Portal:Cars

The Cars Portal

An electric car charging station at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This station is run by Petrobras and uses solar energy.

A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people, not cargo.

The French inventor Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot built the first steam-powered road vehicle in 1769, while the Swiss inventor François Isaac de Rivaz designed and constructed the first internal combustion-powered automobile in 1808. The modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use—was invented in 1886, when the German inventor Carl Benz patented his Benz Patent-Motorwagen. Commercial cars became widely available during the 20th century. One of the first cars affordable by the masses was the Ford Model T, begun in 1908, an American car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. Cars were rapidly adopted in the US, where they replaced horse-drawn carriages. In Europe and other parts of the world, demand for automobiles did not increase until after World War II. The car is considered an essential part of the developed economy.

Cars have controls for driving, parking, passenger comfort, and a variety of lamps. Over the decades, additional features and controls have been added to vehicles, making them progressively more complex. These include rear-reversing cameras, air conditioning, navigation systems, and in-car entertainment. Most cars in use in the early 2020s are propelled by an internal combustion engine, fueled by the combustion of fossil fuels. Electric cars, which were invented early in the history of the car, became commercially available in the 2000s and are predicted to cost less to buy than petrol-driven cars before 2025. The transition from fossil fuel-powered cars to electric cars features prominently in most climate change mitigation scenarios, such as Project Drawdown's 100 actionable solutions for climate change. (Full article...)

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The 1950s were pivotal for the American automobile industry. The post-World War II era brought a wide range of new technologies to the automobile consumer, and a host of problems for the independent automobile manufacturers. The industry was maturing in an era of rapid technological change; mass production and the benefits from economies of scale led to innovative designs and greater profits, but stiff competition between the automakers. By the end of the decade, the industry had reshaped itself into the Big Three, Studebaker, and AMC. The age of small independent automakers was nearly over, as most of them either consolidated or went out of business.

A number of innovations were either invented or improved sufficiently to allow for mass production during the decade: air conditioning, automatic transmission, power steering, power brakes, seat belts and arguably the most influential change in automotive history, the overhead-valve V8 engine. The horsepower race had begun, laying the foundation for the muscle car era. (Full article...)

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2019 Toyota Corolla (MZEA12L) XSE hatchback (US)

The Toyota Corolla (Japanese: トヨタ・カローラ, Hepburn: Toyota Karōra) is a series of compact cars (formerly subcompact) manufactured and marketed globally by the Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation. Introduced in 1966, the Corolla was the best-selling car worldwide by 1974 and has been one of the best-selling cars in the world since then. In 1997, the Corolla became the best-selling nameplate in the world, surpassing the Volkswagen Beetle. Toyota reached the milestone of 50 million Corollas sold over twelve generations in 2021.

The name Corolla is part of Toyota's naming tradition of using names derived from the Toyota Crown for sedans, with "corolla" Latin for "small crown". The Corolla has always been exclusive in Japan to Toyota Corolla Store locations, and manufactured in Japan with a twin, called the Toyota Sprinter until 2000. From 2006 to 2018 in Japan and much of the world, and from 2018 to 2020 in Taiwan, the hatchback companion had been called the Toyota Auris. (Full article...)

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Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring Spider

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Tavares in 2018

Carlos Antunes Tavares Dias (born 14 August 1958) is a Portuguese businessman. He is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Stellantis, the world's fourth largest automaker by sales, formed by the merger of the PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. He was formerly the chief operating officer at Renault. (Full article...)

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On this day May 8

1879 — George B. Selden files a sweeping patent on the automobile.

1899 — Olds Motor Works is formed from Olds Motor Vehicle and Olds Gasoline Engine Works.

1997 — Chrysler Corporation and BMW agree to build the Tritec engine plant in Brazil.

2003 — General Motors' Oklahoma City Assembly plant is destroyed by a tornado. It was reopened just 53 days later after a frantic reconstruction.

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Did you know...

...that the racing version of the Dauer 962 Le Mans, winner of 1994 24 Hours of Le Mans, is a roadcar converted from a Porsche 962 racecar, which dominated Le Mans, Group C and IMSA during the 1980s.
...that the 25 Millionth VW Golf rolled off the production line in Wolfsburg in March 2007. The first Golf started production in 1974, 33 years later the 1.4 litre TSI version became the 25 Millionth car.
...that the nearly identical Ford Model T engines were produced for exactly 12,000 days
...that the first production turbocharged cars were General Motors' A-body 1962 Chevrolet Corvair and Oldsmobile F-85?
...that Jeep introduced the 1993 Grand Cherokee and 2007 Wrangler in the same way — by driving them through a plate glass window?
...that a small number of Renault 20s, badged as Dacia 2000, were made in the 1980s by Dacia in Romania for Romanian communist dignitaries of that time?
...that the Autobianchi Primula was the Fiat's first automobile with the front-wheel drive, transverse engine setup and rack and pinion steering?
...that the Plymouth Sundance is a liftback, even though the outside appearance might suggest that it is a sedan?

