Automobile and types: Types of automobiles on the basis of 5 basic criterias

The invention of the automobile has made a huge impact on the growth of today's world. We can't think about the absence of a motor vehicle in this speedy life.

What is an Automobile?

An automobile is a machine with an engine, four wheels, and a cabin for passengers. Its purpose is to transport people and goods from one area to another area.

Most automobiles are powered by an internal combustion engine. Usually, gasoline or diesel is used as fuel.

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The basic systems of an automobile are,

  The engine
  Transmission system
  Steering system
  Chassis and frames
  Braking system
  Body

Types of vehicles

Today we can see different types of vehicles on the road. The difference will be either in external Appearance or in Technical Specifications.

The automobiles are categorized into different types according to some specific criteria. Listed below are some of the basic criteria used to categorize automotive vehicles.

  Purpose
  Capacity
  Number of wheels
  Fuel used
  Drivetrain

Purpose

According to the purpose, the vehicle
Can be classified as;

Passenger vehicles
Goods vehicles

Passenger vehicles: The vehicles which carry passengers are called passenger vehicles.

Eg: Bus, Car, auto-rickshaw

Goods vehicles: The vehicles which carry materials or goods are called goods vehicles.

Eg: Trucks

Capacity

According to the capacity, the vehicles are classified as light motor vehicles and heavy motor vehicles.

Light motor vehicles: Vehicles that are smaller in size and light in weight, such type of vehicles are listed under the category of light motor vehicles.

Due to the lower size and weight, the load-carrying capacity is minimal in the case of light motor vehicles.

Usually, these type of vehicles uses comparatively smaller engines. So the power and the torque will be relatively lower, but it provides better fuel economy.

Eg: Motorcycles, Cars, Jeeps, Minivan, Taxis

Heavy vehicles: Heavy vehicles are larger in mass and bigger in size. It will have a gross vehicle mass(GVM) of more than 4.5 tonnes.

It is designed to carry heavy loads like goods and materials and is also used for passengers to travel from one area to other.

Eg: Trucks, Passenger buses, Trailers, etc.

Number of Wheels

According to the number of wheels, We can classify the vehicles as,

Two-wheeler: The vehicle which has only two wheels.

Eg: Motorcycles, scooters

Three-wheeler: The vehicle has three wheels.

Eg: Auto-rickshaw

Four-wheeler: The vehicle has four wheels.

Eg: Car, Jeep

Six-wheelers: The vehicle has six wheels.

Eg: Passenger buses, Trucks

Fuel used

According to the fuel which is used, the vehicles can be classified into several types.

Petrol engine vehicles: Vehicle that uses petrol as fuel.
Eg: Motorcycles, Cars, Scooters, etc

Diesel engine vehicles: Vehicle that uses diesel as fuel.

Eg: Buses, Trucks, etc

Gas vehicles: Vehicle that uses a gas turbine as a power source.

Eg: Turbine powered cars

Electric vehicles: Vehicle that uses electricity as a power source.

Eg: Electric cars, Electric buses

Hybrid vehicles: Vehicle that uses two or more power sources.

Eg: Hybrid cars, Hybrid buses

Drivetrain

For an automotive vehicle, the term drivetrain indicates all the components that help to transmit the drive to the driving wheels from the engine.

According to the drivetrain system, the vehicles can be classified as the following.

  Front-wheel drive vehicles
  Rear-wheel drive vehicles
  All-wheel drive vehicles
  4-wheel drive vehicles

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1. Front-wheel drive: Here the engine drives the front wheels only.
Eg: Economy type cars

2. Rear-wheel drive: Here the engine drives the rear wheels.

Eg: Heavy vehicles

3. 4-wheel drive: In this arrangement, the engine drives both the front and rear wheels. Here the amount of drive is fixed for all the axles.

4. All-wheel drive: It is also like a four-wheel-drive system, the drive sends to the front and rear wheels. But the amount of drive is varying for every axle according to the road condition.