When is a car not a car? | Car Talk - Car News Aug 2019

14:29 Thursday 15 Aug 2019

How would you define the word ‘car’?

Well, according to OxfordDictionaries.com, the online dictionary produced by Oxford University Press, a car is ‘a road vehicle, typically with four wheels, powered by an internal combustion engine and able to carry a small number of people.”

Meanwhile, the 600,000-word Oxford English Dictionary defines a car as being, ‘a road vehicle powered by a motor (usually an internal combustion engine) designed to carry a driver and a small number of passengers, and usually having two front and two rear wheels, esp. for private, commercial, or leisure use.’

With the only method of propulsion included in those definitions being internal combustion, it means current holder of the World Car of the Year and European Car of the Year titles – the all-electric, zero-emissions Jaguar I-PACE – is not technically defined as a car, and that is something the manufacturer is campaigning to change.

David Browne, head of Jaguar Land Rover’s naming committee, explained, “A lot of time and thought is put into the name of any new vehicle or technology to ensure it is consumer friendly, so it’s surprising to see that the definition of the car is a little outdated.”

Jaguar have already contacted both the Oxford University Press and the Oxford English Dictionary, and are asking the public to get behind the campaign via the manufacturer’s Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram channels using #RedefineTheCar.

Jaguar launched the multi-award winning all-electric five-seat I-PACE SUV last year. Powered by a state-of-the-art 90kWh lithium-ion battery and two Jaguar-designed electric motors, the I-PACE is capable of 0-60mph in 4.5 seconds and a range of up to 292 miles.