The word automobile comes

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An automobile (or car) is a land vehicle used to carry passengers. Automobiles usually have four wheels, and an engine or motor to make them move.

Name[change | change source]

The word «automobile» comes from the Greek prefix «αυτό» (self) and the Latin word «mobilis» (moving). This name means «self-moving», as cars run on their own power and do not need horses or other power from outside to move.

Types of automobiles[change | change source]

Automobiles are made in different shapes and sizes, for people with different needs. Here are some common types.

• A convertible is an automobile with a roof that can be opened or taken off for an open-air drive. Sportier convertibles are called roadsters.
• A hatchback is a smaller automobile with a cargo area that uses the same space as the cabin (instead of a separate trunk like in a sedan or coupé). They combine the sportiness of coupés and sedans with the storage space of SUVs.
  • A station wagon (estate car in British English) is a hatchback-like automobile that has a less sloped rear window and more space for passengers and luggage.
• A pickup truck is a truck with a separate cabin and cargo area on a ladder frame. The cargo area is called the «bed«.
• A sedan (saloon in British English) is an automobile with a sloped rear window and separate trunk that has four doors.
  • A coupé (coupe in American English) is like a sedan, but usually only has two doors and is seen as sportier than a sedan.
• An SUV (sport utility vehicle) is a rugged automobile that has a combined passenger and cargo area (like in hatchbacks, station wagons, and vans). SUVs are very popular due to their usefulness.
• A van is a big box-shaped automobile meant for carrying plenty of passengers or cargo. There are many different sizes of vans, such as minivans, which are made for families.

Energy[change | change source]

To make an automobile move, it must have energy to turn the wheels. This energy might be chemical energy in gasoline or electrical energy in a battery. How quickly the engine or motor can send the energy to the wheels, and how much energy is sent, is called the power of the motor. The power of an automobile is usually measured in kilowatts or horsepower.

Gasoline[change | change source]

As of 2019, most automobile burn a fuel to make an internal combustion engine (sometimes called a «motor») run. The power from the engine then goes to the wheels through a transmission, which has a set of gears that can make the automobile go faster or slower. The most common fuel is petrol, which is called «gasoline» or «gas» in American English.

Gasoline is called a fossil fuel because it comes from tiny fossils that were made millions of years ago. Over millions of years, they turned into oil, which was then drilled up from deep inside the Earth, and then turned into fuel by chemical changes. Old gasoline-powered automobiles are noisy and their exhaust makes city air dirty, which can make people ill. But automobiles made after the mid-2010s are cleaner.^[1]

Burning gasoline, like any kind of fossil fuel, makes carbon dioxide, which makes global warming. Since 2017, less gasoline powered automobiles are being made,^[2][3] and some places will not allow gasoline-powered automobiles in future, like Amsterdam in 2030.^[4]

Batteries[change | change source]

The cleanest automobiles are electric vehicles. They are usually plugged into a power outlet or a charging station and store electricity in a battery at the bottom of the automobile. The electricity then drives an electric motor, which turns the wheels. Some electric automobiles have 2 motors: one at the front, and one at the back. A few have 4 motors (one for each wheel).^[5]

Other sources of energy[change | change source]

Some automobiles burn diesel fuel, which is used in big trucks and buses, and a few use wood gas. In some countries, such as Brazil and Sweden, a mixture of ethanol and gasoline, called «gasohol» in Brazil and «E85″ in Sweden, is used as automobile fuel. Other fuels include propane, natural gas, compressed air, and ethanol (which comes from plants). There are automobiles designed to run on more than one type of fuel — these are called «flex-fuel» and are rare.

A few automobiles generate electricity from hydrogen fuel cells (like the Honda Clarity). As of 2019, most of the hydrogen that people use comes from burning fossil fuels, but scientists and engineers are trying to make hydrogen from renewable energy a lot cheaper and easier to use.

Some automobiles even use solar cells for their electricity, but they are not very practical. There is a competition every year where people try to design a automobile that can last the longest and go the farthest on solar energy alone.

There is also a type of automobile that uses both an engine and an electric motor. This is called a hybrid electric vehicle; an example is the Toyota Prius.

Regenerative Brakes[change | change source]

All automobiles have brakes which work by friction to stop the automobile quickly in an emergency or stop it rolling when parked. Electric automobiles also have regenerative brakes, which slow the automobile by turning the energy in its movement back into electricity, like an electric motor working the opposite way. So regenerative means the electricity is generated again.

History[change | change source]

The earliest recorded automobiles were actually steam engines attached to wagons in the late 18th century. The steam engines were heavy, making these wagons slow and hard to control. Better and faster steam automobiles became common late in the 19th century.

Some automobiles in the early 20th century were powered by electricity. They were slow and heavy and went out of use until the idea came back later in the century.

The internal combustion engine changed the way many automobiles were powered. The engine used either gasoline, diesel, or kerosene to work. When the fuel is exploded in a cylinder it pushes the piston down and turns the wheels.

Although many people tried to make a good automobile that would work and sell well, people say that Karl Benz invented the modern automobile. He used a four-stroke type of internal combustion engine to power his Benz Patent-Motorwagen in 1886. He began to make many automobiles in a factory and sell them in Germany in 1888.

In North America, the first modern automobile was made by brothers Charles and J. Frank Duryea in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Duryea brothers’ automobile also won the first-ever car race in 1895, competing against automobiles made by Benz. The race was in Chicago, Illinois, and 53 miles long. The Duryeas then began making the first automobiles for everyday use in 1896. That year, they made 13 automobiles by hand in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Benz may have invented the first modern automobile, and the Duryeas the first automobile to be sold, but Henry Ford sold the most automobiles to the most people. In 1910 he began making and selling his Model T, which was a huge success. Many people could afford this automobile, not just the rich, because Ford used mass production. This meant he made many Model Ts in a short time in a factory. People say that the Model T is the automobile that «put America on wheels». The Model T was the most popular automobile of the time because it was cheap but it was still a good quality automobile that ordinary people could own.

