[bobthepanda]

in a post-apocalyptic world, building an outdated suboptimal car is still better than not having the car at all.

I really wonder how practical this is though. The bicycle, for example, dates back to da Vinci, but we only became good enough at manufacturing to make the precise parts needed by the 19th century. having the diagrams is all well and good but we will also have lost the means of manufacturing reliably and that is going to be pretty tough to replicate.

[XorNot]

Knowledge goes a long way though: i.e. knowing the 3-plate method for producing perfectly flat surfaces (most easily done with cast iron) gets you bootstrapped on making accurate tools, as does knowledge of how to build a lathe and what processes it is capable of.

All of which benefits from any type of work producing engine, since the core leap you need to make is to get away from being solely dependent on human labour as a power source.

[7952]

Surely tractors are more important than cars as they help massively in food production. Simply moving about is easily done on foot. And the range of terrain that cars can cross is very restricted. Without regular traffic and maintaince I doubt roads would be passable in a couple of decades. Motorbikes though would still work fine.

[bobthepanda]

I think the bigger issue would be rubber. Rubber cannot grow just anywhere and synthetic rubber requires a specialized petroleum industry.