Pedal coordinates provide a natural framework for studying force problems of classical mechanics in the plane. The trajectory of a test particle under the influence of central and Lorentz-like forces can be translated into pedal coordinates at once without the need of solving any differential equation. We generalize this result to cover more general force laws and also show the advantage of pedal coordinates in certain variational problems. These enable us to link together many dynamical systems as well as problems of the calculus of variation. Finally, we apply these results to compute orbits of Solar sail and Dipole drive.