Automobiles, also called motor cars or automobiles, are four-wheeled vehicles designed primarily for passenger transportation and commonly powered by an internal combustion engine using a volatile fuel. Modern automobiles are complex technical systems involving thousands of subsystems with specific design functions, and they are subject to stringent requirements for emissions control, safety, and crashworthiness.
The automobile revolutionized modern life. Its advent allowed people to escape the constraints of public transport, shopping and socializing and to work at home or wherever they chose. It gave children a chance to rediscover pristine landscapes and helped parents reclaim a measure of family time. It enabled urban dwellers to rediscover a sense of place and helped rural dwellers shop in towns and cities. It allowed couples to spend more time together, and it facilitated the growth of sexual freedoms. It created new jobs in a host of industries such as vulcanized rubber, road construction and fuel production. But it brought a price: Traffic congestion increased, and accidents and deaths increased. Americans began to demand licensure and safety regulation.
Exactly who invented the automobile remains a matter of some debate, but historians have generally agreed that the first modern car was developed in Germany and France toward the end of the 1800s by such men as Gottlieb Daimler, Karl Benz, and Nicolaus Otto. In the United States, Henry Ford innovated mass production techniques and established Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler as the Big Three auto manufacturers by the 1920s.
With an immense land area and a hinterland of scattered and isolated settlements, the American market was ideally suited for large-scale car manufacturing and sales. Its consumers were wealthier and more evenly distributed than those in Europe, and cheap raw materials encouraged the mechanization of industry. And the absence of tariff barriers boosted sales across a wide geographical region, encouraging manufacturers to establish plants with easy access to raw materials and skilled labor.
Today, car makers continue to push the limits of technology, performance, and safety in a quest to satisfy ever-increasing consumer demands. While many of these cars are still powered by petroleum-based energy sources, a number are also equipped with alternative power and are gaining in popularity among environmentally conscious buyers. The most popular alternative-fuel cars are hybrids, which combine a gas or electric motor with an ordinary gasoline engine. Kia and Hyundai have made a name for themselves with futuristic, plug-in models, while BMW’s i3 has earned the top spot in Consumer Reports’ list of small and affordable hybrids. Subaru’s Forester is a top pick for crunchy suburbanites, and the German luxury brand BMW has an impressive line of SUVs that were recently named to Business Insider’s Top 10 Best Driver’s Choice lists. The Volkswagen Passat, which offers excellent value and a luxurious interior, is another winner in this category. The 10Best lists are compiled by a panel of automotive journalists and editors, who use extensive testing, crash-testing, and real-world data to determine which models are the best in their respective categories.