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Revision as of 23:59, 29 December 2004 by 200.144.29.45 (talk) (→Safety)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)- Car redirects here. For alternate meanings of car, see Car (disambiguation).
An automobile, usually called a car (an old word for carriage) or a truck, is a wheeled vehicle that carries its own engine. Older terms include horseless carriage and motor car, with "motor" referring to what is now usually called the engine. The act of operating an automobile is called driving. An automobile has seats for the driver and, almost without exception, for at least one passenger.
General
Automobiles are designed to travel on roads, although some, notably sport utility vehicles (also called off-road vehicles), allow off-road driving. Roads and highways are shared with other traffic such as motorcycles, tractor trailers, farm implements, and bicycles.
The typical vehicle has an internal combustion engine, although in 2001, hybrid cars powered by gas-electric hybrid engines began to enter the market. Other vehicles run on electricity and fuel cells, though these are not widely available as of 2004. While most cars have four wheels, three-wheeled automobiles have also been built, but are not common due to stability problems. Some gyrocar, two wheeled automobiles have been built as well, using gyroscopic stabilization.
There are many classes of car and car body styles.
Where I write?
Safety
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See also
Major possible subsystems
- Ancillary power - mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, vacuum, air
- drivetrain
- body
- crumple zones
- monocoque (or unibody) construction
- suicide doors
- interior equipment
- passive safety
- controls
- seats
- ancillary equipment such as stereos, air conditioning, cruise control, car phones, positioning systems, cup holders, etc.
- exterior equipment
- windows
Related topics
Lists and categories
- Automobiles category
- Automotive technologies category
- List of automobile manufacturers
- List of famous automobiles
Articles
- ambulance
- armored car
- auto show
- carfree movement
- crash
- diesel cycle; four-stroke cycle; two-stroke cycle; Miller cycle; Atkinson Cycle
- effects of the automobile on society
- forklift
- future of the car
- flying car
- greenhouse gas
- Hybrid car
- High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV)
- license plate
- parking
- parking meter
- parking ramp
- Personal Rapid Transit (Proposed as an alternative to cars)
- power transfer
- public road
- Reclaim the Streets
- Station wagon
- road
- road safety
- tank
- traffic law
- truck
- urban car
- Woodie
- Stirling engine
External links
- Template:Wia
- EuroNCAP
- U.S. Department of Transport Fatal Accident Statistics
- National Transportation Safety Board
- Gas milleage impact calculator.
Images of automobiles, past and present
Images can also be found on the Wikimedia Commons "car" page and on the Misplaced Pages automobile gallery
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