An automobile or motor car is a wheeled A wheel is a circular device that is capable of rotating on its axis, facilitating movement or transportation whilst supporting a load , or performing labour in machines. Common examples are found in transport applications. A wheel, together with an axle overcomes friction by facilitating motion by rolling. In order for wheels to rotate, a moment motor vehicle A motor vehicle is a vehicle whose propulsion is provided by an engine or other mechanically propelled system which is carried on the vehicle. The internal combustion engine is the most common motor choice, although electric motors or other types are sometimes used. Motor vehicles or road vehicles typically run on public roads. The rules of the used for transporting Transport or transportation is the movement of people and goods from one location to another. Transport is performed by various modes, such as air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations passengers In railway parlance, 'passenger', as well as being the end user of a service, is also a categorisation of the type of rolling stock used. In the British case, there are several categories of passenger train. These categories include:, which also carries its own engine The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidiser in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine the expansion of the high temperature and pressure gases, that are produced by the combustion, directly apply force to a movable component of the engine, such as the pistons or turbine 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 Transport or transportation is the movement of people and goods from one location to another. Transport is performed by various modes, such as air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations of people rather than goods.[1] However, the term automobile is far from precise, because there are many types of vehicles that do similar tasks.

As of 2002, there were 590 million passenger cars worldwide (roughly one car per eleven people).[2] Around the world, there were about 806 million cars and light trucks on the road in 2007; they burn over 260 billion gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel yearly. The numbers are increasing rapidly, especially in China and India.[3]

Contents

Etymology

The word automobile comes, via the French French is a Romance language spoken, around the world, by more than 100 million people as a first language (mother tongue), by 190 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 54 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France, where the language automobile, from the Ancient Greek Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic , Classical (c. 5th–4th centuries BC), and Hellenistic (c. 3rd century BC–6th century AD) periods of ancient Greece and the ancient world. It is predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek. Its Hellenistic phase is known as Koine word αὐτός (autós, "self") and the Latin Latin is an Italic language historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe. Romance languages such as Italian, French, Catalan, Romanian, Spanish, and Portuguese are descended from Latin, while many others, especially European languages, including mobilis ("movable"); meaning a vehicle A vehicle is a means of conveyance, a carriage or transport. Most often they are manufactured (e.g. bicycles, cars, motorcycles, trains, ships, boats, and aircraft), although some other means of transport which are not made by humans also may be called vehicles; examples include icebergs and floating tree trunks that moves itself, rather than being pulled or pushed by a separate animal or another vehicle. The alternative name car is believed to originate from the Latin word carrus or carrum ("wheeled vehicle"), or the Middle English Middle English is the name given by historical linguists to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman invasion of 1066 and about 1470, when the Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, began to become widespread, a process aided by the introduction of the printing press into England by William Caxton in the 1470 word carre ("cart A cart is a vehicle or device designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from a dray or wagon, which is a heavy transport vehicle with four wheels and normally at least two horses, which in turn is different from a carriage,") (from Old North French French is a Romance language spoken, around the world, by more than 100 million people as a first language (mother tongue), by 190 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 54 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France, where the language), or karros (a Gallic Gaul is a historical name used in the context of the Roman empire in references to the region of Western Europe approximating present day France and Belgium, but also sometimes including the Po Valley, western Switzerland, and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the River Rhine. In English, the word Gaul may also refer to wagon A wagon or dray (low, sideless) is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle. Wagons were formerly pulled by animals such as horses, mules or oxen. Today farm wagons are pulled by tractors and trucks. Wagons are used for transportation of people or goods. Wagons are distinguished from carts (which have two wheels), and from lighter four-wheeled vehicles such).[4][5]

History

Main article: History of the automobile Automobiles capable of human transport have been demonstrated as early as 1769 . Fuel gas-powered internal combustion engines first appeared in 1806, while 1885 marked the introduction of gasoline-fuelled internal combustion engines. Automotive history is generally divided into a number of eras based on the major design and technology shifts

