Karl Benz's "Velo" model (1894) - entered into an early automobile race

Passenger cars in 2000

World map of passenger cars per 1000 people.

An automobile (via French from Greek auto, self and Latin mobilis moving, a vehicle that moves itself rather than being moved by another vehicle or animal). Vehicles, derived from the Latin word vehiculum, are non-living Means of transport. A motor car is a wheeled passenger vehicle which carries its own engine also known as a motor. A wheel is a circular device that is capable of rotating on its axis facilitating movement or transportation whilst supporting a load ( Mass) or performing labour in machines This article is about passengers in commercial transportation for other uses see Passenger (disambiguation A passenger is a term broadly used The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the Combustion of Fuel and an Oxidizer (typically air occurs in a confined space called a 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. Transport or transportation is the movement of people and goods from one place to another ^[1] However, the term is far from precise because there are many types of vehicles that do similar tasks.

Another name for an automobile is a 'car' – a shortened form of 'motor car' (which in itself is widely believed to be derived from 'motorized carriage' - as in the Daimler Motorized Carriage) It is believed to originate from the Latin word 'carrus' or 'carrum', meaning wheeled vehicle, the Middle English word 'carre' meaning cart (from Old North French), and 'karros'; a Gallic wagon. A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people usually horse-drawn 1890, German engineers Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach founded Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Middle English is the name given by Historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman invasion of "CARTS" redirects here For the transportation system see Capital Area Rural Transportation System, or Chautauqua CARTS. Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western A wagon (in British English, sometimes waggon) or dray is a heavy four-wheeled Vehicle. ^[2][3]

There were 590 million passenger cars worldwide (roughly one car for every eleven people) as of 2002. ^[4]

History

Karl Benz

A replica of the Benz Patent Motorwagen that was built in 1885. The Karl Benz Patent Motorwagen (or motorcar built in 1885, is widely regarded as the first Automobile, that is a vehicle designed to be propelled This replica is located at Mercedes-Benz World at Brooklands. Mercedes-Benz World is a facility at the Brooklands motor racing circuit in Weybridge, Surrey, UK. There is also a type of Windscreen known as "Brooklands" or "Brookland screen"

Main article: History of the automobile

Although Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot is often credited with building the first self-propelled mechanical vehicle or automobile in about 1769, this claim is disputed by some, who doubt Cugnot's three-wheeler ever ran. Vehicles that can be considered Automobiles were demonstrated as early as 1769 although that date is disputed 1806 marked the introduction of Fuel gas powered Internal Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot ( 26 February, 1725 &ndash 2 October, 1804) was a French Inventor. Others claim Ferdinand Verbiest, a member of a Jesuit mission in China, built the first steam-powered 'car' around 1672^[5][6]. Father Ferdinand Verbiest ( October 9 1623 – January 28 1688) was a Flemish Jesuit Missionary in China The history of the missions of the Jesuits in China in the early modern era stands as one of the notable events in the early history of relations between China and What is not in doubt is that Richard Trevithick built and demonstrated his Puffing Devil road locomotive in 1801, the first truly successful steam-powered road vehicle. Richard Trevithick ( April 13, 1771 &ndash April 22, 1833) was a British

François Isaac de Rivaz, a Swiss inventor, designed the first internal combustion engine, in 1806, which was fuelled by a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen and used it to develop the world's first vehicle to run on such an engine. François Isaac de Rivaz ( Paris, December 19 1752 &ndash Sion, July 30 1828) was an inventor from Switzerland The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the Combustion of Fuel and an Oxidizer (typically air occurs in a confined space called a Hydrogen (ˈhaɪdrədʒən is the Chemical element with Atomic number 1 Oxygen (from the Greek roots ὀξύς (oxys (acid literally "sharp" from the taste of acids and -γενής (-genēs (producer literally begetteris the The design was not very successful, as was the case with Samuel Brown, Samuel Morey, and Etienne Lenoir who each produced vehicles powered by clumsy internal combustion engines. This article is about the English engineer and inventor See Samuel Brown for other persons of the same name Samuel Morey ( October 23, 1762 - April 17, 1843) was an American inventor who invented an Internal combustion engine and Jean Joseph Étienne Lenoir ( January 12 1822 - August 4 1900) was a French - Belgian engineer ^[7]

In November 1881 French inventor Gustave Trouvé demonstrated a working three-wheeled automobile. Gustave Trouvé (1839&ndash1902 was a French electrical engineer of the 19th century This was at the International Exhibition of Electricity in Paris. ^[8]

An automobile powered by an Otto 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. Today Internal combustion engines in cars, Trucks motorcycles aircraft construction machinery and many others most commonly use a four-stroke cycle. Mannheim is a City in Germany. With 327318 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in the state of Baden-Württemberg after the capital Stuttgart Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Karl Friedrich Benz, sometimes spelled Carl, ( November 25, 1844, Karlsruhe, Germany – April 4, 1929, Ladenburg Year 1885 ( MDCCCLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common A patent is a set of Exclusive rights granted by a State to an inventor or his assignee for a fixed period of time in exchange for a disclosure of an which was founded in 1883.

