Home and Auto What's the earliest era in which people could reverse engineer a car?

**Rain Man** · 07:55 PM

The scenario:

It's a sunny Saturday afternoon, and you decide to go to a car show. There's a sweet 1977 Trans Am, black with gold trim, and you decide to sit in and pretend you're eastbound and down, loaded up and trucking.

In the next stall is a cherry 1988 DeLorean, but unbeknownst to everyone, the flux capacitor is on the the fritz. Some kids are messing with the car and turn it on, and it's accidentally set to transport 12 feet to the left.

Suddenly you and the Trans Am are transported back in time.

Now, we all know that there are three outcomes to this scenario.

1. You will live in the car in squalor until a dinosaur steps on it and crushes both of you to death.

2. You will be immediately burned as a witch or feted as a god by some culture that has little interest in internal combustion.

3. Your car will be seized by the most powerful person around, and they will attempt to reverse engineer it. They will either learn how to build automobiles before Henry Ford, or they'll end up pedaling around in bamboo and palm frond vehicles like Gilligan on the island.

My question to you involves Scenario 3a. What's the earliest culture/era that could successfully reverse engineer a car by studying Burt Reynolds' Trans Am?

The rules:

1. The car does not have to match the performance of the Trans Am. It just needs to run and be capable of achieving a top speed of at least 13 mile per hour.

2. At least half of the accessories must work - headlights, air conditioner, etc.

3. No need for a working radio, and any tape deck or 8-track may use your existing inventory. No need to create new tapes and 8-tracks.

4. All parts of the new vehicle must be manufactured. No scavenging of parts from the Trans Am.

5. Assume that the car is in the hands of the most powerful person in the world.

6. Assume that they are working without your help since they don't trust your accent, and that they have never seen Smokey and the Bandit.

View Poll Results: The earliest era that could successfully reverse engineer a car would be ...
1850 - 1902 era	19	52.78%
1800 to 1849	6	16.67%
1750 to 1799	5	13.89%
1700 to 1749	0	0%
1650 to 1699	0	0%
1600 to 1649	0	0%
1550 to 1599	1	2.78%
1500 to 1549	0	0%
1450 to 1499	0	0%
472 ad to 1449	1	2.78%
1 ad to 471 ad	0	0%
500 bc to 1 bc	0	0%
2000 bc to 501 bc	0	0%
4000 bc to 2001 bc	0	0%
10,000 bc to 4001 bc	1	2.78%
Earlier than 10,000 bc but after homo sapiens emerged	0	0%
I think those earlier hominids were pretty ingenious. Mark me down for them.	0	0%
I don't think anyone could do reverse engineer a car. It had to be developed in a forward gear.	0	0%
I think dolphins could do it.	1	2.78%
I need to learn more about insurance rates in each era before I can answer.	2	5.56%
Voters: 36. You may not vote on this poll

07-25-2015, 07:48 PM	Topic Starter
Rain Man NFL's #1 Ermines Fan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $3408491 VARSITY	What's the earliest era in which people could reverse engineer a car? The scenario: It's a sunny Saturday afternoon, and you decide to go to a car show. There's a sweet 1977 Trans Am, black with gold trim, and you decide to sit in and pretend you're eastbound and down, loaded up and trucking. In the next stall is a cherry 1988 DeLorean, but unbeknownst to everyone, the flux capacitor is on the the fritz. Some kids are messing with the car and turn it on, and it's accidentally set to transport 12 feet to the left. Suddenly you and the Trans Am are transported back in time. Now, we all know that there are three outcomes to this scenario. 1. You will live in the car in squalor until a dinosaur steps on it and crushes both of you to death. 2. You will be immediately burned as a witch or feted as a god by some culture that has little interest in internal combustion. 3. Your car will be seized by the most powerful person around, and they will attempt to reverse engineer it. They will either learn how to build automobiles before Henry Ford, or they'll end up pedaling around in bamboo and palm frond vehicles like Gilligan on the island. My question to you involves Scenario 3a. What's the earliest culture/era that could successfully reverse engineer a car by studying Burt Reynolds' Trans Am? The rules: 1. The car does not have to match the performance of the Trans Am. It just needs to run and be capable of achieving a top speed of at least 13 mile per hour. 2. At least half of the accessories must work - headlights, air conditioner, etc. 3. No need for a working radio, and any tape deck or 8-track may use your existing inventory. No need to create new tapes and 8-tracks. 4. All parts of the new vehicle must be manufactured. No scavenging of parts from the Trans Am. 5. Assume that the car is in the hands of the most powerful person in the world. 6. Assume that they are working without your help since they don't trust your accent, and that they have never seen Smokey and the Bandit. Last edited by Rain Man; 07-25-2015 at 07:55 PM..
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