Portal:Cars

The Cars Portal

The Toyota Corolla, which has been in production since 1966, is the best-selling series of automobile in history.

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 over cargo. There are around one billion cars in use worldwide. The car is considered an essential part of the developed economy.

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. The 1901 Oldsmobile Curved Dash and the 1908 Ford Model T, both American cars, are widely considered the first mass-produced and mass-affordable cars, respectively. 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. In the 21st century, car usage is still increasing rapidly, especially in China, India, and other newly industrialised countries.

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 Maserati MC12 (Tipo M144S) is a limited production two-seater sports car produced by Italian car maker Maserati from 2004 to 2005, to allow a racing variant to compete in the FIA GT Championship. The car entered production in 2004, with 25 cars produced. A further 25 were produced in 2005 after the FIA changed the rules and reduced the maximum length allowed. The second batch of 25 are 150mm shorter than the originals, making a total of 50 cars available for customers. With the addition of 12 cars produced for racing, a total of just 62 were ever produced.

Maserati designed and built the car on the chassis of the Ferrari Enzo, but the final car is much larger and has a lower drag coefficient, along with being longer, wider and taller and has a sharper nose and smoother curves than the Enzo. The Enzo had quicker acceleration, shorter braking distance, and a higher top speed at 350 km/h (217 mph), 20 km/h (12 mph) more than the MC12. (Full article...)

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An auto show, also known as a motor show or car show, is a public exhibition of current automobile models, debuts, concept cars, or out-of-production classics. It is attended by automotive industry representatives, dealers, auto journalists and car enthusiasts. Most auto shows occur once or twice a year. They are important to car manufacturers and local dealers as a public relations exercise, as they advertise new products and promote auto brands. The five most prestigious auto shows, sometimes called the "Big Five", are generally considered to be held in Detroit, Frankfurt, Geneva, Paris and Tokyo. Car enthusiast communities along the historic U.S. Route 66 are credited with general popularization of car meets, including ethnic groups such as the Hispanos of New Mexico, Chicanos, and Mexican-Americans of the Southwestern United States; lowrider, high technology, electric vehicle, and other enthusiast show, are popular in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, San Francisco, and Chicago for this reason.

Some auto shows have more than just cars including: all sorts of other vehicles. The types of vehicles can include buses, trucks and almost any other types of vehicles such as Auto Expo in Delhi brings a variety of vehicles ranging from private to commercial. (Full article...)

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BMW 2002

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Mondial de l'Automobile de Paris, 2012

Louis Schweitzer (born 8 July 1942) is a Swiss businessman who is a former chairman of the board of Groupe Renault, first taking the post on 27 May 1992, succeeding Raymond Lévy. He was also CEO from 1992 to 2005. He was in addition Chairman of AstraZeneca until 8 June 2012 where he was appointed as a Director on 11 March 2004. He is a non-executive director of BNP Paribas, Electricité de France, Veolia Environnement, Volvo AB and L'Oréal, and Vice-Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Philips Electronics NV (Full article...)

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On this day September 28

1938 — Charles Duryea dies

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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 2011 Ford Crown Victoria was the last car to offer a cassette tape player as an option?
...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?
...that the name Volvo really means 'I Roll?' That's how Volvo rolls.

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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

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General images

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

Image 11926 Bugatti Type 35 (from History of the automobile)
Image 2Panel for fuses and circuit breakers (from Car)
Image 3Cugnot's 1771 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (from Car)
Image 4Volkswagen Beetle (from History of the automobile)
Image 5Steam machine of Verbiest, in 1678 (Ferdinand Verbiest) (from Car)
Image 6A 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 7The first automobile in Japan, a French Panhard-Levassor, in 1898 (from History of the automobile)
Image 8The original Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car, built in 1885 and awarded the patent for the concept (from Car)
Image 9The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car of all-time. (from Car)
Image 101954 Plymouth Savoy Station Wagon, one of the first US all-metal station wagons (from History of the automobile)
Image 11The 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 12In 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 131959 Morris Mini-Minor (from History of the automobile)
Image 14Ford Motor Company automobile assembly line in the 1920s (from Car)
Image 15The Präsident automobile (from History of the automobile)
Image 161885-built Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use (from History of the automobile)
Image 17Car exhaust gas is one type of pollution
Image 18Stuttgart, 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 19The German Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888, perhaps the first electric car in the world (from History of the automobile)
Image 20Road congestion is an issue in many major cities (pictured is Chang'an Avenue in Beijing). (from Car)
Image 21A Chevrolet Suburban extended-length SUV weighs 3,300 kilograms (7,200 lb) (gross weight). (from Car)
Image 22The Flocken Elektrowagen was the first four-wheeled electric car (from Car)
Image 231929 Austin Seven (from History of the automobile)
Image 241946 GAZ-M20 Pobeda, one of the first mass-produced cars with pontoon design (from History of the automobile)
Image 25Trucks' 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 261924 Doble Model E (from History of the automobile)
Image 27Model-T Ford car parked near the Geelong Art Gallery at its launch in Australia in 1915 (from History of the automobile)
Image 28Cugnot's steam wagon, the second (1771) version (from History of the automobile)
Image 29Carl Benz, the inventor of the modern car (from Car)
Image 30Rolls-Royce Phantom III (from History of the automobile)
Image 311958 Lancia Appia (from History of the automobile)
Image 32The Selden Road-Engine (from History of the automobile)
Image 33Result of a serious car collision (from Car)
Image 34Audi A4 daytime running lights (from Car)
Image 35A robotic Volkswagen Passat shown at Stanford University is a driverless car. (from Car)
Image 36Gurgel Supermini (from History of the automobile)
Image 37The Ford Model T (foreground) and Volkswagen Beetle (background) are among the most mass-produced car models in history. (from History of the automobile)
Image 38A 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 391974 Citroën DS (from History of the automobile)
Image 40A replica of Richard Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive 'Puffing Devil' (from History of the automobile)
Image 41Ransom E. Olds founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile) in 1897. (from Car)
Image 42Fiat 4 HP, the first car model produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat in 1899 (from History of the automobile)
Image 43Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A (from History of the automobile)
Image 44The Vélib' in Paris, France, is the largest bikesharing system outside China. (from Car)
Image 451929 Alfa Romeo 6C (from History of the automobile)
Image 462011 Nissan Leaf electric car (from Car)
Image 47Bertha Benz, the first long distance driver (from Car)
Image 48The second Marcus car of 1888 (from History of the automobile)
Image 49The Toyota Corolla is the world's bestselling nameplate. (from History of the automobile)
Image 50A car being assembled in a factory (from Car)