Since then, many different kinds of automobiles have been designed and built, from minivans to sports cars. In the 1950s, the United States made and used more automobiles than all the rest of the world. Fifty years later, China became the largest maker and user of automobiles.

Advantages[change | change source]

Automobiles are faster than walking or riding a bike if you are going a long way. They can carry more than one person and a large amount of luggage. Depending on local public transport quality, they can also be faster and far more convenient than using buses, bicycles or trains, and can often go where public transport cannot. 4-wheel drive «off road» vehicles are particularly good at reaching places difficult for other wheeled transport due to bad roads or harsh terrain. However, they cost more and burn more fuel, and there are many places even they cannot go.

Most automobiles enclose people and cargo in a closed compartment with a roof, doors and windows, thus giving protection from weather. Modern automobiles give further protection in case of collisions, as they have added safety features such as seat belts, airbags, crumple zones and side-impact protection that would be expensive or impossible on two-wheeled or light 3-wheeled vehicles, or most buses.

With regular check ups and service, automobiles can last a very long time. In some countries like Australia, people have to get their automobile checked by authorised mechanics regularly by law to confirm that their automobile is safe to drive. They can go to an automobile mechanic to get their automobile checked or have a mobile mechanic come to them to repair their automobile.

Disadvantages[change | change source]

Buying and running a automobile needs a lot of money, especially for newer good-quality automobiles. There are things to pay for — the automobile itself, fuel, parts (for example, tyres), maintenance, repairs, insurance to cover the cost of crashes or theft, parking charges, and toll roads and any taxes or licensing fees charged by the government.

When automobiles crash, they can become damaged and hurt people, and the life of a person is more important than keeping a automobile from damage. When too many automobiles try to go the same way, traffic congestion slows them all. Automobiles can cause air pollution if too many are used in a small area like a city, and the combined pollution of the world’s automobiles is partly to blame for climate change. Many places where people live close together have public transportation such as buses, trains, trams and subways. These can help people go more quickly and cheaply than by automobile when traffic jams are a problem. Some of these problems can be made smaller, for example by carpooling, which is putting many people together in one automobile.

Traffic congestion and accidents can be dangerous to other road users, for example people riding bicycles or walking, especially in an old town built when automobiles were few. Some 20th century towns are designed for automobiles as the main transport. This can cause other problems, such as even more pollution and traffic, as few, if any, people walk. Communities are divided and separated by big roads. Pedestrians are in danger where there are too few foot bridges, small road bridges or other special crossings.

References[change | change source]

On Jan. 3, 1899, the New York Times printed the word «automobile» upon its austere pages. It wasn’t the first publication to do so; Scientific American used the phrase «automobile carriage» in a May 14, 1898, review of the Winton Motor Carriage, but the Grey Lady — a more influential publication — was the first to debate the term.

The Times penned an editorial lambasting the suggestions that these newfangled motor-carriages be called «autotrucks,» or even «autowains» (which takes the latter part from an old Saxon word meaning «wagon», as one Avery Quercus explained less than a week later). No, «There is something uncanny about these new-fangled vehicles,» wrote the beleaguered, invective-spewing editorial board. «They are all unutterably ugly and never a one of them has been provided with a good, or even an endurable, name.» The board cited that the word «automobile» has Greek and Latin roots that are «near to indecent that we print it with hesitation.» Greek and Latin, how uncouth!

«Automobile» comes from the French, «who are usually orthodox in their etymology if in nothing else.» A son of France did invent the car, after all, owing to the efforts of Nicholas Cugnot. L’Académie française, notorious sticklers for language, had already coined the word

for steam-powered buses way back in 1875. Like flamenco, Smart cars and David Hasselhoff, it remained a European thing that Americans resisted for decades.

Our mysterious bile-filled scribes never did come up with another word. But within the month the Times was printing the word «automobile» with gusto. (What can you do? This modern world just moves too fast.) And we have the august publication to thank that we’re not calling these machines «horseless carriages,» «quadricycles,» «oruktor amphibolos,» «hippomobiles,» benzene buggies

,» or «autowains,» lest only the Wayans Brothers be allowed to operate them.

Though «benzene buggy» has a nice ring to it. Who wants to start a band?

Другие языки

Automobile
Benz «Velo» model (1894) – entered into an early automobile race as a motocycle[1][2]
Classification	Vehicle
Industry	Various
Application	Conveyance
Fuel Source	Gasoline, Diesel, Electric
Powered	Yes
Self-Propelled	Yes
Wheels	3–4
Axles	0–2
Inventor	Ferdinand Verbiest

An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally for the transport of people rather than goods.^[3]

The term motorcar has also been used in the context of electrified rail systems to denote a car which functions as a small locomotive but also provides space for passengers and baggage. These locomotive cars were often used on suburban routes by both interurban and intercity railroad systems.^[4]

There are approximately 600 million passenger cars worldwide (roughly one car per eleven people).^[5][6] Around the world, there were about 806 million cars and light trucks on the road in 2007; the engines of these burn over a billion cubic meters (260 billion US gallons) of petrol/gasoline and diesel fuel yearly. The numbers are increasing rapidly, especially in China and India.^[7]

Etymology

The word automobile comes, via the French automobile, from the Ancient Greek word αὐτός (autós, «self») and the Latin mobilis («movable»); meaning a vehicle that moves itself. The alternative name car is believed to originate from the Latin word carrus or carrum («wheeled vehicle»), or the Middle English word carre («cart») (from Old North French), in turn these are said to have originated from the Gaulish word karros (a Gallic Chariot).^[8][9]

History

The first working steam-powered vehicle was likely to have been designed by Ferdinand Verbiest, a Flemish member of a Jesuit mission in China around 1672. It was a 65 cm-long scale-model toy for the Chinese Emperor, that was unable to carry a driver or a passenger.^[10][11][12] It is not known if Verbiest’s model was ever built.^[11]

Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot is widely credited with building the first self-propelled mechanical vehicle or automobile in about 1769; he created a steam-powered tricycle.^[13] He also constructed two steam tractors for the French Army, one of which is preserved in the French National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts.^[14] His inventions were however handicapped by problems with water supply and maintaining steam pressure.^[14] In 1801, Richard Trevithick built and demonstrated his Puffing Devil road locomotive, believed by many to be the first demonstration of a steam-powered road vehicle. It was unable to maintain sufficient steam pressure for long periods, and was of little practical use.

