shared parts with one another so larger production volume resulted in lower costs for each price range. For example, in the 1930s, LaSalles, sold by Cadillac, used cheaper mechanical parts made by Oldsmobile; in the 1950s, Chevrolet shared hood, doors, roof, and windows with Pontiac; by the 1990s, corporate drivetrains and shared

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platforms (with interchangeable brakes, suspension, and other parts) were common. Even so, only major makers could afford high costs, and even companies with decades of production, such as Apperson, Cole, Dorris, Haynes, or Premier, could not manage: of some two hundred American car makers in existence in 1920, only 43 survived in 1930, and with the Great Depression, by 1940, only 17 of those were left

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.[13]

In Europe much the same would happen. Morris set up its production line at Cowley in 1924, and soon outsold Ford, while beginning in 1923 to follow Ford's practise of vertical integration, buying Hotchkiss (engines), Wrigley (gearboxes), and Osberton (radiators), for instance, as well as competitors, such as Wolseley: in 1925, Morris had 41% of total British car production. Most British small-car assemblers, from Abbey to Xtra had gone under. Citroen did the same in France, coming to cars in 1919; between them and other cheap cars in reply such as Renault's

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10CV and Peugeot's 5CV, they produced 550,000 cars in 1925, and Mors, Hurtu, and others could not compete.[13] Germany's first mass-manufactured car, the Opel 4PS Laubfrosch (Tree Frog), came off the line at Russelsheim in 1924, soon making Opel the top car builder in Germany, with 37.5% of the market.[13]

See also: Automotive industry Fuel and propulsion technologies
A radio taxi in New Delhi. A court order requires all commercial vehicles including trucks, buses and taxis in India to run on Compressed Natural Gas See also: Alternative fuel vehicle

Most automobiles in use today are propelled by gasoline (also known as petrol) or diesel internal combustion engines, which are known to cause air pollution and are also blamed for contributing to climate change and global warming.[14] Increasing costs of oil-based fuels, tightening environmental laws and restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions are propelling work on alternative power systems for automobiles. Efforts to improve or replace existing technologies include the development of hybrid vehicles, and electric and hydrogen vehicles which do not release pollution into the air.

Petroleum fuels Main article: Petroleum fuel engine Diesel Main article: Diesel engine

Diesel-engined cars have long been popular in Europe with the first models being introduced as early as 1922 [15] by Peugeot and the first production car, Mercedes-Benz 260 D in 1936 by Mercedes-Benz. The main benefit of diesel engines is a 50% fuel burn efficiency compared with 27%[16] in the best gasoline engines. A down-side of the Diesel engine is that better filters are required to reduce the presence in the exhaust gases of fine soot particulates called diesel particulate matter. Manufacturers are now starting to fit[when?] diesel particulate filters to remove the soot. Many diesel-powered cars can run with little or no modifications on 100% biodiesel and combinations of other organic oils.

Gasoline Main article: Petrol engine
2007 Mark II (BMW) Mini Cooper

Gasoline engines have the advantage over diesel in being lighter and able to work at higher rotational speeds and they are the usual choice for fitting in high-performance sports cars. Continuous development of gasoline engines for over a hundred years has produced improvements in efficiency and reduced pollution. The carburetor was used on nearly all road car engines until the 1980s but it was long realised better control of the fuel/air mixture could be achieved with fuel injection. Indirect fuel injection was first used in aircraft engines from 1909, in racing car engines from the 1930s, and road cars from the late 1950s.[16] Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) is now starting to appear in production vehicles such as the 2007 (Mark II) BMW Mini. Exhaust gases are also cleaned up by fitting a catalytic converter into the exhaust system. Clean air legislation in many of the car industries most important markets has made both catalysts and fuel injection virtually universal fittings. Most modern gasoline engines also are capable of running with up to 15% ethanol mixed into the gasoline - older vehicles may have seals and hoses that can be harmed by ethanol. With a small amount of redesign, gasoline-powered vehicles can run on ethanol concentrations as high as 85%. 100% ethanol is used in some parts of the world (such as Brazil), but vehicles must be started on pure gasoline and switched over to ethanol once the engine is running. Most gasoline engined cars can also run on LPG with the addition of an LPG tank for fuel storage and carburettor modifications to add an LPG mixer. LPG produces fewer toxic emissions and is a popular fuel for fork-lift trucks that have to operate inside buildings.

