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A car (or automobile) is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transportation. Most definitions of cars say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four tires, and mainly transport people rather than goods.Cars came into global use during the 20th century, and developed economies depend on them. The year 1886 is regarded as the birth year of the modern car when German inventor Karl Benz patented his Benz Patent-Motorwagen. Cars became widely available in the early 20th century. One of the first cars accessible to the masses was the 1908 Model T, an American car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. Cars were rapidly adopted in the US, where they replaced animal-drawn carriages and carts, but took much longer to be accepted in Western Europe and other parts of the world.Cars have controls for driving, parking, passenger comfort, and a variety of lights. Over the decades, additional features and controls have been added to vehicles, making them progressively more complex, but also more reliable and easier to operate. These include rear-reversing cameras, air conditioning, navigation systems, and in-car entertainment. Most cars in use in the 2010s are propelled by an internal combustion engine, fueled by the combustion of fossil fuels. Electric cars, which were invented early in the history of the car, became commercially available in the 2000s and are predicted to cost less to buy than gasoline cars before 2025. The transition from fossil fuels to electric cars features prominently in most climate change mitigation scenarios.There are costs and benefits to car use. The costs to the individual include acquiring the vehicle, interest payments (if the car is financed), repairs and maintenance, fuel, depreciation, driving time, parking fees, taxes, and insurance. The costs to society include maintaining roads, land use, road congestion, air pollution, public health, healthcare, and disposing of the vehicle at the end of its life. Traffic collisions are the largest cause of injury-related deaths worldwide.The personal benefits include on-demand transportation, mobility, independence, and convenience. The societal benefits include economic benefits, such as job and wealth creation from the automotive industry, transportation provision, societal well-being from leisure and travel opportunities, and revenue generation from the taxes. People's ability to move flexibly from place to place has far-reaching implications for the nature of societies. There are around 1 billion cars in use worldwide. The numbers are increasing rapidly, especially in China, India and other newly industrialized countries.

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  1. Chaminda

    VIC Chain reaction car accident on Westernport freeway .

    Can someone please help me with this issue, My car was involved in a chain reaction car accident. My car and 3 cars before me was at a complete stop just before roundabout due to havey traffic. And a Toyota corolla who came behind me hit my car and pushed my car all the way to the front...
  2. S

    VIC Parking inspector driving while taking phot of my car, does my parking fine stand?

    Hi, I recently parked in a loading zone in Fairfield Melbourne, when I returned to my car the inspector was driving past with his hand out the window taking a picture of my car. I have checked the online pictures and all of them show that he is in the vehicle while taking the pics. My question...
  3. A

    WA Implications of Driving a Non-street-legal car.

    Hi, Hainvg a robust 'discussion'with my 17 year old son about him driving his illegal car on the road. He has already been issued a defect notice in the past as it is lifted beyond the 2" limit, has an illegal bull bar etc. I am trying to explain the repercussions to him if he were to be...
  4. X

    NSW Private car sale - Can the seller pull out the sale and refund the deposit?

    Hi, I would like to know the seller's obligation for car sale in NSW. I inspected the car from the private seller, and I decided to buy the car but I needed time to release my term deposit of at least 31 days. Therefore, I & the seller agreed to pay the deposit on that day and pay the...
  5. U

    NSW Car park incident, I have received lawyer's letter demanding $9,448.68

    Hi, I don't know where to ask about this. I had a bump accident at a car park in the marketplace. It was 23 Oct last year. I parked my car and received text messages at the same time. I returned the text message forgetting lock the hand break. So, the car slowly moved and bumped the front...
  6. U

    NSW Car Park bump Accident and received $9,448.68 demand from lawyer.

    Hi, I don't know where to ask about this. I had a bump accident at a car park in the marketplace. It was 23 Oct last year. I parked my car and received text messages at the same time. I returned the text message forgetting lock the hand break. So, the car slowly moved and bumped the front...
  7. T

    QLD Car Park incident-Who is at fault?

    My wife was involved in an incident at a Coles car park, when exiting the car space (not reversing) at a crawling speed she was just over halfway out of the space when she was hit on the left front side of the bumper (our car is a Suburban 4wd), when she looked over to her left the young female...
  8. L

    QLD Who Owns the car

    I've been separated since June 2020. There was a verbal agreement that I get the car in lew of going for half of his super. We have 2 children, one with special needs and was using the car to transport the children to and from school and to appointments. Two and a half years ago he told me the...
  9. S

    WA Car insurance claim denied

    A friend's son's claim was recently accepted, but was subsequently denied. He's a P-Plater, named as a second driver on the policy. Licence suspension due to double demerits. Got it back, had a stack well after. Insurers denied the claim as 'his licence had been suspended in the past'
  10. C

    QLD Sole Trader, Client Did not pay Car Hire

    Hi All, So I was a sole trader in Queensland over a year ago. At the time my client had arranged a car hire through their own agent. I have recently been approached by a collections agency on behalf of the hire company chasing me for full payment of the invoice and a cleaning fee. They are...