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 is generally acknowledged as the inventor of the modern automobile. Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler ( March 17, 1834 - March 6, 1900) was an Engineer, Industrial designer and Industrialist Wilhelm Maybach ˈmaibax ( February 9, 1846 &ndash December 29, 1929) was an early German engine designer and industrialist Siegfried Samuel Marcus ( September 18, 1831 &ndash July 1, 1898) was a German -born Austrian inventor and Automobile An inventor is a person who creates or discovers a new method form device or other useful means ^[7] In 1879 Benz was granted a patent for his first engine, designed in 1878. Many of his other inventions made the use of the internal combustion engine feasible for powering a vehicle and in 1896, Benz designed and patented the first internal combustion flat engine. A flat engine is an Internal combustion engine with pistons that are all relatively horizontal

Approximately 25 Benz vehicles were built and sold before 1893, when his first four-wheeler was introduced. They 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. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Because France was more open to the early automobiles, more were built and sold in France through Roger than Benz sold in Germany.

Daimler and Maybach founded Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (Daimler Motor Company, DMG) in Cannstatt in 1890 and under the brand name, Daimler, sold their first automobile in 1892. Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft ( Daimler Motor Company, DMG was a German Engine and later Automobile manufacturer in operation from 1890 Stuttgart (ˈʃtʊtgaɐ̯t is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. 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 falling out with their backers. Benz and Daimler seem to have been unaware of each other's early work and worked independently.

Daimler died in 1900 and later that year, Maybach designed a model named Daimler-Mercedes, special-ordered by Emil Jellinek. Emil Jellinek, known after 1903 as Emil Jellinek-Mercedes ( 6 April 1853 &ndash 21 January 1918) was a wealthy European entrepreneur Two years later, a new model DMG automobile was produced and named Mercedes after the engine. 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 and in 1924 they signed an Agreement of Mutual Interest valid until the year 2000. Both enterprises standardized design, production, purchasing, sales, and advertising—marketing 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 honoring the most important model of the DMG automobiles, the Maybach design later referred to as the 1902 Mercedes-35hp, along with the Benz name. Karl Benz remained a member of the board of directors of Daimler-Benz until his death in 1929.

In 1890, Emile Levassor and Armand Peugeot of France began producing vehicles with Daimler engines, and so laid the foundation of the motor industry in France. Émile Levassor ( 21 January 1843, Marolles-en-Hurepoix - 14 April 1897, Paris) was a French engineer and a Pioneer Armand Peugeot ( March 26, 1849 &mdash January 2, 1915) was an industrialist pioneer of the automobile industry and the founder of This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The first American car with a gasoline internal combustion engine supposedly was designed in 1877 by George Selden of Rochester, New York, who applied for a patent on an automobile in 1879. George B Selden ( September 14, 1846 in Clarkson New York &ndash January 17, 1922 in Rochester New York) was a Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York State, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. 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. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Thomas Rickett from Buckingham, England made a steam powered car in 1860 ^[9] 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^[10] followed by Frederick William Lanchester in 1895 but these were both one-offs. The Santler was a British car built in Malvern Link, Worcestershire, England, between 1889 and 1922 Frederick William Lanchester, Hon FRAeS ( October 23, 1868 - March 8, 1946) was an English Polymath and ^[10] The first production vehicles came from the Daimler Motor Company, founded by Harry J. Lawson in 1896, and making their first cars in 1897. This article is about the British automobile manufacturer See Daimler for other uses derived from the German engineer and inventor Gottlieb Daimler. Harry John Lawson was a British bicycle designer motor industry pioneer and fraudster ^[10]

In 1892, German engineer Rudolf Diesel got a patent for a "New Rational Combustion Engine". Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel (ˈʁuːdɔlf ˈkʁɪstjan ˈkaʁl ˈdiːzəl March 18, 1858 – last seen alive September 29, 1913) was a In 1897 he built the first Diesel Engine. A diesel engine is an Internal combustion engine which operates using the Diesel cycle (named after Dr ^[7] In 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 autos in the United States. The two-stroke Internal combustion engine differs from the more common Four-stroke engine by completing the same four processes (intake compression combustion exhaust The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Steam, electric, and gasoline powered autos 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. This article is about Internal combustion engines that do not use conventional Pistons See also Rotary engine (disambiguation for other uses of this A piston is a component of Reciprocating engines Pumps and Gas compressors It is located in a cylinder and is made gas-tight by Piston The crankshaft, sometimes casually abbreviated to crank, is the part of an Engine which translates reciprocating Linear All Mazda Wankel "rotary" engines are essentially a single family — they all derive from the first Wankel experiments in the early 1960s The Wankel engine is a type of Internal combustion engine which uses a rotary design to convert pressure into a rotating motion instead of using reciprocating

Production

Ransom E. Olds. Ransom Eli Olds ( June 3, 1864 – August 26, 1950) was a pioneer of the American Automobile industry, for whom both the Oldsmobile

The large-scale, production-line manufacturing of affordable automobiles was debuted by Ransom Olds at his Oldsmobile factory in 1902. For the Detroit Red Wings scoring line see Production line (hockey A production line is a set of sequential operations established Ransom Eli Olds ( June 3, 1864 – August 26, 1950) was a pioneer of the American Automobile industry, for whom both the Oldsmobile Oldsmobile was a brand of Automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. This concept was then greatly expanded by Henry Ford, beginning in 1914. Henry Ford ( July 30, 1863 &ndash April 7, 1947) was the American founder of the Ford Motor Company and father of

