[Red Badger]

Imagine taking a modern automobile back to 1750. There is no way they could duplicate it..................

[Dr. Sivana]

Imagine taking a modern automobile back to 1750.

I fear that if we brought one to 2150, THEY might not be able to duplicate it either.

[woodbutcher1963]

There may be no way they could duplicate it, but there are many parts of an automobile that could be made or understood.
They had carriages back in that era.
They did not have the ability to create plastics.
Leather seats, rubber wheels, steel frames, glass windshields, paint, and many others.

The internal combustion engine would not be created by Benz for another 126 years.

Petroleum/bitumen had been used for 5000+ years. It would not be until another 100 years that petroleum was distilled.

So, yes I BELIEVE that IF we had alien space craft we would be able to reverse engineer many of the things on it. Assuming those elements are actually available in large enough quantities on our planet.