In 1807 Nicéphore Niépce and his brother Claude probably created the world’s first internal combustion engine which they called a Pyréolophore, but they chose to install it in a boat on the river Saone in France.^[15] Coincidentally, in 1807 the Swiss inventor François Isaac de Rivaz designed his own ‘de Rivaz internal combustion engine’ and used it to develop the world’s first vehicle, to be powered by such an engine. The Niépces’ Pyréolophore was fuelled by a mixture of Lycopodium powder (dried Lycopodium moss), finely crushed coal dust and resin that were mixed with oil, whereas de Rivaz used a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen.^[15] Neither design was very successful, as was the case with others, such as Samuel Brown, Samuel Morey, and Etienne Lenoir with his hippomobile, who each produced vehicles (usually adapted carriages or carts) powered by clumsy internal combustion engines.^[16]

In November 1881, French inventor Gustave Trouvé demonstrated a working three-wheeled automobile powered by electricity at the International Exposition of Electricity, Paris.^[17]

Although several other German engineers (including Gottlieb Daimler, Wilhelm Maybach, and Siegfried Marcus) were working on the problem at about the same time, Karl Benz generally is acknowledged as the inventor of the modern automobile.^[16]

An automobile powered by his own four-stroke cycle gasoline engine was built in Mannheim, Germany by Karl Benz in 1885, and granted a patent in January of the following year under the auspices of his major company, Benz & Cie., which was founded in 1883. It was an integral design, without the adaptation of other existing components, and included several new technological elements to create a new concept. He began to sell his production vehicles in 1888.

In 1879, Benz was granted a patent for his first engine, which had been designed in 1878. Many of his other inventions made the use of the internal combustion engine feasible for powering a vehicle.

His first Motorwagen was built in 1885, and he was awarded the patent for its invention as of his application on January 29, 1886. Benz began promotion of the vehicle on July 3, 1886, and about 25 Benz vehicles were sold between 1888 and 1893, when his first four-wheeler was introduced along with a model intended for affordability. They also were powered with four-stroke engines of his own design. Emile Roger of France, already producing Benz engines under license, now added the Benz automobile to his line of products. Because France was more open to the early automobiles, initially more were built and sold in France through Roger than Benz sold in Germany.

In August 1888 Bertha Benz, the wife of Karl Benz, undertook the first road trip by car, to prove the road-worthiness of her husband’s invention.

In 1896, Benz designed and patented the first internal-combustion flat engine, called boxermotor. During the last years of the nineteenth century, Benz was the largest automobile company in the world with 572 units produced in 1899 and, because of its size, Benz & Cie., became a joint-stock company.

Daimler and Maybach founded Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG) in Cannstatt in 1890, and sold their first automobile in 1892 under the brand name, Daimler. It was a horse-drawn stagecoach built by another manufacturer, that they retrofitted with an engine of their design. By 1895 about 30 vehicles had been built by Daimler and Maybach, either at the Daimler works or in the Hotel Hermann, where they set up shop after disputes with their backers. Benz, Maybach and the Daimler team seem to have been unaware of each others’ early work. They never worked together; by the time of the merger of the two companies, Daimler and Maybach were no longer part of DMG.

Daimler died in 1900 and later that year, Maybach designed an engine named Daimler-Mercedes, that was placed in a specially ordered model built to specifications set by Emil Jellinek. This was a production of a small number of vehicles for Jellinek to race and market in his country. Two years later, in 1902, a new model DMG automobile was produced and the model was named Mercedes after the Maybach engine which generated 35 hp. Maybach quit DMG shortly thereafter and opened a business of his own. Rights to the Daimler brand name were sold to other manufacturers.

Karl Benz proposed co-operation between DMG and Benz & Cie. when economic conditions began to deteriorate in Germany following the First World War, but the directors of DMG refused to consider it initially. Negotiations between the two companies resumed several years later when these conditions worsened and, in 1924 they signed an Agreement of Mutual Interest, valid until the year 2000. Both enterprises standardized design, production, purchasing, and sales and they advertised or marketed their automobile models jointly, although keeping their respective brands. On June 28, 1926, Benz & Cie. and DMG finally merged as the Daimler-Benz company, baptizing all of its automobiles Mercedes Benz, as a brand honoring the most important model of the DMG automobiles, the Maybach design later referred to as the 1902 Mercedes-35 hp, along with the Benz name. Karl Benz remained a member of the board of directors of Daimler-Benz until his death in 1929, and at times, his two sons participated in the management of the company as well.

In 1890, Émile Levassor and Armand Peugeot of France began producing vehicles with Daimler engines, and so laid the foundation of the automobile industry in France.

The first design for an American automobile with a gasoline internal combustion engine was made in 1877 by George Selden of Rochester, New York. Selden applied for a patent for an automobile in 1879, but the patent application expired because the vehicle was never built. After a delay of sixteen years and a series of attachments to his application, on November 5, 1895, Selden was granted a United States patent (U.S. Patent 549,160) for a two-stroke automobile engine, which hindered, more than encouraged, development of automobiles in the United States. His patent was challenged by Henry Ford and others, and overturned in 1911.