As a result, Ford's cars came off the line in fifteen minute intervals, much faster than previous methods, increasing production by seven to one (requiring 12. 5 man-hours before, 1 hour 33 minutes after), while using less manpower. ^[11] It was so successful, paint became a bottleneck. Paint is any Liquid, liquifiable or mastic composition which after application to a substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque Solid 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. Duco was a trade name assigned to a product line of automotive Lacquer developed by the DuPont Company in the 1920s In a general sense lacquer is a clear or coloured Varnish, that dries by solvent evaporation and often a curing process as well that produces a hard durable finish in any ^[12] In 1914, an assembly line worker could buy a Model T with four months' pay. ^[13]

Portrait of Henry Ford (ca. Henry Ford ( July 30, 1863 &ndash April 7, 1947) was the American founder of the Ford Motor Company and father of 1919)

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. Fordism, named after Henry Ford, refers to various social theories. The efficiency gains from the assembly line also coincided with the take off 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. The automotive industry is the industry involved in the design development manufacture marketing and sale of Motor vehicles In 2007 more than 73 million motor vehicles Ford France and Ford Britain in 1911, Ford Denmark 1923, Ford Germany 1925; in 1921, Citroen was the first native European manufacturer to adopt it. Citroën (pronounced See-Troh-Enn is a French Automobile manufacturer, founded in 1919 by André Citroën. Soon, companies had to have assembly lines, or risk going broke; by 1930, 250 companies which did not had disappeared. ^[14]

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. An ignition system is a system for igniting a fuel-air mixture Charles Franklin Kettering ( August 29, 1876 – November 24 or November 25, 1958) was an American inventor and the holder of Cadillac is a Brand of Luxury vehicles owned by General Motors. Suspension is the term given to the system of springs, Shock absorbers and linkages that connects a Vehicle to its Wheels Suspension

Ford Model T, 1927, regarded as the first affordable automobile

Since the 1920s, nearly all cars have been mass-produced to meet market needs, so marketing plans have often heavily influenced automobile design. The Ford Model T (colloquially known as the Tin Lizzie and also the Flivver) was an Automobile produced by Henry Ford 's Ford 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. Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr ( May 23, 1875 – February 17, 1966) was a long-time President and Chairman of General

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 drivetrains and shared platforms (with interchangeable brakes, suspension, and other parts) were common. Cadillac is a Brand of Luxury vehicles owned by General Motors. Oldsmobile was a brand of Automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Chevrolet (ˌʃɛvroʊˈleɪ - French origin (also known as Chevy) is a Brand of Automobile, produced by General Motors (GM Pontiac is a Brand of Automobiles produced by General Motors that has been sold in the United States, Canada and Mexico For the UK engine manufacturer see Powertrain Ltd. In a Motor vehicle, the term drivetrain, powertrain or powerplant An automobile platform is a shared set of common design engineering and production efforts as well as major components over a number of outwardly distinct models and even types of A brake is a device for slowing or stopping the motion of a Machine or Vehicle, or alternatively a device to restrain it from starting to move again 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 carmakers in existence in 1920, only 43 survived in 1930, and with the Great Depression, by 1940, only 17 of those were left. The Apperson was a brand of American Automobile manufactured from 1902 to 1926 in Kokomo, Indiana. The Dorris Motor Car Company was founded by George Preston Dorris. The Haynes Automobile Company was a United States Automobile manufacturing company which produced automobiles in Kokomo Indiana from 1905 to 1924 ^[15]

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. Morris Commercial Cars The Morris Motor Company was a British car manufacturing company Cowley in Oxford, England, is a residential and industrial area that forms a small conurbation within greater Oxford In Microeconomics and Management, the term vertical integration describes a style of Management control. Hotchkiss cars were made between 1903 and 1955 by the French company Hotchkiss et Cie in Saint-Denis, Paris EG Wrigley and Company Ltd was a British car, car component and mechanical parts Manufacturer, located at Foundry Lane Soho, Birmingham Most British small-car assemblers, from Autocrat to Meteorite to Seabrook, to name only three, had gone under. An autocracy is a Form of government in which the Political power is held by a single self-appointed ruler A meteorite is a natural object originating in Outer space that survives an impact with the Earth 's surface ^[16] Citroen did the same in France, coming to cars in 1919; between them and the cheap cars in reply, Renault's 10CV and Peugeot's 5CV, they produced 550000 cars in 1925, and Mors, Hurtu, and others could not compete. This is about the company for other uses see Renault (disambiguation. For the article about the bicycle manufacturer see Cycles Peugeot. Peugeot 5CV was a popular name for several models of the Peugeot Type 172 between 1925 and 1929 The Mors automobile factory was an early car manufacturer and one of the first to take part in Automobile racing, beginning in 1897 due to the belief of the company founder ^[17] 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. Adam Opel GmbH (commonly known as Opel) is a German automaker part of General Motors. The Opel 4 PS, popularly known as the Opel Laubfrosch (Opel Treefrog) was a small two seater car introduced by the then family owned auto maker Opel, early Rüsselsheim is the largest town in the Groß-Gerau district in the Rhein-Main region of Germany. 5% of the market. ^[18]

