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-
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- The
Topic:
- Automobiles
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This project contains a supplemental webpage
titled Car
Manufacturers that has lots of links
to makers of today's automobiles and also to some
sites for vintage models. Don't miss it!
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- Easier - An
automobile or car is a passenger vehicle that
usually has four wheels and is moved on land by an
engine. A truck is a motor vehicle that is designed
to carry heavy loads.
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- Harder - The
origin of the automobile cannot be attributed to
one person, but its history can be traced back to
technology developments in Europe. However, it was
in the United States where pioneering auto makers
like Ransom Olds and Henry Ford began
mass-producing cars and made the automobile a major
transportation mode.
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- Today, the automobile is the most important way
of personal transportation for millions of people
around the world, especially in developed
countries. People depend on their cars and trucks
to travel to and from work, to run errands, to
transport goods, to visit friends and relatives,
and to travel. The increased number of automobiles
that are produced and sold has made the auto
industry a global giant.
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- Americans have been described as having a love
affair with their automobiles. The U.S. has became
a nation on wheels as affordable cars
revolutionized our way of life and changed living
patterns. The automobile has brought suburban
sprawl, motels, shopping centers, superhighways,
theme parks, drive-in restaurants, and
drive-through banking. The widespread use of
automobiles has also brought some major problems
that include alarming increases in vehicle
accidents and their related injuries and death,
exhaust and noise pollution, dependence on fossil
fuels, and the need to maintain extensive roadway
systems.
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- Autoshop
Online
- http://www.autoshop-online.com/
- Here you find lots of help on automotive
repair, maintenance, and operation.
- Not To-Be-Missed Sections:
- 2) Automotive 101 http://www.autoshop-online.com/auto101.html
- 3) Automotive Emergencies/Tips http://www.autoshop-online.com/auto101/emerotext.html
- 4) Tips from the Car Care Council http://www.autoshop-online.com/tips.html
- Related Websites:
- 5) Automobile: Engines, Differential, Gears,
Shocks, etc.
- (Online Calculators from Martindale's
Reference Desk)
- http://www-sci.lib.uci.edu/HSG/RefCalculators4.html#MECH-AUTO
- 6) Automobile Maintenance and Repair
Tutorial http://www.citiesannex.com/car_repair.htm
- 7) Automotive Learning Online http://www.innerauto.com/default.htm
- 8) Ask the Mechanic by M. Miller http://www.askthemechanic.net/main.htm
- 9) Interactive Automotive Vehicle Repair
Solution http://e-automechanic.com/
- 10) Mister Fixit's Autorepair by B. Hewitt
http://www.misterfixit.com/autorepr.htm
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- Early
Cars: Fact Sheet for Children from the
Smithsonian Institution
- http://www.si.edu/resource/faq/nmah/earlycars.htm
- Learn about early cars, how they worked, and
who drove them.
- Related Websites:
- 2) Automotive History http://www.autoshop-online.com/auto101/histtext.html
- 3) Early Adventures with the Automobile
(Eyewitness and participant accounts)
- http://www.ibiscom.com/auto.htm
- 4) History of the Automobile
- http://www.cs.colorado.edu/~l3d/systems/agentsheets/New-Vista/automobile/history.html
- 5) Mileposts of Automobile History http://www.aaca.org/bntc/mileposts/mileposts.htm
- 6) Millennium Icon: Cars http://www.readingeagle.com/krt/tech/cars/html/print.htm
- 7) Model T Ford Kid's Page http://www.modelt.org/kid1.html
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- How
Hybrid Cars Work at Howstuffworks
- http://www.howstuffworks.com/hybrid-car12.htm
- Hybrid cars combine the technical advantages
of the electric car with the economical
advantages of conventional combustion-engine
powered vehicles.
