the amount of time you might “save” from doing whatever it is you’re planning on doing on any given design package is NO WHERE EVEN CLOSE to the time required to learn the software.
even with a proper course in AutoCAD under your belt, it would still take you at least a week of solid 10-12 hour days to get used to the basic functions of Catia V4 and, the present automotive standard, Catia V5. trust me, i’ve been through this before and as much as i like designing cars myself, i had no where near the amount of patience required to learn it so that’s why i quit my co-op job and failed that work term. if you want an idea of what it takes if you’re serious enough, check this link out:
http://www.dpcars.net/dp1bld/dc.htm
Thoroughly check the guys main site out too (www.dpcars.net) and specifically check out his design approach for the dp1 car he build himself.
Solidworks is a thing of the past now for OEMs and R&D and I believe might be found moreso in the aftermarket. Catia is the way to go if you want to get serious. These programs are mainly for engineering purposes, whereas programs like 3D Studio Max and Maya are purely based around graphics and more aesthetics.
If you simply thought the F&F scene you mentioned was “cool” and all, I definitely would not recommend you wasting your time with this. Learn as much hands-on experience first because you will realize that when you go about doing a certain job on a car, there will be things here and there you forgot to think of ahead of time…slowing down the amount of time you expected to spend and making you smarter for the next time you touch the car. Now try to imagine designing something for your car WITHOUT having enough hands-on (assumption…if you do, then i’ve been mistaken).
Bottomline…that’s why everyone always test fits. There’s absolutely no benefit in designing things ahead of time if your car is just going to be driven on the street. Just test fit, modify, test fit, modify, until you get what you need. If you’re going to be designing new components that have functionality and need every oz of performance from it for a track car or some project car, then yes, some CAD work may be of interest.