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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A 1956 Simca Versailles V8

The Simca Vedette is an executive car, manufactured from 1954 to 1961 by French automaker Simca, at their factory in Poissy, France. The Vedette competed in France's large car market at a time when the economy was finally returning to growth and enjoyed moderate success with its American style finished off by the Italian designer Rapi. It was marketed with different model names according to trim and equipment levels. The Vedette was Simca's largest model at that time, and it went on to spawn a more economical version, the Simca Ariane.

Simca acquired the Poissy factory from Ford France (Ford Société Anonyme Française, the French subsidiary of the Ford Motor Company), along with the model line, in 1954. The Vedette was therefore initially still marketed as the Ford Vedette. (Full article...)

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Subaru (スバル, /ˈsuːbəruː/ or /sʊˈbɑːruː/; Japanese pronunciation: [ˈsɯbaɾɯ]) is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries), the twenty-first largest automaker by production worldwide in 2017.

Subaru cars are known for their use of a boxer engine layout in most vehicles above 1,500 cc. The Symmetrical All Wheel Drive drive-train layout was introduced in 1972. Both became standard equipment for mid-size and smaller cars in most markets by 1996. The lone exception is the BRZ, introduced in 2012 via a partnership with Toyota, which pairs the boxer engine with rear-wheel-drive. Subaru also offers turbocharged versions of their passenger cars, such as the WRX, Legacy and Outback XT, Ascent, and formerly the Legacy GT and Forester XT. (Full article...)

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Schmitz in 2007

Sabine Schmitz (German: [zaˈbi.nə ʃmɪt͡s]; 14 May 1969 – 16 March 2021) was a German professional motor racing driver and television personality. She was born in Adenau to a family in the hotel and catering business, and raised in one of the villages nestled within the Nürburgring. She initially trained to join the same profession as her parents before choosing to begin a career in racing, working as a driver for BMW and Porsche.

She became known for being an expert on the Nürburgring circuit, being the first woman to win a major 24h race overall, and winning two victories in 24h races during the course of her driving career on the circuit, and became a cult icon on television following her appearance on BBC's Top Gear, making recurring appearances alongside several of the programme's presenters. In March 2021, Schmitz died of cancer at the age of 51, following a diagnosis in late 2017. (Full article...)

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On this day May 31

1919 — General Motors purchases the Frigidaire company at the urging of GM president and Frigidaire investor, William Crapo Durant

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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

Those of us who move will die. Those who don't are already dead.

—Jean Behra, 1950s Formula One racing driver, on continuing to race while knowing the risks

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General images

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

Image 1Steam machine of Verbiest, in 1678 (Ferdinand Verbiest) (from Car)
Image 2Stuttgart, 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 3A car being assembled in a factory (from Car)
Image 4Scaled model of the second Marcus car of 1875 (from History of the automobile)
Image 5Fiat 4 HP, the first car model produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat in 1899 (from History of the automobile)
Image 6Ransom E. Olds founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile) in 1897. (from Car)
Image 71974 Citroën DS (from History of the automobile)
Image 8Gurgel Supermini (from History of the automobile)
Image 9The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car of all-time. (from Car)
Image 101959 Morris Mini-Minor (from History of the automobile)
Image 111929 Alfa Romeo 6C (from History of the automobile)
Image 12The Präsident automobile (from History of the automobile)
Image 13A 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 14The original Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car, built in 1885 and awarded the patent for the concept (from Car)
Image 15The Vélib' in Paris, France, is the largest bikesharing system outside China. (from Car)
Image 16In 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 171958 Lancia Appia (from History of the automobile)
Image 18Carl Benz, the inventor of the modern car (from Car)
Image 19Bertha Benz, the first long distance driver (from Car)
Image 20Cugnot's steam wagon, the second (1771) version (from History of the automobile)
Image 21Model-T Ford car parked near the Geelong Art Gallery at its launch in Australia in 1915 (from History of the automobile)
Image 22A Chevrolet Suburban extended-length SUV weighs 3,300 kilograms (7,200 lb) (gross weight). (from Car)
Image 231885-built Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use (from History of the automobile)
Image 241924 Doble Model E (from History of the automobile)
Image 25Car exhaust gas is one type of pollution
Image 261954 Plymouth Savoy Station Wagon, one of the first US all-metal station wagons (from History of the automobile)
Image 272011 Nissan Leaf electric car (from Car)
Image 28Ford Motor Company automobile assembly line in the 1920s (from Car)
Image 29Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A (from History of the automobile)
Image 30The first automobile in Japan, a French Panhard-Levassor, in 1898 (from History of the automobile)
Image 311946 GAZ-M20 Pobeda, one of the first mass-produced cars with pontoon design (from History of the automobile)
Image 32The Ford Model T (foreground) and Volkswagen Beetle (background) are among the most mass-produced car models in history. (from History of the automobile)
Image 33Panel for fuses and circuit breakers (from Car)
Image 34Rolls-Royce Phantom III (from History of the automobile)
Image 35A replica of Richard Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive 'Puffing Devil' (from History of the automobile)
Image 36Result of a serious car collision (from Car)
Image 371926 Bugatti Type 35 (from History of the automobile)
Image 38Audi A4 daytime running lights (from Car)
Image 39A robotic Volkswagen Passat shown at Stanford University is a driverless car. (from Car)
Image 40Cugnot's 1771 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (from Car)
Image 411929 Austin Seven (from History of the automobile)
Image 42The 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 43Road congestion is an issue in many major cities (pictured is Chang'an Avenue in Beijing). (from Car)
Image 44The Toyota Corolla is the world's bestselling nameplate. (from History of the automobile)
Image 45Volkswagen Beetle (from History of the automobile)
Image 46The Selden Road-Engine (from History of the automobile)
Image 47The German Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888, perhaps the first electric car in the world (from History of the automobile)
Image 48Trucks' 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 49A 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 50The Flocken Elektrowagen was the first four-wheeled electric car (from Car)