Automobile

An automobile, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally for the transport of people rather than goods. However, the term automobile is far from precise, because there are many types of vehicles that do similar tasks.

There are approximately 600 million passenger cars worldwide (roughly one car per eleven people).Around the world, there were about 806 million cars and light trucks on the road in 2007; they burn over 1 billion m³ (260 billion US gallons) of petrol/gasoline and diesel fuel yearly. The numbers are increasing rapidly, especially in China and India.

Etymology
    Look up automobile in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The word automobile comes, via the French automobile, from the Ancient Greek word αὐτός (autós, "self") and the Latin mobilis ("movable"); meaning a vehicle that moves itself, rather than being pulled or pushed by a separate animal or another vehicle. The alternative name car is believed to originate from the Latin word carrus or carrum ("wheeled vehicle"), or the Middle English word carre ("cart") (from Old North French), or from the Gaulish word karros (a Gallic Chariot).

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Luxury market segments

Premium compact segment

The premium compact segment is relatively new, having been initiated by several European brands in the mid-2000s, and constitute the least expensive offerings in their lineups. These cars are targeted at a niche market of young customers who have a more refined taste in their automobiles and the means to pay for them. By offering a smaller, lighter, more fuel-efficient, and less expensive vehicle, this serves to introduce a younger customer to the luxury marque, in hopes of retaining the coveted customer loyalty.This includes the Audi A3, BMW 1 Series, and Mercedes-Benz B-Class.

Premium compacts may share components with mass market cars from the marque's parent company (the A3), and/or have less sophisticated platforms compared to upmarket vehicles in the lineup (such as the B-Class). The body style tends to be a hatchback or compact wagon, previously associated with economy cars but regaining popularity in the United States for its afforded utility. The luxury branding and style, high-quality interior materials, wide range of convenience features, and performance powertrains are key to distinguishing them from mass market equivalents (one mistake made by the Cadillac Cimarron) and making these appeal to consumers.

The classification varies, for instance Consumer Guide Automotive in the US considers the Audi A3 and A4 as part of the premium compact segment due to similar size and MSRP, though these are known in Europe as a small family car and a compact executive car, respectively.

Entry-level luxury/compact executive cars

The entry-level luxury category is also known as the compact executive car in Britain and (Mittelklasse in German). In the US, this segment mostly includes the bottom vehicles in the line-up of luxury brands as well as the top-of-the-line models of some non-luxury brands.

Compact executive cars tend to have complex powertrain and mechanical layouts, resulting in increased cost and reduced interior passenger and trunk space, compared to mass market compact cars. However, material and building quality is higher, there are exclusive features not found on mass market cars, there is better handling and performance, and the nameplate itself is part of the value proposition.

Compact executive cars include the Volvo S60, BMW 3 Series, and Mercedes-Benz C-Class which particularly emphasize sporty handling. Other vehicles such as the Lexus ES and Acura TL are also considered entry-level luxury as well, though they do not fall under European luxury classifications as they are larger and not sold there, indeed these began as badge-engineered versions of the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, respectively.

Recently, the entry-level luxury has been very competitive, and there has been price-overlapping with well-equipped non-luxury cars. The bestselling vehicles of the marque are frequently compact executive cars, such as the BMW 3 Series that makes up 40% of the vehicles that BMW sells worldwide.

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Global references

According to the European Commission, the "luxury vehicle" segment is classified as F-segment. However, the boundaries between the traditional segments are increasingly becoming blurred and diluted as features once exclusive to luxury vehicles become standard equipment on even small cars.

* ACRISS is a code system used by many car rental companies in the US for classifying vehicles (but not brands or marques). The system includes Luxury and Premium categories.
* Australia In Australia, for taxation purposes a luxury car is defined as a passenger car whose value exceeds a certain threshold[11] (see: Luxury Car Tax).[12]
* Germany: In Germany the term "Upper class" (German: Oberklasse) is used.
* Russia: Russian markets use the term "representative class vehicle" (Russian: автомобиль представительского класса, also translated as "luxury vehicle").
* United States Consumer Guide's categorization which sorts luxury vehicles by size acknowledges that there can be considerable price variations within a class; for instance the Lincoln Town Car has a relatively low MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) compared to the BMW 7 Series, Lexus LS, or Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

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Luxury vehicle

Luxury vehicle is a marketing term for a vehicle that provides luxury — pleasant or desirable features beyond strict necessity—at increased expense (see: definition of luxury).

The term suggests a vehicle with greater equipment, performance, construction precision, comfort, design ingenuity, technological innovation, or features that convey brand image, cachet, status, or prestige—or any other discretionary feature or combination of features.
A Duesenberg, "one of the greatest luxury cars" with custom body by Willoughby.