- Related Websites:
- 2) Electric Auto Association - Phoenix
Chapter http://geocities.com/phoenix_eaa/
- 3) History http://www.uweb.ucsb.edu/~cwamsl00/history.htm
- 4) Hybrid Cars http://www.hybridcars.com/
- 5) Hybrid Electric Vehicles at Dept. of
Energy http://www.ott.doe.gov/hev/
- 6) Partnership for a New Generation of
Vehicles http://www.ta.doc.gov/pngv/cover/pngvcover.htm
- 7) Solar Hybrid Car Soon to be on the Road
http://www.mst.dk/magazine/issue7/cleante7/solar/text.htm
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- Buying
a Safer Car: New Car Assessment Program
- http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/testing/ncap/
- Find the safety ratings of any new car from
the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration.
- Related Auto Safety Websites:
- 2) Automobile Safety During the Early Years
http://npin.org/library/1998/n00074/n00074.html
and http://www.mommytips.com/article/Safety/Infant&Toddler/Automobile%20Safety.htm
- 3) Dilemma of Automobile Safety http://www.millville.org/Workshops_f/kess_mech/Kess_Auto/FuInject/FINAL.html
- 4) National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (Dept. of Transportation)
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/
- 5) Safety Problems & Issues at the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
http://www.NHTSA.dot.gov/cars/problems/
- 6) Vehicle Ratings (Crash Worthiness
Testing) at the Insurance Institute for Highway
Safety http://www.highwaysafety.org/vehicle_ratings/ratings.htm
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- After visiting several of the
automobile websites, complete one or more
of these activities.
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- Interview People About Cars.
Conduct a series of interviews with people
of different ages and backgrounds about
their memories and feelings about cars.
You may want to first visit the 42eXplore
project on Oral
History to get ideas and information
about interviewing. Prepare a list of
interview questions. What was your first
car memory? Do you remember your first
car? What car do you wish you had never
sold? What was the funniest thing that
ever happened with a car? How did you
learn to drive? What is your favorite car?
Why?
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- Take an Online Practice Drivers
Test. Go to Drivers
Test and see how you do on a practice
test for a automobile, motorcycle, or
commercial drivers license.
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- Design a Car for the Future.
First, you may visit sites like Alternative
Cars in the 21st Century, a review of
a book by R. Riley, and It's
the Only Way to Live: In Cars by J.
Cascio. Then list the attributes that you
would want a car of the future to have.
What would your car look like? What would
you name this innovative car? Construct a
model of your car and an advertising
poster that promotes its qualities.
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- Map Automobile Businesses. Map
your town or neighborhood and locate all
the businesses or organizations that are
directly associated with automobile
transportation; businesses that provide
goods or services directly related to
automobiles.
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- Do a Traffic Survey. Pick two
or three different locations such as at
street near your home or school. Pick a
time period(s), an hour or two, and record
the numbers and types of vehicles that
travel by your location. You could survey
different days of the week like a weekday
and weekend day. Compare and contrast the
data collected at the different locations
and days. Remember to position
yourself at a safe distance away from the
roadway and prepare for the weather
conditions; i.e., appropriate clothing,
water, lawn chair, umbrella.
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- Chart Automobile Fuel Prices.
Keep a record of fuel prices in your area
for two weeks. Identify any changes or
differences that occur. Interview a fuel
retailer to find out how much of the price
goes to taxes, for transport, and for the
oil company. Display the results of your
research on a chart(s).
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- Plan an Auto Trip Across the United
States. Use MapQuest
to help decide the route that you would
take to motor across the United States.
Select an automobile and use Fuel
Economy Site to help estimate the
miles per gallon of fuel. Then project
your fuel expenses to make the entire
trip.
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- Debate Use of Personal Cars Versus
Mass Transit Transportation. Ownership
and use of a personal or family vehicle is
a pervasive trait of most people in the
U.S. However the expenditure of oil
resources, continued pollution, cost of
road and bridge maintenance, and
inefficiencies associated with automobiles
point to the need for change. Debate the
issue of personal car use versus mass
transit transportation and decide what the
best course is for the future.