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Selected quote of the day

Bentley makes the world's fastest lorries.

—Ettore Bugatti

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General images

The following are images from various car-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The German Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888, perhaps the first electric car in the world (from History of the automobile)
Image 21926 Bugatti Type 35 (from History of the automobile)
Image 3A Stanley Steamer racecar in 1903. In 1906, a similar Stanley Rocket set the world land speed record at 205.5 km/h (127.7 mph) at Daytona Beach Road Course. (from History of the automobile)
Image 4The Präsident automobile (from History of the automobile)
Image 51946 GAZ-M20 Pobeda, one of the first mass-produced cars with pontoon design (from History of the automobile)
Image 6Trucks' share of US vehicles produced, has tripled since 1975. Though vehicle fuel efficiency has increased within each category, the overall trend toward less efficient types of vehicles has offset some of the benefits of greater fuel economy and reductions in pollution and carbon dioxide emissions. Without the shift towards SUVs, energy use per unit distance could have fallen 30% more than it did from 2010 to 2022. (from Car)
Image 71929 Austin Seven (from History of the automobile)
Image 8Steam machine of Verbiest, in 1678 (Ferdinand Verbiest) (from Car)
Image 91959 Morris Mini-Minor (from History of the automobile)
Image 10A Chevrolet Suburban extended-length SUV weighs 3,300 kilograms (7,200 lb) (gross weight). (from Car)
Image 11Panel for fuses and circuit breakers (from Car)
Image 121885-built Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use (from History of the automobile)
Image 13Fiat 4 HP, the first car model produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat in 1899 (from History of the automobile)
Image 14A replica of Richard Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive 'Puffing Devil' (from History of the automobile)
Image 15Audi A4 daytime running lights (from Car)
Image 16Road congestion is an issue in many major cities (pictured is Chang'an Avenue in Beijing). (from Car)
Image 17Ransom E. Olds founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile) in 1897. (from Car)
Image 18In the Ford Model T the left-side hand lever sets the rear wheel parking brakes and puts the transmission in neutral. The lever to the right controls the throttle. The lever on the left of the steering column is for ignition timing. The left foot pedal changes the two forward gears while the centre pedal controls reverse. The right pedal is the brake. (from Car)
Image 19Car exhaust gas is one type of pollution
Image 20Gurgel Supermini (from History of the automobile)
Image 21A Tesla Model Y electric car, the world's best-selling car in the first and second quarters of 2023. (from History of the automobile)
Image 222011 Nissan Leaf electric car (from Car)
Image 23The Toyota Corolla is the world's bestselling nameplate. (from History of the automobile)
Image 24Result of a serious car collision (from Car)
Image 25Bertha Benz, the first long distance driver (from Car)
Image 261929 Alfa Romeo 6C (from History of the automobile)
Image 27Scaled model of the second Marcus car of 1875 (from History of the automobile)
Image 28The weight of the low battery stabilises the car. This is a dual-motor, four-wheel-drive layout but many cars only have one motor. (from Car)
Image 29Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A (from History of the automobile)
Image 30A robotic Volkswagen Passat shown at Stanford University is a driverless car. (from Car)
Image 31Carl Benz, the inventor of the modern car (from Car)
Image 32Volkswagen Beetle (from History of the automobile)
Image 33A car being assembled in a factory (from Car)
Image 34The original Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car, built in 1885 and awarded the patent for the concept (from Car)
Image 35The Flocken Elektrowagen was the first four-wheeled electric car (from Car)
Image 36Cugnot's 1771 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (from Car)
Image 37Rolls-Royce Phantom III (from History of the automobile)
Image 381974 Citroën DS (from History of the automobile)
Image 391958 Lancia Appia (from History of the automobile)
Image 401954 Plymouth Savoy Station Wagon, one of the first US all-metal station wagons (from History of the automobile)
Image 41Ford Motor Company automobile assembly line in the 1920s (from Car)
Image 42Cugnot's steam wagon, the second (1771) version (from History of the automobile)
Image 43The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car of all-time. (from Car)
Image 44The Vélib' in Paris, France, is the largest bikesharing system outside China. (from Car)
Image 45The Selden Road-Engine (from History of the automobile)
Image 461924 Doble Model E (from History of the automobile)
Image 47The first automobile in Japan, a French Panhard-Levassor, in 1898 (from History of the automobile)
Image 48The Ford Model T (foreground) and Volkswagen Beetle (background) are among the most mass-produced car models in history. (from History of the automobile)
Image 49Stuttgart, a cradle of the car with Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach working there at the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft and place of the modern day headquarters of Mercedes-Benz Group and Porsche (from Car)
Image 50Model-T Ford car parked near the Geelong Art Gallery at its launch in Australia in 1915 (from History of the automobile)