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Everything About Vehicles

Vehicle glossary

Score axes and nicknames used across the vehicle atlas.

A compact reference for terms that appear on type pages — not a substitute for the full chapters.

Score axes

Speed Practical top speed relative to the other forty-eight types in this atlas.
Efficiency Energy used per useful trip, relative across the atlas.
Accessibility How easily an ordinary person can use this mode without special training or wealth.
Safety How safe the mode is per trip, given normal operation and current regulation.
Cultural impact How deeply this mode has shaped language, status and everyday imagination.
Tech disruption How much this mode is being rewritten by new technology right now.

Also called

🚙 Automobile car · passenger car · auto
⚡ Electric car EV · battery electric vehicle · BEV
🏍️ Motorcycle bike · motorbike · two-wheeler
🚌 Bus coach · transit bus · omnibus
🚛 Truck lorry · heavy goods vehicle · HGV
🚲 Bicycle bike · cycle · pushbike
🚑 Ambulance EMS vehicle · paramedic van · rescue ambulance
🚜 Tractor farm tractor · agricultural tractor
🚒 Fire engine fire truck · appliance · pumper
🏎️ Formula One car F1 car · Grand Prix car · open-wheel racer
🚅 High-speed rail HSR · bullet train · TGV / Shinkansen
🚇 Subway metro · underground · tube
🚂 Freight train goods train · rail freight
🚊 Tram streetcar · light rail · trolley
🚝 Monorail straddle-beam monorail
🚄 Maglev magnetic levitation train · maglev train
🚂 Steam locomotive steam engine · steam loco
🚈 Light rail LRT · light rail transit · metrotram
🚞 Funicular cable railway · inclined plane railway
🛳️ Container ship boxship · cellular vessel
🚢 Cruise ship passenger liner (leisure) · cruise liner
⛴️ Ferry car ferry · ro-ro passenger
⛵ Sailboat yacht · sailing vessel · sail craft
🛟 Submarine sub · undersea boat · U-boat type
🛢️ Oil tanker petroleum tanker · crude carrier · VLCC
🛳️ Aircraft carrier carrier · flattop · CVN
🧊 Icebreaker polar icebreaker · icebreaking ship
✈️ Airliner jetliner · commercial aircraft · narrow/widebody
🚁 Helicopter rotorcraft · chopper · helo
🛰️ Fighter jet combat aircraft · fighter
🛩️ Private jet business jet · bizjet
🛸 Drone UAV · unmanned aerial vehicle · quadcopter
🎈 Airship dirigible · zeppelin · blimp
🛩️ Seaplane flying boat · floatplane · amphibian
🎈 Hot-air balloon balloon · sport balloon · Montgolfier
🚀 Orbital rocket launch vehicle · carrier rocket
🛸 Crewed capsule crew vehicle · space capsule
🚀 Space Shuttle Space Transportation System · orbiter · STS
🛴 E-scooter electric kick scooter · shared scooter
🚡 Cable car aerial tramway · gondola lift · ropeway
🚜 Bulldozer crawler dozer · earthmover · track dozer
🗑️ Garbage truck refuse truck · dustcart · waste collection vehicle
🚞 Rack railway cog railway · cogwheel train · Abt system
🚤 Tugboat tug · harbour tug · ship-handling tug
🚢 Bulk carrier bulker · dry bulk carrier · ore/grain ship
✈️ Cargo aircraft freighter · cargo plane · air freighter
🛩️ Glider sailplane · soaring aircraft · motor glider (variant)
🛺 Tuk-tuk auto rickshaw · autorickshaw · three-wheeler