Oh, yes, for sure I'm with you on all that.
What I don't quite get is this... can the components continue to absorb damage on vehicle penetration hits? I get that the Vehicle Rel can never go below 0, but are those components still able to take hits that might otherwise be passed on to the PCs.
I guess you mean after the vehicle is inoperable (i.e. reliability 0). That depend on component:
ENGINE: <> Any excess damage will be stopped by the engine block and does not continue to hit another component.
SUSPENSION: <> Any excess damage continues to hit another component.
So, on a vehicle that has been made inoperable, the engine still will block damage but not the suspension. When it comes to the wheels, the rules say that if a component is not present you should move up one row on the table, but the wheels are already the top on the table so if the vehicle has been made inoperable and the wheels are hit again there is no effect.