A car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers on roads. It typically has four wheels, seats two to five people, and is powered by an internal combustion engine or an electric motor. The word comes from the Latin carrus, a wheeled vehicle. The thing itself has been around for about 140 years.

Cars are the dominant form of personal transport in most of the world. There are over 1.4 billion of them on the road. They provide freedom and flexibility that public transit cannot match. They also cause traffic, pollution, and sprawl. The car is both a marvel and a problem.

The modern car is a complex machine. It has thousands of parts, dozens of computers, and software that controls everything from fuel injection to infotainment. It is also a major purchase, often the second-largest expense a household makes after a home. Depreciation, insurance, fuel, and maintenance add up quickly.

Cars are changing. Electric powertrains are replacing gasoline. Driver assistance systems are becoming standard. Connectivity is turning cars into rolling computers. The next decade will see more change than the last fifty. But the basic idea, a personal vehicle that takes you where you want to go, is not going away.