Ferdinand Verbiest Father Ferdinand Verbiest was a Flemish Jesuit missionary in China during the Qing dynasty. He was born in Pittem near Tielt in Flanders, later part of the modern state of Belgium. He is known as Nan Huairen (南懷仁) in Chinese. He was an accomplished mathematician and astronomer and proved to the court of Kangxi Emperor that European astronomy, a member of a Jesuit mission in China Categories: Jesuits | Roman Catholic Church in Asia | Roman Catholic Church in Hong Kong | Roman Catholic Church in Macau | Roman Catholic missionaries in China , built the first steam-powered vehicle around 1672 which was of small scale and designed as a toy for the Chinese Emperor that was unable to carry a driver or a passenger, but quite possibly, was the first working steam-powered vehicle ('auto-mobile').[6][7]

Although Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot was a French inventor. He is believed to have built the first self-propelled mechanical vehicle. This claim is disputed by some sources, however, which suggest that Ferdinand Verbiest, as a member of a Jesuit mission in China, may have been the first to build a 'car' around 1672 is often credited with building the first self-propelled mechanical vehicle or automobile in about 1769 by adapting an existing horse-drawn vehicle, this claim is disputed by some[citation needed], who doubt Cugnot's three-wheeler ever ran or was stable. What is not in doubt is that Richard Trevithick Richard Trevithick was a British inventor and mining engineer. His most significant success was the high pressure steam engine and he was also the builder of the first full-scale working railway steam locomotive. On 21 February 1804 the world's first locomotive-hauled railway journey took place as Trevithick's unnamed steam locomotive hauled a built and demonstrated his Puffing Devil road locomotive in 1801, believed by many to be the first demonstration of a steam-powered road vehicle although it was unable to maintain sufficient steam pressure for long periods, and would have been of little practical use.

In Russia Russia (pronounced /ˈrʌʃə/ ; Russian: Россия, pronounced [rʌˈsʲijə]), officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation(Russian: Российская Федерация​ (help·info), Rossiyskaya Federatsiya), is a country in northern Eurasia (Europe and Asia together). It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83, in the 1780s, Ivan Kulibin During the 1770s, he designed a wooden one-arch bridge over the Neva river with a span of 298 metres , offering to use an original girder with a cross grate. In 1776 a model 1/10th the natural size of this bridge was tested by a special commission of academics. Kulibin’s project was praised by Leonhard Euler and Daniel Bernoulli, but was never developed a human-pedalled, three-wheeled carriage with modern features such as a flywheel A flywheel is a mechanical device with a significant moment of inertia used as a storage device for rotational energy. Flywheels resist changes in their rotational speed, which helps steady the rotation of the shaft when a fluctuating torque is exerted on it by its power source such as a piston-based engine, or when the load placed on it is, brake A brake is a device for applying a force against the friction of the road, slowing or stopping the motion of a machine or vehicle, or alternatively a device to restrain it from starting to move again. The kinetic energy lost by the moving part is usually translated to heat by friction. Alternatively, in regenerative braking, much of the energy is, gear box Using the principle of mechanical advantage, a transmission or gearbox provides a speed-torque conversion from a higher speed motor to a slower but more forceful output or vice-versa, and bearings A bearing is a device to allow constrained relative motion between two or more parts, typically rotation or linear movement. Bearings may be classified broadly according to the motions they allow and according to their principle of operation as well as by the directions of applied loads they can handle; however, it was not developed further.[8]

François Isaac de Rivaz Although this early work is credited as the first successful internal combustion engine, the development for mass production never on the invention never truly began until the mid-nineteenth century. Gasoline was not used for internal combustion engines until 1870, a Swiss inventor, designed the first internal combustion engine The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidiser in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine the expansion of the high temperature and pressure gases, that are produced by the combustion, directly apply force to a movable component of the engine, such as the pistons or turbine, in 1806, which was fueled by a mixture of hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. At standard temperature and pressure, hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, nonmetallic, tasteless, highly flammable diatomic gas with the molecular formula H2. With an atomic weight of 1.00794 u, hydrogen is the lightest element and oxygen Oxygen (pronounced /ˈɒksɨdʒɨn/, from the Greek roots ὀξύς (acid, literally "sharp," from the taste of acids) and -γενής (-genēs) (producer, literally begetter) is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. It is a member of the chalcogen group on the periodic table, and is a highly reactive and used it to develop the world's first vehicle, albeit rudimentary, to be powered by such an engine. The design was not very successful, as was the case with others such as Samuel Brown Samuel Brown was an English engineer and inventor credited with developing one of the earliest examples of an internal combustion engine, during the early 19th century, Samuel Morey Samuel Morey was an American inventor, who invented an internal combustion engine and was a pioneer in steamships who accumulated a total of 20 patents, and Etienne Lenoir Jean Joseph Étienne Lenoir was a Belgian engineer with his hippomobile The Hippomobile is an automobile invented by Étienne Lenoir in 1863 which carried its own internal combustion engine. It was based on his 1860 invention the Lenoir gas engine. Lenoir sold about 350 to 400 Hippomobiles, who each produced vehicles (usually adapted carriages or carts) powered by clumsy internal combustion engines.[9]

