a foul start, but the opponent crosses a boundary line (wall or center line), the driver who commits the red light wins. The only double disqualification fouls are deep staging, leaving before the tree is activated, or crossing the boundary line (although an official has the right to declare the driver who crossed the line second was forced; in a final, only the first to cross the line is disqualified). (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| flag spot | When a wheel locks under braking, the car skids and leaves a flat spot on the section of the tyre that was touching the ground at the time. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| flag waver taxi | Highway construction truck. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| flag-to-flag coverage | Television or radio coverage that consists of the entire race start-to-finish rather than highlights, tape delayed, "packaged" coverage, or highlights of the first portion of the race before broadcasting the final quarter of the race live. Derives from green flag (start) to checkered flag (finish). Instituted largely in the late 1970s, with the 1979 Daytona 500 being the first major 500-mile race with live, flag-to-flag coverage. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Flagtown | Flagstaff, Arizona. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| flaming chicken | A nickname for the flaming bird depicted on some Pontiac Firebirds and Trans Ams. | ||
| flash for cash | Speed Camera, or Red Light Camera. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| flat rack | A flatbed trailer. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| flexing | A general slang term for showing off, in this case showing off one's car, used akin to the term "flexing muscles." | ||
| flip-flop/flip-side | The return leg of a trip. (ex: "Catch you on the flip-flop" means "I'll contact you again on the way back.") (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| floorpan | The floorpan is a large sheet metal stamping that often incorporates several smaller welded stampings to form the floor of a large vehicle and the position of its external and structural panels. In the case of monocoque designs, the floorpan is the most important metal part establishing the chassis, body, and thus the car’s size. It serves as the foundation of most of the structural and mechanical components of a unibody automobile to which the powertrain, suspension system, and other parts are attached. The term is also applied to the smaller stamped panels that form the floors inside a vehicle as well as the bottom of the trunk. (Wikipedia: Floorpan) | ||
| flopper | A funny car, short for "fender flopper." Coined by dragster crews in the late 1960s to separate Funny Cars, which had fiberglass bodies with fenders, from dragsters. Erroneously attributed to flip-top bodies of Funny Cars. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Flower Town | Garden City, Kansas. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| fly in the sky | A police aircraft. While state police often use fixed-wing airplanes to monitor highway traffic, "fly" refers specifically to a helicopter. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| flyboy | A speeding vehicle, one that is driving way over the speed limit and is certain to get a ticket. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| flying lap | A lap started by a competitor at optimum speed, as opposed to a lap from a standing start, usually in qualifying. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Flying Tire Salesman | An officer of the Ohio State Highway Patrol. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| fog lamps | Front fog lamps provide a wide, bar-shaped beam of light with a sharp cutoff at the top, and are generally aimed and mounted low. They may produce white or selective yellow light, and were designed for use at low speed to increase the illumination directed towards the road surface and verges in conditions of poor visibility due to rain, fog, dust or snow. (Wikipedia: Automotive Lighting) | ||
| foot throttle | Synonym of accelerator. (A Dictionary of Automobile Terms (1913)) | ||
| Fordite | Also known as Detroit agate or Motor Agate, is old automobile paint which has hardened sufficiently to be cut and polished. It was formed from the buildup of layers of enamel paint slag on tracks and skids on which cars were hand spray-painted (a now automated process), which have been baked numerous times. In recent times the material has been upcycled into eco-friendly jewelry. (Wikipedia: Fordite) The layers formed from the frequent changing of paint colors resemble a kind of bright rainbow sandstone. | ||
| formation lap | The lap cars make before forming up on the grid for the start. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| formula racing | A type of racing, generally open wheeled, where the conditions of technical entry comply with strict rules or formulae. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| forward bite | A slang term for grip on acceleration, commonly used in American stock car racing. | ||
| Forward Look | Forward Look was a design theme employed by Virgil Exner in styling the 1955 through 1961 Chrysler Corporation vehicles. After seeing the P-38-inspired tailfins on the 1948 Cadillac, Exner adopted fins as a central element of his vehicle designs. He believed in the aerodynamic benefits of the fins, and even used wind tunnel testing at the University of Michigan—but he also liked their visual effects on the car. Exner lowered the roofline and made the cars sleeker, smoother, and more aggressive. In 1955, Chrysler introduced "The New 100-Million Dollar Look". With a long hood and short deck, the wedgelike designs of the Chrysler 300 letter series and revised 1957 models suddenly brought the company to the forefront of design, with Ford and General Motors quickly working to catch up. The 1957 Plymouths were advertised with the slogan, "Suddenly, it's 1960!" (Wikipedia: Forward Look) | ||
| forward-facing car seat | A car seat intended for use only in the forward-facing position for a child at least age 1 and at least 20 pounds, up to the specified height and weight limits of the seat, set by the manufacturer. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| four banger | A four-cylinder engine. | ||
| four on the floor | A four-speed manual gearshift where the shift lever is located on the vehicle floor. Similar in phrasing to "three on the tree." | ||
| four wheel phone booth | Someone using a cell phone while driving. Several states in the US and countries have outlawed this, but it still goes on. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| four-wheeler | While this is commonly used to refer to a four-wheel-drive vehicle (such as a jeep or pickup), among truck drivers it refers to any vehicle with only 2 axles, as distinguished from an "eighteen-wheeler" (a semi truck). (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| frame-on-rail | A design used in older (pre-unibody) cars, trucks, and SUVs. The power train and body are mounted to a rigid structural framework called a rail. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| free camping | Camping with a recreational vehicle parked without connections to water, electricity, or sewer. | ||