In 1893, the first running, gasoline-powered American car was built and road-tested by the Duryea brothers of Springfield, Massachusetts. The first public run of the Duryea Motor Wagon took place on September 21, 1893, on Taylor Street in Metro Center Springfield.^[18][19] To construct the Duryea Motor Wagon, the brothers had purchased a used horse-drawn buggy for $70 and then installed a 4 HP, single cylinder gasoline engine.^[18] The car had a friction transmission, spray carburetor, and low tension ignition. It was road-tested again on November 10, when the The Springfield Republican newspaper made the announcement.^[18] This particular car was put into storage in 1894 and stayed there until 1920 when it was rescued by Inglis M. Uppercu and presented to the United States National Museum.^[18]

In Britain, there had been several attempts to build steam cars with varying degrees of success, with Thomas Rickett even attempting a production run in 1860.^[20] Santler from Malvern is recognized by the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain as having made the first petrol-powered car in the country in 1894^[21] followed by Frederick William Lanchester in 1895, but these were both one-offs.^[21] The first production vehicles in Great Britain came from the Daimler Motor Company, a company founded by Harry J. Lawson in 1896, after purchasing the right to use the name of the engines. Lawson’s company made its first automobiles in 1897, and they bore the name Daimler.^[21]

In 1892, German engineer Rudolf Diesel was granted a patent for a «New Rational Combustion Engine». In 1897, he built the first Diesel Engine.^[16] Steam-, electric-, and gasoline-powered vehicles competed for decades, with gasoline internal combustion engines achieving dominance in the 1910s.

Although various pistonless rotary engine designs have attempted to compete with the conventional piston and crankshaft design, only Mazda’s version of the Wankel engine has had more than very limited success.

Mass production

The large-scale, production-line manufacturing of affordable automobiles was debuted by Ransom Olds at his Oldsmobile factory in 1902 based on the assembly line techniques pioneered by Marc Isambard Brunel at the Portsmouth Block Mills, England in 1802. The assembly line style of mass production and interchangeable parts had been pioneered in the U.S. by Thomas Blanchard in 1821, at the Springfield Armory in Springfield, Massachusetts.^[22] This concept was greatly expanded by Henry Ford, beginning in 1914.

As a result, Ford’s cars came off the line in fifteen minute intervals, much faster than previous methods, increasing productivity eightfold (requiring 12.5 man-hours before, 1 hour 33 minutes after), while using less manpower.^[23] It was so successful, paint became a bottleneck. Only Japan black would dry fast enough, forcing the company to drop the variety of colors available before 1914, until fast-drying Duco lacquer was developed in 1926. This is the source of Ford’s apocryphal remark, «any color as long as it’s black».^[23] In 1914, an assembly line worker could buy a Model T with four months’ pay.^[23]

Ford’s complex safety procedures—especially assigning each worker to a specific location instead of allowing them to roam about—dramatically reduced the rate of injury. The combination of high wages and high efficiency is called «Fordism,» and was copied by most major industries. The efficiency gains from the assembly line also coincided with the economic rise of the United States. The assembly line forced workers to work at a certain pace with very repetitive motions which led to more output per worker while other countries were using less productive methods.

In the automotive industry, its success was dominating, and quickly spread worldwide seeing the founding of Ford France and Ford Britain in 1911, Ford Denmark 1923, Ford Germany 1925; in 1921, Citroen was the first native European manufacturer to adopt the production method. Soon, companies had to have assembly lines, or risk going broke; by 1930, 250 companies which did not, had disappeared.^[23]

Development of automotive technology was rapid, due in part to the hundreds of small manufacturers competing to gain the world’s attention. Key developments included electric ignition and the electric self-starter (both by Charles Kettering, for the Cadillac Motor Company in 1910–1911), independent suspension, and four-wheel brakes.

Since the 1920s, nearly all cars have been mass-produced to meet market needs, so marketing plans often have heavily influenced automobile design. It was Alfred P. Sloan who established the idea of different makes of cars produced by one company, so buyers could «move up» as their fortunes improved.

Reflecting the rapid pace of change, makes shared parts with one another so larger production volume resulted in lower costs for each price range. For example, in the 1930s, LaSalles, sold by Cadillac, used cheaper mechanical parts made by Oldsmobile; in the 1950s, Chevrolet shared hood, doors, roof, and windows with Pontiac; by the 1990s, corporate powertrains and shared platforms (with interchangeable brakes, suspension, and other parts) were common. Even so, only major makers could afford high costs, and even companies with decades of production, such as Apperson, Cole, Dorris, Haynes, or Premier, could not manage: of some two hundred American car makers in existence in 1920, only 43 survived in 1930, and with the Great Depression, by 1940, only 17 of those were left.^[23]

In Europe much the same would happen. Morris set up its production line at Cowley in 1924, and soon outsold Ford, while beginning in 1923 to follow Ford’s practise of vertical integration, buying Hotchkiss (engines), Wrigley (gearboxes), and Osberton (radiators), for instance, as well as competitors, such as Wolseley: in 1925, Morris had 41% of total British car production. Most British small-car assemblers, from Abbey to Xtra had gone under. Citroen did the same in France, coming to cars in 1919; between them and other cheap cars in reply such as Renault’s 10CV and Peugeot’s 5CV, they produced 550,000 cars in 1925, and Mors, Hurtu, and others could not compete.^[23] Germany’s first mass-manufactured car, the Opel 4PS Laubfrosch (Tree Frog), came off the line at Russelsheim in 1924, soon making Opel the top car builder in Germany, with 37.5% of the market.^[23]

Weight

The weight of a car influences fuel consumption and performance, with more weight resulting in increased fuel consumption and decreased performance. According to a research conducted by Julian Allwood of the University of Cambridge, global energy use could be heavily reduced by using lighter cars, and an average weight of 500 kg has been said to be well achievable.^[24]

In some competitions such as the Shell Eco Marathon, average car weights of 45 kg have also been achieved.^[25][26] These cars are only single-seaters (still falling within the definition of a car, although 4-seater cars are more common), but it nevertheless demonstrates the huge degree in which car weights can still be reduced, and the forthfluing lower fuel use (i.e. up to a fuel use of 2560 km/l.^[27]

Seating

Most cars are 4-seaters built using a 2 by 2 arrangement, also known as «mainstream». Other setups 2-seaters built using a 1 by 1 arrangement and single-seater cars. In the beginning, 4-seaters have been the most popular type of car, mostly due to the fact that the setup was similar to that of carriages. They have remained the most popular setup for cars upto today.