In November 1881 French inventor Gustave Trouvé Categories: French electrical engineers | French physicists | 1839 births | 1902 deaths | demonstrated a working three-wheeled automobile that was powered by electricity. This was at the International Exhibition of Electricity in Paris.[10]

Although several other German engineers (including Gottlieb Daimler Gottlieb Daimler was an engineer, industrial designer and industrialist, born in Schorndorf (Kingdom of Württemberg, a federal state of the German Confederation), in what is now the Federal Republic of Germany. He was a pioneer of internal-combustion engines and automobile development. He invented the first high-speed petrol engine and the first, Wilhelm Maybach Wilhelm Maybach [ˈvɪl.hɛlm ˈmai.bax] was an early German engine designer and industrialist. During the 1890s he was hailed in France, then the world centre for car production, as the "King of constructors", and Siegfried Marcus Siegfried Samuel Marcus was a German-born Austrian inventor and automobile pioneer) were working on the problem at about the same time, Karl Benz Karl Friedrich Benz, sometimes spelled as Carl, was a German engine designer and automobile engineer, generally regarded as the inventor of the gasoline-powered automobile and pioneering founder of the automobile manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz. Other German contemporaries, Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach working as partners, also worked on generally is acknowledged as the inventor An inventor is a person who creates or discovers a new method, form, device or other useful means. The word inventor comes form the latin verb invenire, invent-, to find. The system of patents was established to encourage inventors by granting limited-term, limited monopoly on inventions determined to be sufficiently novel, non-obvious, and useful of the modern automobile.[9]

An automobile powered by his own four-stroke cycle gasoline engine Today, internal combustion engines in cars, trucks, motorcycles, aircraft, construction machinery and many others, most commonly use a four-stroke cycle. The four strokes refer to intake, compression, combustion , and exhaust strokes that occur during two crankshaft rotations per working cycle of the Gasoline engine and Diesel engine was built in Mannheim Mannheim is a city in Germany. With 327,318 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in the state of Baden-Württemberg after the capital Stuttgart, Germany Germany (pronounced /ˈdʒɜrməni/ ), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland, pronounced [ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant] ( listen)), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Karl Benz in 1885 and granted a patent A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to an inventor or his assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for a disclosure of an invention in January of the following year under the auspices of his major company, Benz & Cie. Karl Friedrich Benz, sometimes spelled as Carl, was a German engine designer and automobile engineer, generally regarded as the inventor of the gasoline-powered automobile and pioneering founder of the automobile manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz. Other German contemporaries, Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach working as partners, also worked on, which was founded in 1883. It was an integral In logic, semantic completeness is the converse of soundness for formal systems. A formal system is "semantically complete" when all tautologies are theorems whereas a formal system is "sound" when all theorems are tautologies. Kurt Gödel, Leon Henkin, and Emil Post all published proofs of completeness. A system is consistent design, without the adaptation of other existing components and including several new technological elements to create a new concept. This is what made it worthy of a patent. He began to sell his production vehicles in 1888.

