HOW DO YOU GET AROUND How do you get to school You may walk ride your bike or take a bus Your parents may drop you off in your family’s car All the ways you can get to school are forms of transportation Cars are one of the most popular forms of transportation Cars are also called automobiles or motor vehicles Trucks and buses are motor vehicles too It’s hard to imagine what life was like before there were Today cars cover our highways A sight like this wasn’t possible just a century ago 4
cars That’s how important they are Cars have made it easy for people to travel within a city or across a continent They’ve also affected how people live Before people could only work at jobs close to where they live Now people can live farther away from their jobs because they can drive to where they work Trucks buses motorcycles and cars are all motor vehicles How are they different How are they the same Compare and Contrast Cars take us to school in the morning They also take our parents to work 5
MANY KINDS OF CARS What do you picture when you think of a car There are many types of cars to choose from In fact the only thing the different kinds may have in common is that they all have four wheels In the past most cars were open without a fixed top Now most cars are closed except for a kind of car called a convertible The most common styles of cars are coupes and sedans A coupe A convertible lets you feel the sun on your face and the wind in your hair 6
has two doors and a small backseat Sedans commonly have four doors and can seat between four and six people When a sedan has a door in back that lifts it’s called a hatchback Sports cars are built low to the ground and often do not have backseats They’re fast and fun Minivans and SUVs are popular with families They’re roomy and big Racecars zoom down a racetrack These cars are too fast for people to drive on regular roads An SUV is a sport utility vehicle They are higher off the ground than sedans and often are more powerful 7
