Utterly Mad

I assume if I tried it, it'd be 90% getting lose in the woods and/or falling into septic tanks.

No, this is exactly what it is.
Actually, I took the dive and got it today. The car building part is the main part of the game, and it's very detailed. The rest of the game is fluff to make it more interesting/give the game a distinct feel. I managed to get the sub frame and breaks attached but then had to go out and get food because I'd eaten the last of my sausages. I then died in a car accident because I was going too fast around a corner and ran into a tree. It's a really neat game.

Just getting the vehicles to move is a bit tricky at first, until you realize that it sort of works like in real life and also some of the vehicles are a bit dicky when it comes to actually functioning. Your work van for example. You have to turn on the ignition, but it doesn't work sometimes so you have to pump the breaks while working the ignition. Another thing is the hand break, which has to be off.

The game also has 3 use keys, each one with a different "use" function. Basically what it amounts to is "push" "pull" and "misc use." Left click picks things up, drops things, or pulls things, right click throws object or pushes, and the F key will use whatever is under the cursor. the odd thing is, the left click will also use things under the cursor, depending on what that thing is.

Oh, and your car can fall apart while you are driving it if you havn't done something right.