Karl Benz A photograph of the original Benz Patent Motorwagen, first built in 1885 and awarded the patent for the concept

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 The Karl Benz Patent Motorwagen , built in 1885, is widely regarded as the first automobile, that is, a vehicle designed to be propelled by a motor 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 approximately 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 France (pronounced /ˈfræns/ or /ˈfrɑːns/; French: [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française, pronounced: [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the, 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 1896, Benz designed and patented the first internal-combustion flat engine A flat engine is an internal combustion engine with multiple pistons that all move in the horizontal plane. The most popular and significant layout has cylinders arranged in two banks on either side of a single crankshaft, generally known as "boxers". There is a widely-used but technologically less significant form consisting of a, called a boxermotor in German. 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 A joint stock company is a type of business entity: it is a type of corporation or partnership between two companies. Certificates of ownership (or stocks) are issued by the company in return for each contribution, and the shareholders are free to transfer their ownership interest at any time by selling their stockholding to others.

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, which 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 falling out with their backers. Benz and the Maybach and Daimler team seem to have been unaware of each other's early work. They never worked together because 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-35hp, 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, Emile 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 drawn in 1877 by George Selden of Rochester, New York, who 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 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.[11] 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[12] followed by Frederick William Lanchester in 1895 but these were both one-offs.[12] 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.[12]

In 1892, German engineer Rudolf Diesel was granted a patent for a "New Rational Combustion Engine". In 1897 he built the first Diesel Engine.[9] 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.

Production

Ransom E. Olds.

The large-scale, production-line manufacturing of affordable automobiles was debuted by Ransom Olds at his Oldsmobile factory in 1902. 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 eight fold (requiring 12.5 man-hours before, 1 hour 33 minutes after), while using less manpower.[13] 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".[13] In 1914, an assembly line worker could buy a Model T with four months' pay.[13]

Portrait of Henry Ford (ca. 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. 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.[13]

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.

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

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 drivetrains 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.[13]

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.[13] 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.[13]

See also: Automotive industry

Fuel and propulsion technologies

A Radio Taxi in New Delhi. A court order requires all commercial vehicles including trucks, buses and taxis in India to 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.[14] Increasing costs of oil-based fuels, 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, and electric and hydrogen vehicles which do not release pollution into the air.

Petroleum fuels

Main article: Petroleum fuel engine

Diesel

Main article: Diesel engine

Diesel-engined cars have long been popular in Europe with the first models being introduced as early as 1922 [15] by Peugeot and the first production car, Mercedes-Benz 260 D in 1936 by Mercedes-Benz. The main benefit of diesel engines is a 50% fuel burn efficiency compared with 27%[16] in the best gasoline engines. A down-side of the Diesel engine is that better filters are required to reduce the presence in the exhaust gases of fine soot particulates called diesel particulate matter. Manufacturers are now starting to fit[when?] diesel particulate filters to remove the soot. Many diesel-powered cars can run with little or no modifications on 100% biodiesel and combinations of other organic oils.

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. 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. 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.[16] Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) is now starting to appear in production vehicles such as the 2007 (Mark II) BMW 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 also are 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. Most gasoline engined cars can also run on LPG with the addition of an LPG tank for fuel storage and carburettor modifications to add an LPG mixer. 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

Biofuels

Main articles: Biofuel, Ethanol fuel, and biogasoline

Ethanol, other alcohol fuels (biobutanol) and biogasoline have widespread use an automotive fuel. 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 nation's automotive fuel needs, as a result of the mandatory use of E25 blend of gasoline throughout the country, 3 million cars that operate on pure ethanol, and 6 million dual or flexible-fuel vehicles sold since 2003.[17] that run on any mix of ethanol and gasoline. The commercial success of "flex" vehicles, as they are popularly known, have allowed sugarcane based ethanol fuel to achieve a 50% market share of the gasoline market by April 2008.[18][19][20]

Electric

Main articles: Battery electric vehicle, Hybrid vehicle, and Plug-in hybrid The Henney Kilowatt, the first modern (transistor-controlled) electric car. 2007 Tesla electric powered Roadster Tata/MDI OneCAT Air Car A CNG powered high-floor Neoplan AN440A, run on Compressed Natural Gas

The first electric cars were built around 1832, well before internal combustion powered cars appeared.[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. 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. 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. Some post-2000 electric car designs such as the Venturi Fétish are able to accelerate from 0-60 mph (96 km/h) in 4.0 seconds with a top speed around 130 mph (210 km/h). Others have a range of 250 miles (400 km) on the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) highway cycle requiring 3-1/2 hours to completely charge.[22] Equivalent fuel efficiency to internal combustion is not well defined but some press reports give it at around 135 miles per US gallon (1.74 L/100 km; 162 mpg-imp).

