I think windscreen came about because most early cars didn't have roofs, so the piece of glass in front of you screened you from the wind but didn't completely protect you from it. Still relevant for convertibles, I suppose.
Bonnet and hood are both headwear so it kind of matches up. In one Eastern European language the word translates as "cap". Of the three, I think hood is the best descriptively, but I guess we'll always call it a bonnet.
As for the boot thing, horse-drawn carriages had a "bote" which was a compartment in the back for storing luggage. So I guess that idea of a storage space has been boot or bote for hundreds of years, and it's you guys who changed it to trunk.
I guess we use so many different words because when most of you left these shores, cars didn't exist. There's no common ground. We don't say fender either (it's wing) and we rarely talk about transmission, and the only time we talk about shifting is the term "short shifting". And we say "manual" instead of "stick". Car enthusiasts over here are petrolheads, but I think they're gearheads over there. And it's petrol or diesel instead of gas. To be honest, I prefer the chemical name (a hexane and octane mix) which is where the phrase "high-octane" comes from.
Oh, and do you still measure engine size in cubic inches? It's always litres here. England has been slow at adopting metric (it's more a continental Europe thing) but it's definitely happening. Don't often see petrol prices per gallon any more and we buy milk in litres now. We're in transition. We all use Fahrenheit for warm temperatures and Centigrade for cold. It's nuts, but all part of our charm!
How often does someone call you and not say a word?
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I think windscreen came about because most early cars didn't have roofs, so the piece of glass in front of you screened you from the wind but didn't completely protect you from it. Still relevant for convertibles, I suppose.
Bonnet and hood are both headwear so it kind of matches up. In one Eastern European language the word translates as "cap". Of the three, I think hood is the best descriptively, but I guess we'll always call it a bonnet.
As for the boot thing, horse-drawn carriages had a "bote" which was a compartment in the back for storing luggage. So I guess that idea of a storage space has been boot or bote for hundreds of years, and it's you guys who changed it to trunk.
I guess we use so many different words because when most of you left these shores, cars didn't exist. There's no common ground. We don't say fender either (it's wing) and we rarely talk about transmission, and the only time we talk about shifting is the term "short shifting". And we say "manual" instead of "stick". Car enthusiasts over here are petrolheads, but I think they're gearheads over there. And it's petrol or diesel instead of gas. To be honest, I prefer the chemical name (a hexane and octane mix) which is where the phrase "high-octane" comes from.
Oh, and do you still measure engine size in cubic inches? It's always litres here. England has been slow at adopting metric (it's more a continental Europe thing) but it's definitely happening. Don't often see petrol prices per gallon any more and we buy milk in litres now. We're in transition. We all use Fahrenheit for warm temperatures and Centigrade for cold. It's nuts, but all part of our charm!