Fuel and propulsion technologies

Most automobiles in use today are propelled by a internal combustion engine, fueled by deflagration of gasoline (also known as petrol) or diesel. Both fuels are known to cause air pollution and are also blamed for contributing to climate change and global warming.^[28] Rapidly increasing oil prices, concerns about oil dependence, tightening environmental laws and restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions are propelling work on alternative power systems for automobiles. Efforts to improve or replace existing technologies include the development of hybrid vehicles, plug-in electric vehicles and hydrogen vehicles. Vehicles using alternative fuels such as ethanol flexible-fuel vehicles and natural gas vehicles are also gaining popularity in some countries.

Safety

Main articles: Car safety and Automobile accident

While road traffic injuries represent the leading cause in worldwide injury-related deaths,^[29] their popularity undermines this statistic.

Mary Ward became one of the first documented automobile fatalities in 1869 in Parsonstown, Ireland^[30] and Henry Bliss one of the United States’ first pedestrian automobile casualties in 1899 in New York.^[31] There are now standard tests for safety in new automobiles, like the EuroNCAP and the US NCAP tests,^[32] and insurance industry-backed tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).^[33]

Costs and benefits

The costs of automobile usage, which may include the cost of: acquiring the vehicle, repairs, maintenance, fuel, depreciation, injury, driving time, parking fees, tire replacement, taxes, and insurance,^[34] are weighed against the cost of the alternatives, and the value of the benefits – perceived and real – of vehicle usage. The benefits may include on-demand transportation, mobility, independence and convenience.^[12]

Similarly the costs to society of encompassing automobile use, which may include those of: maintaining roads, land use, pollution, public health, health care, and of disposing of the vehicle at the end of its life, can be balanced against the value of the benefits to society that automobile use generates. The societal benefits may include: economy benefits, such as job and wealth creation, of automobile production and maintenance, transportation provision, society wellbeing derived from leisure and travel opportunities, and revenue generation from the tax opportunities. The ability for humans to move flexibly from place to place has far reaching implications for the nature of societies.^[35]

Criticism

See also: Automobile emissions

See also: Criticism of automobiles

Transportation is a major contributor to air pollution in most industrialised nations. According to the American Surface Transportation Policy Project nearly half of all Americans are breathing unhealthy air. Their study showed air quality in dozens of metropolitan areas has worsened over the last decade.^[36] In the United States the average passenger car emits 11,450 pounds (5,190 kg) of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide annually, along with smaller amounts of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen.^[37]

Animals and plants are often negatively impacted by automobiles via habitat destruction and pollution. Over the lifetime of the average automobile the «loss of habitat potential» may be over 50,000 square meters (540,000 sq ft) based on primary production correlations.^[38]

Fuel taxes may act as an incentive for the production of more efficient, hence less polluting, car designs (e.g. hybrid vehicles) and the development of alternative fuels. High fuel taxes may provide a strong incentive for consumers to purchase lighter, smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, or to not drive. On average, today’s automobiles are about 75 percent recyclable, and using recycled steel helps reduce energy use and pollution.^[39] In the United States Congress, federally mandated fuel efficiency standards have been debated regularly, passenger car standards have not risen above the 27.5 miles per US gallon (8.55 L/100 km; 33.0 mpg_-imp) standard set in 1985. Light truck standards have changed more frequently, and were set at 22.2 miles per US gallon (10.6 L/100 km; 26.7 mpg_-imp) in 2007.^[40] Alternative fuel vehicles are another option that is less polluting than conventional petroleum powered vehicles.

Oil consumption in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries has been abundantly pushed by automobile growth; the 1985-2003 oil glut even fuelled the sales of low economy vehicles in OECD countries. The BRIC countries might also kick in, as China briefly was the first automobile market in December 2009.^[41]

Residents of low-density, residential-only sprawling communities are also more likely to die in car collisions^{[original research?]} which kill 1.2 million people worldwide each year, and injure about forty times this number.^[29] Sprawl is more broadly a factor in inactivity and obesity, which in turn can lead to increased risk of a variety of diseases.^[42]

Millions of animals are also killed every year on roads by automobiles—so-called Roadkill.

Driverless cars

Fully autonomous vehicles, also known as robotic cars, or driverless cars, already exist in prototype, and are expected to be commercially available around 2020. According to urban designer and futurist Michael E. Arth, driverless electric vehicles—in conjunction with the increased use of virtual reality for work, travel, and pleasure—could reduce the world’s 800 million vehicles to a fraction of that number within a few decades.^[43] This would be possible if almost all private cars requiring drivers, which are not in use and parked 90% of the time, would be traded for public self-driving taxis that would be in near constant use. This would also allow for getting the appropriate vehicle for the particular need—a bus could come for a group of people, a limousine could come for a special night out, and a Segway could come for a short trip down the street for one person. Children could be chauffeured in supervised safety, DUIs would no longer exist, and 41,000 lives could be saved each year in the US alone.^[44][45]

Future car technologies

Automobile propulsion technology under development include gasoline/electric and plug-in hybrids, battery electric vehicles, hydrogen cars, biofuels, and various alternative fuels.

Research into future alternative forms of power include the development of fuel cells, Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI), stirling engines,^[46] and even using the stored energy of compressed air or liquid nitrogen.

New materials which may replace steel car bodies include duraluminum, fiberglass, carbon fiber, and carbon nanotubes.

Telematics technology is allowing more and more people to share cars, on a pay-as-you-go basis, through such schemes as City Car Club in the UK, Mobility in mainland Europe, and Zipcar in the US.

