AUTOMOTIVE

After this unit you will definitely have a much better knowledge of the automotive vocabulary, be
able to describe the outside and inside of a car, talk about the different types of vehicles, their
advantages and disadvantages.

Do you have a car? What would be your ideal vehicle?

VEHICLES IN GENERAL

A vehicle is a mechanical means of conveyance, a carriage or transport. Most often they are
manufactured (e.g. bicycles, cars, motorcycles, trains, ships, boats, and aircrafts).Vehicles may be
propelled or pulled. Vehicles that do not travel on land are called crafts, such as watercraft, sail craft,
aircraft, hovercraft, and spacecraft. Land vehicles are classified broadly by what is used to apply steering
and drive forces against the ground.

I. Can you name the vehicles in the picture? Can you compare them?

Pictures 33, 34: Different types of vehicles

Source: www.london.gov.uk

II. Do you know what these are: a hatchback, a lorry, a road sweeper, a cab, a people carrier, a
carriage, a bus, a sports car, a cross over, a van, an executive car, a bulldozer, a scooter, a tram, a
towing vehicle, a road train, a refuse collection vehicle, a trailer?

CARS
An automobile or motor 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.

Picture: Car parts

Source: Vince: Advanced language Practice, 1994

Picture: Different car parts

Source: www.cartuningcentral.com