hey dude,
in maya 5.0, if you group an object/s and then goto "edit" - "duplicate transform" the object will be duplicated, move/rotate the duplicated object,
hit Duplicate transform again (or the key "g") & the NEXT duplicated object will be the exact distance or rotation as the first object, you can use this for things like wheel nuts, if you divide 360 degrees into the amount of wheel nuts you want, move it, then dup-trans form, &, as long as your pivot point is the centre of the wheel you will get a pefect rotation everytime, of equal degrees. like on my model of the car.

If you want a quick tut, i'll knock one up for you.

cheers M - (clear as mud? )