Cars have revolutionized human life and become an essential form of transportation. From the invention of the wheel to the electric car, we explore its evolutionary journey.
A car is a vehicle with four wheels that travels on the road using various types of petroleum fuel as a power source. The automobile in the sense of the term appeared in the 17th century, made possible by the steam engine. Cars are the main form of transportation both domestically and internationally, and buses, which are classified as public transportation, can be considered a type of car, so their influence on transportation around the world is enormous. Automobiles are an indispensable and essential means of transportation in modern society, contributing greatly to the convenience of life and economic development.
The wheels that make up the car, which directly contact the ground and contribute to its movement, are considered one of the greatest inventions in human history, with the discoid wheels that appeared around 5000 BC being the first of their kind. During the Ur Dynasty of Mesopotamia, the first two-wheeled carts were invented, consisting of two disc-shaped wheels with a hole drilled in the center and a wooden wedge driven into an axle that was secured under the sled. The Ur Dynasty of the Sumerians introduced the four-wheeled chariot, which contributed greatly to the transportation of goods, but the roads they traveled were not maintained, making transportation difficult compared to today. The Sumerians’ wars led to the invention of chariots, a combination of four-wheeled chariots and horses, and around 2000 BC, the spoked wheel, a type of wheel with spokes connecting the center and rim wheels, appeared. As chariots continued to become more popular, spoked wheels became increasingly practical, and they remained so until the 19th century, with no significant changes in appearance. The wheels used in today’s automobiles also have something in common in that they are basically spoked wheels, except that the shape of the spokes has varied exponentially.
If it’s the wheels that roll when a car moves, it’s the engine that provides the power to do so. Most automobile engines are internal combustion engines, and of course, in the early days of automobiles, external combustion engines, including steam engines, were used. Steam-powered cars were widely used before the advent of gasoline cars, and they became popular in Europe in the early 19th century, mainly as suburban buses. By the end of the 19th century, small cars for personal use showed signs of becoming widespread, but the invention of the more powerful and simpler gasoline engine put an end to this. Steam-powered cars were commercialized by the early 1900s, and while they performed well and were easy to drive, they had flaws such as heavy weight and a long time between firing up and running. Since the steam engine, cars using internal combustion engines have been facing problems due to environmental pollution such as exhaust fumes in the modern era, and electric vehicles are being developed to compensate for this, and have recently reached the stage of commercialization. Both external combustion engines, including steam engines, and internal combustion engines, which are mainly used in modern cars, are heat engines, which generate power by converting heat energy generated by burning fuel into mechanical energy. They are classified into external combustion engines and internal combustion engines depending on whether the fuel is burned outside or inside the cylinder. Since the former is less thermally efficient than the latter, internal combustion engines are currently used.
Car engines can be classified into diesel engines, gasoline engines, gas engines, and oil engines according to the fuel they use. Diesel engines use spontaneous combustion by injecting fuel into the air, while the rest are ignited by spark plugs. Internal combustion engines are classified into four-stroke and two-stroke cycle types according to the movement of the piston. In the case of a four-stroke gasoline engine, power is obtained from fuel through four stages: intake, compression, detonation, and exhaust. In this process, the crankshaft rotates twice, but the difference is that the piston rotates the crankshaft only once in a two-stroke engine compared to a four-stroke engine: the piston rises once to produce intake and compression, and falls once to produce explosion and exhaust. To summarize, a four-stroke engine is an engine in which the piston goes through four strokes to complete one cycle and the crankshaft rotates twice, while a two-stroke engine is an engine in which the piston goes through two strokes to complete one cycle and the crankshaft rotates once.
In addition to the wheels and engine, today’s automobile can be described as having two main parts: the body and the chassis. The body is the space where people or cargo are carried, while the chassis is the part that contributes to the car’s movement. The main body is literally the skeleton of the car, which has to withstand the weight of people and cargo and resist external shocks and internal vibrations. The exterior is what you see when you look at a car from the outside, and it’s what gives cars from different brands like Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce, and others their distinctive look. The interior is made up of the internal devices that are responsible for the basic health and safety of the car. The most important part of the chassis is the engine, along with the transmission that transmits the power generated by the engine to the wheels. The frame that encloses the body of the car is also classified as a chassis, as are the steering, braking, and suspension systems.
