Introduction
Since the beginning of time, transportation has remained a hurdle for human beings. Humans' first means of transport were walking, running, and swimming. The domestication of animals introduced a new way to lay the burden of transport on more powerful creatures, allowing the transportation of heavier loads, or humans riding animals for greater speed and duration. Inventions such as the wheel and the sled helped make animal transport more efficient through the introduction of vehicles. Water transport, including rowed and sailed vessels, dates back to time immemorial, and was the only efficient way to transport large quantities or over large distances prior to the Industrial Revolution.
The Industrial Revolution in the 19th century saw a number of inventions fundamentally change transport. With telegraphy, communication became instant and independent of the transport of physical objects. The invention of the steam engine, closely followed by its application in rail transport, made land transport independent of human or animal muscles. Both speed and capacity increased rapidly, allowing specialization through manufacturing being located independently of natural resources. The 19th century also saw the development of the steamship, which sped up global transport.
Save your time!
We can take care of your essay
- Proper editing and formatting
- Free revision, title page, and bibliography
- Flexible prices and money-back guarantee
With the development of the combustion engine and the automobile around 1900, road transport became more competitive again, and mechanical private transport originated. The first 'modern' highways were constructed during the 19th century with macadam.
A vehicle is a non-living device that is used to move people and goods. Unlike the infrastructure, the vehicle moves along with the cargo and riders. Unless being pulled/pushed by a cable or muscle power, the vehicle must provide its own propulsion; this is most commonly done through a steam engine, combustion engine, electric motor, jet engine, or rocket, though other means of propulsion also exist. Vehicles also need a system of converting energy into movement; this is most commonly done through wheels, propellers, and pressure.
Cars
In 2002 there were an estimated 590 million cars and 205 million motorcycles in service in the world. At least 500 million Chinese Flying Pigeon bicycles have been made, more than any other single model of vehicle. The most-produced model of a motor vehicle is the Honda Super Cub motorcycle, having passed 60 million units in 2008. The most-produced car model is the Toyota Corolla, with at least 35 million made by 2010.
The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells the world's motor vehicles, more than three-quarters of which are cars. In 2018 there were 70 million cars manufactured worldwide, down 2 million from the previous year.
The automotive industry in China produces by far the most (24 million in 2018), followed by Japan (8 million), Germany (5 million), and India (4 million). The largest market is China, followed by the USA.
Around the world there are about a billion cars on the road; they burn over a trillion liters of gasoline and diesel fuel yearly, consuming about 50 EJ (nearly 300,000,000,000 kilowatt-hours) of energy. The number of cars is increasing rapidly in China and India.
Motorcycle
A motorcycle often called a bike, motorbike, or cycle is a two- or three-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising, sport including racing, and off-road riding. Motorcycling is riding a motorcycle and related social activities such as joining a motorcycle club and attending motorcycle rallies.
In 1894, Hildebrand & Wolfmüller became the first series production motorcycle and the first to be called a motorcycle. In 2014, the three top motorcycle producers globally by volume were Honda (28%), Yamaha (17%) (both from Japan), and Hero MotoCorp (India).
In developing countries, motorcycles are considered utilitarian due to lower prices and greater fuel economy. Of all the motorcycles in the world, 58% are in the Asia-Pacific and Southern and Eastern Asia regions, excluding car-centric Japan.
History of Motorcycle
The first internal combustion, the petroleum-fuelled motorcycle was the Daimler Reitwagen. It was designed and built by the German inventors Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in Bad Cannstatt, Germany in 1885. This vehicle was unlike either the safety bicycles or the boneshaker bicycles of the era in that it had zero degrees of steering axis angle and no fork offset, and thus did not use the principles of bicycle and motorcycle dynamics developed nearly 70 years earlier. Instead, it relied on two outrigger wheels to remain upright while turning.
The first commercial design for a self-propelled cycle was a three-wheel design called the Butler Petrol Cycle, conceived by Edward Butler in England in 1884. He exhibited his plans for the vehicle at the Stanley Cycle Show in London in 1884. The vehicle was built by the Merryweather Fire Engine company in Greenwich, in 1888.
During the First World War, motorbike production was greatly ramped up for the war effort to supply effective communications with front-line troops. Messengers on horses were replaced with despatch riders on motorcycles carrying messages, performing reconnaissance, and acting as military police. The American company Harley-Davidson was devoting over 50% of its factory output toward military contracts by the end of the war. The British company Triumph Motorcycles sold more than 30,000 of its Triumph Type H models to allied forces during the war. With the rear wheel driven by a belt, the Model H was fitted with a 499 cc (30.5 cu in) air-cooled four-stroke single-cylinder engine. It was also the first Triumph without pedals.
In the 1950s, streamlining began to play an increasing part in the development of racing motorcycles, and the 'dustbin fairing' held out the possibility of radical changes to motorcycle design. NSU and Moto Guzzi were in the vanguard of this development, both producing very radical designs well ahead of their time. NSU produced the most advanced design, but after the deaths of four NSU riders in the 1954–1956 seasons, they abandoned further development and quit Grand Prix motorcycle racing.
In the 21st century, the motorcycle industry is mainly dominated by the Indian motorcycle industry and by Japanese motorcycle companies. In addition to the large capacity motorcycles, there is a large market in smaller capacity (less than 300 ccs) motorcycles, mostly concentrated in Asian and African countries and produced in China and India. A Japanese example is the 1958 Honda Super Cub, which went on to become the biggest-selling vehicle of all time, with its 60 millionth unit produced in April 2008 [1]. Today, this area is dominated by mostly Indian companies with Hero MotoCorp emerging as the world's largest manufacturer of two-wheelers. Other major producers are Bajaj and TVS Motors.
Stuck on your essay?
