History of the automobile8 (Modern era).

Modern era

The modern era is normally defined as the 25 years preceding the current year.[citation needed] The modern era has been one of increasing standardisation, platform sharing, computer-aided design, to reduce costs and development time and increasing use of electronic for both engine management and entertainment systems.

Some particular contemporary developments are the proliferation of front- and all-wheel drive, the adoption of the diesel engine, and the ubiquity of fuel injection. Most modern passenger cars are front-wheel-drive monocoque/unibody designs, with transversely mounted engines.

Body styles have changed as well in the modern era. Three types, the hatchback, sedan, and sport utility vehicle, dominate today's market. All originally emphasised practicality, but have mutated into today's high-powered luxury crossover SUV, sports wagon and two-volume Large MPV. The rise of pickup trucks in the United States and SUVs worldwide has changed the face of motoring with these "trucks" coming to command more than half of the world automobile market.[citation needed] There was also the introduction of the MPV class (smaller non-commercial passenger minivans), among the first of which were the French Renault Espace and the Chrysler minivan versions in the United States

The modern era has also seen rapidly improving fuel efficiency and engine output. The automobile emissions concerns have been eased with computerised engine management systems.

The economic crisis of 2008 cut almost a third of light vehicle sales from Chrysler, Toyota, Ford, and Nissan. It also subtracted about a fourth of Honda's sales and about a seventh of sales from General Motors.

Since 2009, China has become the world's largest car manufacturer with production greater than Japan, the United States, and all of Europe. Besides large growth of car production in Asian and other countries, there has been growth in transnational corporate groups, with the production of transnational automobiles sharing the same platforms as well as badge engineering or re-badging to suit different markets and consumer segments.

Since the end of the 20th century, several award competitions for cars and trucks have become widely known, such as European Car of the Year, Car of the Year Japan, North American Car of the Year, World Car of the Year, Truck of the Year, and International Car of the Year. Also, a Car of the Century award was held in which in the US the Ford Model T was named as most influential car of the 20th century.

Exemplary modern cars:

• 1966–present Toyota Corolla – a Japanese saloon/sedan that has become the best-selling nameplate of all time, with over 40 million sold across 11 generations through July 2013.
• 1966–1992 Oldsmobile Toronado – Introduced electronic anti-lock braking system, and airbag First modern-era American car with front wheel drive.
• 1973–present Mercedes-Benz S-Class – Seat belt pretensioner, and electronic traction control system
• 1975–present BMW 3 Series – the 3 Series has been on Car and Driver magazine's annual Ten Best list 17 times
• 1977–present Honda Accord saloon/sedan — a Japanese sedan that became popular in the United States
• 1983–present Chrysler minivans – the two-box minivan design nearly pushed the station wagon out of the market
• 1984–present Renault Espace — first mass one-volume car of non-commercial MPV class
• 1986–present Ford Taurus — this mid-sized front-wheel drive sedan dominated the United States market in the late-1980s
• 1997–present Toyota Prius, launched in the Japanese market and became the best known hybrid electric vehicle and also the world's top selling hybrid.
• 1998–present Ford Focus — one of the most popular hatchbacks and Ford's best selling world car
• 2008–present Tata Nano — an inexpensive (₹100,000, ≈ $2200), rear-engined, four-passenger city car aimed primarily at the Indian domestic market
• 2008–2012 Tesla Roadster — first highway-capable all-electric vehicle in serial production for sale in the United States in the modern era. Sold about 2,500 units worldwide.
• 2008–2013 BYD F3DM – first highway-capable series production plug-in hybrid, launched in China in December 2008, sold over 2,300 units.
• 2009–present, Mitsubishi i-MiEV – first highway-capable series production all-electric car, launched in Japan in July 2009 for fleet customers, and in April 2010 for retail customers. Rebadged versions of the i MiEV are sold in Europe by PSA Peugeot Citroën (PSA) as the Peugeot iOn and Citroën C-Zero.
• 2010–present, Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt — all-electric car and plug-in hybrid correspondingly, launched in December 2010, are the world's top selling mass production vehicles of their kind. As of early December 2015, global Volt sales totaled over 100,000. Nissan Leaf global sales achieved the 300,000 unit milestone in January 2018, making the Leaf the world's all-time best-selling highway-capable electric car in history.
• 2012–present, Tesla Model S – Plug-in electric vehicle was ranked as the world's best selling plug-in electric vehicle in 2015. It was also named car of the century by Car and Driver.