Automobiles are a big part of people’s lives. They are needed to get from one place to another and to trade goods. People also use them to get to work and to visit family, friends, etc. Cars are very complicated machines that have many parts that work together. Many engineers and scientists work on them to make them better and safer.
Some cars run on electricity, but the majority of them use a gasoline-powered engine to propel them forward. Gasoline is a kind of oil that burns in the engine to produce power. This power is then sent to the wheels to make them turn. The engine, transmission, and steering are just a few of the systems in a vehicle.
Inventors and engineers have been working on vehicles for hundreds of years. The first automobile was made in the early 1880s by Karl Benz, an engineer from Germany. Other inventors and engineers came up with their own ideas for cars and improvements to existing ones. Then, in the early 1900s, Henry Ford, a businessman and engineer, revolutionized the way cars were made. Ford used the idea of an assembly line to make it easier for factories to produce more cars. This reduced the cost of the cars, so more people could afford them.
After World War I (1914-18) auto makers began making automobiles that were more comfortable to ride in and easier to operate. Steel bodies became common and heaters were installed. After World War II (1939-45) automakers started to add things like power steering and automatic controls.
Today, there are millions of automobiles in use around the world. These vehicles provide jobs for the many people who make and repair them. They give people the freedom to travel long distances and to do more things in their leisure time than they could do before automobiles were available. The automobile has also brought new services and businesses like hotels, motels, restaurants, amusement parks, and fast food outlets. The automobile can cause problems too, though. People can die in crashes, and air pollution from cars is a serious problem.
People can help prevent some of these problems by using public transportation instead of driving their own automobiles. Buses, trains (steam-powered, diesel-powered or electric), monorail and trams can all take people where they want to go more quickly and cheaply than an automobile. They can also be more fuel efficient than a car. And they don’t pollute the environment as much as a car does. Cars can be very dangerous if they crash, so many people wear seat belts when they drive them.
