The word 开车 is formed by combining two characters: 开 (kāi), which fundamentally means "to open" or "to operate", and 车 (chē), which means "vehicle" or "cart". The concept merges the action of initiating or operating (开) with the object, the vehicle (车), creating a new, compound idea. This is not a literal "open the car", but a conceptual metaphor where "opening" its function equates to setting it in motion, thus representing the single, integrated action of driving.