Abstract
There is a consensus that the present status of road transport in the developed world is unsustainable for a variety of reasons – urban congestion, pollution, petroleum depletion and greenhouse gas emissions. Measures are being taken to combat this serious threat but, as yet, they are clearly inadequate. This introductory chapter outlines the emergence of the present precarious situation over the course of the 20th century and provides descriptions of the different types of vehicle and motive power source that have been progressively investigated and developed. The internal-combustion engine has proved to be the key technology that has allowed the production of the most successful forms of road transport but unfortunately its deployment appears to be unsustainable. The question now is: how will the designers of future road transport systems respond to the twin threats of global resource depletion and climate change vis-à-vis the aspirations of burgeoning populations to own the most attractive forms of personal transport?