ABSTRACT
Of We.have. come. to. think.of. an.automobile. in. terms. of. the.assemblies. from. which. it. is.made..Chief.among.these.are. the.engine,. the.transmission,. the. suspension,. the. steering,. and. the. interior,. which. of. course. includes. seats,. controls,.and.instrumentation..Holding.these.together.is.the.chassis,.a.primary.assembly.all.of.its.own,.and.the.body.of.the.car..Now.for.some.this.last. item.is.the.most.important..Appearance.is.everything..It.denotes.status.and. can.convey.an.appeal.to.others.that.is.a.definite.attraction.the.car’s.owner. may.well.have.in.mind.at.the.time.of.purchase..Other.owners.may.take.different.perspectives.emphasizing.ride.quality,.or.safety.in.the.unlikely.event. of.a.serious.collision,.or.the.infotainment.quality.the.vehicle.carries.in.terms. of.satellite.navigation.and.radio.(maybe.even.video)..Regardless.of.the.priority. that.drivers.give.to. the.qualities.of. the.automobile,. it. is.almost.natural. to.think.of.this.system.in.terms.of.its.primary.elements,.any.one.of.which. can.undoubtedly.be.broken.down.even.further.into.smaller.pieces..The.icon. that.stands.for.this.decomposition.is.that.of.hierarchy,.shown.in.Figure.8.1.. In.Chapter.2.we.noted.this.form.of.organization.to.be.a.powerful.force.that. grants.stability.to.the.various.components,.making.it.easier.to.organize.these. even.further.as.we.move.from.basic.pieces.to.the.automobile.itself..From.bottom.to.top,.hierarchy.is.an.unrivaled.mechanism.for.bringing.order..It.is.a. significant.of.