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 (although the newer models could achieve this in well under a minute). 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].

Air

Main article: Compressed-air car

A compressed air car is an alternative fuel car that uses a motor powered by compressed air. The car can be powered solely by air, or by air combined (as in a hybrid electric vehicle) with gasoline/diesel/ethanol or electric plant and regenerative braking. Instead of mixing fuel with air and burning it to drive pistons with hot expanding gases; compressed air cars use the expansion of compressed air to drive their pistons. Several prototypes are available already and scheduled for worldwide sale by the end of 2008, though this has not happened as of January 2009. Companies releasing this type of car include Tata Motors and Motor Development International (MDI).

Gas turbine

In the 1950s there was a brief interest in using gas turbine engines and several makers including Rover and Chrysler produced prototypes. 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. 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.

Rocket and jet cars

A rocket car holds the record in drag racing. 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 ThrustSSC car using two Rolls-Royce Spey turbofans with reheat was able to exceed the speed of sound at ground level in 1997.

Safety

Main articles: Car safety and Automobile accident Result of a serious automobile accident.

There are three main statistics to which automobile safety can be compared:[24]

Deaths per

billion journeys
Bus: 4.3
Rail: 20
Van: 20
Car: 40
Foot: 40
Water: 90
Air: 117
Bicycle: 170
Motorcycle: 1640
Deaths per

billion hours
Bus: 11.1
Rail: 30
Air: 30.8
Water: 50
Van: 60
Car: 130
Foot: 220
Bicycle: 550
Motorcycle: 4840
Deaths per

billion kilometres
Air: 0.05
Bus: 0.4
Rail: 0.6
Van: 1.2
Water: 2.6
Car: 3.1
Bicycle: 44.6
Foot: 54.2
Motorcycle: 108.9

While road traffic injuries represent the leading cause in worldwide injury-related deaths,[25] their popularity undermines this statistic.

Mary Ward became one of the first documented automobile fatalities in 1869 in Parsonstown, Ireland[26] and Henry Bliss one of the United States' first pedestrian automobile casualties in 1899 in New York.[27] There are now standard tests for safety in new automobiles, like the EuroNCAP and the US NCAP tests,[28] as well as insurance-backed IIHS tests.[29]

Costs and benefits

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (December 2007)
Further information: Automotive industry 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,[30] 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.[7]

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. 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]

Environmental impact

The examples and perspective in this section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article or discuss the issue on the talk page.
Further information: Global warming

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 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.[33]

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 (538,195 square feet) based on Primary production correlations.[34]

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.[35] 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.[36] Alternative fuel vehicles are another option that is less polluting than conventional petroleum powered vehicles.

Other negative effects

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.[25] Sprawl is more broadly a factor in inactivity and obesity, which in turn can lead to increased risk of a variety of diseases.[37]

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.

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.

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.

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, horseback riding and using a velomobile. Car-share arrangements and carpooling are also increasingly popular–the U.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. 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.[41]

