I came across this in an "end of the world as we know it", EMP attack debate. If the car is a Faraday cage that protects passengers, why would it not protect the car's electronics? How about it EEs.
"LIGHTNING MYTH #4
Rubber tires aren't why you're safe in a car during a lightning storm. In strong electric fields, rubber tires actually become more conductive than insulating. You're safe in a car because the lightning will travel around the surface of the vehicle and then go to ground. This occurs because the vehicle acts like a Faraday cage. Michael Faraday, a British physicist, discovered that a metal cage would shield objects within the cage when a high potential discharge hit the cage. The metal, being a good conductor, would direct the current around the objects and discharge it safely to the ground. This process of shielding is widely used today to protect the electrostatic sensitive integrated circuits in the electronics world."
Some EMP scenarios believe that cars will survive fine, but the utility infrastructure will collapse.
Others think that only pre-computer cars will work. Or only cars that were not currently functioning.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
