A motorcar is simply another word for an automobile or car: a vehicle with an engine that carries people along roads. The term was especially common in the early 1900s, when these marvelous machines were first replacing horse-drawn carriages. People needed a name for this new invention that moved by motor power rather than horse power, so they called it a motorcar.

Today, most people just say “car,” but you'll still see “motorcar” in older books and historical writing. When you read about the first motorcars chugging down dirt roads at fifteen miles per hour, with their drivers wearing goggles and leather caps, you're reading about the same basic kind of vehicle that sits in your driveway today, just a much earlier, simpler version.

Some organizations, like racing clubs or classic car societies, still use the word motorcar because it sounds distinguished and historical. It reminds us that cars were once cutting-edge technology that transformed how people lived, worked, and traveled.