Until the 1980s, most auto lifts were of the in-ground type. Today, surface mounted lifts make up a large part of the total auto lifts in use and include types such as the 4 post lift. Surface mounted lifts are typically bolted to the garage floor and are typically powered by an electric motor which operates either a hydraulic pump or a screw type drive:
2 post surface mounted lifts are the most popular type of surface mounted lift purchased today. The lift arms ride up each column and are usually synchronized in one of several ways: mechanically, hydraulically or electronically
The scissors lift, either roll-on or fixed pad frameunder-body engaging, has a lifting mechanism similar to the parallelogram lift. However, the scissors lift raises and lowers the vehicle in a straight vertical path rather than fore or aft of its original position

Until the 1980s, most auto lifts were of the in-ground type. Today, surface mounted lifts make up a large part of the total auto lifts in use and include types such as the 4 post lift. Surface mounted lifts are typically bolted to the garage floor and are typically powered by an electric motor which operates either a hydraulic pump or a screw type drive:
2 post surface mounted lifts are the most popular type of surface mounted lift purchased today. The lift arms ride up each column and are usually synchronized in one of several ways: mechanically, hydraulically or electronically
The scissors lift, either roll-on or fixed pad frameunder-body engaging, has a lifting mechanism similar to the parallelogram lift. However, the scissors lift raises and lowers the vehicle in a straight vertical path rather than fore or aft of its original position