Automobiles are usually four-wheeled vehicles designed primarily for passenger transportation and propelled by an internal combustion engine using a volatile fuel. Modern automobiles are complex technical systems involving multiple subsystems. Engineering, design and development are influenced by factors such as consumer demand for safety, economy and performance, environmental concerns, government regulations and economic conditions. New technological developments often result from research and development efforts by automotive manufacturers and their suppliers. These include advancements in computer and electronics technology, high-strength plastics and alloys of metals, advanced mechanical and electrical systems, and innovative fuel and power sources.
During the last century, the automobile has changed people’s lives by opening up new opportunities for work and recreation. It has also impacted on the economy, creating jobs in related industries and opening up new service areas such as motels, hotels, restaurants and fast food. It has brought harm to the environment, as well – exhaust from cars contributes to pollution, and automobiles have been a major drain on dwindling world oil reserves.
People can travel long distances in an automobile, which makes it easier for them to live and work in different places. This helps people to broaden their social circle, find more employment possibilities, and change their careers or lifestyles. The automobile has also contributed to the development of leisure activities, such as amusement parks and other recreational services, and it has opened up new ways for families to spend vacations.
The first modern automobile was developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Gottlieb Daimler, Karl Benz, and others. These early “horseless carriages” were little more than lightweight buggies with engines, and they were expensive and unreliable. Henry Ford’s innovations, including the assembly line, revolutionized industrial manufacturing and made automobiles more affordable for the middle class.
Today, automobiles are the most common form of personal transportation. The world has more than 1.4 billion of them in operation, and they cover more than three trillion miles (five trillion kilometers) each year. The United States has the largest number of cars, followed by Western European countries and Japan.
Automobiles allow people to move from place to place more easily and quickly than they could before the automobile’s invention. They make it possible to live in one place and work in another, and they provide a way to visit friends and family living far away. But the automobile can also be dangerous when people drive recklessly, and it causes environmental damage when a lot of them are used at once.
The car industry has been a major source of profit for the world’s economies, especially in the first half of the 20th century. But its production methods and quality have deteriorated over time. In the mid-1960s, American-made automobiles had an average of twenty-four defects a vehicle, most of them safety-related. Moreover, the profits that Detroit has made on gas-guzzling “road cruisers” have come at a great cost in human life and at the expense of the environment.