Various different cars

SUV; also known as sports utility vehicle: an off-road vehicle in which driving characteristics and comfort have been optimised for use on the asphalt.
MPV; also called Multi-Purpose Vehicle: a car suitable for several people and purposes. Luggage is placed in the occupant compartment.
Coupé; a (usually sedan-based sporty) version of a car, with a roofline that starts to descend towards the trunk of the car behind the front seats.
Cabriolet; a car of which the roof can be removed to create an open car. It must be a cloth roof, because nowadays there are also many models with a steel folding roof and that is a coupé-cabriolet (often called CC, like the 207CC), actually a kind of crossover.
Sports car; a mostly race car based street car with a lot of power.

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Cross-over; that’s how versions that can’t really be categorized are called, so they’re a bit of different models, for example the Nissan Qashqai (MPV and SUV intersection). Actually, the MPV is also a crossover between estate car and SUV, but this became such a popular model that it got its own name. Nowadays more and more mixed styles are used, like SSUV (Super Sports Utility Vehicle), MAV (Multi Activity Vehicle) or CUV (Crossover Utility Vehicle). Often this is marketing jargon.

Mule this is a type of car that is not for sale. It is a forerunner of a new model, but with an ‘old’ coach over it.
Prototype, usually a handmade first model, sometimes to gauge opinions, for a new model car to be made.

Segments

Depending on the size, deployability and target group, a passenger car is divided into a certain segment. As a result, the prices and performance of cars of different brands, but divided into the same segment, can be compared more effectively. It is also possible to compare the sales figures of different brands and to take targeted marketing actions towards the different target groups.

The A and B segments are usually the smaller city cars. The C and D segments are the most common types for the middle class. From the E-segment onwards, the larger and more luxurious executive-type cars are usually used. The J to L-segments are often the larger MPVs or minibuses, of which the L-segment are often the SUVs and the 4×4 off-road vehicles.

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Door or flap
When describing models of passenger cars, in addition to the type of bodywork, reference is often made to two, three, four or five doors. In this form of naming, it is important to distinguish between flap and door. The difference lies in the fact that a door can be used to gain access to the passenger compartment of the car. It can also be said that if the window opens with the opening, it is a door. A car therefore has a 3rd or 5th door if the passenger compartment is opened when it is opened. When access is provided to an independent space at the front or rear of the car, this is referred to as a flap. This concerns access to the engine compartment or the boot.

A sedan often has a bonnet (or hood) at the front and a boot lid at the back, but there are exceptions; there are also car models where the engine is placed in the back of the car. A well-known example of this is the Volkswagen Beetle which has the boot on the front and the engine in the back of the car.

Operation
Cars are equipped with hand and foot controls to control the car and regulate comfort. These include a steering wheel, pedals for braking and accelerating and, in the case of a manual gearbox, clutch control, handbrake and gear lever. In addition, a car around the steering wheel includes a number of levers for the indicators, headlight, rear light, windscreen wipers and heating. The dashboard gives an overview of the status of the car.

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Over time, some of the controls have been replaced by automatic controls such as a starting mechanism, reversing light and, in some cases, an automatic gearbox. For cars from about 2010 onwards, most of the controls are not mechanically connected, but are connected to an electronic CAN-bus and an on-board computer that controls the car’s brakes and engine, among other things. This electronic control makes adaptive cruise control and an anti-lock braking system possible. With servo-assisted steering, a lane keeping system is possible in which the car steers itself. With the development of sensors, a self-propelled car is possible in the long run, whereby the control can be limited to entering an end point.

Engine
The placement of the engine in a car is usually in the front of the car, in exceptional cases the engine is placed in the back of the car as with the Volkswagen Beetle and the Porsche 911. The handling of the car becomes more and more difficult.