The hydrogen powered FCHV (Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle) was developed by Toyota in 2005 Biofuels Main articles: Biofuel, Ethanol fuel, and biogasoline

Ethanol, other alcohol fuels (biobutanol) and biogasoline have widespread use an automotive fuel. Most alcohols have less energy per liter than gasoline and are usually blended with gasoline. Alcohols are used for a variety of reasons - to increase octane, to improve emissions, and as an alternative to petroleum based fuel, since they can be made from agricultural crops. Brazil's ethanol program provides about 20% of the nation's automotive fuel needs, as a result of the mandatory use of E25 blend of gasoline throughout the country, 3 million cars that operate on pure ethanol, and 6 million dual or flexible-fuel vehicles sold since 2003.[17] that run on any mix of ethanol and gasoline. The commercial success of "flex" vehicles, as they are popularly known, have allowed sugarcane based ethanol fuel to achieve a 50% market share of the gasoline market by April 2008.[18][19][20]

Electric

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2. A History Of Peugeot; Through Dresses, Bikes And Cars
3. An Overview of the Peugeot Models

Although the Peugeot factory has been in manufacturing for many centuries it was not until 1889 that they decided to enter into the automobile industry and begin to sell their cars through dealerships. Peugeot originally manufactured crinoline dresses which used steel rods for rigidity. The making of these circular rods eventually led into making bicycles in the nineteenth century; the most famous being the Peugeot 'Le Grand Bi' (penny farthing) bicycle.

Armand Peugeot as the company was originally known would not enter the automobile market until late in the nineteenth century with a three wheeled steam driven motor car. Only four of these seminal cars were made and as such, not many made it to the forecourts of dealerships. Steam however was soon forgotten by Peugeot in favour of internal combustion with the help of Gottlieb Daimler.

Peugeot have always been a leader in the industry and were in fact the first company to fit rubber tyres to their cars; although these were not pneumatic and instead made of solid rubber. It was at this point that Peugeot entered motor racing, despite the cars resembling horse drawn carriages and still being steered by a tiller.

By the turn of the nineteenth century dealerships were sprouting with three hundred cars being sold in 1899 out of a total of 1200 cars sold in the whole of France. Peugeot not forgetting their bicycle heritage also produced a motorbike at the turn of the century and continue to do so to this day. The success of the company as a national institution was seemingly already assured by 1903 with over half of France's car sales.

The company divided its energies during the twenties, one focussing on the bikes and the other focussing on the cars. Throughout this period Peugeot continued to put affordable cars onto their dealership forecourts with the Type 201 being the cheapest car in France. Innovation was always a consistent theme; the development of retracting roof was an attempt to coax rich Frenchmen with stylistic designs and luxurious cars. The curvaceous bodies and sloping headlights of this period would be features in Peugeot design for generations after.

During the fifties Peugeot began to open dealerships in America trying to capture some of the booming economy in the post war states. It was at this point that many collaborations with other European companies occurred, such as a combining efforts with Renault in 1966 and Volvo in 1972. The company also utilised the exquisite designing abilities of the Pininfarina house to make models even more attractive to buyers.

The seventies saw a major move by Peugeot to take over rival French manufacturer, Citroen. This meant an even more extensive number of dealerships at their disposal and meant that with the formation of PSA (Peugeot Societe Anonyme) Peugeot were part of the biggest car manufacturer in France. PSA worked towards keeping the company identities separate throughout this period and the distinctive flare of each brand continues to this day.

With ongoing growth and successful dealerships throughout Europe, Peugeot were able to purchase the European division of Chrysler. This had mixed success and in fact caused trouble for the PSA's financial position. Despite a poor period throughout the eighties Peugeot were able to recoup the losses from the previous decade and achieve a strong position throughout the nineties. Despite losing the American sales base in this period the company still does well in Europe and will continue to do so with innovative technologies and quaint French styling.

Ultimately the company has a rich and diverse heritage; after a relatively modest beginning manufacturing dresses they have managed to become one of the automotive powerhouses of Europe. In today's highly competitive car industry they will be hard pushed to remain popular and continue to grow as they had done in the previous century.

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