See also: Automotive industry

Fuel and propulsion technologies

Auto rickshaws in New Delhi run on Compressed Natural Gas

See also: Alternative fuel vehicle

Most automobiles in use today are propelled by gasoline (also known as petrol) or diesel internal combustion engines, which are known to cause air pollution and are also blamed for contributing to climate change and global warming. The automotive industry is the industry involved in the design development manufacture marketing and sale of Motor vehicles In 2007 more than 73 million motor vehicles An auto rickshaw or tuk tuk ( auto autorick or rickshaw in popular parlance is a Motor vehicle that is one of the chief New Delhi (नई दिल्ली ਨਵੀਂ ਦਿੱਲੀ نئی دلی is the Capital city of India. Compressed Natural Gas (CNG is a Fossil fuel substitute for Gasoline (petrol Diesel, or Propane Fuel. Alternative Fuel Vehicle refers to a vehicle that runs on a fuel other than "traditional" Gasoline or Diesel; any method of powering an engine that does Diesel or Diesel fuel (ˈdiːzəl in general is any Fuel used in Diesel engines The most common is a specific fractional distillate of petroleum Air pollution is the human introduction into the atmosphere of Chemicals Particulate matter, or Biological materials that cause harm or discomfort Climate change is any long-term significant change in the “average weather” that a given region experiences Global warming is the increase in the average measured temperature of the ^[19] Increasing costs of oil-based fuels, tightening environmental laws and restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions are propelling work on alternative power systems for automobiles. Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society Greenhouse gases are gaseous constituents of the atmosphere bothnatural and anthropogenic that absorb and emit radiation at specific wavelengths within the spectrum of thermal infrared Efforts to improve or replace existing technologies include the development of hybrid vehicles, and electric and hydrogen vehicles which do not release pollution into the air. A hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources to propel the vehicle The Electric Vehicle was an American Automobile manufactured only in 1899 A hydrogen vehicle is a Vehicle that uses Hydrogen as its on-board fuel for motive power

Diesel

Main article: Diesel engine

Diesel-engined cars have long been popular in Europe with the first models being introduced in the 1930s by Mercedes Benz and Citroen. A diesel engine is an Internal combustion engine which operates using the Diesel cycle (named after Dr Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of luxury Automobiles Buses coaches and Trucks It is currently a division of the Citroën (pronounced See-Troh-Enn is a French Automobile manufacturer, founded in 1919 by André Citroën. The main benefit of diesel engines is a 50% fuel burn efficiency compared with 27%^[20] in the best gasoline engines. A down-side of the diesel is the presence in the exhaust gases of fine soot particulates and manufacturers are now starting to fit filters to remove these. Many diesel-powered cars can also run with little or no modifications on 100% biodiesel. Biodiesel refers to a non-petroleum-based Diesel fuel consisting of short chain Alkyl ( Methyl or ethyl) Esters made by

Gasoline

Main article: Petrol engine

2007 Mark II (BMW) Mini Cooper

Gasoline engines have the advantage over diesel in being lighter and able to work at higher rotational speeds and they are the usual choice for fitting in high-performance sports cars. A Petrol engine or Gasoline engine is an Internal combustion engine with spark-ignition designed to run on petrol ( Gasoline) and similar volatile Mini (styled as MINI) is a British automotive brand owned by the German BMW Group that has produced a redesign of the traditional Mini Continuous development of gasoline engines for over a hundred years has produced improvements in efficiency and reduced pollution. The carburetor was used on nearly all road car engines until the 1980s but it was long realised better control of the fuel/air mixture could be achieved with fuel injection. A carburetor (North American spelling or carburettor ( Commonwealth spelling) is a device that blends air and Fuel for an Internal Fuel injection is a system for mixing fuel with air in an Internal combustion engine. Indirect fuel injection was first used in aircraft engines from 1909, in racing car engines from the 1930s, and road cars from the late 1950s. ^[20] Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) is now starting to appear in production vehicles such as the 2007 (Mark II) BMW Mini. Gasoline direct injection is a latest variant of Fuel injection employed in modern two- and four- stroke Petrol engines The petrol/gasoline Mini (styled as MINI) is a British automotive brand owned by the German BMW Group that has produced a redesign of the traditional Mini Exhaust gases are also cleaned up by fitting a catalytic converter into the exhaust system. Clean air legislation in many of the car industries most important markets has made both catalysts and fuel injection virtually universal fittings. Most modern gasoline engines are also capable of running with up to 15% ethanol mixed into the gasoline - older vehicles may have seals and hoses that can be harmed by ethanol. With a small amount of redesign, gasoline-powered vehicles can run on ethanol concentrations as high as 85%. 100% ethanol is used in some parts of the world (such as Brazil), but vehicles must be started on pure gasoline and switched over to ethanol once the engine is running. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld Most gasoline engined cars can also run on LPG with the addition of an LPG tank for fuel storage and carburetion modifications to add an LPG mixer. Autogas is the common name for Liquified petroleum gas (LPG when it is used as a Fuel in Internal combustion engines in Vehicles. A gas cylinder or tank is a Pressure vessel used to store Gases at high Pressure. LPG produces fewer toxic emissions and is a popular fuel for fork lift trucks that have to operate inside buildings.

