GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

There are a LOT of discussions on this board about the mechanical contrivance up front that provides the motive power for the Vibe. I'm curious about the terms "motor" vs. "engine," though. I usually say "engine," but most posters use "motor." Are these truly synonyms? Is there an engineering distinction? Maybe context or size of the machine... I hear "V-8 Engine" a lot, but almost never, "V-8 Motor."

You must be bored, but good question!! I do not know the answer. If I had to guess, from all of my car reading since I was 10 and now I'm 26, I would say they're synonyms.

Motors use electricity to make motion. Anything that plugs in and requires electricity to make it run most likely uses a motor.Engines use internal combustion and normally burn a fuel to make motion.

A motor is any device that converts one form of energy into motion. An engine is a specific type of motor that uses internal combustion to convert energy into motion.So in other words, "motor" is the more general term where "engine" is more specific. Gasoline-burning engines are both motors and engines but electric motors are only motors.

Expanding on Novaresource's answer, in Engineering terms, a motor is a simple mechanism for directly converting power to kinetic energy, e.g. electric, compressed air, rocket, etc. An engine is a complex mechanism for achieving the same purpose, as in burning fuel with air to create pressure in a cylinder with a moveable piston attached to a rod and crank....,etc., or externally, as with steam. The terms are frequently used interchangeably. (e.g.: Anyone heard the term "outboard engine" used for a clip-on propulsion system for a boat?)

quote:Anyone heard the term "outboard engine" used for a clip-on propulsion system for a boat?In the same way:Engine racing?Indianapolis Engine Speedway?Engine Sports?Ford Engine Company?Engine Trend Magazine?Department of Engine Vehicles?

I drive my Vibe. I convert mass to energy, and that energy to motion. I use various motions to control the speed and direction of the car. I guess I'm more an engine than a motor. But now you've got me REALLY confused.What drives a golf ball? The club? The golfer? If it's the club, is the club a motor or an engine? Perhaps it's just the machine that connects the golfer's energy/motion to the ball. Then again, they sometimes call that club a "driver". Hmmm.Is driving the same as moving? My car will move without me, but it takes me to drive it. If I've got the engine/motor off, but am coasting down a long hill, carefully steering around other cars and pedestrians, then no one would doubt it was me driving. And it wouldn't have been the engine/motor's duty to even provide the motion. Back to motors... I have several electric motors, but no gas ones. All my gas powered devices have engines, and I have no gas motors.I considered getting a Honda Civic Hybrid while shopping ofr my Vibe. That car uses both gas and electric engines. Or is it gas and electric motors?What a dilemma!KSNeptune

Maybe I can add a little thing here.In French, there is no distinction between a motor or an engine. We call these two things: «MOTEUR». And if I search for the translation of «MOTEUR» in English (in any English-French dictionary), I find: motor, engine. If it refers to electric, it is indicated: motor.

quote:I convert mass to energy, and that energy to motion.Now this sounds like an Al Gore claim. With regard to powering your car, you do not convert mass to energy or any energy to any motion. Your engine converts potential energy (in the fuel) to kinetic energy (pushing the pistons down). An extremely minute amount of mass is lost in the transformation of potential energy to kinetic. The fuel is oxidized (burned) and a chemical reaction occurs. The original chemical compounds are changed into new ones. When the transformation occurs, very little mass is lost in the process. And the energy is converted into motion by your entire drivetrain. You didn't happen to invent the internet too, did you? quote: If I've got the engine/motor off, but am coasting down a long hill, carefully steering around other cars and pedestrians, then no one would doubt it was me driving. And it wouldn't have been the engine/motor's duty to even provide the motion. In this scenario, you are certainly "driving" as we would call it. And you are correct that during the time that you are coasting, the engine is not providing the motion, nor is your drivetrain. The motion at that time is affected by the forces of gravity (if traveling up or down any degree of incline or decline) and momentum and the properties of inertia. Hmmm. Funny, physics was always one of my weaker subjects.

quote:Now this sounds like an Al Gore claim. With regard to powering your car, you do not convert mass to energy or any energy to any motion.I eat. That food (mass) I convert to potential energy. The second I move I have converted that energy into motion. As for powering the car, I haven't had to power my vibe more than manually pushing it a foot or two forward or back in my garage. My first car, a '72 Honda 600 sedan, got pushed by me several times, as it did not have a very reliable starter (needed a push start), and occasionally would run out of gas a block or two from a gas station (an unreliable fuel guage). In each of those cases, I was the engine. I was coverting mass(food) to energy (my muscular strength) and using that energy to put the car in motion. So there. Pthhhhhht. And no, I did not invent the internet. Nor did I ever claim to.But I will take responability for my "theory of tool migration", if anyone is interested. KSNeptune

LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL ROFL!!!!!!!quote:So there. Pthhhhhht. Oh I do so enjoy messing with simple people sometimes. Sorry KS, I still love ya anyway. quote:But I will take responability for my "theory of tool migration", if anyone is interested. Oh Lord in Heaven, please spare us the torture of this inane dialectic.The '72 Honda 600 sedan. Let me think here a minute. Oh yes, the car that Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble used to drive around in. Now I remember. Hahahahahahaha!