Automobiles are vehicles powered by an engine and used to transport people. The word comes from the Latin auto (self) and ad-movis (to move). There are many different kinds of automobiles, some are made for racing or other types of competition, others are designed to be safe and comfortable. There are more than a billion cars in the world, and they are the most common form of transportation. People use them to go shopping, run errands and visit friends. They are also used to go to work and school.
The first self-propelled vehicle was a steam car built by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot of France in 1769. It could travel on wheels on land and via paddle wheel in water, but it was heavy and slow. During the late 1890s and early 1900s manufacturers developed several new steam-powered models. These cars were much lighter and faster than the Cugnot model, but they still had problems such as a need to wait for steam to heat up or to stop for fuel.
A German engineer, Gottlieb Daimler, may have fitted a horse carriage with an internal-combustion engine in about 1885, but Karl Benz is considered to have invented the modern motorcar when he developed his patented Benz Patent-Motorwagen in about 1886. It had a four-stroke engine and an internal combustion chamber, which was the first such engine to make an automobile viable.
During the next century, the automobile came to dominate the roads of Europe and North America. A number of innovations made cars easier to drive and more comfortable to ride in. These included power steering and brakes, electric windshield wipers and headlights, steel bodies, heaters, and more. The production methods introduced by American automaker Henry Ford revolutionized industrial manufacturing, and his mass-production assembly lines were a major influence worldwide.
Today, the automobile is one of the most important and widespread technologies in human history. It is a vital part of the global economy, and it makes daily life more convenient for millions of people. In the United States alone, it is estimated that people drive 4.8 trillion kilometers (3 trillion miles) on average each year.
Modern life would be almost inconceivable—if not impossible—without the automobile. It is a key technology that supports the global economy, and it is a major source of employment and economic growth in developing countries. In addition, the automobile is an important part of our culture. From the dependable Model Ts that rolled off Detroit’s assembly lines in the early 20th century to the artful mid-century modern designs that cruised U.S. highways in the 1950s to the high-performance sports cars that race each other on today’s racetracks, the automobile is an icon of the American dream and a symbol of the country’s rise as an industrial powerhouse. In fact, the nation’s very growth as an industrial giant was fueled by the automotive industry. The automobile is a remarkable invention with a long and complicated history.