| free practice | When drivers or riders learn the circuit and/or teams experiment with race settings for the track. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| freebander | One who operates an illegally modified CB radio, often broadcasting outside the regulated frequencies. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Freedom Driving | An act of driving a vehicle without a driver's license or a vehicle license, as practiced by members of America's "sovereign citizens" movement, which does not recognize federal or state government authority. | ||
| Freightshaker | A Freightliner Trucks tractor. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Frenching | A form of molding by which headlamp rims are smoothed into the fender line. The rims are usually eliminated. (A Hot Rod Dictionary is Born) | ||
| frequent flyer | A term used by ambulance services for frequent patients. | ||
| front door | The first vehicle in the line of a convoy, or the area ahead of a vehicle. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| front position lamps | "Front position lamps", known as "parking lamps" or "parking lights" in the US, Canada and Australia and "front sidelights" in the UK provide nighttime standing-vehicle conspicuity. They were designed to use little electricity, so they could be left on for periods of time while parked. Despite the UK term, these are not the same as the side marker lights described below. (Wikipedia: Automotive Lighting) | ||
| fronting | A practice where young, high-risk drivers get an insurance policy on their car in their parents name to lower the price of the insurance. | ||
| frunk | A trunk under the hood of a vehicle, most commonly seen on mid/rear engine and electric vehicles. | ||
| fuel | Mix of methanol and nitromethane ("pop," nitro), used in the race classes using it (example: top fuel). (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| fuel cell | A fuel tank with a flexible inner liner to minimize the potential for punctures in the event of a collision or other mishap resulting in serious damage to the vehicle. Mandatory in most forms of motorsport. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| fuel line | A fuel line is a hose used to bring fuel from one point in a vehicle to another or from a storage tank to a vehicle. It is commonly made of reinforced rubber to prevent splitting and kinking. The United States Environmental Protection Agency defines a fuel line as "all hoses or tubing designed to contain liquid fuel or fuel vapor. This includes all hoses or tubing for the filler neck, for connections between dual fuel tanks, and for connecting a carbon canister to the fuel tank. This does not include hoses or tubing for routing crankcase vapors to the engine's intake or any other hoses or tubing that are open to the atmosphere." (Wikipedia: Fuel line) | ||
| fueler | (drag racing) Any car running fuel or in Fuel class (most often, TFD or TF/FC). (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| full course yellow | When yellow flags are deployed at every flag point around a race circuit and a Safety Car leads the field until a hazard is cleared. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| full grown bear | A state policeman/trooper. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| full-size luxury car | Also known as full-size luxury cars, grand saloons, or premium large cars, while "Oberklasse" is used in Germany. Typically a four-door saloon (sedan). These are the most powerful saloons, with six, eight and twelve-cylinder engines and have more equipment than smaller models. Vehicles in this category include some of the models from the flagship lines of luxury car brands, such as Cadillac CT6, Lincoln Town Car and Maserati Quattroporte. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| funny car | (drag racing) A vehicle with a single-piece body draped over the chassis which is lifted off or rear-hinged to allow the driver access to the cabin; a race class for such a car. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| furgão | Portuguese alternative term (less used) for a van. Used in Brazilian Portuguese, most often for vans but sometimes for panel van variants of passenger cars. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| furgoneta |   Spanish and Polish term for a van, in the latter language almost always used in its diminutive form furgonetka. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| fusible link | A wire that functions as a fuse, burning out at an amperage above what the circuit can handle. Different from a fuse in that it looks like a normal wire. | ||
| G | |||
| G'ville | Gardnerville, Nevada (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| gap | Beating an opponent in a heads up drag race with a visible distance between the between the 2 competitors. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| gapers | People who slow down traffic to look at an accident, especially on a divided expressway where traffic coming in the opposite direction of where the accident occurred shouldn't be slowed because there aren't any lanes being blocked for cleanup in that direction. | ||
| Garagiste | Also called garagistas, disparaging term given by Enzo Ferrari to describe the new wave of British racing cars such as Cooper and Team Lotus that challenged his team with a smaller budget. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Garbage State | New Jersey. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| gasser | Bodied drag racer running on gasoline (before Pro Stock was introduced). (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Gateway | St. Louis, Missouri. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| gator guts | Smaller pieces of shredded tire usually preceding a larger piece of "gator" or "gator back". (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| gator | A large piece of a truck tire's tread in the roadway. The name comes from the tire tread's resemblance to the scaly ridges of an alligator's back, or the propensity for these pieces of tread to be drawn up between the cab and trailer by the air currents of a truck at highway speeds "like a snapping gator", and sever the air brake lines between the tractor and the trailer. Most newer trucks have shield plates designed to prevent this. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Gay Bay | San Francisco Bay area. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Gbaka |  A minibus, usually a small van, in the Ivory Coast. | ||
| Geartronic | Geartronic is Volvo Cars' name for its manumatic transmission, similar to Porsche's Tiptronic. It is available in 4, 5, 6, and 8 speed models, and is controlled by a microprocessor. The microprocessor automatically shifts to the next gear if a forgetful user in manual mode red lines the engine. Manual shifting is allowed with the gear stick in the manual mode. The gear stick can also be used just like any other automatic gearbox, where the transmission will shift automatically. Geartronic is offered on Volvo vehicles with engine displacements of 2.0 liters or greater. Geartronic transmissions are manufactured in Japan by Aisin AW. They require the use of automatic transmission fluid that meets the JWS 3309 specification. The MY2011 6 speed requires AW1. (Wikipedia: Geartronic) | ||
| Geisterfahrer | Translates to "ghost driver," it refers to someone driving the wrong way down a divided highway, usually on the Autobahn.
