where does the automobile get its simpler name, car?

As far as patents go, car always meant railroad car but along about 1904 automobile manufacturers started using "touring car" as a body style description.

That said, Word and Phrase Origins states that "the word car comes from a Celtic word that sounded like karra to Julius Caesar, who gave the name to his chariots. Karra later was Latinized to carra. Surprisingly, the word car appears first around 1300; carriage evolved from it, then horseless carriage, and, finally, back to car again as a shortened form."

May not seem logical but 'car' is 'carriage' shortened down.

“Car” is an old word which meant carriage.

On a similar note, the word bus is actually a contraction of the word omnibus =)

That's a very good question! I'm curious to see the answers you get...

Finally, something to ponder!!

thanks