Communication is also evolving due to connected car systems.

Open source development

There have been several projects aiming to develop a car on the principles of open design. The projects include OScar, Riversimple (through 40fires.org)^[47] and c,mm,n.^[48] None of the projects have reached significant success in terms of developing a car as a whole both from hardware and software perspective and no mass production ready open-source based design have been introduced as of late 2009. Some car hacking through on-board diagnostics (OBD) has been done so far.^[49]

Alternatives to the automobile

Established alternatives for some aspects of automobile use include public transit such as buses, trolleybuses, trains, subways, tramways light rail, cycling, and walking. Car-share arrangements and carpooling are also increasingly popular–the US market leader in car-sharing has experienced double-digit growth in revenue and membership growth between 2006 and 2007, offering a service that enables urban residents to «share» a vehicle rather than own a car in already congested neighborhoods.^[50] Bike-share systems have been tried in some European cities, including Copenhagen and Amsterdam. Similar programs have been experimented with in a number of US Cities.^[51] Additional individual modes of transport, such as personal rapid transit could serve as an alternative to automobiles if they prove to be socially accepted.^[52]

Industry

The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells the world’s motor vehicles. In 2008, more than 70 million motor vehicles, including cars and commercial vehicles were produced worldwide.^[53]

In 2007, a total of 71.9 million new automobiles were sold worldwide: 22.9 million in Europe, 21.4 million in Asia-Pacific, 19.4 million in USA and Canada, 4.4 million in Latin America, 2.4 million in the Middle East and 1.4 million in Africa.^[54] The markets in North America and Japan were stagnant, while those in South America and other parts of Asia grew strongly. Of the major markets, China, Russia, Brazil and India saw the most rapid growth.

About 250 million vehicles are in use in the United States. Around the world, there were about 806 million cars and light trucks on the road in 2007; they burn over 260 billion US gallons (980,000,000 m³) of gasoline and diesel fuel yearly. The numbers are increasing rapidly, especially in China and India.^[7] In the opinion of some, urban transport systems based around the car have proved unsustainable, consuming excessive energy, affecting the health of populations, and delivering a declining level of service despite increasing investments. Many of these negative impacts fall disproportionately on those social groups who are also least likely to own and drive cars.^[55][56][57] The sustainable transport movement focuses on solutions to these problems.

In 2008, with rapidly rising oil prices, industries such as the automotive industry, are experiencing a combination of pricing pressures from raw material costs and changes in consumer buying habits. The industry is also facing increasing external competition from the public transport sector, as consumers re-evaluate their private vehicle usage.^[58] Roughly half of the US’s fifty-one light vehicle plants are projected to permanently close in the coming years, with the loss of another 200,000 jobs in the sector, on top of the 560,000 jobs lost this decade.^[59] Combined with robust growth in China, in 2009, this resulted in China becoming the largest automobile producer and market in the world. China 2009 sales had increased to 13.6 million, a significant increase from one million of domestic car sales in 2000.^[60]

Market

The automotive market is formed by the demand and the industry. This article is about the general, major trends in the automotive market, mainly from the demand side.

The European automotive market has always boasted a higher number of smaller cars than the United States. With the high fuel prices and the world petroleum crisis, the United States may see its automotive market become more like the European market with fewer large vehicles on the road and more small cars.^[61]

For luxurious cars, with the current volatility in oil prices, going for smaller cars is not only smart, but also trendy. And because fashion is of high importance with the upper classes, the little green cars with luxury trimmings become quite plausible.^[62]

See also

References

Further reading

External links

The English word car is believed to originate from Latin carrus/carrum “wheeled vehicle” or (via Old North French) Middle English carre “two-wheeled cart ” both of which in turn derive from Gaulish karros “chariot.” It originally referred to any wheeled horse-drawn vehicle such as a cart carriage or wagon.

When did cars start being called cars?

“Car” is actually a very old word first appearing in English around 1300. The root of “car” is the Latin “carrus ” meaning a two-wheeled wagon but the Latin word itself has Celtic roots and “car” arrived in English by a roundabout route through Old French and Anglo-Norman.

What is the word car short for?

Car is actually short for “automobile”.

Is car and automobile the same thing?

I’d say there is no difference in meaning. The two term came into use meaning “a motor vehicle with four wheels usually propelled by an internal combustion engine ” about the same year (1895/1896). I agree with you that automobile may sound less colloquial car is the more used expression.

What automobile means?

Definition of automobile

(Entry 1 of 2) : a usually four-wheeled automotive vehicle designed for passenger transportation.

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Why is a van called a van?

Van meaning a type of vehicle arose as a contraction of the word caravan. The earliest records of a van as a vehicle in English are in the mid 19th century meaning a covered wagon for transporting goods the earliest reported record of such was in 1829. Caravan with the same meaning has records since the 1670s.

Why did the word car come from?

The etymology of the word car shows that it was derived from the Latin word carrus or carrum. Carrum means a wheeled vehicle. … The Latin word vehiculum became vehicle in English. In Latin carrus means a wagon a four-wheeled baggage cart cartload or wagonload.

Did Henry Ford invent the car?

A common myth is that Henry Ford invented the automobile. This is not true. While he may not have invented the automobile he did offer a new way of manufacturing a large number of vehicles. This method of production was the moving assembly line.

Why are trucks called trucks?

“Truck ” which first appeared in English around 1611 meaning “small wheel or roller” (specifically the sort mounted under cannons aboard warships) is a shortened form of the older word “truckle ” meaning “wheel roller or pulley ” which appeared in the 15th century and was derived from the Latin “trochlea ” meaning “ …

What did Henry Ford invent?

Henry Ford was an American automobile manufacturer who created the Model T in 1908 and went on to develop the assembly line mode of production which revolutionized the automotive industry. As a result Ford sold millions of cars and became a world-famous business leader.

What is not an automobile?

