Automobile

hide

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

For more information about Automobile, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with car

results timeline


Braking news: Particles from car brakes harm lung cells

Medicine & Health / Research

created Nov 20, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Real-life particles released by car brake pads can harm lung cells in vitro. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology found that heavy braking, as in an emergency stop, caused ...


Cars sit in traffic on a highway

Netherlands to levy 'green' road tax by the kilometre

Technology / Hi Tech

created Nov 13, 2009 | popularity 3.2 / 5 (5) | comments 8

The Dutch government said Friday it wants to introduce a "green" road tax by the kilometre from 2012 aimed at cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 10 percent and halving congestion.


Expert advises automakers to take it slow on road to recovery

Other Sciences / Economics

created Nov 13, 2009 | popularity 2 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Supply chain expert Panos Kouvelis says it's time for the auto industry to go through a period of capacity rationalization.


Road trains may be coming soon to Europe

Road trains may be coming soon to Europe (w/ Video)

Technology / Engineering

created Nov 13, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (18) | comments 22

(PhysOrg.com) -- Road trains linking vehicles together in a traveling convoy are planned for Europe. With only the lead vehicle being actively driven, the road trains would allow commuters to sleep, read a ...


Chairman and CEO of Renault-Nissan Alliance Carlos Ghosn

Electric cars need government support: Nissan-Renault CEO

Technology / Energy

created Nov 12, 2009 | popularity 2.3 / 5 (3) | comments 1

Electric cars could help China and other countries reduce their dependency on oil but the government must provide incentive to make the shift, Nissan and Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn said Thursday.


Switching Gears to Greener Transportation

Switching Gears to Greener Transportation

Technology / Energy

created Nov 10, 2009 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (4) | comments 3

Automakers around the world continue to slowly infuse their cars and trucks with greener, more efficient technology, but researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute contend that technology alone will not ...


Tesla Roadster

Tesla Roadster Goes 313 Miles on a Single Charge

Technology / Energy

created Nov 09, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (14) | comments 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- Tesla is becoming synonymous with high performance electric cars. Indeed, the Tesla car company has been making efforts to create a brand of sports car that runs on electricity, and does so ...


airpod

Car That Runs on Compressed Air Questioned by Critics (w/ Video)

Technology / Energy

created Nov 03, 2009 | popularity 3.8 / 5 (21) | comments 38

(PhysOrg.com) -- As electric cars begin breaking into the short-distance vehicle market, one French company thinks that it has an alternative to the electric vehicle: a car that runs on compressed air. Motor ...


Driver-less car in high-speed rally assault

Technology / Engineering

created Nov 02, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (16) | comments 3

Imagine driving at top speed on a steep, winding mountain pass in the Alps, or the Himalayas, or the Rocky Mountains.


NEC's "Tele Scouter"

Two Retinal Imaging Display Devices at Prototype Stage

Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets

created Oct 30, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (28) | comments 9

(PhysOrg.com) -- NEC and Brother are both developing wearable prototype devices that use Retinal Imaging Display (RID) technology to project images directly on the wearer's retina. NEC's gadget is designed ...


North America automobile sector bottom of 'world sustainability league'

Other Sciences / Economics

created Oct 30, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (5) | comments 1

North American car manufacturers have come bottom of the league in the largest ever international study of the global automobile sector's sustainability performance.


Japanese car wins World Solar Challenge in Australia

Japanese car wins World Solar Challenge in Australia (w/ Video)

Technology / Energy

created Oct 28, 2009 | popularity 3.8 / 5 (6) | comments 2

A Japanese sun-powered car won the World Solar Challenge on Wednesday after averaging speeds of more than 100 kilometres (62 miles) per hour in a four-day race through Australia's desert Outback.


Joe Biden speaks at the former GM Boxwood Plant in Wilmington

Hybrid automaker Fisker to buy shuttered GM plant

Technology / Energy

created Oct 27, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (4) | comments 3

Budding US hybrid car maker Fisker Automotive will reopen a shuttered General Motors plant in Delaware to build fuel-efficient, plug-in cars, the White House announced Tuesday.


Toyota to release solar charger for electric vehicles

Toyota to release solar charger for electric vehicles

Technology / Energy

created Oct 27, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (26) | comments 10

(PhysOrg.com) -- Toyota is developing a solar charging station for electric cars and plug-in hybrids, making a green technology even greener. It has also designed a battery charger for mounting inside an electric ...


Japanese solar car leads race Down Under

Technology / Energy

created Oct 26, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Japan's Tokai Challenger was on Monday leading a solar car race across the harsh Australian Outback, having covered about half of the 3,000 kilometre (1,860 mile) desert course, officials said.