Energ

gy[change | change source]

s
To make a car move, it must have e energy to tu
urn the wheels. This enerrgy might be chemical
energy inn gasoline or electrical energy in a batttery. How quuickly the eng
gine or motorr can send th
he
energy too the wheels, and how mu uch energy iss sent, is called the power of the moto
or. The power of a
car is usu
ually measureed in kilowattts or horsepoower.

Gasoliine[changee | change source]

As of 20119, most carss burn a fuel to make an internal combbustion engin
ne (sometimees called a
"motor") run.
r The pow wer from the engine
e then goes
g to the wheels
w throug
gh a transmission, which has
a set of gears
g that can
n make the car
c go faster or slower. Thhe most commmon fuel is petrol,
p which is
called "ga
asoline" or "g
gas" in Ameriican English..
Gasoline is called a fo
ossil fuel beccause it comees from tiny fossils
f that were
w made miillions of years
ago. Over millions of years,
y they tuurned into oil, which was then drilled up
u from deep p inside
the Earth, and then tu
urned into fue el by chemicaal changes. Old
O gasoline--powered carrs are noisy anda
their exha
aust makes city
c air dirty, which
w can make people ill. But cars made
m after the
e mid-2010s are
cleaner.[1]]
Burning gasoline,
g like any kind of fossil
f fuel, makes
m carbon
n dioxide, whiich makes global warming.
Since 201
17, less gasooline powered d cars are be eing made,[2][[3] and some places will no
ot allow gaso
oline-
powered cars in future erdam in 2030.[4]
e, like Amste

Batteries[changee | change source]

How an electric car work

ks

The cleannest cars aree electric vehicles. They are

a usually pllugged into a power outle et or a charging
station an
nd store elec
ctricity in a ba
attery at the bottom
b of the
e car. The ele
ectricity then drives an ele
ectric
motor, whhich turns the
e wheels. So ome electric cars
c have 2 motors:
m one at
a the front, and
a one at th he
back. A fe
ew have 4 motors
m (one fo
or each whee el).[5]

Other sources of energ

gy[change | change soource]
Some carrs burn diese el fuel, which is used in biig trucks and
d buses, and a few use wood gas. In some
s
countries, such as Bra azil and Sweeden, a mixtuure of ethanol and gasolinne, called
"gasohol"" in Brazil and
d "E85" in Swweden, is use ed as automobile fuel. Otther fuels
include propane, natu ural gas, commpressed air, and ethanol (which come es from plantts). There are
e
cars designed to run ono more than n one type off fuel — these are called "flex-fuel" an
nd are rare.
A few cars generate electricity from hydrogen fuel cells (like the Honda Clarity). As of 2019, most of
the hydrogen that people use comes from burning fossil fuels, but scientists and engineers are trying
to make hydrogen from renewable energy a lot cheaper and easier to use.

Solar-powered car

Some cars even use solar cells for their electricity, but they are not very practical. There is
a competition every year where people try to design a car that can last the longest and go the
farthest on solar energy alone.
There is also a type of car that uses both an engine and an electric motor. This is called a hybrid
electric vehicle; an example is the Toyota Prius.

Regenerative Brakes[change | change source]

All cars have brakes which work by friction to stop the car quickly in an emergency or stop it rolling
when parked. Electric cars also have regenerative brakes, which slow the car by turning the energy
in its movement back into electricity, like an electric motor working the opposite way.
So regenerative means the electricity is generated again.

History[change | change source]

The first Benz Patent Motorwagen

The earliest recorded automobiles were actually steam engines attached to wagons in the late 18th
century. The steam engines were heavy, making these wagons slow and hard to control. Better and
faster steam cars became common late in the 19th century.
Some cars in the early 20th century were powered by electricity. They were slow and heavy and
went out of use until the idea came back later in the century.
The internal combustion engine changed the way many automobiles were powered. The engine
used either gasoline, diesel, or kerosene to work. When the fuel is exploded in a cylinder it pushes
the piston down and turns the wheels.
Although many people tried to make a good car that would work and sell well, people say that Karl
Benz invented the modern automobile. He used a four-stroke type of internal combustion engine to
power his Benz Patent-Motorwagen in 1886. He began to make many cars in a factory and sell them
in Germany in 1888.
In North America, the first modern car was made by brothers Charles and J. Frank Duryea
in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Duryea brothers' car also won the first-ever car race in 1895,
competing against cars made by Benz. The race was in Chicago, Illinois, and 53 miles long. The
Duryeas then began making the first automobiles for everyday use in 1896. That year, they made 13
cars by hand in Springfield, Massachusetts.

The Ford Model T was the first car sold at a price most people could afford

Benz may have invented the first modern car, and the Duryeas the first car to be sold, but Henry
Ford sold the most cars to the most people. In 1910 he began making and selling his Model T, which
was a huge success. Many people could afford this car, not just the rich, because Ford used mass
production. This meant he made many Model Ts in a short time in a factory. People say that the
Model T is the car that "put America on wheels". The Model T was the most popular car of the time
because it was cheap but it was still a good quality car that ordinary people could own.
Since then, many different kinds of cars have been designed and built, from minivans to sports cars.
In the 1950s, the United States made and used more cars than all the rest of the world. Fifty years
later, China became the largest maker and user of cars.

Advantages[change | change source]

The Ford Ka, a small, efficient car

Cars are faster than walking or riding a bike if you are going a long way. They can carry more than
one person and a large amount of luggage. Depending on local public transport quality, they can
also be faster and far more convenient than using buses, bicycles or trains, and can often go where
public transport cannot. 4-wheel drive "off road" vehicles are particularly good at reaching places
difficult for other wheeled transport due to bad roads or harsh terrain. However, they cost more and
burn more fuel, and there are many places even they cannot go.
Most cars enclose people and cargo in a closed compartment with a roof, doors and windows, thus
giving protection from weather. Modern cars give further protection in case of collisions, as they
have added safety features such as seat belts, airbags, crumple zones and side-impact protection
that would be expensive or impossible on two-wheeled or light 3-wheeled vehicles, or most buses.
With regular check ups and service, cars can last a very long time. In some countries like Australia,
you have to get your car checked by authorised mechanics regularly by law to confirm that your car
is safe to drive. You can go to a car mechanic to get your car checked or have a mobile mechanic
come to you to repair your car.

Disadvantages[change | change source]

Buying and running a car needs a lot of money, especially for newer good-quality cars. There are
things to pay for — the car itself, fuel, parts (for example, tyres), maintenance, repairs, insurance to
cover the cost of crashes or theft, parking charges, and toll roads and any taxes or
licensing fees charged by the government.
When cars crash, they can become damaged and hurt people, and the life of a person is more
important than keeping a car from damage. When too many cars try to go the same way, traffic
congestion slows them all. Cars can cause air pollution if too many are used in a small area like a
city, and the combined pollution of the world's cars is partly to blame for climate change. Many
places where people live close together have public transportation such as
buses, trains, trams and subways. These can help people go more quickly and cheaply than by car
when traffic jams are a problem. Some of these problems can be made smaller, for example
by carpooling, which is putting many people together in one car.
Traffic congestion and accidents can be dangerous to other road users, for example people
riding bicycles or walking, especially in an old town built when cars were few. Some 20th century
towns are designed for cars as the main transport. This can cause other problems, such as even
more pollution and traffic, as few, if any, people walk. Communities are divided and separated by big
roads. Pedestrians are in danger where there are too few foot bridges, small road bridges or other
special crossings.