The automobile owes a lot to the man Henry Ford. Ford, whose career spanned the late 19th and early 20th centuries, famously said, “You have to make things for the 95 percent, not the 5 percent.” During Ford’s time in the automotive industry, cars were a luxury item. For the general public, cars were unwieldy forms of transportation and out of reach of working people’s incomes. After joining Edison’s electric company in his 20s, Ford worked on the internal combustion engine, and by the age of 32, he had invented a four-wheel drive car that used tires. The cars he introduced to the market after founding Ford Motor Company were too expensive for the masses, but he worked to lower the price point, introducing the Ford T model and making it accessible to workers. The lower price point was achieved by simplifying and standardizing the production process, and in 1913, Ford introduced the first assembly system using conveyor belts, ushering in the era of mass production of automobiles. It’s no exaggeration to say that Ford’s introduction of the line production system is responsible for the line belts and long lines of workers that often appear in classic 20th century movies. This conveyor process made Ford more than five times more efficient than its competitors and cut the price of the Model T in half. This tremendous market competitiveness, coupled with the opening of the interstate highway system in the United States, ushered in an era of economic revival. In short, Ford is arguably the most influential figure in the history of the automobile.
Today’s cars are often categorized by their appearance. A typical car with four doors is called a sedan, while an SUV has a higher wheelbase and ground clearance than a sedan. Coupes also have two doors, unlike sedans. A car with a retractable ceiling is called a convertible, while a limousine has an elongated rear end when viewed from the side. Wagons have a horizontal ceiling all the way to the rear trunk, and vans have a relatively large and spacious back row. In pickup trucks, the unroofed storage space occupies the back of the body. Despite the fact that there are many ambiguities in this classification, it’s the one that most people use when talking about types of cars.
Cars are undeniably an important and influential form of transportation in modern life, but their use of fossil fuels has the disadvantage of contributing to global warming and the possibility of their depletion. As a result, there is a lot of research going on in the field of fuel-efficient vehicles, such as electric and hydrogen vehicles. Electric cars are cars that are powered by electricity, which means they have zero emissions and are completely silent. The main difference is that the engine is replaced by an electric motor compared to a conventional car, so the battery that supplies energy is important, and miniaturization, lightweight, and reduction of charging time are becoming important issues for commercialization. Hydrogen vehicles have the advantage of producing only a small amount of nitrogen oxides after combustion, so they do not contribute to pollution problems. The basic raw material is water, which is returned to the environment after use, so there is no need to worry about depletion. However, the storage method of hydrogen, whether it is liquefied hydrogen or metal hydride, is not yet fully practical, as technical problems have hindered commercialization.
Research on electric and hydrogen vehicles is still ongoing. Many automakers are investing heavily in research and development to develop environmentally friendly and economical models, and the demand for eco-friendly vehicles is growing rapidly around the world. Electric vehicles, in particular, are experiencing rapid growth due to the expansion of charging infrastructure and advances in battery technology. In response, governments and private companies are working together to introduce various policies and programs to increase the penetration of electric vehicles. This is expected to ultimately contribute to a reduction in carbon emissions and improved air quality.
The automobile is an invention of the human desire to travel between distant places, and although it is ubiquitous, it is still considered indispensable even in advanced societies. The automobile is not yet completely free from the obstacles of fossil fuel depletion and the limitations of alternative technologies, but few futurists believe that it will ever disappear. Having become an integral part of human life, it seems clear that the continued interest in and support of the automobile is closely tied to human prosperity. To ensure a sustainable future, the automotive industry will continue to innovate and evolve, allowing us to enjoy more convenient and environmentally friendly transportation.