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- Debate Restricting Teenage
Driving. Visit sites like Automobile
Safety and the Teenage Driver at
MedLine, Automobile
Safety and the Teenage Driver, and
Driving
Safety For Teenagers. Then debate the
issue of restricting teenage driving. What
if any criteria would you recommend?
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- Websites By Kids For Kids
- Automobiles
(2000 ThinkQuest Project)
- http://library.thinkquest.org/C007101/
- From Audis to Porsches, this site explains
the functions of different cars using pictures
and diagrams.
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- Automobiles
- http://www.pendleton.k12.ky.us/Schools/SMS/Energy%20and%20You/Automobiles/automobiles.htm
- This student project site houses a
collection of articles on hybrid cars.
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- Future
of Cars (1999 ThinkQuest Project)
- http://library.thinkquest.org/26471/main.html
- This site traces the evolution of
automobiles through the past century and also
provides insight into cars in the future.
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- Physics
That Powers Automobiles (2000 ThinkQuest
Project)
- http://library.thinkquest.org/C007574/
- This website covers four topics: starter,
engine, transmission and brakes.
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- Automobile Websites
- Automobile
Emissions: An Overview from the
Environmental Protection Agency
- http://www.epa.gov/oms/05-autos.htm
- This fact sheet provides a description of
the required emission systems for
automobiles.
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- Automobile
Society
- http://www.lifeintheusa.com/transportation/index.html#Top
- This online guide describes the automobile's
place in our society and provides guidance for
their use.
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- Automotive
Industries History
- http://www.ai-online.com/history/index.htm
- The site of an industry magazine, this
resource summarizes the past 100 year history of
the automobile.
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- AutoSpeak
- http://www.autospeak.com/
- Here you can find archives of auto sounds,
racing photos and events, tours of automobile
museums in the U.S., and technical information
on foreign and domestic cars.
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- Automotive
Technology from Popular Mechanics
- http://popularmechanics.com/popmech/auto2/2HAUTKP.html
- This series of articles give an inside look
at the mechanics -- the why and the how of
modern automobiles.
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- Car
and Driver
- http://www.caranddriver.com/xp/Caranddriver/home.xml
- This online site for the magazine has a
buyer's guide, archives, news, and more.
- Other Online Magazines:
- 2) Automobile Magazine http://www.automobilemag.com/
- 3) Automobile Quarterly http://www.autoquarterly.com/
- 4) AutoWeek http://www.autoweek.com/
- 5) Custom Rodder http://www.customrodderweb.com/
- 6) Motor Age http://www.motorage.com/
- 7) Motor Trend http://www.motortrend.com/
- 8) Popular Hot Rodding http://www.popularhotrodding.com/
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- Car Times
Auto Directory
- http://cartimes.com/
- This is the site of a collection of links
and resources for car topics.
- Similar Website:
- 2) Auto Channel http://www.theautochannel.com/
- 3) Auto Directory http://www.autodirectory.com/
- 4) AutoGuide http://www.autoguide.net/
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- Hemmings
Motor News
- http://www.hemmings.com/
- This site houses a large collection of
resources and links for those interested in the
collection and restoration of classic cars.
- Related Websites:
- 2) Antique Automobile Club of America
http://www.aaca.org/
- 3) Car Collector http://www.carcollector.com/
- 4) Old Cars Weekly http://www.krause.com/cars/oc/
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- Life
of Henry Ford from the Henry Ford and
Greenfield Museum
- http://www.hfmgv.org/histories/hf/henry.html
- Learn about the life of Henry Ford and his
contributions to the development of the
automobile.
- Related Websites:
- 2) Ford, Henry at Compton's Encyclopedia
http://www.comptons.com/encyclopedia/ARTICLES/0050/00679424_A.html
- 3) Henry Ford http://www.edison-ford-estate.com/henry-ford/Fbio.htm
- 4) Ford, Henry at Encarta http://encarta.msn.com/find/Concise.asp?ti=03DAD000
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- NADA
Story: A Short History from the National
Automobile Dealers Association
- http://www.nada.org/content/AboutNADA/History/History.htm
- This site houses a series of articles from
the 1992 75th anniversary edition of NADA's
AutoExec magazine.
