The automobile is a wheeled passenger vehicle that carries its own motor. The word is mainly used in American English and Canadian English; in British English the term motor car is more commonly used. Different types of automobiles include cars, buses, trucks, and vans
Some include motorcycles in the category, but cars are the most typical automobiles. The term "automobile" is derived from Greek "auto" (self) and Latin "movére" (move), referring to the fact that it "moves by itself." Earlier terms for automobile include motorwagen, and horseless carriage
Although the term "car" is presumed to be derived through the shortening of the term "carriage", the word has its origin before 1300 A.D. in English as, "carr"—derived from similar words in French and much earlier Greek words—for a vehicle that moves, especially on wheels, that was applied to chariots, small carts, and later—to carriages that carried more people and larger loads
As of 2005, there were 600 million cars worldwide (93 cars per 1,000 persons).
The automobile was hailed as an environmental improvement over horses when it was first introduced in the 1880s
Before its introduction, in New York City alone, more than 1,800 tons of manure had to be removed from the streets daily, although the manure was used as natural fertilizer for crops and to build top soil. In 2006, the automobile is recognized as a primary source of world-wide air pollution and a cause of substantial noise pollution and adverse health effects.