I currently am doing an automotive design course at university so i have some knowledge of 3D CAD modelling, but as i have enver used 3d max before i was just wondering, is it easy to pick it up???
also is it like 3d cad modelling?
I only ask because the rendered cars look great

In a way it's quite a lot like CAD (I'm proficient at AutoCAD), but in many ways it's quite different.

Rendering LFS cars is 'easy' in so much that you import the car model from the CMX files, apply the textures (there are some good tutorials about for this), apply some lighting, and click render.

The best way is to have a play and get to know your way around 3DS. Once you've done this, you can start on the modelling side of things. If you can think in 3D, which you should be able to being a CAD user, then it's not that hard to pick up. It just uses different methods to CAD to achieve the same thing, much like switching from one CAD package to another.

Thanks, well i will have to see about learning some of 3d max then, yh 3d is easy to think in one ur used to it

can i render in autocad? or it can only be done in 3ds?

CAD packages aren't designed to 'Render' a such. Whilst you can made 3D models in CAD, they look very plain generally. 3DS is far more powerful for producing models that look real, but almost certainly worse for making engineering models/drawings.

in addition to that, you can create a model in CAD and render it with 3DS Max

Quote from gatorman :

in addition to that, you can create a model in CAD and render it with 3DS Max

well.. im an architecture student, and i must admit that i make ALL my models in autocad before importing them in 3dsmax for mat/light/render.
autocad is the most precise way to make anything..
and btw, u can render with autocad, u should just get Autodesk Viz Render and link ur autocad model with it
(dont expect 3dsmax results though.. its more about rendering buildings)