[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Spuds

Engineers and technical writers have two very different skill sets. One knows how stuff works but is really bad at explaining it, the other knows how to explain things but has no idea how stuff works.

What likely happened here is the (English language) tech pubs folks saw this little plastic piece and asked the Japanese engineers through a translator (either machine or human) what the "little plastic bit next to the wheel well" is. The Engineer who responded assumed they were asking about the mud flaps and responded, also through a translator, "it guards against stones". And forever more that part was called a stone guard.

If that sounds silly, you are right, it absolutely is. But it actually happens all the time.

Also, wheels on a vehicle moving forward can only fling things in a forward direction relative to the surface they are on, unless as someone is doing a burnout. It's just often less forward than the speed of the vehicle. Sometimes up. Rarely down. But always forward.

Or instead of some elaborate series of events it is actually called a stone guard.

Oh this line of shit again. Materials stick and get flung off at all angles as they come loose.