The Foremost Self-Driven Car by Nicolas Cugnot - Statistics Project Example

CAR STATISTICS ARTICLES 11-02-2008 ARTICLE EVOLUTION OF CARS Did you know that the evolution process of the cars we see today has taken many years The first car was successfully rolled down on the streets in 1885 and all earlier attempts though successful were steam powered road vehicles. In 1769 Nicolas Cugnot built the foremost self driven car the average speed of which was about 6 km per hour. In 1771 he re-designed another steam engine which ran so fast that it rammed into a wall, recording the world's first accident. The first internal combustion engines for cars using a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen to generate energy was designed by Francois de Rivaz, in 1807 which was used by him to develop the first car in the world to run on such an engine. Jean Joseph Etienne Lenoir was the first man to successfully build a two-stroke gas driven engine. He built a gas-driven-engine vehicle in 1862 which ran at a speed of 3 km per hour, which became highly popular and the type of which were frequently seen on the roads by 1865. Gottileb Damlier and Nicolas Otto worked together on the mission of devising a four stroke engine till they separated. Damlier then individually went on to create engines which could be used for cars as well as four-wheel horseless carriages. At the same time Karl Benz was working on processing an advanced tri-cycle for himself which actually proved to be the first true car. This car was launched on the road in 1886. Several experiments continued all over the United States as Henry Ford started his experiment on a horseless carriage in 1860. He was successful in producing his first car which was a 'Quadricycle' in the year 1896, which was a gasoline engine powered by two cylinders. This marked the launch of the Ford Motor Company in the year 1903 following which he propelled his vehicle 'Model T Ford' to great heights of fame. He ceaselessly continued with his experiments and subsequently witnessed the production of the same model on the lines of 'moving assembly' thus was highly instrumental in the modern day mass production techniques of the current car companies. ARTICLE 2 The world's cheapest car! Did you know that the world's cheapest car the Tata Nano, only costs only 100,000 rupees or $2,500 (1,277) and is designed and manufactured in India by the automobile company Tata Motors The car is specifically designed as a "safe, affordable, all weather form of transport" for family use in India, the inspiration of which came to Ratan Tata from the observation of "families riding on two-wheelers - the father driving the scooter, his young kid standing in front of him, his wife seated behind him holding a little baby.". The four-door car is a five seater, 3.1m long, 1.5m wide and 1.6m high, has a 33bhp, 624cc engine at the rear and will go on sale later this year. The car does not have a power steering or electric windows but will offer the same in two deluxe models. It has no air conditioning, no electric windows and no power steering, but two deluxe models will be on offer. The Indian company Tata Motors will manufacture approximately 250,000 Nanos, popularly termed as the "People's car", and expects an annual demand of one million cars in India's domestic car market which is predicted to soar, gauging the country's fast growing economy and rapidly escalating consumer wealth and the expectation that Indian car sales are going to more than quadruple to $ 145 billion by the year 2016. Article 3 The worlds most expensive cars 1. Bugatti Veyron Did you know that the Bugatti Veyron, with a price of $1,192,057 or 1,000,000 is not only the world's most expensive car but also the fastest and most powerful car in the world with an additional title of the most expensive street legal car in the world With a maximum speed of 400km or 250mph, the car comprises of 16 cylinders and a 1001 horse power engine and gets its name from Pierre Veyron, the French racing driver. 2. Pagani Zonda Roadster F C12S 7.3 The Club sport version of the Italian cum Argentinean Pagina Roadster ranks the second most expensive car in the world and has a horse power of 650 hp comes at a price of $667,321 USD Pagani cars are very rare because the car manufacturer owns a small car boutique and makes very few cars each year. 3. The SSC Ultimate Aero ranks third in the world's most expensive cars list and is an American super car with a maximum speed of 273 mph on road and costs $654,500 USD. 4. The fourth most expensive car is the Leblanc Mirabeau manufactured in Switzerland and comes with a price tag of $645,084. 5. The fifth ranking most expensive car is again an American brand, the Saleen S7 Twin Turbo which is designed with an engine capacity to reach 750 hp and ascend from speed zero to sixty miles per hour in less than three seconds It could make your pocket lighter by $637,723 USD. ARTICLE 4 Citroen is the 'Greenest Car Manufacturer of the Year' Did you know that Citroen has been named the 'Greenest Car Manufacturer of the Year' at the Green Fleet Awards for the second time in a row outracing its competitors Toyota and Honda Besides this award Citroen is also the runner-up in the 'Green Marketing Campaign of the Year' for its TV advertisements, as well as 'LCV Manufacturer of the Year'. The company is on the verge of launching three new vehicles at the Frankfurt Motor show and all the vehicles incorporate the new Green initiatives. The concept of C-Cactus presents a diesel hybrid drive train with an ability to attain nearly 100mpg on the combined cycle, the equipment of the C5 Airscape with an Urban Hybrid system and the ability of the C4 Bioflex to run on E85 Bioethanol. Article 5 Eco-Friendly Hybrid car launched by Honda Did you know that the company Honda has launched an eco-friendly hybrid car which not only has a petrol engine but also a supplementary electric-motor in combination, which begins to operate when the car is inactive The manufacturer acknowledges the fact that nearly half of the drivers of UK are not aware of this fact and thought that the term "hybrid" meant that two cars were welded together or required 'plugging together' at night. Sales of such cars are on the rise because the integrated electric motor in the hybrid cars aids the engine by