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- Sloan
Museum, Flint, Michigan
- http://www.ipl.org/exhibit/sloan/
- At this site, you can tour the gallery of
cars made from 1902 to 1983 or take a trip
through the early days of car making in Flint,
the birthplace of General Motors
Corporation.
- Other Automobile Museum Sites:
- 2) National Automobile Museum http://www.automuseum.org/
- 3) Toyota Automobile Museum http://www.toyota.co.jp/Museum/index.html
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- So You
Want to Make a Car
- http://www.ipl.org/autou/
- This site explains the work in a modern auto
manufacturing plant by taking you on a virtual
tour.
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- Supercars
- http://www.supercars.net/
- Here you find information and photographs of
the world's fastest and most expensive
automobiles.
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- Auto Racing Sites
- 1908
Road Race from New York to Paris
- http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/4459/
- On February 12, 1908, six cars leave Times
Square in the dead of Winter. Machines and
racers braved ten foot snow drifts and frigid
weather to race across the United States,
transfer to Siberia by ship, and continue on to
Paris.
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- Cart
- http://www.cart.com/
- This is the official website of the
Championship Auto Racing Teams.
- Related Websites:
- 2) CART Racing Update http://www.cartracingupdate.com/
- 3) CART Rock http://members.tripod.com/cart_rock/
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- Indianapolis
500
- http://www.indy500.com/
- This is the official website of the
'greatest spectacle in racing.'
- Related Websites:
- 2) Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame
Museum http://www.automuseum.com/INDYmuse.html
- 3) Open Wheel News: Indy 500 http://indy.vhroom.com/IRL_Indy500_2000.htm
- 4) Slam! Motorsports: Indy 500 http://www.canoe.ca/Indy500/home.html
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- Indy
Racing Online
- http://www.indyracingleague.com/
- This site focuses on the cars, drivers, and
events of Indy car racing.
- Related Website:
- 2) Indy Racing League Crew http://www.irlcrew.com/
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- NASCAR
- http://www.nascar.com/
- This huge site is the official online
presence of the National Association for Stock
Car Auto Racing.
- Related Websites:
- 2) NASCAR Racing at About.com http://nascar.about.com/autos/nascar/mbody.htm
- 3) NASCAR Racing Network Forum http://nascar.motorsportforum.com/
- 4) Ovaltrack (Links-site) http://www.ovaltrack.com/
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- Race
Net
- http://www.theracenet.com/index.htm
- This site covers auto racing in NASCAR, Pro
SCCA (Trans-Am, FF2000), NHRA, IHRA, UHRA, Skip
Barber, Indy Racing League, Jasper Motorsports
and other automotive organizations.
- Related Websites:
- 2) American Racing 'Zine http://www.racecar.com/
- 3) AutoRacing1 http://www.autoracing1.com/
- 4) Canadian Racing http://www.geocities.com/~gregs/
- 5) Flag World (Canadian Auto Racing)
http://www.flagworld.com/
- 6) Motorsport http://www.motorsport.com/index.asp
- 7) RaceWire http://www.racewire.com/
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- Websites For Teachers
- Planes
and Trains and Automobiles
and Study
Skills! at Education World
- http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson064.shtml
- This lesson planning article includes a
dozen activities that provide practice in
reading maps, schedules, timetables, and
more.
- (Note: Several of links are no
longer valid, but can be updated by resources
found here and on the other 42eXplore
transportation projects: Railroads
and Flight.)
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- Transportation
by J. Bryant (Grades 6-9)
- http://www.cis.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1987/6/87.06.02.x.html
- The purpose of this lesson is to increase
knowledge and understanding of diesel and
gasoline engines.
-

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-
-
- Created by
Annette
Lamb and
Larry
Johnson,
1/99.
- Updated,
5/00.
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