See also

Main article: Outline of automobile

References

  1. ^ compiled by F.G. Fowler and H.W. Fowler. (1976). Pocket Oxford Dictionary. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-861113-7.
  2. ^ "WorldMapper - passenger cars". http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper/display.php?selected=31.
  3. ^ Plunkett Research, "Automobile Industry Introduction" (2008)
  4. ^ ""Car"". (etymology). Online Etymology Dictionary. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=car. Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
  5. ^ [1], 'Car' derived from 'carrus'.
  6. ^ "1679-1681–R P Verbiest's Steam Chariot". History of the Automobile: origin to 1900. Hergé. http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://users.skynet.be/tintinpassion/VOIRSAVOIR/Auto/Pages_auto/Auto_001.html&sa=X&oi=translate. Retrieved on 2009-05-08.
  7. ^ a b Setright, L. J. K. (2004). Drive On!: A Social History of the Motor Car. Granta Books. ISBN 1-86207-698-7.
  8. ^ "Automobile Invention". Aboutmycar.com. http://www.aboutmycar.com/category/car_history/creation_history/automobile-invention-1122.htm. Retrieved on 2008-10-27.
  9. ^ a b c Ralph Stein (1967). The Automobile Book. Paul Hamlyn Ltd.
  10. ^ Wakefield, Ernest H. (1994). History of the Electric Automobile. Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.. p. 2-3. ISBN 1-56091-299-5.
  11. ^ Burgess Wise, D. (1970). Veteran and Vintage Cars. London: Hamlyn. ISBN 0-600-00283-7.
  12. ^ a b c Georgano, N. (2000). Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. London: HMSO. ISBN 1-57958-293-1.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g Georgano, G. N. (2000). Vintage Cars 1886 to 1930. Sweden: AB Nordbok. ISBN 1-85501-926-4.
  14. ^ "Global Climate Change". U.S. Department of Energy. http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/climate.shtml. Retrieved on 2007-03-03.
  15. ^ "Economical Lion Brand Cars". Peugeot Automobiles. 2009-03-13. http://www.peugeot.com/en/history/a-century-of-expertise/economical-lion-brand-cars.aspx. Retrieved on 2009-03-13.
  16. ^ a b Norbye, Jan (1988). Automotive fuel injection Systems. Haynes Publishing. ISBN 0-85429-755-3.
  17. ^ "Veículos flex somam 6 milhões e alcançam 23% da frota" (in Portuguese). Folha Online. 2008-08-04. http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/dinheiro/ult91u428265.shtml. Retrieved on 2008-08-04.
  18. ^ Agência Brasil (2008-07-15). "ANP: consumo de álcool combustível é 50% maior em 2007" (in Portuguese). Invertia. http://br.invertia.com/noticias/noticia.aspx?idNoticia=200807152306_ABR_77211977. Retrieved on 2008-08-09.
  19. ^ Gazeta Mercantil (2008). "ANP estima que consumo de álcool supere gasolina" (in Portuguese). Agropecuária Brasil. http://www.agropecuariabrasil.com.br/anp-estima-que-consumo-de-alcool-supere-gasolina/. Retrieved on 2008-08-09.
  20. ^ Inslee, Jay; Bracken Hendricks (2007), Apollo's Fire, Island Press, Washington, D.C., pp. 153–155, 160–161, ISBN 978-1-59726-175-3 . See Chapter 6. Homegrown Energy.
  21. ^ Bellis, M. (2006) "The History of Electric Vehicles: The Early Years" About.com article at inventors.about.com accessed on 5 September 2007
  22. ^ Mitchell, T. (2003) "AC Propulsion Debuts tzero with LiIon Battery" AC Propulsion, Inc. press release at acpropulsion.com accessed 5 September 2007
  23. ^ Setright, L.J.K. "Steam: The Romantic Illusion", in Ward, Ian, ed., World of Automobiles (London: Orbis Publishing, 1974), pp.2168-2173.)
  24. ^ "The risks of travel". Numberwatch.co.uk. http://www.numberwatch.co.uk/risks_of_travel.htm. Retrieved on 2008-10-27.
  25. ^ a b Peden M, Scurfield R, Sleet D et al. (eds.) (2004). World report on road traffic injury prevention. World Health Organization. ISBN 92-4-156260-9. http://who.int/violence_injury_prevention/publications/road_traffic/world_report/en/. Retrieved on 2008-06-24.
  26. ^ "Mary Ward 1827–1869". Universityscience.ie. http://www.universityscience.ie/pages/scientists/sci_mary_ward.php. Retrieved on 2008-10-27.
  27. ^ "CityStreets - Bliss plaque". http://www.citystreets.org/plaque.html.
  28. ^ "SaferCar.gov - NHTSA". http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/testing/ncap/.
  29. ^ "Insurance Institute for Highway Safety". http://www.hwysafety.org/.
  30. ^ "car operating costs". my car. RACV. http://www.racv.com.au/wps/wcm/connect/Internet/Primary/my+car/advice+%26+information/car+operating+costs/. Retrieved on 2006-12-01.
  31. ^ John A. Jakle, Keith A. Sculle. (2004). Lots of Parking: Land Use in a Car Culture. Charlottesville: Univ. of Virginia Press. ISBN 0813922666.
  32. ^ "Clearing the Air". The Surface Transportation Policy Project. 2003-08-19. http://www.transact.org/report.asp?id=227. Retrieved on 2007-04-26.
  33. ^ "Emission Facts". United States Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.epa.gov/otaq/consumer/f00013.htm.
  34. ^ "ecological effects of automobiles". ecofx. http://ecofx.org/wiki/index.php?title=Automobiles.
  35. ^ "Automobiles and the Environment". Greenercars.com. Archived from the original on 2008-02-14. http://web.archive.org/web/20080214145812/http://www.greenercars.com/autoenviron.html.
  36. ^ ;"CAFE Overview - Frequently Asked Questions". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/cafe/overview.htm.
  37. ^ "Our Ailing Communities". Metropolis Magazine. http://www.metropolismag.com/cda/story.php?artid=2353.
  38. ^ Paul Werbos. "Who Killed the Electric car? My review". http://www.werbos.com/E/WhoKilledElecPJW.htm. Retrieved on 2007-04-10.
  39. ^ "Flexcar Expands to Philadelphia". Green Car Congress. 2007-04-02. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007/04/flexcar_expands.html.
  40. ^ "About Bike Share Programs". Tech Bikes MIT. Archived from the original on 2007-12-20. http://web.archive.org/web/20071220235050/http://web.mit.edu/dzshen/www/about.shtml.
  41. ^ Jane Holtz Kay (1998). Asphalt Nation: how the automobile took over America, and how we can take it back. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press. ISBN 0520216202.

