Motor Vehicle

A **motor vehicle**, also known as **motorized vehicle** or **automotive vehicle**, is a self-propelled vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on rails (such as trains or trams) and is used for the transportation of people or cargo. Types of motor vehicles include cars, trucks, motorcycles and buses.

## General description

Generally speaking, a motor vehicle consists of a wheeled platform, which is driven by some kind of internal engine and powered by an energy source, normally a kind of combustible fuel or electrical battery. Its main purpose is to traverse distances on the land, while either transporting cargo or passengers.

## Motor Vehicles in the New World

### Outside Civilized Areas and Third Civilization

In the Third Civilization Area and Outside the Civilization Areas, personal and cargo transport was limited to either horse-drawn carriages or beasts of burden. There were no paved roads and cobblestone roads were only available in urban areas, such as in the Parpaldia Empire. The internal combustion engine was known due to the presence of Mu, but the people in these areas had neither the knowledge nor resources to build them or power them. Furthermore, magic in these locales was not sufficient enough to power carriages on their own. As a result, transport was slow and substantially dangerous, especially when one had to traverse a very long distance.

With the appearance of Japan, nations such as the Qua-Toyne Principality and Quila Kingdom got their first experience with automobiles and other forms of motorized transport. In addition to Rail Transport and Concrete Pavement, the people began to desire motor vehicles as an alternative to their horses and carriages. More goods could be transported faster and cheaply, while distances started to shorten. Other nations such as the Topa Kingdom and the Fenn Kingdom started to follow Qua-Toyne and Quila's example.

### Second Civilization

In the Second Civilization Area, countries such as Mu already had motor vehicles, though they were more primitive than Japan's and the Gra Valkas Empire's. Due to their level of technology, the best they had were estimated to be 50 years behind the Gra Valkas' and over a hundred years behind Japan's. Presently, Mu is studying Japanese automotive technology in order to improve their own, since civilian cars are not restricted by the New World Technology Outflow Prevention Act.

### Gra Valkas Empire

As stated previously, the Gra Valkas automobiles are more advanced than Mu's, as the technology is equal to early to late 1940's level. However, they are still relatively primitive in comparison to Japan's cars, with their lack of anti-lock brakes, old carburetor designs and no electronics.

### First Civilization

In the First Civilization Area, the Holy Milishial Empire use magic-driven carriages, which like their aircraft and other machines, were poorly reverse-engineered copies from relics of the Ravernal Empire. Since the engineers only vaguely understand half of the Ravernal Empire's technology, they can neither improve on their current designs nor innovate an entirely new design.

### Japan

For Japan, their motor vehicles are considered top-notch and after the Japanese-Parpaldian War, there has been an explosion of car exports to other nations. In fact, there has been a trend of deaths due to overwork among the Japanese population as automotive factory workers cannot keep up with the demand for Japanese automobiles. And it is because of the automobile indirectly, that Japan would declare war on the Gra Valkas Empire during the New World War.