Cars and the Future

An automobile is the correct name for the motor car (that we shorten to 'car' nowadays). It is a wheeled vehicle which is designed to carry passengers and has its own motor. When we use the term car we are generally referring to a vehicle that is designed to run on a road and carry people rather than good of some kind. Generally a car will carry between 1and 8 passengers. We also generally assume that the vehicle will run on four wheels. Although, these factors are the usual assumption, this is not always the case. In the early part of the 21st Century there was estimated to be more than 590 million passenger cars being used worldwide.

With the growing concern over 'greener' forms of fuel and transport in order to reduce the amount of emissions we produce globally, the car is also 'going green'. With so many vehicles in use worldwide it is no surprise that transportation is a huge contributor to air pollution. In the US alone, the average family car produces more than 5 tonne of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere every year.

Fuel taxes are being used in many countries to encourage people to use more efficient cars and fuels, and are a contributing factor to the hunt for alternative fuels. It works on the principle that a higher tax rate will encourage consumers to buy smaller more efficient cars that do not use so much fuel, or to leave the car at home where this is possible.

The fuels of the future that are being developed at the moment, whilst primarily still in concept stages, include gas/electric, plug in hybrids, battery engines, hydrogen and other alternative fuels. The body of cars at the moment are generally built from steel and this is being developed into other more economically friendly materials as well. Currently, research is being conducted into the use of fiberglass, carbon nanotubes and duraluminum to name a few.