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173 Automobile Makes: A-Z | Luxury & Sports Cars

"A Horse! A Horse! My Kingdom for a horse!" - quote from Shakespeare's play Richard III, Act 5. Scene IV.

"Strive for perfection in everything we do. Take the best that exists and make it better. When it does not exist, design it." - Sir Henry Royce.

"At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock." - David Ogilvy - 1958 Rolls-Royce Advertisement.

"Speed is the only truly modern sensation!" - Aldous Huxley.

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.

As of 2002, there were 590 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 260 billion gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel yearly. The numbers are increasing rapidly, especially in China and India.

The large-scale, production-line manufacturing of affordable automobiles was debuted by Ransom Olds at his Oldsmobile factory in 1902. This concept was greatly expanded by Henry Ford, beginning in 1914.

Car classification is hard to do since many vehicles fall into multiple categories or do not fit well into any.

Driving in traffic is more than just knowing how to operate the mechanisms which control the vehicle; it requires knowing how to apply the rules of the road (which govern safe and efficient sharing with other users). An effective driver also has an intuitive understanding of the basics of vehicle handling.

A person is subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which he or she is driving. The rules of the road, driver licensing and vehicle registration schemes that apply vary considerably between jurisdictions, as do laws imposing criminal responsibility for negligent driving, vehicle safety inspections and compulsory insurance. The standard of responsibility imposed by these laws is based on the extraordinary danger of driving motor vehicles. Most countries also have differing laws against driving whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Motorists are almost universally required to take lessons with an approved instructor and pass a driving test before being granted a license. The trend has been towards increasingly tougher tests in recent decades.

A LIMOUSINE (or limo) is a luxury sedan or saloon car, especially one with a lengthened wheelbase or driven by a chauffeur. The first automobile limousine, built in 1902, was designed so the driver sat outside under a covered compartment. The chassis of a limousine may have been extended by the manufacturer or by an independent coachbuilder. These are called "stretch" limousines and are traditionally black or white. Limousines are usually liveried vehicles, driven by professional chauffeurs. As the most expensive form of automobile ground transportation, limousines are culturally associated with extreme wealth or power and are commonly cited as examples of conspicuous consumption.

A SPORTS CAR is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability. Sports cars have been either spartan or luxurious, but good handling, minimum weight, and high performance are requisite.

The first sports cars are considered to be (though the term would not be coined until after World War One) the 3 litre made in 1910 Vauxhall 20 hp (15 kW) and 27/80PS Austro-Daimler (designed by Ferdinand Porsche).

The drive train and engine layout significantly influences the handling characteristics of an automobile, and is crucially important in the design of a sports car. The front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout (FR) is common to sports cars of any era and has survived longer in sports cars than in mainstream automobiles. Examples include the Caterham 7, Mazda MX-5, and the Chevrolet Corvette. More specifically, many such sports cars have a FMR layout, with the centre of mass of the engine between the front axle and the firewall. Porsche is one of the few remaining manufacturers using the rear-engine, rear-wheel drive layout (RR). The motor's distributed weight across the wheels, in a Porsche 911, provides excellent traction, but the significant mass behind the rear wheels makes it more prone to oversteer in some situations. Porsche has continuously refined the design and in recent years added electronic driving aids (i.e. computerised traction-stability control) to counteract these inherent design shortcomings. Before the 1980s few sports cars used four-wheel drive, which had traditionally added a lot of weight. Although not a sports car, the Audi Quattro proved its worth in rallying. With its improvement in traction, particularly in adverse weather conditions, four-wheel drive is no longer uncommon in high-powered sports cars, e.g. Porsche, Lamborghini, and the Bugatti Veyron.

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