The hydrogen powered FCHV (Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle) was developed by Toyota in 2005

Bioalcohols and biogasoline

Ethanol, other alcohol fuels (biobutanol) and biogasoline have widespread use an automotive fuel. (pronounced) is a Multinational corporation headquartered in Japan, and is currently the world's largest Automaker. Although Fossil fuels have become the dominant Energy resource for the modern world Alcohol has been used as a fuel throughout history Butanol may be used as a Fuel in an Internal combustion engine. Biogasoline are Hydrocarbons produced from Biomass such as Algae, and containing between 5 ( Hexane) and 12 ( Heptanone) carbon atoms Most alcohols have less energy per liter than gasoline and are usually blended with gasoline. Alcohols are used for a variety of reasons - to increase octane, to improve emissions, and as an alternative to petroleum based fuel, since they can be made from agricultural crops. Brazil's ethanol program provides about 20% of the nations automotive fuel needs, including several million cars that operate on pure ethanol. Brazil is the world's second largest producer of Ethanol and the world's largest exporter and it is considered to have the world's first Sustainable

Electric

Main articles: Battery electric vehicle, Hybrid vehicle, and Plug-in hybrid

The Henney Kilowatt, the first modern (transistor-controlled) electric car. The battery electric vehicle, or BEV, is a type of Electric vehicle (EV that uses chemical Energy stored in Rechargeable battery A hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources to propel the vehicle A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle ( PHEV) is a Hybrid vehicle with batteries that can be recharged by connecting a plug to an Electric power Introduced for the 1959 model year the Henney Kilowatt was the world's first modern ( Transistor -regulated Electric car.

2007 Tesla electric powered Roadster

The first electric cars were built around 1832, well before internal combustion powered cars appeared. The Tesla Roadster is a fully electric Sports car. It is the first car produced by electric car firm Tesla Motors. An electric car is a type of alternative fuel Car that utilizes Electric motors and Motor controllers instead of an Internal combustion engine ^[21] For a period of time electrics were considered superior due to the silent nature of electric motors compared to the very loud noise of the gasoline engine. This advantage was removed with Hiram Percy Maxim's invention of the muffler in 1897. Hiram Percy Maxim ( September 2, 1869 &ndash February 17, 1936) was co-founder of the American Radio Relay League and originally A muffler (or silencer in British English is a device for reducing the amount of noise emitted by a machine Thereafter internal combustion powered cars had two critical advantages: 1) long range and 2) high specific energy (far lower weight of petrol fuel versus weight of batteries). The building of battery electric vehicles that could rival internal combustion models had to wait for the introduction of modern semiconductor controls and improved batteries. The battery electric vehicle, or BEV, is a type of Electric vehicle (EV that uses chemical Energy stored in Rechargeable battery A semiconductor' is a Solid material that has Electrical conductivity in between a conductor and an insulator; it can vary over that Because they can deliver a high torque at low revolutions electric cars do not require such a complex drive train and transmission as internal combustion powered cars. A torque (τ in Physics, also called a moment (of force is a pseudo- vector that measures the tendency of a force to rotate an object about Some post-2000 electric car designs such as the Venturi Fétish are able to accelerate from 0-60 mph (96 km/h) in 4. The Venturi Fétish is the world's first production two-seater electric sports car. (For the South African airport with IATA code "KMH" see Johan Pienaar Airport. 0 seconds with a top speed around 130 mph (210 km/h). Others have a range of 250 miles (400 km) on the EPA highway cycle requiring 3-1/2 hours to completely charge^[22]. A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States Equivalent fuel efficiency to internal combustion is not well defined but some press reports give it at around 135 mpg–U.S. (1. Miles per gallon ( MPG) is a metric term that measures how many miles a vehicle can travel on one gallon of fuel 74 L/100 km / 162. Fuel efficiency, in its basic sense is the same as Thermal efficiency, meaning the efficiency of a process that converts chemical potential energy contained in a carrier 1 mpg–imp). Imperial MPG are Miles per gallon where the Gallon is an Imperial unit.

Steam

Main article: steam car

Steam power, usually using an oil or gas heated boiler, was also in use until the 1930s but had the major disadvantage of being unable to power the car until boiler pressure was available. A steam car is a car (automobile powered by a Steam engine. Technology A Steam engine is an External combustion engine It has the advantage of being able to produce very low emissions as the combustion process can be carefully controlled. Its disadvantages include poor heat efficiency and extensive requirements for electric auxiliaries. ^[23]

Gas turbine

In the 1950s there was a brief interest in using gas turbine (jet) engines and several makers including Rover and Chrysler produced prototypes. A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a rotary Engine that extracts energy from a flow of Combustion gas The Rover Company was a British Motor vehicle manufacturing company originating in Coventry in 1904 which moved to Solihull after World War II Chrysler LLC is an American Automobile manufacturer that has been producing Automobiles since 1925 In spite of the power units being very compact, high fuel consumption, severe delay in throttle response, and lack of engine braking meant no cars reached production.