| ||
| gentleman driver | in sportscar racing, typically refers to a driver who is not a professional racing driver. These drivers' primary source of income is not related to motorsport. Most sportscar racing categories today use a driver rating system where notable drivers with major accomplishment in single-seater competition and under 50 years of age are platinum, drivers with major wins in domestic motorsport or platinum-level drivers 50-59, gentleman drivers who are experienced are silver, and gentleman drivers with an entry-level (B) international licence, or platinum-level drivers older than 60 (Emerson Fittipaldi raced in the 2014 6 Hours of São Paulo as a bronze driver because of his age) are declared bronze. Many series require gentleman drivers in lower-level categories (P2 and GTE-AM in WEC, PC and GT3/GTD in IMSA) and only allow one professional driver in a three-driver team in those classes. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Georgia Overdrive | Shifting into neutral on a down grade to gain speed without using fuel. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| ghost cars | An unregistered vehicle with a fake temporary license plate or a stolen real license plate. They are often used for crime. | ||
| ghost ride | Calling dispatch and announcing you've just picked up a flag, when you haven't. This is used when a driver suspects the next call from dispatch will send him to a bad customer (a drunk, short ride, etc.). Drivers would rather give up their place in line than pick up some of these creeps. He'll wait 10 minutes, then call dispatch saying he's clear, and get back in line at a cab stand. (Taxi lingo and a few tricks of the trade) | ||
| Ghost Town | Casper, Wyoming (named for the cartoon character Casper the Friendly Ghost). (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| GI Joe | Truck carrying Hummers, soldiers, even Tanks, other military equipment. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| gill | A vent on the side of the fender that can be used as hot-air outlet, but usually decorative. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| give 'em the tour | Driving people the long way round to pump up the meter. This is the age old problem with taking taxis in a city you're not familiar with. (Taxi lingo and a few tricks of the trade) | ||
| Glass City | Toledo, Ohio. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| glider kit | A rolling heavy duty truck chassis complete except for powertrain. An older engine is installed in the new chassis. | ||
| glider truck | A heavy duty truck built from a glider kit and an older engine. | ||
| glass run channel | A glass run channel is a groove, normally made of rubber or plastic, that is found around windows (most commonly car windows). The primary purpose of a glass run channel is to provide a seal for the window. (Wikipedia: Glass run channel) | ||
| go-go juice | Fuel (usually diesel, since large trucks seldom run on gasoline.) (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| good buddy | In the 1970s, this was the stereotypical term for a friend or acquaintance on a CB radio. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| good color, the | A vehicle in an unusual or special edition color. Since most cars produced in the 21st century are made in standard colors of black, white, dark red, blue, and multiple shades of silver & gray, cars in non-standard colors are referred to being "in the good color." Examples include the alien green Kia Soul or the Midnight Opal Nissan GT-R. | ||
| good neighbor | This has replaced "good buddy" as the acceptable term for friend. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Grachan | Grachan or Garuchan comes from the 70s and 80s Grand Championships on Fuji Speedway. The Bosozoku used to have big meetings on the parkinglots of these events, hence the name. These cars should also match the same bodyshape styling as the cars running on the circuits, with big wide fenders like used on the Super Silhouette styling. (What is bosozoku?) | ||
| graining | When small grains of rubber start coming off a tyre. See also marbles. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Grand Chelem | To qualify on pole, set the fastest lap, win and lead every lap of a grand prix. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| grand marshal | Ceremonial marshaling role at a race meeting. Largely held by celebrities or retired notable drivers with no actual duties or responsibilities beyond the waving of a flag to commence activity or to announce the traditional start your engines prior to some races. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| grand saloon | Also known as full-size luxury cars, grand saloons, or premium large cars, while "Oberklasse" is used in Germany. Typically a four-door saloon (sedan). These are the most powerful saloons, with six, eight and twelve-cylinder engines and have more equipment than smaller models. Vehicles in this category include some of the models from the flagship lines of luxury car brands, such as Cadillac CT6, Lincoln Town Car and Maserati Quattroporte. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| grand tourer | Larger, more powerful and heavier than sports cars, these vehicles typically have a FR layout and seating for four passengers (2+2). These are more expensive than sports cars but not as expensive as supercars. Grand Tourers encompass both luxury and high-performance. Some grand tourers are hand-built. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| granny knob | A brodie knob is a doorknob-shaped handle that attaches to the steering wheel of an automobile or other vehicle or equipment with a steering wheel. Other names for this knob include suicide, necker, granny, knuckle buster, and wheel spinner. (Wikipedia: Brodie knob) | ||
| granny lane | The far right lane (slow lane). (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| gravel trap | Off-track run-off area, usually positioned on the outside of corners, filled with gravel intended to slow down and stop cars that have left the track at speed. Generally there are tyre barriers between a gravel trap and the catch fencing, in order to protect the spectators. Sometimes nicknamed "kitty litter" for its visual resemblance. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Green Stamps | Used to express a toll road. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| green track | A paved race course that is clean from rubber buildup, oil/grease, marbles (see below), and debris, typically cleansed by means of a recent rain shower. A "green track" is usually considered preferable. Track crews may also use jet blowers to remove marbles and debris from the surface, to mimic the green track conditions. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| green-white-checker finish | When a full-course caution comes out right before the end of a race, the race is extended beyond its scheduled distance. Depending on sanctioning body, there may be either one or multiple attempts at a restart, between one and five laps, before the race is declared officially over. NASCAR's national series will have a maximum of three attempts if the penultimate lap only under caution, while some short track races have unlimited attempts at a span between one and five consecutive green-flag laps. In British Superbike Championship motorcycle racing, if a caution is called in the final third of the race, three additional laps will be added on the ensuing restart in a green-white-checker style finish. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| greenhouse | The glassed-in upper section of the car's body. Daylight Opening (DLO) in turn describes the actual window areas only. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| grenade | Wreck an engine (the engine "grenaded") so violently that internal parts of the engine breaking through the block and / or bolt on parts (cylinder heads, oil pans, etc) to blow off the engine. Distinct from "popping the blower". A hand-grenade engine is a usually derogatory engine of tuned to maximise engine power at the cost of low mechanical reliability. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| grid | The starting formation of a race, generally in rows of two for cars and three or four for bikes. The Indianapolis 500 traditionally has a unique grid of three cars per row. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| grocery getter | A non-performance vehicle, particularly anything with a rear door: hatchbacks, station wagons, and minivans. | ||