Further reading

External links

Look up automobile in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Automobile
Wikisource has original text related to this article: California AB 1493
Automobile configurations
Part of the Automobile series
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Layout Front-engine, front-wheel drive layout · Front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout · Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout · Mid-engine, front-wheel drive layout · Rear-engine, rear-wheel drive layout
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Engine fuel type Diesel engine · Electric car · Gasoline engine · Hybrid vehicle · Hydrogen vehicle · Steam car
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Automotive design
Part of the Automobile series
Body
Framework Automobile platform • Body-on-frame • Bumper • Cabrio coach • Chassis • Continental tire • Crumple zone • Dagmar bumpers • Decklid • Fender • Fender skirts • Grille • Hood • Hood scoop • Monocoque construction • Overhang • Pillar • Pontoon fenders • Quarter panel • Shaker scoop • Spoiler • Subframe • Tonneau
Compartments Trunk/Boot/Dickie • Hood/Bonnet
Doors Butterfly doors • Gull-wing door • Scissor doors • Suicide door • Sliding doors • Canopy door
Glass Greenhouse • Sunroof • Power window • Quarter glass • Windshield/Windscreen • Windshield/Windscreen wiper
Other Curb feeler • Bumper sticker • Hood ornament • Japan Black paint • Monsoonshield • Nerf bar • Tire/Tyre • Tow hitch • Truck accessory
Exterior Equipment
Lighting Daytime running lamp • Headlamp • Hidden headlamps • High-intensity discharge lamp • Retroreflector • Sealed beam • Trafficators
Legal and other Vehicle Identification Number • Vehicle registration plate • Vanity plate • Parktronic • Motor vehicle theft • Windshield/Windscreen washer fluid • Wing mirror
Interior equipment
Instruments Backup camera • Boost gauge • Buzzer • Carputer • Electronic instrument cluster • Fuel gauge • Global Positioning System and Automotive navigation system • Head-up display • Idiot light • Malfunction Indicator Lamp • Night vision • Odometer • Radar detector • LIDAR detector • Speedometer • Tachometer • Trip computer
Controls Bowden cable • Cruise control (speed control) • Electronic throttle control • Gear stick • Hand brake • Manettino dial • Steering wheel • Throttle
Theft deterrence Key • Car alarm • Immobiliser • Klaxon • Automatic vehicle location • VIN etching
Safety & seating Airbag • Armrest • Automatic seat belt • Bench seat • Bucket seat • Child safety lock • Rumble seat • Seat belt
Other Air conditioning • Ancillary power • Car audio • Car phone • Center console • Dashboard • Flat tire • Glove compartment • Motorola connector • Power steering • Rear-view mirror • Sun visor
Portal • Category
Car engine
Part of the Automobile series
Air/Fuel Air filter · Air fuel ratio meter · Automatic Performance Control · Blowoff valve · Boost · Boost controller · Butterfly valve · Carburetor · Charge cooler · Centrifugal type supercharger · Cold air intake · Engine management system · Engine Control Unit · Forced induction · Front mounted intercooler · Fuel filter · Fuel injection · Fuel pump · Fuel tank · Gasoline direct injection · Indirect injection · Intake · Intercooler · Manifold · Manifold vacuum · Mass flow sensor · Naturally-aspirated engine · Piston · Ram-air intake · Scroll-type supercharger · Short ram air intake · Supercharger · Throttle body · Top mounted intercooler · Turbocharger · Turbocharged Direct Injection · Twin-turbo · Variable Length Intake Manifold · Variable geometry turbocharger · Warm air intake