Explanation : aeroplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine propeller or rocket engine.

Is an automobile a vehicle?

automobile byname auto also called motorcar or car a usually four-wheeled vehicle designed primarily for passenger transportation and commonly propelled by an internal-combustion engine using a volatile fuel.

Is a motorcycle an automobile?

Are motorcycles automobiles? Technically a motorcycle is not considered an automobile. … Since motorcycles only have two wheels and carry a max of one passenger they don’t fall under the definition of “automobile.”

What does mobile mean in automobile?

Definition of -mobile (Entry 3 of 4) 1 : motorized vehicle snowmobile. 2 : automotive vehicle bringing services to the public bloodmobile bookmobile.

What is the root word of automobiles?

The word automobile comes to us from the French via Greek and Latin: autós mobilis or moveable self.

Who invented the automobile and why?

Karl Benz gets the credit for inventing the automobile because his car was practical used a gasoline-powered internal-combustion engine and worked like modern cars do today. Benz was born in 1844 in Karlsruhe a city in southwest Germany.

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What is a minivan called in England?

–80.176.142.11 (talk) 16:19 29 July 2008 (UTC) I can confirm that the term “minivan” when used in the UK always refers to a small commercial vehicle (van) and never to an MPV (passenger vehicle of any size). The nearest UK equivalent would be “minibus“.

Why does vans say off the wall?

“The meaning of ‘Off The Wall’ is the very ethos of Vans the very identity of our brand – its everything we stand for ” said Doug Palladini Vans Global Brand President. … “Off The Wall” was a term coined when skateboarders in the mid ’70s were landing new tricks in empty pools by literally skating off the wall.

Whats the back of a van called?

Tailgate – The panel at the rear of pick-ups dropsides and tippers which stops goods falling out of the back of the load area. On pick-ups and dropsides it is hinged at the bottom for easy loading while on tippers it is hinged at the top so your payload can slide out.

Is car just short for carriage?

Short answer is no. The etymology of the word car is from the Old North French “carre” from the vulgar Latin “carra.” The word finds itself in use as far back as the 13th century mind-blowing to me considering!

What does AUTO mean in Latin?

An easy way to remember that the prefix auto- means “self” is through the word autobiography or the history of a person which is written by that person her”self.”

When did Cars 2 come out?

June 18 2011 (USA)

Why did Karl Benz invented the first car?

Invention of First Car

A love of bicycling had inspired his desire to create this vehicle and his first design drew on the tricycle. Benz’s three-wheeled automobile which he called the Motorwagen could carry two passengers.

Did Edsel Ford take over Ford?

Henry Ford temporarily reassumed the presidency of Ford on Edsel’s death then Edsel’s eldest son Henry Ford II succeeded Henry as president of Ford in 1945.
…

Edsel Ford
Born	Edsel Bryant FordNovember 6 1893 Detroit Michigan U.S.
Died	May 26 1943 (aged 49) Grosse Pointe Shores Michigan U.S.

Who was Oldsmobile named after?

Ransom Eli Olds
Lansing Michigan U.S. Ransom Eli Olds (June 3 1864 – August 26 1950) was a pioneer of the American automotive industry after whom the Oldsmobile and REO brands were named. He claimed to have built his first steam car as early as 1887 and his first gasoline-powered car in 1896.

What is a Laurie in England?

– truck. 1. ‘ lorry’ In British English a lorry is a large vehicle used for transporting goods by road.

Why do Brits say lorry?

The meaning of lorry

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The lorry meaning originates from the verb ‘lurry’ – meaning to lug or pull about. … The word lorry was first used in Britain to categorise a low-loading trolley pulled by a horse-drawn vehicle to carry other vehicles and large loads. Lorry was also used to describe a freight carrying rail car.

What do the British call a pickup truck?

who are from the UK. They told me today that British English for “pick-up truck” is “pick-up truck”. I asked them “What about a lorry?” and they told me that a lorry is much bigger. I hope they told Molly that a lorry is much much bigger as many of the things that AmE speakers call trucks are not lorries in BrE.

What is the richest car company?

Top 10 Biggest Car Manufacturers by Revenue (2021)

• SAIC Motor. …
• BMW Group. …
• Honda Motor. Revenue: 121.8 billion $ …
• General Motors. Revenue: 122.5 billion $ …
• Ford Motor. Revenue: 127.1 billion $ …
• Daimler. Revenue: 175.9 billion $ …
• Toyota Motor. Revenue: 249.4 billion $ …
• Volkswagen Group. Revenue: 254.1 billion $

Who owns Ford now?

Ford Motor Company

The Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn Michigan also known as the Glass House
Total equity	US$30.811 billion (2020)
Owners	Ford family (2% equity 40% voting power) The Vanguard Group (5.82%) Evercore Wealth Management (5.58%)
Number of employees	186 000 (December 2020)
Divisions	Ford Lincoln Motorcraft

How old is Edsel?

49 years (1893–1943)

Do cars include trucks?

The term includes “a land motor vehicle or trailer other land equipment capable of moving under its own power equipment for use therewith and animal drawn equip- ment.” Here an automobile could be private passenger a truck of any kind a bulldozer a house trailer a self-propelled combine and even a farm wagon.

Does 4×2 mean 2WD?

A 4×2 or 2WD is a vehicle that has a two-wheel drive (2WD) with four wheels. “4×2” in a 2WD vehicle means there are 4 wheels total and 2 wheels that are driven. The driven wheels can be either back or front wheels but are usually the back wheels.

Is a semi truck considered an automobile?

Commercial vehicles are vehicles that transport goods or passengers for profit. Examples of commercial vehicles include semi-trucks box trucks vans buses taxicabs and trailers.

The Invention Of The Car I THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

How Were Cars Invented? History of the Automobile – Short Documentary Video

How a Formula 1 Race Car Works

Types of Cars – What Car Is It?

