A hubcap or hub cap is a decorative disk on an automobile wheel that covers at minimum the central portion of the wheel, called the hub. An automobile hubcap is used to cover the wheel hub and the wheel fasteners to reduce the accumulation of dirt and moisture. It also has the function of decorating the car.
A threaded brass hubcap on a cart wheel with artillery style hub
Various automobile hubcaps
Display of 1920s automobile hubcaps and a removal tool
Center small hubcap with automaker's logo
In the automotive industry, alloy wheels are wheels that are made from an alloy of aluminium or magnesium. Alloys are mixtures of a metal and other elements. They generally provide greater strength over pure metals, which are usually much softer and more ductile. Alloys of aluminium or magnesium are typically lighter for the same strength, provide better heat conduction, and often produce improved cosmetic appearance over steel wheels. Although steel, the most common material used in wheel production, is an alloy of iron and carbon, the term "alloy wheel" is usually reserved for wheels made from nonferrous alloys.
Alloy wheel on a Mercury Grand Marquis
Alcoa's heavy-duty alloy wheel, for buses and trucks.
An aluminium alloy wheel designed to recall the crossed spokes of a wire wheel
Chrysler alloy wheel