Automobile

A car is a small driver-guiding, passenger carrying motor vehicle, originally the automated version of the horse-drawn carriage, meant to convey people and their goods over streets and roads.

Over 50 million motor cars are produced each year worldwide. Most are four-wheeled and have water-cooled, piston-type internal combustion engines fuelled by petrol or diesel. Variations have existed for decades that use ingenious and non-polluting power plants, but the motor industry long ago settled on this general formula for the consumer market. Experimental and sports models are streamlined, energy-efficient and hand-built.

The first internal combustion engine (gas-driven) was patented by a Frenchman, Jean Lenoir in 1860. Siegfried Marcus from Austria built a vehicle that was shown in 1873 at Vienna Exhibition. But two Germans, Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz are generally regarded as the creators of the motorcar. In 1885 Daimler and Benz built and ran the first petrol-driven motorcar. Daimler built a very efficient engine and Benz designed a car.

The pattern for the modern motorcar was set by Packard in 1891 (front radiator, Daimler engine under bonnet, sliding-pinion gearbox and wooden-ladder chassis). Mercedes in 1901 introduced honeycomb radiator, in-line-four-cylinder engine, gate-change gearbox and pressed-steel chassis. By 1895 about 300 car manufacturers existed; only 109 were left by 1900.

The period 1905-1906 inaugurated a world motorcar boom continuing to the present day. Among the legendary cars of the early 20^th century are: De Dion Bouton with the first practical high-speed engines, Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, the endurable Model T Ford and the many types of Bugatti and Delage from record-breakers to luxury tourers.

After World War I popular motoring began with the era of cheap, light cars made by Citroen, Peugeot, and Renault (France), Austin, Morris, Clyno and Swift (England), Fiat (Italy), Volkswagen (Germany), and big and relatively cheap Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge in the USA. During the interwar years a great deal of racing took place, and the experience gained benefited carmakers in improving efficiency, reliability and safety of their products.

There was a difference between lighter, economical European cars with good handling and heavier US cars, cheap, rugged, and well adapted to long distances on straight roads at high speed. By this time motoring had become a universal pursuit.

After World War II small European cars tended to fall into three categories: front engine and rear drive (the classic arrangement), front engine and front-wheel drive; rear engine and rear-wheel drive. Racing cars had the engine situated in the middle for balance.

From 1950 an automatic transmission, rubber suspension, transverse engine mounting, disc brakes and safer wet-weather tires were introduced for small private cars. In 1980s high-performance diesel engines were developed for use in private cars and this trend continues for reasons of economy.

By the mid-1980s, Japan was building 8 million cars a year, on a par with the US. The largest Japanese manufacturer, Toyota, was producing 2.5 million cars per year.

In 2005, 63 million cars and light trucks were produced worldwide. The world biggest car producer is the European Union (29%). In Eastern Europe (including Russia) another 4% are produced. The second producer is North American Financial and Technology Association (NAFTA) with 25%, Japan 17%, China 8%. The automobile industry is dominated by large corporations such as General Motors, Toyota and Ford Motor Company. Toyota has almost reached position No.1. The most profitable per-unit carmaker of recent years has been Porsche.

Дата добавления: 2014-10-15