Clear Answers for Common Questions

An electric car is, quite simply, an automobile that is powered by electricity. These cars usually look just like their gasoline-guzzling counterparts, at least on the outside. This is especially true of gasoline-powered cars that are converted into electric ones. There is one thing that may serve to ...

Crossover cars are vehicles that have the bodies of an SUV or minivan but are set on a car chassis. The benefit of this structure is that they offer an increase in interior space, especially for passengers. Crossover vehicles also have a smoother ride and better handling than other cars ...

Slot cars are miniature replicas of vehicles that are constructed to scale. The cars are used in racing competitions that involve a specialized track that is equipped with a groove or slot. Along with the detailed look of the slot cars, the design includes a small blade on the underside ...

As the forerunner of the sedan and saloon cars that would follow, the touring car was an open-air vehicle that was very popular during the early years of the 20th century. While some examples of these cars were very simplistic, others were more ornate and considered ideal for use ...

Electric and hybrid cars both use technology that is designed to decrease the use of gasoline fuel for powering car engines. Electric cars are totally electric, meaning that they must be plugged in and charged, and that the range of the car is only as far as the charge. Hybrid ...

In car racing, a safety car is a car which is used to limit speed on a racetrack for safety reasons. Safety cars may be used to keep speed safe in inclement weather while allowing the race to continue, and they are also used to regulate speed in the event ...

A hydrogen car is simply a car that uses a hydrogen fuel cell by which to operate and generate its horsepower. The hydrogen car could be the future of cars, as alternative energies are being explored more and more, and hydrogen technology becomes increasingly practical. As more hydrogen car models ...

Demolition derbies, which are a US invention, first began in the 1950s, and may have occurred even earlier. They are a public event that makes use of older cars that are junked, for the sole purpose of doing as much damage to these cars as possible. The demolition derby could ...

Many consumers have begun to seek fuel-efficient cars in response to rising gas prices and growing concerns about the environment. Fuel-efficient cars come in a wide range of shapes and sizes suitable for people living a variety of lifestyles from sporty coupes to wagons. There are a few ...

A hybrid car is a vehicle that utilizes two types of technologies for energy. This usually refers to an automobile that has both a conventional gasoline engine as well as a bank of batteries and that shares the demand for power between these two sources. One source might be the ...

You may have heard a remote control car referred to as an RC car. In fact, RC is used to describe other remote control toys and hobby items too, including remote control trucks, airplanes, helicopters and more. However, RC is also used to describe radio controlled cars, and there is ...

An armored car is a vehicle which has been reinforced with metal plate or composite materials to make it resistant to attack. Armored cars often have a range of other security features as well, ranging from the ability to become negatively pressurized in the event of a gas attack to ...

A plug-in hybrid car is a passenger car which takes advantage of both electric battery and gasoline power. Depending on the distance that the car needs to travel, it may be run entirely without gasoline, leading to the alternative name of “gasoline-option vehicle” to describe these cars. Several ...

A gas-sipper is an extremely fuel efficient vehicle which uses a minimal amount of gas. Vehicles like mopeds and motorcycles are usually gas-sippers by nature, and some small cars are also considered to be gas sippers, especially cars which utilize hybrid technology. In many regions of the world ...

The emissions from gas-powered cars are not only a cause of the diminishing ozone, but they the American Lung Association has said that it is a frequent cause of lung disease. This, in addition to waning fuel supplies and increased gas prices, has lead automobile manufacturers to begin making ...

If you're in the market for a new vehicle, there are many decisions you need to make before going with the right one to fit your lifestyle. This is especially true if you are considering sport utility vehicles (SUVs). When it comes to owning large cars such as SUVs ...

The hybrid car has become one of the most popular automotive trends in recent years. With more and more people worrying about the environment and the high cost of gasoline, the idea of buying a car that can run on different fuel types makes much sense. Whether or not you ...

A fuel efficient diesel car just might be the next big thing in automobile technology. Clean diesel releases fewer CO2 emissions into the environment than some of the best hybrids. Some fuel efficient diesel cars are so efficient they can get nearly 75 mpg (31.89 KM/L). Clean diesel ...

