Automobile info

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Car info

chapters in the history of transport. Worldwide, there are more than 400 million passenger cars and over 100 million light trucks such as vans and pickups. Millions of people use their cars to help them earn a living or to travel for pleasure. People in the United States often refer to cars as automobiles. In Britain and many other countries, they are sometimes called motorcars.

Most of the world's cars are in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Western Europe. Ways of life have changed greatly in all those countries because of the car. Farm families no longer live lonely lives. In most countries, their cars put them within easy reach of cities and towns. Increased mobility for all types of people has led to greater enjoyment of leisure time. The development of the car has meant that city dwellers can travel into the country for a relaxing break, and people can visit relatives living in remote or distant areas.

The wide use of the car has brought about many features of life today. Many of these features are associated with the United States, the country in which widespread use of the car first developed. They include out-of-town shopping centres, motels, and several kinds of drive-ins, including restaurants, banks, and cinemas. Huge roads and motorways, built mainly for cars, are found in many countries.

Before people had cars to drive, they generally walked or rode bicycles when travelling short distances. Most long-distance travel was by railway, tram, or some kind of horse-drawn carriage. In fact, the early cars were sometimes called "horseless carriages."

The origin of the car can be traced to Europe. But it became a major form of transportation first in the United States. Most European cars were built by hand, and were expensive. Only rich people could afford them. In the early 1900's, Ransom E. Olds, Henry Ford, and other pioneers began mass-producing cars. Although some people disliked the "horseless carriage," many welcomed the introduction of the new machine because it would replace horse-drawn carriages. Unsightly horse droppings would no longer litter the streets, creating a terrible stench and attracting disease-bearing flies. No longer would people be burdened by the need to keep horses or be limited to travelling short distances.