The automobile or motor car was not invented in one day by one inventor. The history of automobile reflects the evolution that occurred globally and a lot can be pointed that happened along the history. An estimate shows that more than 100.000 patents are behind the creation of the modern. Nowadays, you can instantly build a modified 2.0 Tdi because of the technological advancement.

The word automobile comes from the French “automobile” and from the Ancient Greek word ”autos” which means self. This means that a vehicle that moves itself rather than being pulled or pushed by a separate animal or another vehicle. The famous inventors – Leonardo Da Vinci and Isaac Newton developed the first theoretical plans of a motor vehicle which has evolved to ideas like the use of a forward-facing car seat for safety.

The first self-propelled road vehicle in the shape of a military tractor which was invented a French engineer – Nicolas Cugnot. He used a steam engine for powering the vehicle; it was built under his guidance at the Paris Arsenal by a mechanic named Brezin. The French Army used this vehicle for hauling artillery at a speed of 2.5 mph with only three wheels. The short coming of the vehicle was that it had to halt after every fifteen minutes for gaining steam power. The following year of 1770 saw the invention steam-powered tricycle by Cugnot, of course a good car a dealership is useful to sell these cars, I have also been using a car dealer marketing agency recently for an auto business and they have provided ridiculous results, so if you have an auto related business then see Turnkey Marketing’s official website if you want some incredible auto marketing. Find more info here.

A recent data analysis by experts, an automotive research firm and car search engine, showed that occupant fatalities from car crashes occur almost twice as often in subcompact cars and sports cars compared to the average vehicle. To lean more about legal implications, check the website from this car wreck injury lawyer Vegas.

Cugnot was the first to suffer a motor vehicle accident when he struck his vehicle into a stone wall in 1771. His bad luck started when one of his patron died and the other was exiled, with this he ran out of money for his road vehicle experiment. He tried to seek legal assistance from experts like those professional lawyers at Valiente Mott law firm.

Steam engines generated power in cars by the burning of fuel which heated water in a boiler, this pushed the pistons which turned the crankshaft ultimately turning the wheels. The early history shows that self-propelled including road and railroad were both developed with steam engines.

Steam engines made the road vehicles very heavy and the designed proved poor. Although with the use of steam engines in locomotives was very successful. Historians who accept the early steam-powered road vehicles were automobiles believe that Nicolas Cugnot was the first inventor of automobiles.

Several inventors designed steam-powered vehicles after Cugnot

• A French named Onesiphore Pecquer improved Cugnot’s vehicle and he was also the inventor of first differential gear.

• Oliver Evans was granted with the first US patent for a steam-powered land vehicle in 1789.
• Richard Trevithick built the first steam-powered road carriage in Great Britain in 1801.

• Steam-powered stagecoaches were in regular service in Great Britain from 1820 to 1840. They were later banned from public roads and as a result the British railroad system was developed.

• The steam-driven road tractor was invented by Charles Deitz. It could pull passenger carriages around Paris and Bordeaux till 1850.

• Rufus Porter, William T. James, Joseph Dixon and Harrison Dyer were credited with the invention of numerous steam coaches in the United States from 1860 to 1880.

• Advanced steam cars were invented by Amedee Bollee Sr. from 1873 to 1883.

• A professor of physics at Wisconsin State University and J. I. Case Company named Dr. J. W. Carhart invented a working steam car that won a 200-mile race.

The early electric cars

The early automobiles did not use only the steam engines. Vehicles with electrical engines were also invented roughly between 1832 and 1839. Robert Anderson of Scotland invented the first electric carriage that used rechargeable batteries to power a small electric motor. The vehicles had demerits and were heavy, slow and expensive. They needed to stop for recharging frequently. With the invention of gas-powered vehicles, both steam and electric road vehicles were abandoned. Electricity was of greater success in tramways and streetcars, where there was a possibility of a constant supply of electricity.

History of electric vehicles

Electric land vehicles in America outsold all other types of cars around 1900. In the several following years, sales of electric vehicles took a drop as a new type of vehicle came to dominate the market.

The first self-powered road vehicles were powered by steam engines and Nicolas Joseph Cugnot built the first automobile in 1769 which was recognized by the British Royal Automobile Club and the Automobile Club de France.

A number of history books say that the automobile was invented by either Karl Benz or Gottlieb Daimler because both invented highly successful and practical gasoline-powered vehicles that ushered in the age of modern automobiles. They invented cars that worked and looked just like the cars of today. However it is unfair to say that either man invented the automobile.

On the other hand, even though we hope that everyone on the road is making safe choices behind the wheel, many car accidents are caused by driver negligence – unsafe or careless actions made by drivers or others that put others at risk. Then, the help of some trusted and reliable auto accident lawyers may be able to collect evidences. According to a salt lake city rear-end automobile accident attorney, these include cell phone records, social media activity, or witness testimony to help establish liability and prove whether distracted driving was a contributing factor to your crash.

For more information on cars and their performance, visit the Bimmer Performance Center website.

Last Update: Jan 03, 2023

This is a question our experts keep getting from time to time. Now, we have got the complete detailed explanation and answer for everyone, who is interested!

Asked by: Dr. Cloyd Walter

Score: 4.3/5
(27 votes)

: a usually four-wheeled automotive vehicle designed for passenger transportation.

What automobile means?

automobile, byname auto, also called motorcar or car, a usually four-wheeled vehicle designed primarily for passenger transportation and commonly propelled by an internal-combustion engine using a volatile fuel.

What does automobile literally mean?

The word “automobile” literally means self-moving. …

Why is it called automobile?

He came up with the name automobile by combining the Greek word «auto» — meaning self — and the Latin word, «mobils,» which means moving. Put them together and you’ve got a self-moving vehicle that doesn’t need horses to pull it.

What is automobile and types?

An Automobile is a self propelled vehicle which contains the power source for its propulsion and is used for carrying passengers and goods on the ground, such as car, bus, trucks, etc.,, Types of Automobile; The automobiles are classified by the following ways, 1.

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