| grocery grabber | A Minivan, station wagon, or other family car. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| groove | The optimal path around the track for the lowest lap time. In drag racing it is about the center portion of the lane, where the cars can gain traction quicker. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| ground effect | A method of creating downforce by the shape of the car's body, notably by shaping the underside of the car in combination with the car's lateral edges in order to trap and dramatically slow the airflow running underneath the car, effectively turning the entire car into a wing. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Guitar Town | Nashville. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| gullwing door | Car doors that are hinged at the roof rather than the side, as pioneered by the 1952 Mercedes-Benz 300SL race car. Opening upwards, the doors evoke the image of a seagull's wings. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| Gum ball machine | A popular style of rotating mirror light used by many state police and some other law enforcement agencies at the time, however can also refer to any law enforcement vehicle. It looked somewhat like the round style of 'penny' gumball machines. It was basically a clear cylinder, like an upside down jar, with lights and a spinning mirror system inside. It was usually mounted on the center of the roof. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Gurney flap | A small lip placed at the trailing edge of a race car's aerodynamic wing. Despite its relative size, often only millimetres tall, it can double the downforce achieved by the wing, although at the premium of increasing drag, hence the small size. Named for the man commonly attributed to its proliferation, Formula One driver and constructor, Dan Gurney. Also known as a wickerbill. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Gypsy tent | A slang term for a tent set up for selling merchandise outside of a racetrack, and not part of the official merchandising operation of the event. Items can include older collectibles or bootleg apparel. | ||
| gyroscopic car | A two-wheeled automobile, one wheel at the front and the other at the rear, and kept balanced by a gyroscope. | ||
| H | |||
| H Town | Houston, Texas. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| H&D | Hate and Discontent, the atmosphere of tension created on a CB channel by constant argument and verbal assault. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| hacker | Person or individual operating a radio transmission without regard for standard rules or etiquette. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| hairdryer | Stationary Highway Patrol LIDAR/Radar set up. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| hairpin | A tight 180 degree corner that twists back on itself. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| half cheese | A short school bus. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| hamburger helper | Power amplifier / Linear, used to boost transmission power. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| hamhock | Person using an amateur radio callsign (as opposed to a handle) or procedure on CB. Using amateur radio practices on CB is not illegal in itself, but is considered awkward or out-of-place. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| hammer lane | The far left lane (fast lane). (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| handicap | Where cars start a race in the reverse order of qualifying, or perceived race pace, usually with timed gaps between cars starting a race. More common in racing's early days than today, the effect was the produce a race result in which all cars would arrive at the race finish together, regardless of the performance of the race vehicle. Another form of handicapping is success ballast, where more successful cars are assessed a weight penalty for every win, and Balance of Power in sportscar racing. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| handle | The nickname a CB user uses in CB transmissions. Other CB users will refer to the user by this nickname. To say "What's your handle?" is to ask another user for their CB nickname. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| handling package | A handling package is a set of functional enhancements to the suspension of a vehicle, sold and priced as a unit. This package may contain one or more of the following enhancements, some of which are detrimental to ride comfort and quietness: Harder suspension bushings; Enhanced shock absorbers, which will usually have stiffer valving which may be locally or remotely adjustable; Stiffer front anti-roll bar; Rear anti-roll bar; Special wheels and tires, typically with lightweight wheels of increased diameter and low profile tires offering greater resistance to side forces - such are usually less durable than standard tire/wheel combinations, being subject to both tire and wheel damage by rough pavement ("potholes"). (Wikipedia: Handling package) | ||
| Hanford Device | A spoiler attached across the back of the rear wing to greatly increase drag. The result is a massive increase in the slipstream, which improves wheel-to-wheel competition as well as multiple lead changes per lap. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| hang around nellie | A repulsively obese woman that hangs around truckstops looking for a man. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| HANS Device | Also known as a head restraint, is a safety item compulsory in many car racing sports. It reduces the likelihood of head and/or neck injuries, such as a basilar skull fracture, in the event of a crash. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Happy Rock | Gladstone, Michigan. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| hardtop | A coupe or sedan lacking a center window post between the front windshield post and the rearmost window post or body section. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| harness adjuster | Part used to tighten or loosen the harness of a car seat. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| harness buckle | Where the harness system connects and locks. This device secures the straps that contact your child's shoulders, hips, and groin. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| harness retainer clip | See chest clip. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| harness slots | Parts of car seat where the harness straps go through the seat shell. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| harness | Straps that keep the child in the car seat and distribute crash forces. Infant (rear-facing only), forward-facing only, combination, convertible, all-in-one car seats come equipped with harness straps which are fed through harness slots. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| harvey wallbanger | A driver who appears to be drunk or is driving recklessly. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| hatchback | Incorporates a shared passenger and cargo volume, with rearmost accessibility via a rear third or fifth door, typically a top-hinged liftgate—and features such as fold-down rear seats to enable flexibility within the shared passenger/cargo volume. As a two-box design, the body style typically includes A, B and C-pillars, and may include a D-pillar. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| hauling fence post holes | Hooked to an empty trailer. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| hauling sailboat fuel | Hooked to an empty trailer. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| hauling Volkswagen radiators | Hooked to an empty trailer. Refers to older Volkswagens, which were air cooled and didn't have radiators. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| headache rack | A metal rack across the exterior of the back window of a pickup truck. It prevents cargo from going through the back window in the event of a sudden stop. | ||
| header | 1.) The structural roof beam above the windshield. 2.) The section of exhaust piping attached to the cylinder head. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| headliner | A headliner often is a composite material that is adhered to the inside roof of automobiles or yachts. It typically consists of a face fabric with nonwoven or foam backing. Headliners consist of multilayered composite materials that bring together multiple functionalities, including the requested look, feel, stiffness, and sound reduction needed in cars. Automotive headliners are optimised with respect to head impact counter measures or to integrate additional LED lighting film behind the fabric. Most headliners consist of a tricot knit fabric that is napped to provide a soft touch and uniform appearance. The fabric is adhered to melted polyurethane foam. This fabric-foam composite is glued to the interior fiberglass roof of the automobile. There are more complex knit products used as a face fabric, as well as less expensive non-woven products. Recent headliner developments include environmentally friendly products made of recyclable backing-adhesive and face fabrics. (Wikipedia: Headliner) | ||
| heads-up racing | In drag racing, where both drivers leave at the same time and is used in all professional ("pro") classes. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| hearse | A converted car (often a station wagon), light truck or minivan usually used to transport the dead. Often longer and heavier than the vehicle on which they are usually based. Can sometimes double up as an ambulance in some countries, such as the United States, especially in rural areas. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| heat | A shorter race which decides the participants of the main race and sometimes starting order as well, usually there are more heats in which only a part of the drivers from the entry list take part. Can also mean part of the main race, when it consists of two or more parts. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Hemorrhoid with a Polaroid | A law officer monitoring traffic with a radar gun. Today, this can also refer to an automated speed camera. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| high airbox | A style of Formula 1 car prominent in the 1970's where a ram air intake was placed above the driver's helmet to take in cleaner air. These were outlawed by the FIA in 1976. | ||
