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...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Recognized content - show another

Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

The Howmet TX (Turbine eXperimental) was an American sports prototype racing car designed in 1968 to test the competitive use of a gas turbine engine in sports car racing. Planned by racing driver Ray Heppenstall, the TX combined a chassis built by McKee Engineering, turbine engines leased from Continental Aviation & Engineering, and financial backing and materials from the Howmet Corporation.

Although not the first attempt at using a turbine powerplant in auto racing, the Howmet TX was the first and is still the only turbine to win a race, earning two Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) race victories and two qualifying sprint victories during its only year of competition. The TX later set six Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) land speed records for turbines after being retired from racing. (Full article...)

List of recognized articles

Selected article - show another

Buick dealership in Springfield, Oregon

Buick (/ˈbjuːɪk/) is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American automobile brands and was the company that established General Motors in 1908. Before the establishment of General Motors, GM founder William C. Durant had served as Buick's general manager and major investor. With the demise of Oldsmobile in 2004, Buick became the oldest surviving American carmaker.

Buick is positioned as a premium automobile brand, selling luxury vehicles positioned above Chevrolet, while priced below the flagship luxury Cadillac division. In North America, Buick vehicles are almost always sold alongside GMC (another premium brand) vehicles at multi-brand dealerships. U.S. market share in 2022 was 1.2%, down by nearly half of its market share in 2000. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

edit

Selected picture of the day

BMW 2002

Selected biography - show another

Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was a German-Bohemian automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first gasoline–electric hybrid vehicle (Lohner–Porsche), the Volkswagen Beetle, the Auto Union racing cars, the Mercedes-Benz SS/SSK, and several other important developments and Porsche automobiles.

An important contributor to the German war effort during World War II, Porsche was involved in the production of advanced tanks such as the VK 45.01 (P), the Elefant (initially called "Ferdinand") self-propelled gun, and the Panzer VIII Maus super-heavy tank, as well as other weapon systems, including the V-1 flying bomb. Porsche was a member of the Nazi Party and an officer of the Schutzstaffel (SS). He was a recipient of the German National Prize for Art and Science, the SS-Ehrenring and the War Merit Cross. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies

More biography articles

edit

On this day May 28

1999 — Delphi Corporation becomes independent of General Motors

edit

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?

edit

Selected quote of the day

This type of technology, unheard of 10 or 15 years ago, is real. And it's coming. It's just another step toward the fully automated driving experience. Which is anathema to those of us who are drivers' drivers who are suckers for the thrill of controlling a speed machine.

But that's why people like us will always have motorcycles!

—Bob Lutz on the possibilities of future automated automobiles

Topics

General images

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

Image 1Road congestion is an issue in many major cities (pictured is Chang'an Avenue in Beijing). (from Car)
Image 2Audi A4 daytime running lights (from Car)
Image 3The Präsident automobile (from History of the automobile)
Image 4The Vélib' in Paris, France, is the largest bikesharing system outside China. (from Car)
Image 51929 Alfa Romeo 6C (from History of the automobile)
Image 6A car being assembled in a factory (from Car)
Image 7A 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 81926 Bugatti Type 35 (from History of the automobile)
Image 9A replica of Richard Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive 'Puffing Devil' (from History of the automobile)
Image 10Rolls-Royce Phantom III (from History of the automobile)
Image 11Gurgel Supermini (from History of the automobile)
Image 121946 GAZ-M20 Pobeda, one of the first mass-produced cars with pontoon design (from History of the automobile)
Image 13Ford Motor Company automobile assembly line in the 1920s (from Car)
Image 14A 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 15The Flocken Elektrowagen was the first four-wheeled electric car (from Car)
Image 16Cugnot's 1771 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (from Car)
Image 17Stuttgart, 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 18A robotic Volkswagen Passat shown at Stanford University is a driverless car. (from Car)
Image 191974 Citroën DS (from History of the automobile)
Image 201958 Lancia Appia (from History of the automobile)
Image 21Panel for fuses and circuit breakers (from Car)
Image 22Scaled model of the second Marcus car of 1875 (from History of the automobile)
Image 23Steam machine of Verbiest, in 1678 (Ferdinand Verbiest) (from Car)
Image 24Carl Benz, the inventor of the modern car (from Car)
Image 251885-built Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use (from History of the automobile)
Image 26The 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 271959 Morris Mini-Minor (from History of the automobile)
Image 28Model-T Ford car parked near the Geelong Art Gallery at its launch in Australia in 1915 (from History of the automobile)
Image 291954 Plymouth Savoy Station Wagon, one of the first US all-metal station wagons (from History of the automobile)
Image 30The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car of all-time. (from Car)
Image 31Ransom E. Olds founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile) in 1897. (from Car)
Image 32Fiat 4 HP, the first car model produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat in 1899 (from History of the automobile)
Image 33Cugnot's steam wagon, the second (1771) version (from History of the automobile)
Image 34The first automobile in Japan, a French Panhard-Levassor, in 1898 (from History of the automobile)
Image 35Trucks' 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 362011 Nissan Leaf electric car (from Car)
Image 371929 Austin Seven (from History of the automobile)
Image 38The Ford Model T (foreground) and Volkswagen Beetle (background) are among the most mass-produced car models in history. (from History of the automobile)
Image 39Car exhaust gas is one type of pollution
Image 40The Toyota Corolla is the world's bestselling nameplate. (from History of the automobile)
Image 41The Selden Road-Engine (from History of the automobile)
Image 42Bertha Benz, the first long distance driver (from Car)
Image 43Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A (from History of the automobile)
Image 44A Chevrolet Suburban extended-length SUV weighs 3,300 kilograms (7,200 lb) (gross weight). (from Car)
Image 45Volkswagen Beetle (from History of the automobile)
Image 46In 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 47Result of a serious car collision (from Car)
Image 48The original Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car, built in 1885 and awarded the patent for the concept (from Car)
Image 491924 Doble Model E (from History of the automobile)
Image 50The German Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888, perhaps the first electric car in the world (from History of the automobile)