The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue. The automotive industry does not include industries dedicated to the maintenance of automobiles following delivery to the end-user, such as automobile repair shops and motor fuel filling stations. The word automotive comes from the Greek autos (self), and Latin motivus (of motion), referring to any form of self-powered vehicle. The automotive industry began in the 1860s with hundreds of manufacturers that pioneered the horseless carriage. For many decades, the United States led the world in total automobile production. In 1929, before the Great Depression, the world had 32,028,500 automobiles in use, and the U.S. automobile industry produced over 90% of them. At that time, the U.S. had one car per 4.87 persons. After 1945, the U.S. produced about 75 percent of world's auto production. In 1980, the U.S. was overtaken by Japan and then became world's leader again in 1994. In 2006, Japan narrowly passed the U.S. in production and held this rank until 2009, when China took the top spot with 13.8 million units. With 19.3 million units manufactured in 2012, China almost doubled the U.S. production of 10.3 million units, while Japan was in third place with 9.9 million units. The number of automobile models in the U.S. has grown exponentially, from 1970 (140 models) over 1998 (260 models) to 2012 (684 models).

"When something is important enough, you do it, even if the odds are not in your favor"
- Elon Musk, Co-Founder of Tesla Motors

"The quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten"
- Sir Henry Royce on the value proposition of the Rolls-Royce automobile.

"What is behind me is not important"
- Raul Julia as fictional Italian racer driver "Franco" in the 1976 low-budget movie "The Gumball Rally." As he utters the line he rips the rearview mirror from his 1972 Ferrari Daytona and cavalierly tosses it over his shoulder.