There are certainly software hackers who are not interested in hacking mechanical devices, working on cars, or even understanding them. I'm not one, but most of the other software devs I know are. Their cluelessness about how cars work is almost funny.

Most software devs don't have the Hacker Mindset (TM) at all. If you use "sw devs" and "sw hackers" interchangeably, that's the source of your confusion.