C

See "C-post".

The body post that supports the rear of the roof and to which the left and right sides of the back glass are attached. Also called "C-pillar". It's considered security element of body structure.

A wrench, whose end is shaped like a C, used to loosen the locking on a bottom bracket of a bicycle.

API classification for diesel engine oil widely used in the late '40s and '50s. "C" means "Commercial" classification and "A" means "for light duty diesel engine service".

Acronym for "China Association of Automobile Manufacturers".

A taxi or a hire car; a taxicab.

The closed part of a truck (or even a car) where the driver sits.

A truck chassis, which includes the driver compartment.

An European term for a convertible. European manufacturers often call convertible models Cabriolets or Cabrios.

Acronym for "Corporate Average Fuel Economy". The CAFE standards arose in the mid-1970s as a response to the energy crisis.

Acronym for "Canadian Association of Japanese Automobile Dealers".

Acronym for "Canadian Automotive Repair and Service" council.

API classification for a type of diesel engine oil introduced in 1949. "C" means "Commercial" classification and "B" means "for moderate duty diesel engine service".

Acronym for "Completely built-up" (regarding a car, for example).

Acronym for "Cruise Control".

API classification for a type of diesel engine oil introduced in 1981. "C" means "Commercial" classification and "C" means "for moderate duty diesel and gasoline engine service".

Acronym for "Classic Car Club of America". CCCA is dedicated to the collecting, preservation and enjoyment of the world's finest automobiles, which were manufactured from 1925 through 1948.

Acronym for "Comité des Constructeurs Francais d'Automobiles" (France).

Acronym for "Controlled Combustion System" or "Combustion Control System" of reducing unburned hydrocarbon emission from the engine exhaust.

API classification for a type of diesel engine oil introduced in 1955. "C" means "Commercial" classification and "D" means "for severe duty diesel engine service".

Acronym for "Capacitive Discharge Ignition" device sometimes controlled by a computer. It is designed to help the spark plugs fire at a rate consistent with the rpms of the engine.

Acronym for "Car-Derived Van" (e.g., Renault Kangoo).

Acronym for "Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association".

Acronym for "Cubic inch displacement".

A brilliant French engineer and businessman, a genius at public relations. André Citroën founded the company which bears his name and which today is in alliance with Peugeot. By the end of the 1920s, this leader of industry had built up an impressive empire. André Citroën invented the business of selling cars, with after-sales and a host of other services.

Son of Lévie Citroen, a Dutch diamond merchant, and Macha Kleinan, a Pole, André Gustave Citroen is born on 5 February 1878, in Paris, and dies of cancer on 3 July 1935.

Acronym for "Completely-Knocked Down". A "CKD-car" means that the car was delivered in parts and completed in an assembly factory in order to save on purchase taxes.

Acronym for "Comité de Liaison de la Construction d'Equipements et de Pièces d'Automobiles" (i.e., European Association of Automotive Suppliers). CLEPA is the European umbrella membership organisation for the global Automotive Supply industry. It represents 80 of the world's most prominent suppliers for car parts, systems and modules. CLEPA's headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium.

Chemical symbol of "Carbon monoxide", a deadly, colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas found in the engine exhaust. Toxic even in relatively small concentrations. Formed by incomplete burning of hydrocarbons. Thus at its greatest with a rich mixture.

Abbreviation for "Coupe".

Acronym for "Compression Ratio".

Acronym for "Chambre Syndicale Suisse de L'Automobile et Branches Annexes" (Switzerland).

Acronym for "Chrysler Technology Center".

Acronym for "Canadian Vehicle Manufacturer's Association".

Acronym for "Continuously Variable Transmission".

Abbreviation for "Cylinder", as in "12-cyl. engine."