In 1885 a new type of vehicle appeared on the roads in Stuttgart, Germany. It looked much like some of the small steam carriages seen in other towns. But it differed in one important respect - its engine used gasoline as fuel. It was the ancestor of the modern automobile. Its inventor was named Karl Benz.
In less than a century the automobile has developed into our most important form of transport, which greatly affects the way we live. Something like 300 million automobiles now travel on the world's roads. The latest ones are sleek vehicles, carefully streamlined so that they slip through the air easily. Some are designed for speed, being able to travel over 124 mph. Others are designed for economy, being able to travel over 45 miles on a US galon of gasoline. Many are built with the aid of robots.
Automobiles are a very comfortable and convenient form of transport, but they have their disadvantages. They cause accidents; they burn a fuel obtained from oil, which will soon be in short supply, and they are a major source of pollution. For these reasons automobile manufacturers are continually redesigning their autos to make them safer, use less fuel, and cause less pollution. They are also experimenting with new kinds of engines that run on steam, hot air, and electricity. These should cause no pollution at all.