Rotary (Wankel) engines

Rotary Wankel engines were introduced into road cars by NSU with the Ro 80 and later were seen in the Citroën GS Birotor and several Mazda models. The Wankel engine is a type of Internal combustion engine which uses a rotary design to convert pressure into a rotating motion instead of using reciprocating The NSU Ro 80 was a technologically advanced large sedan -type Automobile produced by the German firm of NSU from 1967 until 1977 The Citroën GS (1970–79 and Citroën GSA (1980–86 were Small family cars produced by the French automaker Citroën. ( is a Japanese automotive manufacturer based in Hiroshima, Japan. In spite of their impressive smoothness, poor reliability and fuel economy led to them largely disappearing. Mazda, beginning with the R100 then RX-2, has continued research on these engines, overcoming most of the earlier problems with the RX-7 and RX-8. The Mazda R100 used the chassis from the Familia and the rotary 0820 engine similar to the one used in the Cosmo Sport Series II The Mazda RX-2 was a Midsize car introduced in 1970 and sold through 1978 The Mazda RX-7 is a Sports car produced by the Japanese automaker Mazda from 1978 to 2002 The Mazda RX-8 is a Sports car manufactured by Mazda Motor Corporation.

Rocket and jet cars

A rocket car holds the record in drag racing. A rocket car is a land Vehicle powered by a Rocket engine. Because rockets have the highest thrust/weight ratio of any jet engine very large accelerations and Drag racing is a competition in which objects compete to be the first to cross a set finish mark usually from a dead stop and in a straight line However, the fastest of those cars are used to set the Land Speed Record, and are propelled by propulsive jets emitted from rocket, turbojet, or more recently and most successfully turbofan engines. The land speed record is the fastest speed achieved by any wheeled vehicle on land as opposed to one on water or in the air or on rails. A rocket or rocket vehicle is a Missile, Aircraft or other Vehicle which obtains Thrust by the reaction of the TurboJET (噴射飛航 is the brand name for the operations of the Hong Kong -based Shun Tak-China Travel Ship Management Limited (信德中旅船務管理有限公司 A turbofan is a type of Jet engine, similar to a Turbojet. It essentially consists of a Ducted fan with a smaller diameter turbojet engine The ThrustSSC car using two Rolls-Royce Spey turbofans with reheat was able to exceed the speed of sound at ground level in 1997. Thrust SSC ( '''S'''uper'''S'''onic C ar is a British designed and built jet -propelled car developed by Richard Noble, Glynne WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The AfterBurner is a lighting solution for the Game Boy Advance system that was created by Triton-Labs Sound is a vibration that travels through an elastic medium as a Wave. Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar

Safety

Main articles: Car safety and Automobile accident

Result of a serious automobile accident.

Road traffic injuries represent about 25% of worldwide injury-related deaths (the leading cause) with an estimated 1. 2 million deaths (2004) each year. ^[24]

Automobile accidents are almost as old as automobiles themselves. Early examples include Mary Ward, who became one of the first documented automobile fatalities in 1869 in Parsonstown, Ireland,^[25] and Henry Bliss, one of the United State's first pedestrian automobile casualties in 1899 in New York. Mary Ward (1827 - 31 August 1869 was an Irish scientist who was killed when she fell under the wheels of an experimental steam car built by her cousins This article is about Birr the town in Ireland For alternative meanings see Birr (disambiguation. Henry Hale Bliss ( June 13, 1830 - September 10, 1899) was the first person killed in a motor vehicle accident in the United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A pedestrian is a person travelling on foot whether Walking or Running. The City of New York ^[26]

Cars have many basic safety problems - for example, they have human drivers who can make mistakes, wheels that can lose traction when braking, turning or acceleration forces are too high, and mechanical systems subject to failure. Collisions can have very serious or fatal consequences. Some vehicles have a high center of gravity and therefore an increased tendency to roll over.

Early safety research focused on increasing the reliability of brakes and reducing the flammability of fuel systems. For example, modern engine compartments are open at the bottom so that fuel vapors, which are heavier than air, vent to the open air. Brakes are hydraulic and dual circuit so that a total braking failure is very rare. Systematic research on crash safety started in 1958 at Ford Motor Company. Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following Since then, most research has focused on absorbing external crash energy with crushable panels and reducing the motion of human bodies in the passenger compartment. This is reflected in most cars produced today.

Significant reductions in death and injury have come from the addition of Safety belts and laws in many countries to require vehicle occupants to wear them. An airbag is part of a vehicle's safety restraint system a flexible envelope designed for rapid inflation in an automobile Collision, to prevent vehicle occupants A seat belt, sometimes called a safety belt, is a Safety harness designed to secure the occupant of a Vehicle against harmful movement that may result from Airbags and specialised child restraint systems have improved on that. An airbag is part of a vehicle's safety restraint system a flexible envelope designed for rapid inflation in an automobile Collision, to prevent vehicle occupants Structural changes such as side-impact protection bars in the doors and side panels of the car mitigate the effect of impacts to the side of the vehicle. Many cars now include radar or sonar detectors mounted to the rear of the car to warn the driver if he or she is about to reverse into an obstacle or a pedestrian. Some vehicle manufacturers are producing cars with devices that also measure the proximity to obstacles and other vehicles in front of the car and are using these to apply the brakes when a collision is inevitable. There have also been limited efforts to use heads up displays and thermal imaging technologies similar to those used in military aircraft to provide the driver with a better view of the road at night. A head-up display, or HUD, is any transparent display that presents data without requiring the user to look away from his or her usual viewpont wiki stranglesnakejpg|thumb|Thermographic image of a Snake held by a human]] Infrared Thermography, thermal imaging, or thermal video, is a type of