Automobile manufactures market specific makes and models that are targeted at particular socio-economic classes, and thus "social status came to be associated more with a particular vehicle than ownership of a car per se." Therefore, automakers differentiate among their product lines in "collusion" with the car-buying public. While a high price is the most frequent factor, it is "styling, engineering, and even public opinion which cars had the highest and lowest status associated with them."
Every era in automobile history has had "a group of car marques and models that have been expensive to purchase, due to their alleged superiority of their design and engineering". Aimed at wealthy buyers, such automobiles might be generically be termed luxury cars." This term is also used for unique vehicles produced during "an era when luxury was individualistic consideration, and coachwork could be tailored to an owner like a bespoke suit." Although there is considerable literature about specific marques, there is a lack of systematic and scholarly work that "analyzes the luxury car phenomenon itself."
In contemporary usage, the term may be applied to any vehicle type— including sedan, coupe, hatchback, station wagon, and convertible body styles, as well as to minivans, crossovers, or sport utility vehicles and to any size vehicle, from small to large—in any price range.
Though widely used, the term luxury is broad and highly variable. It is a perceptual, conditional and subjective attribute and may be understood differently by different people: "What is a luxury car to some... may be 'ordinary' to others."

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Ferrari 612 GTO

We won’t be wrong if we say that this concept is the best Ferrari concept car from designers who have never worked in the design department of Ferrari. This extraordinarily beautiful super car is called Ferrari 612 GTO. The creator of this concept – Sasha Selipanov from Berlin, Germany. Concept Ferrari 612 GTO by Sasha – really exciting concept. Perhaps Ferrari leadership will pay attention to this work and will considere it while creating their subsequent models of super cars.

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Egochine B

Let us show you another stunning concept created by Italian industrial designer Paolo De Giusti. Some time ago we’ve shown you his concept of electric motorcycle and today we want to feature concept of futuristic single seater sporty vehicle. This model called Egochine B is an evolution of a first concept called Egochine created by Paolo De Giusti for the second edition of the Peugeot Design Contest, where it was selected as a finalist. New concept were equiped by large electric motors combined with hydrogen fuel cells. This futuristic car is inspired by luxury sportscars of the past such as Isotta Fraschini.

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Morgan EvaGT

The Morgan Motor Company always produce extremely beautiful models and this model continues this tradition. At the last Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance the minor British automaker, who celebrated its 100th anniversary last year, has unveiled stunning new Morgan EvaGT. This is a four seater coupe targeted to young families and with a focus on innovative materials and technologies and eco-friendly features. The design of EvaGT features a dramatic styling, underlined by minimal shut lines, hidden wipers, flush door handles and sharp creases. The surfaces are achieved using superformed aluminum technology.

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Apple iMove

How would look like a car invented and designed by Apple? Italy based auto designer Liviu Tudoran has taken inspiration from the Apple Macintosh products and designed a concept car called iMove for the year 2020. This car will be electric, of course, and will feature the same general design lines like all the latest Macintosh products. Most of the car body is covered with transparent materials, so that even under the roof the driver get a cabriolet feeling. This transparent material is also a solar panel. iMove will be able to seat three passengers and will feature an innovative luggage storage space. The concept will also offer various possibilities for customization, so the owners will be able to change the car’s appliance according to its own preferences.



Apple iMove

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Peugeot Shine

This concept car Peugeot Shine has been created by Polish designer Piotr Czyzewski, who’s working at the Peugeot, as well as other companies oriented to the production of yachts, watches and footwear. Despite the name of the concept Shine, the car body is presented in black colour and its design is quite aggressive. Hope you’ll enjoy!

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Porsche 918 Spyder

Company porsche represented concept sports car 918 spyder at motor show in geneva. The car is built on the platform of a racing porsche rs spider and is powered by both a 500-horsepower v8 and a pair of electric motors. The e-drive mode is for running the car under electric power alone, with a range of up to 25 km or 16 miles. Battery power unit can be recharged from household electrical outlets. The concept can theoretically reach 62 mph in 3.2 seconds and nip 198 mph on the high end. Maximum speed is 320 kilometers per hour. A high-tech exterior of lightweight materials is complemented by the latest in porsche interior design and features, indicating the car is in fact headed down a production path despite its current concept-car status.

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Audi R10

23-year-old industrial design student of mid sweden university marouane bembli created a futuristic concept car r10, which in his opinion, should in future replace the audi r8. "i modeled a new supercar, audi r10, and i believe in it" – said bembli about his work. He also noted that he imagine the overall weight is around 1,200 kilograms and a powerful v10 under the hood. It’s just a cgi dream but who knows…

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Alfaromeo fastback

American designer jacob mcmurry have created extremely beautiful concept car alfa romeo fastback sedan 2017 concept. It’s inspired by the design of cars of ’30s and also by the famous venice carnival. The concept is an executive class sedan, with glass ceiling and side panels which can change their degree of transparency. Engine of this asymmetrical car work as bio-diesel.

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Volvo sc90

This car right here is the sassiest little number this side of volvo, and it’s aiming to be the car that leads every pack. Designer nouphone j. Bansasine presents his vision for the 4 door coupe, taking the trend for these to be highly sought after, producing here a 4 door sportscar for the year 2015. What’s more? This car was made during an internship bansasine rolled with at the volvo monitoring and concept center (vmcc.) what’s that mean? It’s the real deal, honey!

