What are they looking for in the engine bay?

Do you really know what is what under the engine bay of a car?

This is a rather common sight at new car showrooms (see picture below). Car shoppers will walk in and after a few minutes of looking around the showroom new car they want to see what is under the bonnet. For a trained mechanic this is fine, as he might spot an engine component that impresses them of they might spot a lacking item in the engine compartment.

But, for the general car shopper what is it that they are looking for. Do they even understand the composition of the parts under the bonnet? Do they even have the slightest mechanical knowledge to pick up and say this car is truly good? Can they spot defects in the engine? Are they ready to tell the difference between the the brake fluid and the power steering fluid (even with labels on it, most people can’t tell the difference)?  

And this above is not a gender issue. Both men and women are looking at something they probably do not even understand or can’t even tell if it is right or wrong.

Now in these pictures below you can actually see engine components and this is rare as a lot of new cars today have large plastic engine covers that cover nearly all of the engine components which means looking under the hood is quite funny and a waste of time.

Then you have engines that are covered up like the pictures below here. 

We wonder, why most new cars have these plastic engine covers? Why do car manufacturers bother to spend extra time and money to make them? What are they hiding under these covers?

Unlike beautiful engines of the past, these plastic engine covers look terrible which has led many people to question what they actually do. Each engine cover is a bit different, but they do have a function.

Well, some car manufacturers have decided that rather than make people look at an ugly mess of wires, rubber hoses and plastic pieces, they would simply shield this ugliness from their buyers and pretend that the engine is a clean sanctuary rather than a greasy, hot and dirty area. So what would happen if you left the cover off?

Well, we asked the workshop after sales managers of a few brands that have big bland covers under the hood of the lovely cars and they all said almost the same thing. “The covers help to keep temperatures down and helps keep naughty fingers from getting caught in moving parts”. We think it is just to keep the messy looks hidden under nice covers and that’s that.