| high beam | (also called main beam, driving, or full beam) headlamps provide an intense, centre-weighted distribution of light with no particular control of glare. Therefore, they are only suitable for use when alone on the road, as the glare they produce will dazzle other drivers. ECE and Japanese Regulations permit higher-intensity, high-beam headlamps than allowed under US regulations. (Wikipedia: Automotive Lighting) | ||
| high-back booster seat | See booster seat. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| highway hypnosis | Highway hypnosis, also known as white line fever, is an altered mental state in which a person can drive a car, truck, or other automobile great distances, responding to external events in the expected, safe, and correct manner with no recollection of having consciously done so. In this state, the driver's conscious mind is apparently fully focused elsewhere, while seemingly still processing the information needed to drive safely. (Wikipedia: Highway hypnosis) | ||
| Hillsburrito | Hillsboro, Oregon. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| hip point | The pivot point between the torso and upper leg portions of the body, either relative to the floor of the vehicle or relative to the height above pavement level, as used in vehicle design. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| hitting the jackpot | Getting stopped by a state trooper. Lights on trooper cars look like slot machine lights. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| hockey stick | The hockey stick is an automotive design feature seen on nearly all Saab automobiles. It is a C-pillar curve from the base of the rear passenger window that resembles the shape of an ice hockey stick or the Nike swoosh symbol. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| Hofmeister Kink | The Hofmeister kink (sometimes also translated Hofmeister kick, German: Hofmeister-Knick) is an automobile design feature seen on modern BMWs and automobiles by other manufacturers. Despite the feature — which consists of a low forward bend at the C-pillar or D-pillar in the case of touring vehicles or SUV's — being used broadly across automotive makes, the term "Hofmeister kink" is generally used in reference to automobiles designed by BMW. Source: Wikipedia | ||
| Hog Town | Toronto, Ontario and Cincinnati, Ohio. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| hole in the wall | A tunnel. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| holeshot | When beginning a race from a standing start: (motorcycle, off-road), the rider who is the first one through the first turn at the start of a race. (drag racing) Getting a substantial starting line advantage due to a quicker reaction time. The other driver gets "holeshotted" "welded to the line" or "left at the tree." A "holeshot win" is any win in a heads-up class where a slower car beats a faster car because of better reaction time, despite having a slower elapsed time (e.t.). (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| homologation | Process by which a new vehicle or part of a vehicle is approved by organizers for usage in racing. It also refers to the majority of the world's road racing sanctioning bodies having a racing class following the FIA's Group GT3 formula. This was done to allow a car to be raced in multiple series with no changes. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| honey bear | A female law enforcement officer. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| hood | The hood (American English) or bonnet (British English) is the hinged cover over the engine of motor vehicles that allows access to the engine compartment (or trunk on rear-engine and some mid-engine vehicles) for maintenance and repair. In British terminology, hood refers to a fabric cover over the passenger compartment of the car (known as the 'top' in the US). In many motor vehicles built in the 1930s and 1940s, the resemblance to an actual hood or bonnet is clear when open and viewed head-on; in modern vehicles it continues to serve the same purpose but no longer resembles a head covering. (Wikipedia: Hood) | ||
| hood lifter | A mechanic. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| hook up | Good traction between tires and track resulting in increased acceleration and reduced slipping or smoking of tires. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Hooker City | Fresno, California. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| hoon | A term originally from Australia & New Zealand, this word can be used as either a noun describing the driver who engages in "hooning," it can also be used as a verb. To hoon originally meant anti-social, fast, loud driving, and street racing. As its use has become widespread outside Australia the definition has expanded to be a generic term of driving a car to its limits, especially if drifting, burnouts, and excessive tire smoke are involved. | ||
| Hopeless | Hopewell, Virginia. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| horseless carriage | An early name for an automobile, as many were constructed on the same principles as carriages of the day. | ||
| hot hatch | A hot hatch is a high-performance hatchback, based on standard superminis or small family cars with improved performance, handling and styling. Hot hatches are very popular in Europe, where hatchbacks are by far the most common body style for this size of car. In North America, sport compacts are usually sold as saloons or coupés rather than hatchbacks. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| hot lap | A lap started by a competitor at optimum speed, as opposed to a lap from a standing start, usually in qualifying. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Hotlanta | Atlanta, Georgia. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| how many candles are you burning? | Asking how old someone is. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| hubometer | A hubometer (hub, center of a wheel + -ometer, measure of), or hubodometer or simply hubo, is a device mounted on the axle of an automobile or other land vehicle that measures distance traveled. The whole device rotates with the wheel except for an eccentrically mounted weight on an internal shaft. This remains pointing downwards and drives the counting mechanism as the body of the hubometer rotates round it. They are needed on semi-trailers where they are the only means of measuring distance traveled over the lifetime of a tire or the trailer. They are used on bus or truck or trailer wheels where the tires are supplied to the vehicle operator by an independent company on a contract of "price per thousand kilometers". The hubometer is installed by the tire company to give them their own measure. In New Zealand hubodometers are used for the calculation of road user charges for HGVs powered by a fuel not taxed at source. (Wikipedia: Hubometer) | ||
| hung out to dry | Typically used in context to pack racing; a car that pulls out of the "draft train" to make a pass, but ends up losing many positions. Numerous cars drafting closely together normally drive faster than one car by itself. The lone car hung out to dry sometimes falls all the way to the end of the draft train. Also known as freight trained. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| hungry heifer | A grossly overweight female one meets over the CB. Usually lacks any type of personal hygiene. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Husky | A truck built by the Brockway Motor Company noted for the Husky dog hood ornament. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| hydrolock | When an internal combustion engine is force stopped for being unable to complete its compression stroke due to uncompressable liquid (often water) in the combustion chamber. | ||
| hydrolocking | Excessive fuel entering (flooding) one or more cylinders due to abnormal operating conditions. The fuel can not be compressed, causing damage to the motor. Most common in drag racing. May cause the motor to grenade. May also happen if a motor ingests water through the air intake. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| hypermiling | A driving technique that maximizes fuel efficiency above all else. | ||
| I | |||
| I'm gone | Indicates that one is finished transmitting and may not be listening to the conversation any longer, or may be traveling out of receiving range. Equivalent to "Signing off", "Out", or "Clear" in formalized radio voice procedure. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| I-1-O | Interstate 10. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Ice-Capading | Losing traction on the roads due to icy conditions; can refer to either the trucker, or witnessing it happen to someone else. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| ICEhole | Slang term for someone who parks a internal combustion engine vehicle in a spot reserved for charging electric vehicles, meant to sound like "asshole." | ||