giving it a boost during acceleration, thereby improving fuel economy and making the cars more environmental friendly than other standard cars. And did you know that besides this, the battery which controls the electric motor of the car is capable of charging itself up with the e-energy recovered during deceleration giving it greater fuel economy. The Honda Company's scientists are on an endeavor to develop a car which works on hydrogen and will not emit carbon dioxide or nitrogen oxides. Article 6 The Taylor Aerocar Did you know that a car known as the Taylor Aerocar, manufactured by 'Aerocar International', designed by Moulton Taylor took its maiden flight in 1949 and is a car that can be driven on the road as well as flown like an aircraft In-spite-of being the most successful and the most famous for designing the "flying car", the company Aerocar never went into production with it. The Aerocar prototype has folding wings that enable the road vehicle to convert into flight mode in just five minutes by a single person, enabling the car to have airspeed of 110 mph and a road speed of 60mph. Article 7 Did you know that on an average, there are more than 6 million car accidents annually on the roads of the US With the escalating number of cars on the roads of US every day, many people die as a result of car accidents and even many more receive severe injuries often leaving the victims and their families devastated. It is indeed disheartening to know that more than 3 million people get injured due to car accidents, with more than 2 million of these injuries being permanent. The majority of these car accidents can be evaded if the drivers would drive more responsibly because nearly 40% of car accident fatalities take place due to drunken drivers. Approximately 30% of the car accident fatalities can be accredited to driving over velocity restrictions and 33% and above are caused due to of uncontrolled driving causing the car to go off the road resulting in an accident. It is alarming to know that every 12 minutes, one person dies in a car accident and every 14 seconds, a car accident injury is caused. People, in the age group 15 to 24 years, and those over 75 years of age, are the ones most severely affected by car accidents. As per the car accident statistics released by the 'United States Department of Transportation's (USDOT's) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration' (NHTSA), in more than half of all car accident fatalities, the deceased were found not to be wearing their seat belts at the time of the crash. Many car accidents are caused by people talking to other passengers while driving, and due to drivers playing with the radio while driving. A large percentage is because of eating or drinking while driving and 25% of car accidents are caused due to talking on the mobile phone while at the wheel of the car! Article 8 Car Theft Statistics (According to a survey done by KVBC TV (Clark County) Did you know that 42% of thieves stole their first vehicle between the ages of 10-18 36% of thieves broke a window to gain entry and 44% of the thieves stole vehicles out of parking lots while 42% of them stole vehicles from a neighborhood!!! The top cars that were stolen were Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Chevrolet, Honda Civic, and Toyota Corolla. Conventionally, car thefts occur more in the months of August and January with the most commonly tool for thieves being a screwdriver. 'The Motor Vehicle Theft Law Enforcement Act of 1984' began 'VIN' impression of vehicle parts which allowed vehicles and vehicle parts that had been stolen to be easily identified. It is indeed shocking to know that 77% of the vehicles stolen are by non-professionals for joyriding and 64% of the persons arrested were under the age of 18! Article 9 Pollution by cars Did you know that pollution from cars causes lung cancer, respiratory problems, urban smog, and acid rain (Brown 25) One way cars create pollution is by contributing to the amount of ground-level ozone. In the atmosphere, the ozone layer shields the planet from harmful ultraviolet radiation rays. But on the ground, ozone causes hazy smog and respiratory problems. Most ozone pollution is caused by motor vehicles and ozone exposure is also known to lower the body's defenses, increasing susceptibility to respiratory infections. Did you know that cars also cause lead pollution by emitting lead from leaded gasoline which is a neurotoxin which impairs brain development among children elevates blood pressure resulting in hypertension, heart attacks, and premature death in adults Even scarier than the direct damage to our bodies from auto pollution is the fact that car emissions are contributing to an overall warming of the entire planet, which could destroy the world's food chain! Article 10 Did you know that A controversial radio DJ's angry wife sold his $45,000 sports car on eBay for less than $1.00 after he flirted with model Jodie Marsh on air Tim Shaw of Kerrang 105.2 told Jodie Marsh on air that he was prepared to leave his wife and their two children for her which the DJ's wife was listening to and immediately started an auction on eBay to sell his Lotus Esprit Turbo with a 'Buy It Now' option of $1.00!! The item description read: "I need to get rid of this car in the next two to three hours before my husband gets home to find it gone and all his belongings in the street." Needless to say the car was sold in less than five minutes!!! Did you know that a Chinese man has managed to pull a car 20 meters with his ears while walking on eggs without breaking a single egg Take a look.!!! This 38-year-old Chinese man drew a big crowd while he was pulling the car with his ears and at the same time walking on eggs in Dehui, Jinli!!! Zhang started learning the stunt when he was only 8 years old and can also pick up a 25 kg bicycle with his mouth while, of course, standing on eggs!!! Amazing talents indeed! References Article 1 retrieved from website Article 2 retrieved from website Article 3 retrieved from website Article 4 retrieved from website < http://www.automotoportal.com/article/two-in-a-row-for-citroen-as-greenest-car-manufacturer-of-the-year> Article 5 retrieved from website Article 6 retrieved from website Article 9 retrieved from website Article 10 retrieved from website Read More