There are standard tests for safety in new automobiles, like the EuroNCAP and the US NCAP tests. The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP is a European Car safety performance assessment programme founded in 1997 by the Transport Research ^[27] There are also tests run by organizations such as IIHS and backed by the insurance industry. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is a US Non-profit organization funded by auto insurers ^[28]

Despite technological advances, there is still significant loss of life from car accidents: About 40,000 people die every year in the United States, with similar figures in European nations. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the This figure increases annually in step with rising population and increasing travel if no measures are taken, but the rate per capita and per mile traveled decreases steadily. Per capita is a Latin phrase meaning for each head with Per meaning 'through' or 'by' The death toll is expected to nearly double worldwide by 2020. A much higher number of accidents result in injury or permanent disability. The highest accident figures are reported in China and India. The European Union has a rigid program to cut the death toll in half by 2010, and member states have started implementing measures.

Automated control has been seriously proposed and successfully prototyped. An automated highway system (AHS or Smart Road is a proposed Intelligent transportation system technology designed to provide for Driverless cars on specific rights-of-way Shoulder-belted passengers could tolerate a 32 g emergency stop (reducing the safe inter-vehicle gap 64-fold) if high-speed roads incorporated a steel rail for emergency braking. g-force (also G-force, g-load) is a measurement of an object's Acceleration expressed in g s Both safety modifications of the roadway are thought to be too expensive by most funding authorities, although these modifications could dramatically increase the number of vehicles able to safely use a high-speed highway. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Before adding any more images to this * * page please do carefully consider * * whether they would be mere decoration * * or actually improve This makes clear the often-ignored fact road design and traffic control also play a part in car wrecks; unclear traffic signs, inadequate signal light placing, and poor planning (curved bridge approaches which become icy in winter, for example), also contribute. For the road traffic science see various articles under Road traffic management.

Economics and impacts

Cost and benefits of usage

Main article: Economics of automobile usage

The costs of automobile usage, which may include the cost of: acquiring the vehicle, repairs, maintenance, fuel, depreciation, parking fees, tire replacement, taxes and insurance,^[29] are weighed against the cost of the alternatives, and the value of the benefits - perceived and real - of vehicle usage. See also Transport economics Compared to other popular modes of passenger transportation especially buses the Automobile has a relatively high cost per person-kilometre Maintenance repair and operations or maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO is fixing any sort of mechanical or Electrical device should it Car maintenance means to inspect the condition of car components and add (or change expendable parts (or materials Fuel is any material that is burned or altered in order to obtain energy Depreciation is a term used in Accounting, Economics and Finance to spread the cost of an Asset over the span of several years Parking is the act of stopping a Vehicle and leaving it unoccupied for more than a brief time This article is about tires used on road Vehicles including pneumatic tires and solid tires. Insurance, in Law and Economics, is a form of Risk management primarily used to hedge against the Risk of a contingent loss The benefits may include on-demand transportation, mobility, independence and convenience. ^[30]

Cost and benefits to society

Main article: Effects of the automobile on societies

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. Over the course of the 20th century the Automobile rapidly developed from an expensive toy for the rich into the De facto standard for passenger Transport A road is an identifiable route, way or path between two or more places. Land use' is also often used to refer to the distinct land use types in Zoning. Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability disorder harm or discomfort to the physical systems or living organisms they are in Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease prolonging life and promoting health through the organised efforts and informed choices of society organisations Health care is the prevention treatment and management of illness and the preservation of mental health through the services offered by the medical, Nursing 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. ^[31]

Impacts on society and environment

Further information: Global warming

Transportation is a major contributor to air pollution in most industrialised nations. Global warming is the increase in the average measured temperature of the Air pollution is the human introduction into the atmosphere of Chemicals Particulate matter, or Biological materials that cause harm or discomfort 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 got worse over the last decade. ^[32] In the United States the average passenger car emits 11,450 lbs (5 tonnes) of carbon dioxide, along with smaller amounts of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen. This article is about the tonne or metric ton For other tons see Ton. Carbon dioxide ( Chemical formula:) is a Chemical compound composed of two Oxygen Atoms covalently bonded to a single ^[33] Residents of low-density, residential-only sprawling communities are also more likely to die in car collisions, which kill 1. 2 million people worldwide each year, and injure about forty times this number. ^[34] Sprawl is more broadly a factor in inactivity and obesity, which in turn can lead to increased risk of a variety of diseases. Obesity is a condition in which excess Body fat has accumulated to such an extent that health may be negatively affected ^[35]

