The work aims to present the main historical stages that marked the evolution of the automobile from a technical curiosity to an indispensable means of transport, intimately linked to the everyday life of mankind. It all started from the sketches of Leonardo da Vinci (how could it be otherwise?) who designed a self-propelled vehicle that he did not physically realize. More than 300 years later, the courage of a lady, Bertha Benz, who in 1888 undertook the first significant journey in an automobile powered by an internal combustion engine made by her husband, Karl Benz, introduced the automobile into the world of mankind. Since then, the car has seen a rapid evolution, being adopted with enthusiasm despite the numerous criticisms that have been addressed to it over time. Nowadays, the problems related to its impact on the environment and the prospect of exhausting the Earth's resources have led to the investigation of alternative propulsion systems and even to the change of the paradigm under which the automobile will be perceived in the future. The global impact (social, economic, infrastructural and even political) that this new approach will impose has not yet been precisely assessed, which makes uncertain the future of this beloved means of transport.