| Idaho stop | The Idaho stop law is the common name for a law that allows cyclists to treat a stop sign as a yield sign, and a red light as a stop sign. It first became law in Idaho in 1982, but was not adopted elsewhere until Delaware adopted a limited stop-as-yield law, the "Delaware Yield", in 2017. (Wikipedia) | ||
| idle air control actuator | An idle air control actuator or idle air control valve (IAC actuator/valve) is a device commonly used in fuel-injected vehicles to control the engine's idling RPM. In carburetted vehicles a similar device known as an idle speed control actuator is used. (Wikipedia: Idle air control actuator) | ||
| idler arm | On an automobile or truck with a conventional parallelogram steering linkage, the idler arm or idler arm assembly is a pivoting support for the steering linkage. The idler arm supports the end of the center link on the passenger's side of the vehicle. The idler arm bolts to the vehicle's frame or subframe. Generally, an idler arm is attached between the opposite side of the center link from the Pitman arm and the vehicle's frame to hold the center link at the proper height. Idler arms are generally more vulnerable to wear than Pitman arms because of the pivot function built into them. If the idler arm is fitted with grease fittings, these should be lubricated with a grease gun at each oil change. (Wikipedia: Idler arm) | ||
| ijapa | Yoruba term for a two door car. Literally modeled after a Tortoise animal. Also refers to Volkswagen Beetle. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| Illini Bound | Illinois bound traffic also known as "Lincoln Bound." (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| impact wrench | A tool specifically designed for rapidly winding off and on wheel nuts, allowing the changing of wheels and tyres to be performed faster during pit stops. Also known as an impactor, air wrench, air gun, rattle gun, torque gun. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| impound rule | NASCAR's version of Parc Fermè, used at certain tracks. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| in-lap | Any lap which concludes with a visit to the pits, especially a pre-arranged pit stop, either during a race or during practice or qualifying. Often drivers push hard to drive fast on their in-lap (despite perhaps having worn out tires) in order to gain time during the pit stop sequence. See Delta time. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| incident officer | A motorsport marshal who is in charge of other marshals on the track, allocating duties to them. Second in rank to observer. In hillclimbing, they are responsible for the radio communication. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| independent | A competitor (team or driver) taking part with no or very little backing from a manufacturer. They have their own championship within the World Touring Car Championship, where there is a strong manufacturer presence. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Indy 500 | Indianapolis, Indiana. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| inertial switch | An inertial switch is a switch, firmly mounted upon a vehicle or other mobile device, that triggers in the event of shock or vibration. It is a part of electrical circuits that may either enable or disable some function. The switch shown to the right is intended to disable an electric fuel pump in automotive applications. This functionality is required in some vehicle racing applications, since an electric fuel pump may otherwise continue operating after a collision or rollover. If the fuel line is broken or the vehicle is inverted, fuel may be spilled, creating a fire hazard. A small loose weight (called a proof mass) is trapped within a spring-loaded cage. A shock in any direction will cause movement of the mass relative to the cage. If sufficiently shocked, the cage will spring open which actuates an associated switch. The switch is reset by pressing the cage closed through the flexible (red) top cover, retrapping the mass. These switches are also used to open a contactor (a large relay) to disable the high power circuit of a battery electric vehicle upon collision. (Wikipedia: Inertial switch) | ||
| infant car seat | See rear-facing only seat. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| inspection station | A dedicated location staffed by Child Passenger Safety Technicians who are certified to teach parents and caregivers how to install their car seats. An inspection station may also be referred to as a "seat checking station." (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| installation lap | A lap which can take place in practice or qualifying, which is intended simply to gain data and telemetry for the driver or team, rather than any intention of setting a competitive time. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| instrument panel | The Dashboard is termed as Instrument Panel in Automotive Industries, sometimes this term is confused with the Instrument Cluster that is the group of speedometer, odometer and similar devices generally behind the steering wheel. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| insurance policy | A legal document outlining a particular insurance cover for an insured entity for a given risk. Synonym: insurance contract. (Wikipedia, 2012) | ||
| insurer | One who insures (Wikipedia, 2012) | ||
| intermediate tyre | A wet weather tyre of lighter grooving than a wet weather tyre. Sometimes an intermediate is a slick tyre with grooves cut into it. It is used for conditions between dry and wet conditions, most often when the track is wet but it is not actually raining. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| international season | In Australian sprint car racing, the time generally between December and February. Because of Australia being in the Southern Hemisphere, some drivers in North America will fly down to Australia during the time and participate in various meetings before the World of Outlaws season starts in Barberville, Florida in February. The recognised International Season typically runs from Christmas Day (because of the time difference, it usually is Christmas night United States time, where the international drivers are based, until the week before the Barberville meeting. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| invert | The portion of the field which is started by reverse qualifying speed. With an invert of five, the fifth-fastest qualifier starts first and the fastest qualifier starts fifth. The rest of the field starts by their qualifying speed (sixth fastest starts sixth). The invert is often not announced before qualifying or a dice/die roll happens after qualifying. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| J | |||
| J-Ville | Jacksonville, Florida. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| jabber | Someone using foreign language on the CB. US law does not forbid other languages on the radio. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Jake brake | Jacobs engine retarder brake used to help slow rigs on down grades. Now used to mean any similar system uses engine compression to hold back a rig on a down grade (IE. the pac brake = pacific engine brake). Both make a loud roaring sound. Some townships have bylaws in place that limit the use of such brakes in residential or other areas due to this noise. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| jambusting | A service in China where a driver in a hurry but stuck in a traffic jam is rescued by two persons on a motorbike. One stays with the car and the driver is taken by motorbike between the cars to their destination. | ||
| James Bond | In drag racing, when driver's reaction time (when he leaves the start line) is seven thousands of a second after the green light (.007). A "Red" is a reaction time of -.007 seconds (red light), which is disqualification unless the opponent commits a more serious violation. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| jet dryer | An airplane engine mounted on a pickup truck or trailer. The exhaust from the engine is used to blow debris or evaporate moisture from the racing surface. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| jet pilot | Speeding vehicle. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| jibber jabber on channel 9 | Someone using foreign language on Channel 9, which is not illegal. Channel 9 on the CB is supposed to be used only to report emergencies, such as an overturned truck, fire, criminal matters, related matters. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Jimmy | A GMC tractor. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Johnny Law | Police officer, especially a city cop or a local sheriff's deputy. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Joker Lap | In Rallycross events each vehicle must run a lap with a detour once during each single race. In events overseen by the FIA, such as the FIA World Rallycross Championship, this lap must be at least two seconds slower, therefore, the alternative route makes the lap longer. In the American Global Rallycross series the Joker Lap is usually a bit shorter than a lap on the original track. The Joker Lap idea was thought up as a tactical component by Svend Hansen, the late father of 14-times FIA European Rallycross Champion Kenneth Hansen, to spice up the competition. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| jump start | In a standing start, when a vehicle moves from its grid slot before the start of a race is signaled. In a rolling start, when a car passes before they cross the start-finish line or the restart line. When this is done, a penalty is usually imposed. In drag racing, a jump start is signalled by a red light in the offending driver's lane, and he loses unless a more serious foul (boundary line or failure to report to post-race inspection after a round win) occurs. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| K | |||
