Not me (I mean, I can change oil, tires, batteries, plugs, rods, rockers -- gimme a book and I'll break it down, but I'm limited).

Two of my brothers would amaze the average auto owner with their maint expertise, but I have a third who simply blows the other two clean out of the water. Regrettably, his name is Phil.

One of the very basic problems with seeing the backyard mechanic these days is that those who can't do it (the majority) look upon the knuckle-sliding wrenchoholic as a kind of pariah, voting in ordinances to the effect that makes working on your own car on your own property illegal. In Hilliard, Ohio, where my youngest brother lives and I work, there's even an ordinance in place that denies a homeowner’s right to park his personal automobile in his own driveway. It must be inside the garage. With two-car families sprouting everywhere in the late 80s and through the 90s, this has become a much-ignored ordinance.

Dan