Automobile
The automobile, or car, was invented in the 19th century by Karl Friedrich Benz, a German engineer. But it was Henry Ford, an American, who made the automobile popular by mass-producing it on the world's first moving automotive assembly line in Detroit, which became the "Automobile Capital of the World" in the 1950s.
The term "car" covers a wide variety of vehicles from "micro-city" cars to full sized body on frame pickup trucks. They have become a status symbol for people and are widely customizable. They most commonly use internal combustion engines. Cars use roads in order to transport travelers from one place to another (compare trains).
Manufacture
It is often difficult to tell if a car is a domestically or foreign produced vehicle simply by the name of the manufacturer. For example, in 2006 Japanese manufacturer Toyota had 14 manufacturing plants in North America producing parts and cars such as the Camry, while American manufacture General Motors has operations in Mexico producing trucks such as the Silverado and Suburban for export to the United States.
Major car companies include Ford, General Motors(or GM), Chrysler, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mazda, BMW, Mercedes-Benz. Major American based manufacturers include Ford and General Motors, produce several brands such as Mercury, Lincoln, Chevrolet, and Hummer, however these often have many of the same "platforms" or basic car components.
Fuel
President Bush has urged car manufacturers to produce cars that can run on renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel, to cut down on America's dependence on foreign oil. Several manufacturers are also developing electric cars, hybrid cars and plug in hybrids.
Racing
Automobile racing is quite popular world wide, with several variations including:
External links
Bibliography
- CAR Research Memorandum. "The Impact of the U.S. Economy of a Major Contraction of the Detroit Three Automakers" (Nov 2008) online edition
- May, George S. ed. The Automobile Industry, 1920-1980 (1989), 520ppl comprehensive encyclopedia