| K-Whopper | A Kenworth tractor. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| K-Wobbler | A Kenworth tractor. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Kadenacy effect | The Kadenacy effect is an effect of pressure-waves in gases. It is named after Michel Kadenacy who obtained a French patent for an engine utilizing the effect in 1933. There are also European and US patents. In simple terms, the momentum of the exhaust gas leaving the cylinder of an internal combustion engine creates a pressure-drop in the cylinder which assists the flow of a fresh charge of air, or fuel-air mixture, into the cylinder. The effect can be maximized by careful design of the inlet and exhaust passages. (Wikipedia: Kadenacy effect) | ||
| kammback | Originally, a car with a tapered rear that cuts off abruptly. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| Kenosha Cadillac | American Motors car such as a Gremlin Pacer, Matador, Eagle, or Hornet. Term comes from Kenosha, Wisconsin, where an American Motors assembly plant and an engine plant used to be. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| kerb-hopping | To clip, or drive over completely, the concrete kerbs (curbs) on the inside of a corner. While often the fastest method of negotiating chicanes in particular, the practice is usually frowned upon by race officials for the damage it can do to the kerbs, tyres and vehicles. The practice also can drag debris or water from behind the kerb onto the racing line. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| key up | To engage the microphone button. ex: "When did you key up your mike last? (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| kick a tire | To urinate using the quadruple tractor or trailer tires. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| kick it in | What the person who is being called will say on his radio as a response. (for example: "How 'bout 'cha, Blue Beard. You got a copy on Shamrock?" "This is Blue Beard. Kick it in.") (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| kicker | A Linear Amplifier that is used to boost the transmitting power of a CB Radio above the legal four watts. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Kiddy Car | A school bus. Some bus drivers have a CB and will say "Kiddy Car stopping ahead." (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Kinetic Energy Recovery System | A device which recovers energy created when brakes are applied and stores it until required to add power in the engine. In 2008 KERS systems started to appear in the World Rally Championship and Formula One followed soon after, where its application is limited to a push to pass system. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| kit | Refers to a turbo kit or a nitrous kit. Using nitrous oxide in the professional categories in drag racing is illegal. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| kit bashing | In scale model building, combining two or more kits to create a new custom model. | ||
| kitty litter | Informal term with two possible meanings. It is either a nickname for a gravel trap, or for a material applied to the track surface to clean up a leaking fluid. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Kitty-Whopper | A Kenworth tractor. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| knuckle buster | A brodie knob is a doorknob-shaped handle that attaches to the steering wheel of an automobile or other vehicle or equipment with a steering wheel. Other names for this knob include suicide, necker, granny, knuckle buster, and wheel spinner. It is also called a "knuckle buster" because of the disadvantage posed by the knob when letting go of the steering wheel after going around a corner, the wheel spins rapidly and the knob can hit the user's knuckle, forearm, or elbow. (Wikipedia: Brodie knob) | ||
| Kojak with a Kodak | A law officer monitoring traffic with a radar gun. Today, this can also refer to an automated speed camera. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| kombi | A German abbreviation of "Kombinationswagen" (Combination Car) and it is German name for station wagon. Since Germany is a major producer of cars for many European countries, the term Kombi in this meaning is also used in Swedish, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Slovenian, Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian, Hungarian, Spanish, Portuguese, Bulgarian. In Afrikaans and in Australia, Kombi is also used to refer to a Volkswagen Microbus. In Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay the word specifically refers to the VW Microbus. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| Kōreisha | A a statutory sign that is set up in the Road Traffic Law of Japan to indicate "aged person at the wheel." Its official name is "aged driver sign." (Wikipedia: Kōreisha mark) 1997-2011:  ; 2011-current:  | ||
| KUNG | KUNG is the English transcription of the Cyrillic initialism КУНГ for Russian: кузов унифицированный нулевого (нормального) габарита (unified body of zero dimension). The KUNG is a Soviet then Russian term for a standardized military vehicle module/trailer system. The most widespread standard frame-metal body-van is assembled from steel angles and angle bars, steering aluminum sheets outside, but inside - impregnated varnished plywood. The voids between the sheathing panels are filled with reinforced foam. All bodies, regardless of specialization, to supply heating, ventilation, lighting and ceiling light household equipment. (Wikipedia: KUNG) | ||
| Kyusha style | Kyusha style literally means “Japanese old classic car” which in a lot of cases mean it is an old car modified with some (smaller) fender flares, lowered and nice rims under it. (What is bosozoku?) | ||
| L | |||
| labels | Information required by Federal standards affixed to car seats or booster seats. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| ladder series | Generally refers to a category or series of lesser importance which in most cases will race at the same race meeting as a senior category. Cars will be generally similar in characteristic to drive but will be smaller, less powerful and/or slower. Competitors will generally be younger emerging drivers who are climbing an apprenticeship 'ladder' towards entry into the senior series. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Lambda reading | Fuel to air ratio readings, used to determine how much fuel is pushed through the fuel injectors into the cylinders for combustion. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| landaulet | A limousine with the passenger section covered by a convertible top. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| lap belt | A seat belt that is secured to the framework of a seat or car and fastens across the lap of a driver or a passenger. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| lap of honour | A non-competitive lap taken before or after the race by a driver in celebration. Also known as a lap of honor, or, if after the race, a victory lap. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| lap record | Fastest race lap recorded at a circuit for a category of race car. The circumstances allowed vary significantly, but practice laps are generally not considered official records. Laps recorded in qualifying may or may not contribute but are sometimes referred together with practice laps as Qualifying lap record. The outright lap record is the fastest race lap ever recorded at any particular circuit, regardless of category of vehicle being raced. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| large family car | A class described as "large family" in Europe and "mid-size" in the USA, these cars have room for five adults and a large trunk (boot). Engines are more powerful than small family/compact cars and six-cylinder engines are more common than in smaller cars. Car sizes vary from region to region; in Europe, large family cars are rarely over 4,700 mm (15.4 ft) long, while in North America, Middle East and Australasia they may be well over 4,800 mm (15.7 ft). (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| latch plate | The seat belt part that connects the seat belt webbing to a buckle in the vehicle. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| LATCH | Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children. A system used to install car seats in vehicles using two lower anchors and one tether. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| Le Mans car | A slang given by the general public to describe a sports prototype racing car, commonly a Le Mans Prototype and its predecessors including Group C, Group 6 and Group 5, regardless if it is competing at Le Mans or not. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| lead trophy | A nickname for success ballast. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) Refers to the metal lead, not the lead of a race. In some series, weights are added to a car if it has won races to bring it back into parity with the rest of the field. | ||