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Project M

The long awaited stile bertone mantide project m supercar made its debut yesterday at the shanghai autoshow. The showstopper designed by famed pininfarina designer jason castriota is a sleek, uber futuristic outlook on bespoke automotive engineering. Underneath the hood lies a corvette zr1 which if you have ever heard before, befittingly goes well with the aggressive sculpted front and rear.

The carbon fiber body enables the zr1 engine to push the relatively lightweight supercar 0-62mph in 3.2 seconds topping out at 217 mph. Much more information to be had at their site including a video. Com’on, you know you wanna hear what it sounds like.

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Zenvo st1

Oh snap! It’s a danish super car. Somehow those words don’t go together in my head. When i think super car, i think japan, america, italy, germany, maybe even france and england – but denmark? It’s true, the zenvo st1 is a real danish supercar with excessive power; a v8 1,104 pony galloping engine to be exact. The turbocharged 7.0 liter 6 speed manual tranny pushes the zenvo st1 from 0-60 in just 3 seconds. For safety and legal reasons, the car is electronically limited to 232 mph.

A car that fast needs major brakes to stop it and this baby uses a set of ventilates 380 mm disc brakes and 6 piston calipers up front, 355 mm discs gripped by 6 piston calipers at the rear. Made entirely of a steel frame wrapped in a carbon fiber body, the styling is striking and contemporary. Personally i think it’s a little contrived (angry blowfish?) but a head turner for sure and pretty much unlike any other recognizable super car on the road.

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Aston martin one-77

Marek reichmann and his design team have sculpted the one-77 so that it is still instantly recognisably an aston martin, but with hints of a new design language.

The significance of the one-77 name, which won’t be used for production cars, is that aston intends to build no more than 77 cars. The exact number is believed to have been chosen because of ceo ulrich bez’s belief in ‘lucky 7’. Car assembly is likely to be at gaydon, though the v12 engine will come from aston’s dedicated engine facility in cologne.

Aston wants to show the car to potential customers by the end of the year, with the potential for the first production cars to roll out of gaydon by the end of 2009.

Marek reichmann and his design team have sculpted the one-77 so that it is still instantly recognisably an aston martin, but with hints of a new design language.

The significance of the one-77 name, which won’t be used for production cars, is that aston intends to build no more than 77 cars. The exact number is believed to have been chosen because of ceo ulrich bez’s belief in ‘lucky 7’. Car assembly is likely to be at gaydon, though the v12 engine will come from aston’s dedicated engine facility in cologne.

Aston wants to show the car to potential customers by the end of the year, with the potential for the first production cars to roll out of gaydon by the end of 2009.

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Bmw gina

Bmw is really thinking outside the proverbial box with their latest concept design exercise. If the previously featured m1 concept did not strike your fancy, maybe this gina light visionary model will do the trick. The gina is a roadster concept wherein the use of sheet metal found on bodies of production vehicles has been replaced with a special, flexible, highly durable and extremely expansion-resistant fabric material that stretches across a metal structure.

Unlike traditional cars, various aspects of the bodies substructure are moveable and can be shifted by means of electro-hydraulic controls, changing the shape of the outer skin and overall design. One interesting example of this feature, becomes apparent in the headlight arrangement. When the headlights are not active they are hidden under the special fabric cover, as soon as the driver turns on the lights, the contour of the front ends changes revealing the headlights, looking a lot like a character out of the pixar movie “cars”.

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Mclaren mp4-12c

Yesterday, the world welcomed one more automaker company, the mclaren automotive. The brand new automotive company announced its arrival in working, england by unveiling its flagship product, the mp4-12c. The speedster is only one of many beauties that will be rolled out from this company who is famous for its exploits on the f1 race field. The mp4-12c was unveiled by mclaren f1 drivers, jenson button and lewis hamilton. A supercar that is sure to set the hearts of many speedsters racing, the mp4-12c is here to stay. The main emphasis of mclaren while creating this beauty was lightweight and aerodynamic efficiency. The rear-wheel-drive beauty boasts of a mid-mounted 3.8-liter v8 that produces 600 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque with an 8,000-rpm redline.

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Lamborghini insecta

Because poor people will be throwing their milkshakes at you when you drive this bad mother down the street. It’s called the “lamborghini insecta concept,” and it’s got no real defense against strawberry or vanilla flavoring. The coloring has some sort of nice relationship with mint though, don’t you think? It’s length is the same as a lamborghini gallardo, it’s 1k mm tall and 2k mm wide, and it’s got a 2,650 mm wheelbase. Made for super fast power creepin’.

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Lamborghini madura

His right here* is called the lamborghini madura, and it’s a concept car from another of the fantastic pages in the book of slavche tanevski. This designer is on fire with the car designs, let me tell you that. Before we had tanevski’s “ankonian,” now we’re gettin yellow! (or blue if you please) or green! This vehicle’s a hybrid!

That’s right, race fans, join in on the saving of the earth. The bonnet up front has it’s electric engine tucked neatly underneath. Behond, a spoiler with blades for depth and aesthetic excitement plus a better aerodynamic cw value (drag coefficient.) the headlights up front are oriented to emphasize the cars’ width, while the tail does basically the same thing.

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