A new signal processing technique, the directional harmonic wavelet map(dHWM), is presented to characterize the instantaneous planar motion of a measurement point in a structure from its transient complex-valued vibration signal. It is proven that the directional auto-HWM essentially tracks the shape and directively of the instantaneous planar motion, whereas the phase of the directional cross-HWM indicates its inclination angle. Finally, the technique is suessfully applied to an automobile engine for characterization of its transient motion during crank-on/idling/engine-off.