| leafscreen | Plastic clips onto the base of the windscreen under the bonnet to protect from leaves. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| leafscreen retainer | Bonded to the base of the windscreen to provide a mounting surface for the leafscreen. (Wikipedia: Glossary of automotive design) | ||
| leisure activity vehicle | A small van, generally related to a supermini, with a second or even a third seat row, and a large, tall boot. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| LEO | Short for Law Enforcement Officer. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| level indicator | Part of car seat that helps identify correct rear-facing recline angles. Recline angle is important especially for young babies as it keeps their fragile necks and heads from falling forward and restricting their airways. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| liability insurance | Any insurance against a potential loss due to the insured's liability for injury or damage to others. Source: Wikipedia 2012 | ||
| licensed car | A car produced under license granted by the Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers as required under the Selden Patent while it was in effect. | ||
| lid | The top of something, either a crash helmet or the roof of a car. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| lie book | A trucker's log book. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| liftback | A broad marketing term for a hatchback, which incorporates a shared passenger and cargo volume, with rearmost accessibility via a top-hinged liftgate. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| lights out | In many types of Formula, sports car, touring car, and drag racing the race begins when the starting lights go out. In these contexts "lights out" refers to the start of the race. In stock car racing the lights on the pace car go out on the final lap before a restart, and in this context (depending on each series'/track's rules) it can refer to the final lap before the race start or the final caution lap before a restart when cars are expected to get into formation for the green flag. | ||
| limo liberal | Someone in a limousine. Taken from comments made by Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity regarding liberals riding in limousines. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| limousine | By definition, a chauffeur-driven car with a (normally glass-windowed) division between the front seats and the rear. In German, the term simply means a sedan. (Wikipedia: Car classification) | ||
| Lincoln Bound | Illinois bound Traffic, not Chicago. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| lit the tires | Lost traction in a drag race, producing smoke. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| little bears | A police officer belonging to a city or township police department. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| little cheese | A small school bus, usually built on a 1-ton van chassis (aka cutaway). (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Little Cuba | Miami, Florida. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| little white pills | Stimulants used to keep the driver awake on long hauls. Mentioned in Dave Dudley's original version of the song "Six Days on the Road". (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| livery | The paint colors and decals applied to a vehicle to mark its sponsorship or team identity. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| Local Yokel | A law officer with a city or township police force, seldom encountered on interstate highways. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| locking clip | Holds a car seat in the proper position during normal driving when no other locking mechanism is available. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| lollipop | A sign on a stick used in pit stops, which is held in front of the car and raised when the pit stop is completed. Though the same basic device is utilized in NASCAR and IndyCar, generic terms such as pit board or sign board are preferred as the sign is not round, but sometimes square, and often is in a specific design unique to the driver or team (such as Kevin Harvick's happy face logo, or a team's number stylised as it fits on the car). In addition, in NASCAR & IndyCar, the sign is usually only used for the driver to locate their pit box. It is pulled back, and not normally used to signal departure as it is in Formula One. (Wikipedia: Glossary of motorsport terms) | ||
| lollipop lady | A female crossing guard. UK slang | ||
| long block | Long block is an automotive term for an engine sub-assembly that consists of the assembled block, crankshaft, cylinder head, camshaft (usually), and valve train. A long block does not include fuel system, electrical, intake, and exhaust components, as well as other components. (Wikipedia: Long block) | ||
| loping idle | The non-automotive definition is a "bounding stride," and as applied to vehicles it refers to an idle with RPMs fluttering up and down. This may be a form of rough idling due to poor performance or the difficulty of an engine tuned for high RPM performance running at idle. | ||
| Lost Wages | Las Vegas, Nevada. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| lot lizard | Prostitute, especially one that frequents truck stops. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| Louisville | A Ford L-Series Truck. This term originated because the Ford L-Series Trucks were built at a Ford truck plant near Louisville, Kentucky. (Wikipedia: List of CB Slang) | ||
| low beam | (also called dipped beam, passing, or meeting beam) headlamps provide a light distribution to give adequate forward and lateral illumination without dazzling other road users with excessive glare. This beam is specified for use whenever other vehicles are present ahead. (Wikipedia: Automotive Lighting) | ||
| lower anchor attachments | Attachments used in place of vehicle seat belt to secure car seat or booster seat. Consists of lower anchor connectors and the lower anchor strap for flexible lower anchor attachments. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| lower anchors | Horizontal bars in the vehicle seat that provide a secure anchor for the car seat's lower attachments. (Safercar.gov Car Seat Glossary of Terms) | ||
| lower tie bar | A lower tie bar is an alloy/steel bar that ties the lower suspension pick-up points of a vehicle (with an independent suspension) together. It increases chassis rigidity by bracing the left and right lower-control-arm sheet metal mounting points. The lower tie bar is designed to reduce the non-pivoting movement of the control arms and to stiffen the subframe to lessen the distortion of the lower suspension, especially during hard cornering. As a result, it improves the handling and steering response of the vehicle. It may also provide additional benefits in front-wheel drive vehicles by reducing wheel hop and torque steer. The bar may lower ground clearance by as much as 30 millimeters on some aftermarket installations. The lower tie bar is mostly an aftermarket car component. Some of the few exceptions to this rule are the Honda Integra and Civic Type-R, as well as the Daihatsu Charade GTti. Since the lower tie bar is one of the cheapest upgrade that tuners can install on their cars, it is probably one of the first performance accessories is acquired. The lower tie bar is a bolt-on device and no stock parts will have to be replaced or removed when it is being installed on the vehicle (unless the vehicle already has one on it). These characteristics make the lower tie bar a popular performance upgrade among car tuning enthusiasts for its appearance and slight performance gain. (Wikipedia: Lower tie bar) | ||
| lying to dispatch | Lying is involved with many of these tactics, but there's one specific lie that's funny. A driver might pick up a fare who says he's going a short distance, but you lie to dispatch, saying it's a long ride. It is done to ram home the awful luck of the Town Clown (see below), hoping he'll get frustrated and leave for the day. Fewer cabs on the streets means more money for the rest. (Taxi lingo and a few tricks of the trade) | ||
