Everything posted here is viewed as an opportunity for critique. It's driving me away as well. Perfect is truly the enemy of the good.
Truth be told, it was a few diagrams similar to these (though non-moving) that I saw and studied when I was probably about ten years old that fired up my interest in the mechanics of automobiles specifically. That turned into a long-term pursuit and I even spent several years working professionally as a mechanic and delving into some custom and high-performance work. It was doing engine performance management and working with ECUs that I dove into electrical signalling and decided to shift gears a little and get into the high-tech world, so I put myself through college at night. I still think of those diagrams from time to time.
Someone's creation of a few diagrams like this years ago opened up this kid's mind in a lasting way. I'm sure there were plenty of criticisms to be made on them, but they still had an important and lasting impact.
The main problem seems to be that it's either a simplification - which is needed because the real thing is too complex to absorb at once - or the technology choice doesn't meet their expectations.
As someone who knows all about engines, I think it's neat. Too many people don't have the faintest idea about how their car works. Though I guess most don't care and it's my desire to know how everything works that makes me odd.
I'd like to see one on airplane and jet engines next :)
every car forum / mailing list / meetup ever is full of this kind of one-upmanship.