Portal:Cars

The Cars Portal

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

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 important 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...)

Recognized content - show another

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

The Sunbeam Tiger is a high-performance V8 version of the British Rootes Group's Sunbeam Alpine roadster, designed in part by American car designer and racing driver Carroll Shelby and produced from 1964 until 1967. Shelby had carried out a similar V8 conversion on the AC Cobra, and hoped to be offered the contract to produce the Tiger at his facility in the United States. Rootes decided instead to contract the assembly work to Jensen at West Bromwich in England, and pay Shelby a royalty on every car produced.

Two major versions of the Tiger were built: the Mark I (1964–1967) was fitted with the 260 cu in (4.3 L) Ford V8; the Mark II, of which only 633 were built in the final year of Tiger production, was fitted with the larger displacement Ford 289 cu in (4.7 L) engine. Two prototype and extensively modified versions of the Mark I competed in the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans, but neither completed the race. Rootes also entered the Tiger in European rallies with some success, and for two years it was the American Hot Rod Association's national record holder over a quarter-mile drag strip. (Full article...)

List of recognized articles

Selected article - show another

Mercedes-Benz (German pronunciation: [mɛʁˌtseːdəs ˈbɛnts, -dɛs -] ^ⓘ), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Mercedes-Benz AG manufactures luxury vehicles and light commercial vehicles, all branded under the Mercedes-Benz name. From November 2019 onwards, the production of Mercedes-Benz-branded heavy commercial vehicles (trucks and buses) has been managed by Daimler Truck, which separated from the Mercedes-Benz Group to form an independent entity at the end of 2021.

In 2018, Mercedes-Benz became the world’s largest premium vehicle brand, with a sales volume of 2.31 million passenger cars. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

edit

Selected picture of the day

Toyota FJ Cruiser

Selected biography - show another

Edward Thomas Welburn Jr. (born December 14, 1950) is an automobile designer and former General Motors' Vice President of Global Design, a role in which he served from 2003 to 2016 and the same position that Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell once held. To date, Welburn still holds the distinction of having been the highest-ranking Black-American in the global automotive industry. He has overseen the development of recent GM products, such as the Chevrolet Corvette, Cadillac Escalade and Chevrolet Camaro. Welburn has overseen groundbreaking concepts such as:the Oldsmobile Aerotech, Cadillac Ciel, and Buick Avista. Welburn was also the lead GM designer on the Chaparral 2X Vision GT, a concept car designed for the video game Gran Turismo 6. The car features 4-wheel steer and active aerodynamics, claimed to be similar to a wingsuit, and was made available in December 2014. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies

More biography articles

edit

On this day November 24

Portal:Cars/Anniversaries/November 24

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 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.

edit

Selected quote of the day

If you can find a better car, buy it!

—Lee Iacocca's pitch to buyers of the K-car line that saved Chrysler Corporation from insolvency in the 1980s

Topics

General images

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

Image 1In 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 21959 Morris Mini-Minor (from History of the automobile)
Image 3Rolls-Royce Phantom III (from History of the automobile)
Image 4Road congestion is an issue in many major cities (pictured is Chang'an Avenue in Beijing). (from Car)
Image 5The Vélib' in Paris, France, is the largest bikesharing system outside China. (from Car)
Image 6The second Marcus car of 1888 (from History of the automobile)
Image 7Model-T Ford car parked near the Geelong Art Gallery at its launch in Australia in 1915 (from History of the automobile)
Image 8Trucks' 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 9A 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 10Cugnot's 1771 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (from Car)
Image 11Audi A4 daytime running lights (from Car)
Image 12Cugnot's steam wagon, the second (1771) version (from History of the automobile)
Image 13The first automobile in Japan, a French Panhard-Levassor, in 1898 (from History of the automobile)
Image 141974 Citroën DS (from History of the automobile)
Image 15Carl Benz, the inventor of the modern car (from Car)
Image 16Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A (from History of the automobile)
Image 171954 Plymouth Savoy Station Wagon, one of the first US all-metal station wagons (from History of the automobile)
Image 18Ford Motor Company automobile assembly line in the 1920s (from Car)
Image 191885-built Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use (from History of the automobile)
Image 201946 GAZ-M20 Pobeda, one of the first mass-produced cars with pontoon design (from History of the automobile)
Image 21The Präsident automobile (from History of the automobile)
Image 22Steam machine of Verbiest, in 1678 (Ferdinand Verbiest) (from Car)
Image 23Volkswagen Beetle (from History of the automobile)
Image 24Fiat 4 HP, the first car model produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat in 1899 (from History of the automobile)
Image 251929 Alfa Romeo 6C (from History of the automobile)
Image 261926 Bugatti Type 35 (from History of the automobile)
Image 27A car being assembled in a factory (from Car)
Image 28Car exhaust gas is one type of pollution
Image 29Stuttgart, 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 301924 Doble Model E (from History of the automobile)
Image 31Gurgel Supermini (from History of the automobile)
Image 32The Toyota Corolla is the world's bestselling nameplate. (from History of the automobile)
Image 33A replica of Richard Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive 'Puffing Devil' (from History of the automobile)
Image 34The Ford Model T (foreground) and Volkswagen Beetle (background) are among the most mass-produced car models in history. (from History of the automobile)
Image 35The original Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car, built in 1885 and awarded the patent for the concept (from Car)
Image 36The Flocken Elektrowagen was the first four-wheeled electric car (from Car)
Image 37The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car of all-time. (from Car)
Image 38Panel for fuses and circuit breakers (from Car)
Image 392011 Nissan Leaf electric car (from Car)
Image 40Result of a serious car collision (from Car)
Image 411929 Austin Seven (from History of the automobile)
Image 42A 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 43Bertha Benz, the first long distance driver (from Car)
Image 44A Chevrolet Suburban extended-length SUV weighs 3,300 kilograms (7,200 lb) (gross weight). (from Car)
Image 45The Selden Road-Engine (from History of the automobile)
Image 461958 Lancia Appia (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 48Ransom E. Olds founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile) in 1897. (from Car)
Image 49The 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 50A robotic Volkswagen Passat shown at Stanford University is a driverless car. (from Car)