Improving the positive and reducing the negative impacts

Fuel taxes may act as an incentive for the production of more efficient, hence less polluting, car designs (e. A fuel tax (also known as a petrol tax, gasoline tax, gas tax or fuel duty) is a Sales tax imposed on the sale of Fuel. g. hybrid vehicles) and the development of alternative fuels. A hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources to propel the vehicle Alternative fuels, also known as non-conventional Fuels are any Materials or substances that can be used as a Fuel, other than conventional 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. ^[36] In the United States Congress, federally mandated fuel efficiency standards have been debated regularly, passenger car standards have not risen above the 27. 5 mpg–U. S. (8. 55 L/100 km / 33 mpg–imp) standard set in 1985. Light truck standards have changed more frequently, and were set at 22. 2 mpg–U. S. (10. 6 L/100 km / 26. 7 mpg–imp) in 2007. ^[37] Alternative fuel vehicles are another option that is less polluting than conventional petroleum powered vehicles. Alternative fuels, also known as non-conventional Fuels are any Materials or substances that can be used as a Fuel, other than conventional fuels Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability disorder harm or discomfort to the physical systems or living organisms they are in Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit

Future car technologies

Main article: 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. Potential future car technologies include new energy sources and materials which are being developed in order to make Automobiles more sustainable, safer Vehicle propulsion refers to the act of moving an artificial carrier of people or goods over a distance A hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources to propel the vehicle A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle ( PHEV) is a Hybrid vehicle with batteries that can be recharged by connecting a plug to an Electric power The battery electric vehicle, or BEV, is a type of Electric vehicle (EV that uses chemical Energy stored in Rechargeable battery A hydrogen vehicle is a Vehicle that uses Hydrogen as its on-board fuel for motive power Alternative fuels, also known as non-conventional Fuels are any Materials or substances that can be used as a Fuel, other than conventional fuels

Research into future alternative forms of power include the development of fuel cells, Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI), stirling engines^[38], and even using the stored energy of compressed air or liquid nitrogen. A fuel cell is an electrochemical conversion device It produces electricity from Fuel (on the Anode side and an oxidant (on the Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition, or HCCI, is a form of internal combustion in which well-mixed Fuel and Oxidizer (typically air are A Stirling engine is a closed-cycle regenerative Heat engine with a Gaseous working fluid A liquid nitrogen economy is a hypothetical proposal for a future Economy in which the primary form of energy storage and transport is Liquid nitrogen.

New materials which may replace steel car bodies include duraluminum, fiberglass, carbon fiber, and carbon nanotubes. Duralumin (also called duraluminum, duraluminium or dural) is the trade name of one of the earliest types of age-hardenable Aluminium alloys Fiberglass (also called fibreglass and glass fibre see Spelling differences) is material made from extremely fine Fibers of Glass. See also Graphene, Buckypaper Carbon nanotubes (CNTs are Allotropes of carbon with a nanostructure that can have a length-to-diameter

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. The term telematics (synonymous with Telemetry) is used in a number of ways The integrated use of Telecommunications and Informatics Origins It is estimated that the average British car owner spends between £3000 and £4000 per annum on tax maintenance and other costs; and government initiatives Origins It is estimated that the average British car owner spends between £3000 and £4000 per annum on tax maintenance and other costs; and government initiatives The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Mobility CarSharing is a Swiss Carsharing Cooperative, operated nationwide with approximately 2000 cars in over 1000 locations (as of 2008 Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the Continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European Zipcar is a for-profit membership-based Carsharing company providing Automobile rental to its members billable by the hour or day

Alternatives to the automobile

Main article: Alternatives to the automobile

Established alternatives for some aspects of automobile use include public transit (buses, trolleybuses, trains, subways, monorails, tramways), cycling, walking, rollerblading, skateboarding and using a velomobile. Established alternatives for some aspects of Automobile use include Public transit ( Buses Trolleybuses Trains subways Monorails A train is a connected series of vehicles that move along a track ( Permanent way) to transport freight or passengers from one place to another A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway or metro(politan system is an electric passenger railway A monorail is a transportation system based on a single beam The term is also used variously to describe the beam of the system or the vehicles travelling on such a beam or A tram, tramcar, trolley, trolley car, or streetcar is a railborne vehicle, of lighter weight and construction than a Train Cycling is the use of Bicycles or - less commonly - Unicycles Tricycles Quadricycles and other similar wheeled Human powered vehicles Walking (also called ambulation) is the main form of Animal Locomotion on land, distinguished from Running and crawling Roller skating is the Traveling on smooth terrain with roller skates Skateboarding is the act of riding and performing tricks using a Skateboard. A velomobile or bicycle car is a Human-powered vehicle, enclosed for protection from weather and collisions Car-share arrangements and carpooling are also increasingly popular–the U. This article deals with the use of shared cars for Public transport purposes Carpooling (also known as car-sharing, ride-sharing, lift-sharing) is the shared use of a car by the driver and one or more passengers usually S. 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. ^[39] Bike-share systems have been tried in some European cities, including Copenhagen and Amsterdam. Community bicycle programs (also known as Yellow bicycle programs White bicycle programs bike sharing public bike or free bike are one element of an international movement to build Similar programs have been experimented with in a number of U. S. Cities. ^[40] Additional individual modes of transport, such as personal rapid transit could serve as an alternative to automobiles if they prove to be socially accepted. Personal rapid transit (PRT, also called personal automated transport (PAT or podcar, is a Public transportation concept that offers on-demand non-stop ^[41]

See also

• Car donation
• Driving
• Society of Automotive Engineers
• Sustainable transport
• U.S. Automobile Production Figures - production figures for each make from 1899 to 2000
• V2G
• V2V
• List of countries by vehicles per capita
• Lists of automobiles

References

External links

• Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile