Editing Truck (section)

==History==

===Steam wagons===
[[Image:1924-Super-Sentinel.jpg|thumb|[[Sentinel Waggon Works|Sentinel]] steam wagon]]
{{Main|Steam wagon}}
Trucks and cars have a common ancestor: the steam-powered ''fardier'' [[Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot]] built in 1769.{{Citation needed|date=September 2015}} However, [[steam wagon]]s were not common until the mid-19th century. The roads of the time, built for horse and carriages, limited these vehicles to very short hauls, usually from a factory to the nearest railway station. The first [[Semi-trailer truck|semi-trailer]] appeared in 1881,{{citation needed|date=July 2016}} towed by a [[steam tractor]] manufactured by [[De Dion-Bouton]]. Steam-powered wagons were sold in France and the United States until the eve of [[World War I]], and 1935 in the United Kingdom, when a change in road tax rules made them uneconomic against the new diesel lorries.

===Internal combustion===
[[File:DMG-Lastwagen von 1896.jpg|thumb|right|[[Daimler Motor Lastwagen|Daimler Motor-Lastwagen]] from 1898]]
[[File:1903EldridgeTruck.jpg|thumb|1903 Eldridge truck on display at the [[Iowa 80]] Trucking Museum, Walcott, Iowa.]]
In 1895, [[Karl Benz]] designed and built the first [[internal combustion]] truck. Later that year some of Benz's trucks were modified to become busses by ''Netphener''. A year later, in 1896, another internal combustion engine truck was built by [[Gottlieb Daimler]], the [[Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft|Daimler Motor]] [[Daimler Motor Lastwagen|Lastwagen]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Truck History|url=http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bltruck.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120711060100/http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bltruck.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 July 2012|publisher=[[About.com]]|access-date=6 September 2008}}</ref> Other companies, such as [[Peugeot]], [[Renault]] and [[Büssing]], also built their own versions. The first truck in the United States was built by [[Autocar Company|Autocar]] in 1899 and was available with {{convert|5|or|8|hp|0}} engines.<ref>{{cite web|title=Autocar, Always up, Our History|url=http://www.autocartruck.com/history|publisher=Autocar, LLC|access-date=21 October 2018|archive-date=22 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022113254/https://www.autocartruck.com/history|url-status=live}}</ref> Another early American truck was built by George Eldridge of Des Moines, Iowa, in 1903. It was powered by an engine with two opposed cylinders, and had a chain drive<ref>"D.M.'s Eldridge Beat Henry Ford." Des Moines Register, 5 June 1996, p. 6N-LC. https://www.newspapers.com/image/130960696/?clipping_id=131599051&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjEzMDk2MDY5NiwiaWF0IjoxNzE1NTQwMzIwLCJleHAiOjE3MTU2MjY3MjB9.-lQ-C4jYruRLmtDhkKYk7d6sZTuWnWdhpGvssMexmjA</ref> A 1903 Eldridge truck is displayed at the [[Iowa 80]] Trucking Museum, Walcott, Iowa.   Trucks of the era mostly used [[Straight engine|two-cylinder]] engines and had a carrying capacity of {{cvt|1.5|to|2|t|lbs|-2}}. After World War I, several advances were made: [[Starter motor|electric starters]], and 4, 6, and 8 cylinder engines.

===Diesel engines===
[[File:Foden_Diesel_Truck_(40746179963).jpg|thumb|[[Foden Trucks|Foden]] diesel truck from 1931]]

Although it had been invented in 1897, the [[diesel engine]] did not appear in production trucks until Benz introduced it in 1923.<ref>{{cite web|title=Debut of diesel engines in tractors and trucks|url=https://media.daimler.com/marsMediaSite/en/instance/ko/Debut-of-diesel-engines-in-tractors-and-trucks.xhtml?oid=9361501|publisher=Daimler AG|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=27 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927173954/https://media.daimler.com/marsMediaSite/en/instance/ko/Debut-of-diesel-engines-in-tractors-and-trucks.xhtml?oid=9361501|url-status=live}}</ref> The diesel engine was not common in trucks in Europe until the 1930s. In the United States, Autocar introduced diesel engines for heavy applications in the mid-1930s. Demand was high enough that Autocar launched the "DC" model (diesel conventional) in 1939. However, it took much longer for diesel engines to be broadly accepted in the US: gasoline engines were still in use on heavy trucks in the 1970s.<ref>{{cite book|last=Davies|first=Peter J.|title=The World Encyclopedia of Trucks|year=2000|publisher=Lorenz Books|isbn=0-7548-0518-2|pages=20–21, 114, 118, 160, 204}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Motor's Truck and Diesel Repair Manual|edition=26|year=1973|publisher=Motor|isbn=0-910992-16-9|pages=530, 1035}}</ref>

===Electric motors===
{{Main|Electric truck}}
[[File:1911WalkerElectricTruck-2.jpg|thumb|1911 Walker Electric truck on display at the [[Iowa 80]] Trucking Museum, Walcott, Iowa.]]
[[File:President Biden Ford F150 Lightning 05 20 2021.jpg|thumb|[[President Joe Biden]] test driving the Ford F-150 Lightning all-electric pick up at Ford's [[Ford River Rouge Complex|Rouge Electric Vehicle Center]]]]
[[Electric truck|Electrically powered trucks]] predate internal combustion ones and have been continuously available since the mid-19th-century. In the 1920s [[Autocar Company|Autocar Trucks]] was the first of the major truck manufacturers to offer a range of electric trucks for sale.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chuckstoyland.com/category/automotive/early-electric-cars/trucks/truck-auto-car/|title=AutoCar Archives|access-date=1 July 2021|archive-date=17 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817223150/https://www.chuckstoyland.com/category/automotive/early-electric-cars/trucks/truck-auto-car/|url-status=live}}</ref> Electric trucks were successful for urban delivery roles and as specialized work vehicles like [[Forklift#Battery-electric|forklifts]] and [[Ground support equipment#Pushback tugs and tractors|pushback tugs]]. The higher energy density of liquid fuels soon led to the decline of electric-powered trucks in favor of, first, gasoline, and then diesel and CNG-fueled engines until battery technology advanced in the 2000s when new [[Electric vehicle battery#Electric vehicle battery types|chemistries]] and higher-volume production broadened the range of applicability of electric propulsion to trucks in many more roles. Today, manufacturers are electrifying all trucks ahead of national regulatory requirements, with long-range over-the-road trucks being the most challenging.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Profita|first1=Cassandra|title=California's Landmark Electric Truck Rule Targets 'Diesel Death Zone'|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/06/26/883634480/californias-landmark-electric-truck-rule-targets-diesel-death-zone#:~:text=Victoria%20says%20California%27s%20electric%20truck%20mandate%20could%20help,tons%20of%20climate-warming%20carbon%20dioxide%20from%20the%20atmosphere.|access-date=14 June 2021|publisher=NPR|date=26 June 2020|quote=California will require automakers to sell more electric trucks starting in 2024. The measure, approved unanimously Thursday by the California Air Resources Board, says that by 2045 all new trucks sold in the state should be zero-emissions.|archive-date=9 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609093456/https://www.npr.org/2020/06/26/883634480/californias-landmark-electric-truck-rule-targets-diesel-death-zone#:~:text=Victoria%20says%20California%27s%20electric%20truck%20mandate%20could%20help,tons%20of%20climate-warming%20carbon%20dioxide%20from%20the%20atmosphere.|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Shephardson|first1=David|last2=Groom|first2=Nichola|title=California passes landmark mandate for zero emission trucks|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-california-trucks-electric-idUSKBN23W31N|access-date=14 June 2021|agency=Reuters|date=25 June 2020|quote=The mandate, which applies to medium-duty and large trucks, will put an estimated 300,000 zero-emission trucks on the road by 2035. The mandate will start in the 2024 model year and initially require 5%–9% zero emission vehicles (ZEV) based on class, rising to 30%–50% by 2030. By 2045, all vehicles should be ZEVs. The regulation would apply to pickup trucks weighing 8,500 pounds or more, but not to light-duty trucks, which are covered by separate zero emission regulations.|archive-date=14 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614121013/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-california-trucks-electric-idUSKBN23W31N|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Etymology===
{{original research section|date=February 2020}}
[[File:Finlaysonin Mannesmann Mulag-auto.jpg|thumb|[[Mannesmann|Mannesmann Mulag]] truck at the [[Finlayson (company)|Finlayson factory]] in [[Tampere]], [[Finland]] in 1921]]
''Truck'' is used in [[American English]]; the [[British English]] equivalent is lorry.

The first known usage of "truck" was in 1611 when it referred to the small strong wheels on ships' cannon carriages, and comes from "Trokhos" (Greek) = "wheel". In its extended usage, it came to refer to carts for carrying heavy loads, a meaning known since 1771. Its expanded application to "motor-powered load carrier" has been in usage since 1930, shortened from "motor truck", which dates back to 1901.<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/truck?show=2&t=1284721768 "Truck"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709060659/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/truck?show=2&t=1284721768 |date=9 July 2017 }}. ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary''.</ref><ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=truck&searchmode=none "Truck"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110529191522/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=truck&searchmode=none |date=29 May 2011 }}. ''Online Etymology Dictionary''. 16 September 2010.</ref>

"Lorry" has a more uncertain origin, but probably has its roots in the [[rail transport]] industry, where the word is known to have been used in 1838 to refer to a type of truck (a [[goods wagon]] as in British usage, not a [[bogie]] as in the American), specifically a large flat wagon. It might derive from the verb ''lurry'' (to carry or drag along, or to lug) which was in use as early as 1664, but that association is not definitive.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oed.com//view/Entry/111334|title=lurry, v.|date=September 2019|website=Oxford English Dictionary Online|publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=1 December 2019}}</ref> The expanded meaning of ''lorry'', "self-propelled vehicle for carrying goods", has been in usage since 1911.<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=lorry&searchmode=none "Lorry"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020084528/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=lorry&searchmode=none |date=20 October 2012 }} ''Online Etymology Dictionary'' 16 September 2010</ref><ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lorry "Lorry"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100411012935/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lorry |date=11 April 2010 }} Merriam-Webster Dictionary</ref>

===International variance===
{{Further|List of truck types}}
[[File:Trucks parked in USA.jpg|thumb|Trucks parked near Plaza, by the side of Highway in USA]]

[[File:Truck Pakistan.jpg|thumb|In Pakistan and India the majority of trucks are colorful and decorated.]]

In the United States, Canada, and the Philippines, "truck" is usually reserved for commercial vehicles larger than regular passenger cars, but includes large SUVs, pickups, and other vehicles with an open load bed.

In Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the word "truck" is mostly reserved for larger vehicles. In Australia and New Zealand, a pickup truck is frequently called a [[ute (vehicle)|''ute'']] (short for "utility" vehicle),<ref>{{cite web|title=The First Ute|url=http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/onairhighlights/the-first-ute|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329182657/http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/onairhighlights/the-first-ute|archive-date=29 March 2012|access-date=15 June 2012|publisher=ABC – Radio Australia}}</ref> while in South Africa it is called a ''bakkie'' ([[Afrikaans]]: "small open container").

In the United Kingdom, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Ireland, and [[Hong Kong]] ''lorry'' is used instead of ''truck'', but only for the medium and heavy types, while ''truck'' is used almost exclusively to refer to [[pickup truck|pickup]]s.