A flex fuel vehicle is one with an engine that is capable of running on a varied mixture of fuels, typically gasoline and ethanol. Vehicles with multiple fuel systems — such as might run on hydrogen cells and gasoline, for instance — are called bi-fuel or dual fuel vehicles ...

A Flybrid® is flywheel technology touted as the next generation technology to be used in hybrid vehicles. Created by Flybrid Systems LLP, it was developed, in part, by a focus on Formula 1 racing to get more efficiency out of its cars and make them more environmentally friendly. To ...

A gas guzzler is a car which has very low fuel economy, resulting in high gasoline consumption. Since some people are beginning to grow concerned about the long term viability of oil supplies, gas guzzlers are an issue which is frequently discussed. Because gas guzzlers consume more fuel, they can ...

Kit cars are automobiles that are built by hobbyists from automobile kits. Dating back to the earliest years of the automobile industry, the kit car normally makes use of a package or kit of prefabricated components that can be assembled by using the proper tools. Generally, people who choose to ...

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) was founded in 1947 as a way of presenting a system and rules for setting performance standards in stock car championships. NASCAR's three main racing series are the Nextel Cup, the Busch Cup, and the Craftsman Truck Series. Dale Earnhardt ...

A car share is a company which allows people use of a car when they need it, without having to pay the upkeep costs for the vehicle. Most car share companies are in urban areas, to take advantage of a much larger customer base, and they can be set up ...

A Natural Gas Vehicle (NGV) is a vehicle which runs on natural gas, a fuel which burns much more cleanly than gasoline. Because many countries are seeking alternatives to gasoline as a fuel source, the use of NGVs is growing around the world, as the cars are energy efficient and ...

A paddywagon is a police vehicle. The term is often used specifically to refer to large transport vans which are designed to accommodate a crowd of prisoners. However, technically any type of motor vehicle driven by police can be called a paddywagon. The term is widely used in the United ...

Inventors have been attempting to develop flying cars since about 1965, but with limited success to date. The closest that anyone has made it yet is Moller International, but its prototypes thus far have not done much more than hover. This is despite an estimated $200 million USD in investment ...

A zero emissions vehicle or ZEV is a vehicle that emits virtually no pollution when operating, or when standing still. Some types of zero emissions vehicles don’t emit pollution when they’re operating, but they may still rely on power sources that are pollutants. For example, if you have ...

The cable car is often synonymous with San Francisco. These little cars, attached to cables, running up and down Powell Street in the heart of San Francisco are a favorite tourist attraction. Many residents also hop on a cable car for a block or two to avoid walking the hilly ...

A hatchback is a type of car or an auto design that has a back opening door, much like in a station wagon. The door usually opens from the bottom up, and the hatch space is used for storage. This is in contrast to automobiles with trunks, where the trunk ...

A boxcar is a type of railway car which is designed to carry freight. The advantage of the boxcar design is that it is incredibly versatile, since a boxcar is basically a gigantic box on wheels, allowing people to load the car in a wide variety of ways. Boxcars have ...

When choosing a manual or automatic car it’s important to know what the terms mean. An automatic car refers to the automatic transmission, which shifts to most gears without your aid, and without need of a third pedal, the clutch, to shift from one gear to another. A manual ...

A car with a manual transmission, or stick shift, is cheaper than an automatic transmission, not only on the car lot but also in the long term. The difference is not as extreme as some drivers believe it to be, however, especially with late model cars. From an automaker's ...

Many definitions define the coupe as a two- or three-door model, while a sedan almost always has four doors. Actually there are four-door coupes, and two-door sedans, so the differences between a coupe and a sedan automobile may not always be quite clear. In reality, a coupe ...

The short answer to this question is no. It is not possible to run a car on water, and it never will be, unless fusion technology becomes commercially viable, and even then, an external energy source would still be required. Numerous scam artists have attempted to convince people that it ...