Exhaust Catalytic converter · Emissions control devices · Exhaust pipe · Exhaust system · Glasspack · Muffler · Oxygen sensor
Cooling Aircooling · Antifreeze · Ethylene glycol · Radiator (engine cooling) · Thermostat
Ignition system Starter · Car battery · Contact breaker · Distributor · Electrical ballast · Ignition coil · Lead-acid battery · Magneto · Spark-ignition · Spark plug
Other Balance shaft · Block heater · Crank · Cam · Camshaft · Connecting rod · Combustion chamber · Crank pin · Crankshaft · Crossflow cylinder head · Crossplane · Desmodromic valve · Engine knocking · Compression ratio · Crank sensor · Cylinder · Cylinder bank · Cylinder block · Cylinder head · Cylinder head porting · Dump valve · Engine balance · Oil filter · Firing order · Freeze plug · Gasket · Head gasket · Hypereutectic piston · Hydrolock · Lean burn · Main bearing · Motor oil · Multi-valve · Oil sludge · Overhead camshaft · Overhead valve · PCV valve · Piston · Piston ring · Pneumatic valve gear · Poppet valve · Power band · Redline · Reverse-flow cylinder head · Rocker arm · Seal · Sleeve valve · Starter ring gear · Synthetic oil · Tappet · Timing belt · Timing mark · Top dead centre · Underdrive pulleys · Valve float · Variable valve timing
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Hybrid powertrains Hybrid vehicle drivetrain
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Transmission Automatic transmission · Clutch · Continuously Variable Transmission · Differential · Direct-Shift Gearbox · Drive shaft · Electrorheological clutch · Epicyclic gearing · Fluid coupling · Gear stick · Hydramatic · Limited slip differential · Locking differential · Manual transmission · multitronic · Roto Hydramatic · Saxomat · Semi-automatic transmission · Super Turbine 300 · tiptronic · Torque converter · Transaxle · Transmission Control Unit · Turbo-Hydramatic · Universal joint
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Suspension Axle · Axle track · Beam axle · Car handling · Coil spring · De Dion tube · Double wishbone · Hydragas · Hydrolastic · Hydropneumatic · Independent suspension · Leaf spring · Live axle · MacPherson strut · Multi-link suspension · Panhard rod · Shock absorber · Sway bar · Swing axle · Torsion bar · Trailing arm · Unsprung mass · Watt's linkage · Wheel alignment · Wheelbase
Brakes Anti-lock Braking System · Brake bleeding · Brake fade · Brake fluid · Brake lining · Disc brake · Drum brake · Electronic Brakeforce Distribution · Electronic Stability Control · Engine braking · Hand brake · Hydraulic brake · Hydraulic fluid · Inboard brake · Regenerative brake
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Categories: Vehicles | Automobiles

 

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'Automobile' Answers
Where are the electrical components of an automobile located?
Q. Automobile is very general so I would like to know the above except with the word automobile replaced "compact car" and "SUV". What I means by "electrical components" is the parts of the car that either use or are run by electricity. Forget the lights, i'm talking abou things that my affect or are related to the engine or things that make cars move or help control the way they move. Thanks ahead of time.
Asked by Simon Legree - Mon Dec 11 20:03:21 2006 - - 3 Answers - 0 Comments

A. Too board a subject: some cars have the pcm in the pass compartment other under the hood some left side some right side . You'll need to buy a book on the car or truck your working on to pin point stuff. Just too many part and places and too many makers with too many models.
Answered by Rudedude - Mon Dec 11 20:10:48 2006

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