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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A later model Columbus-Firestone automobile in 1909

The Columbus Buggy Company was an early buggy and automotive manufacturer based in Columbus, Ohio, United States, from 1875 to 1913.

Begun by three business partners, the company set up its manufacturing facilities in what is today the Arena District producing inexpensive buggies and dashboards, and quickly saw success. At its height it employed 1,200 people and was producing 100 buggies a day which were sold in every state in the United States. The company was one of the city's major employers and a significant portion of the city's buggy manufacturing economy. After the turn of the century it oriented itself toward production of electric vehicles and, later, of automobiles. Crippled by the Great Flood of 1913 and unable to compete with cheaper alternatives like the Model T, the company eventually went bankrupt in 1913, reorganized, and closed its doors a few years later. (Full article...)

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Mercedes-Benz C 200 sedan (pre-facelift)

The Mercedes-Benz W205 is the fourth generation of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class which was produced by Daimler AG between 2014 and 2021. The W205 C-Class was preceded by the W204 C-Class and superseded by the W206 C-Class. The fourth-generation C-Class was available in sedan (W205), station wagon/estate (S205), coupe (C205), cabriolet (A205) and long-wheelbase sedan (V205) body styles.

The W205 was the first vehicle to use the all-new Modular Rear Architecture (MRA) platform. The new structure is significantly lighter, using aluminum extensively throughout the body, resulting in a 100 kg (220 lb) weight decrease. According to Mercedes-Benz, the structure is much more rigid than other vehicles in its class. (Full article...)

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1967 Pontiac Catalina convertible

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Bertha Ringer, c. 1871, prior to her marriage to Carl Benz

Bertha Benz (German: [ˈbɛʁta ˈbɛnts] ^ⓘ; née Cäcilie Bertha Ringer; 3 May 1849 – 5 May 1944) was a German automotive pioneer. She was the business partner, investor and wife of automobile inventor Carl Benz. On 5 August 1888, she was the first person to drive an internal-combustion-engined automobile over a long distance, field testing the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, inventing brake lining and solving several practical issues during the journey of 105 km (65 miles). In doing so, she brought the Patent-Motorwagen worldwide attention and got their company its first sales. Bertha Benz was not allowed to study in the Grand Duchy of Baden, and her financial and practical engineering contributions have long been overlooked until the 21st century. (Full article...)

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On this day October 17

1917 — Ford Motor Company introduces the Fordson, the first mass-produced tractor

2003 — Honda becomes the first auto maker to add traffic congestion information to their navigation systems

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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

If it wasn't so ugly, I would shoot myself.

—Famed Ferrari designer, Aurelio Lampredi, describing a prototype Mini after a 1959 test drive

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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 2Cugnot's 1771 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (from Car)
Image 3The 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 4A replica of Richard Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive 'Puffing Devil' (from History of the automobile)
Image 52011 Nissan Leaf electric car (from Car)
Image 6Ransom E. Olds founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile) in 1897. (from Car)
Image 7Rolls-Royce Phantom III (from History of the automobile)
Image 81974 Citroën DS (from History of the automobile)
Image 91954 Plymouth Savoy Station Wagon, one of the first US all-metal station wagons (from History of the automobile)
Image 10A 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 11The Vélib' in Paris, France, is the largest bikesharing system outside China. (from Car)
Image 12Road congestion is an issue in many major cities (pictured is Chang'an Avenue in Beijing). (from Car)
Image 13Bertha Benz, the first long distance driver (from Car)
Image 14A robotic Volkswagen Passat shown at Stanford University is a driverless car. (from Car)
Image 15Gurgel Supermini (from History of the automobile)
Image 16The second Marcus car of 1888 (from History of the automobile)
Image 17The original Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car, built in 1885 and awarded the patent for the concept (from Car)
Image 18A 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 19Carl Benz, the inventor of the modern car (from Car)
Image 20Volkswagen Beetle (from History of the automobile)
Image 21Trucks' 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 221924 Doble Model E (from History of the automobile)
Image 23Steam machine of Verbiest, in 1678 (Ferdinand Verbiest) (from Car)
Image 24Stuttgart, 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 251885-built Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use (from History of the automobile)
Image 261929 Alfa Romeo 6C (from History of the automobile)
Image 27Panel for fuses and circuit breakers (from Car)
Image 28Car exhaust gas is one type of pollution
Image 29The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car of all-time. (from Car)
Image 30Cugnot's steam wagon, the second (1771) version (from History of the automobile)
Image 311929 Austin Seven (from History of the automobile)
Image 321926 Bugatti Type 35 (from History of the automobile)
Image 33In 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 34The Flocken Elektrowagen was the first four-wheeled electric car (from Car)
Image 35The Ford Model T (foreground) and Volkswagen Beetle (background) are among the most mass-produced car models in history. (from History of the automobile)
Image 36The Toyota Corolla is the world's bestselling nameplate. (from History of the automobile)
Image 37Fiat 4 HP, the first car model produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat in 1899 (from History of the automobile)
Image 38Audi A4 daytime running lights (from Car)
Image 391958 Lancia Appia (from History of the automobile)
Image 40Result of a serious car collision (from Car)
Image 41A Chevrolet Suburban extended-length SUV weighs 3,300 kilograms (7,200 lb) (gross weight). (from Car)
Image 42Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A (from History of the automobile)
Image 431959 Morris Mini-Minor (from History of the automobile)
Image 44The Präsident automobile (from History of the automobile)
Image 45The first automobile in Japan, a French Panhard-Levassor, in 1898 (from History of the automobile)
Image 461946 GAZ-M20 Pobeda, one of the first mass-produced cars with pontoon design (from History of the automobile)
Image 47The Selden Road-Engine (from History of the automobile)
Image 48Model-T Ford car parked near the Geelong Art Gallery at its launch in Australia in 1915 (from History of the automobile)
Image 49Ford Motor Company automobile assembly line in the 1920s (from Car)
Image 50A car being assembled in a factory (from Car)