A vehicle is a mobile machine that transports people or cargo. Typical vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles like motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, railed vehicles trains, trams, watercraft ships, boats, aircraft and spacecraft.
Land vehicles are classified broadly by what is used to apply steering and drive forces against the ground: wheeled, tracked, railed or skied.
Most Popular Vehicles
Motors & Engines
When needed, the energy is taken from the source and consumed by one or more motors or engines. Sometimes there is an intermediate medium, such as the batteries of a diesel submarine.
Most motor vehicles have internal combustion engines. They are fairly cheap, easy to maintain, reliable, safe and small. Since IC engines burn fuel, they have long ranges but pollute the environment. A related engine is the external combustion engine. An example of this are steam engines.
Aside from fuel, steam engines also need water, making them impractical for some purposes. Steam engines also need time to warm up, whereas IC engines can usually run right after being started, although this is not recommended in cold conditions. Steam engines burning coal release sulfur into the air causing harmful acid rain.