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

The Ramblin' Reck from Georgia Tech is the 1930 Ford Model A Sport coupe that serves as the official mascot of the student body at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The Reck is present at all major sporting events and student body functions. Its most noticeable role is leading the football team into Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field, a duty which the Reck has performed since 1961. The Ramblin' Reck is mechanically and financially maintained on campus by students in Ramblin' Reck Club.

The first mechanical Reck was a 1914 Ford Model T owned by Dean Floyd Field. Until the current Reck was donated to the school in 1961, most of the early Ramblin' Recks were owned by students, faculty or alumni. The modern Reck has donned a number of different paint jobs and has had several restorations and modifications made to it. These changes were made by various individuals and organizations over the years, including Bobby Dodd and Georgia Tech Alumnus Pete George, who worked at the Ford plant in Hapeville, Georgia. The upkeep of the Reck has been the sole responsibility of Ramblin' Reck Club and the Reck driver since 1968<https://www.reckclub.org.gatech.edu/reck/drivers.php>. (Full article...)

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1965–1966 Volkswagen Käfer

The Volkswagen Beetle, officially the Volkswagen Type 1, is a small car produced by the German company Volkswagen from 1938 to 2003. One of the most iconic cars in automotive history, the Beetle is noted for its distinctive shape. Its production period of 65 years is the longest of any single generation of automobile, and its total production of over 21.5 million is the most of any car of a single platform.

The Beetle was conceived in the early 1930s. The leader of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler, decided there was a need for a people's car—an inexpensive, simple, mass-produced car—to serve Germany's new road network, the Reichsautobahn. The German engineer Ferdinand Porsche and his design team began developing and designing the car in the early 1930s. But the fundamental design concept can be attributed to Béla Barényi in 1925, predating Porsche's claims by over five years. The result was the Volkswagen Type 1 and the introduction of the Volkswagen brand. Volkswagen initially slated production for the late 1930s, but the outbreak of war in 1939 meant that production was delayed until the war had ended. The car was originally called the Volkswagen Type 1 and marketed simply as the Volkswagen, but it was not until 1968 that it was officially named the "Beetle". (Full article...)

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BMW 2002

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Zetsche in 2013

Dieter Zetsche (German pronunciation: [ˌdiːtɐ ˈtsɛtʃə]; born on 5 May 1953) is a German engineer and business executive. He is the chairman of TUI AG. He was the chairman of the board of management of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz until 22 May 2019, a role he had held since 2006, in addition to being a member of the company's board since 1998. (Full article...)

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On this day August 28

1907 — Edward M. Murphy incorporates the Oakland Motor Company

2006 — Jeep's Toledo South Assembly Plant begins production

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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 1The Toyota Corolla is the world's bestselling nameplate. (from History of the automobile)
Image 2Audi A4 daytime running lights (from Car)
Image 31926 Bugatti Type 35 (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 5Cugnot's steam wagon, the second (1771) version (from History of the automobile)
Image 61929 Austin Seven (from History of the automobile)
Image 7The Ford Model T (foreground) and Volkswagen Beetle (background) are among the most mass-produced car models in history. (from History of the automobile)
Image 8Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A (from History of the automobile)
Image 9Volkswagen Beetle (from History of the automobile)
Image 10A car being assembled in a factory (from Car)
Image 11Model-T Ford car parked near the Geelong Art Gallery at its launch in Australia in 1915 (from History of the automobile)
Image 12A robotic Volkswagen Passat shown at Stanford University is a driverless car. (from Car)
Image 13Ford Motor Company automobile assembly line in the 1920s (from Car)
Image 14Rolls-Royce Phantom III (from History of the automobile)
Image 15The original Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car, built in 1885 and awarded the patent for the concept (from Car)
Image 16Steam machine of Verbiest, in 1678 (Ferdinand Verbiest) (from Car)
Image 171959 Morris Mini-Minor (from History of the automobile)
Image 181958 Lancia Appia (from History of the automobile)
Image 19The Flocken Elektrowagen was the first four-wheeled electric car (from Car)
Image 20The Vélib' in Paris, France, is the largest bikesharing system outside China. (from Car)
Image 21The German Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888, perhaps the first electric car in the world (from History of the automobile)
Image 22The 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 23A 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 24The second Marcus car of 1888 (from History of the automobile)
Image 25Result of a serious car collision (from Car)
Image 26Carl Benz, the inventor of the modern car (from Car)
Image 27Cugnot's 1771 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (from Car)
Image 28Bertha Benz, the first long distance driver (from Car)
Image 291929 Alfa Romeo 6C (from History of the automobile)
Image 30A 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 31Fiat 4 HP, the first car model produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat in 1899 (from History of the automobile)
Image 32Gurgel Supermini (from History of the automobile)
Image 33The Selden Road-Engine (from History of the automobile)
Image 34A replica of Richard Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive 'Puffing Devil' (from History of the automobile)
Image 35The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car of all-time. (from Car)
Image 361946 GAZ-M20 Pobeda, one of the first mass-produced cars with pontoon design (from History of the automobile)
Image 37The first automobile in Japan, a French Panhard-Levassor, in 1898 (from History of the automobile)
Image 38Ransom E. Olds founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile) in 1897. (from Car)
Image 392011 Nissan Leaf electric car (from Car)
Image 40Stuttgart, 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 411885-built Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use (from History of the automobile)
Image 42Trucks' 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 43A Chevrolet Suburban extended-length SUV weighs 3,300 kilograms (7,200 lb) (gross weight). (from Car)
Image 441974 Citroën DS (from History of the automobile)
Image 45In 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 46The Präsident automobile (from History of the automobile)
Image 47Car exhaust gas is one type of pollution
Image 48Panel for fuses and circuit breakers (from Car)
Image 491954 Plymouth Savoy Station Wagon, one of the first US all-metal station wagons (from History of the automobile)
Image 501924 Doble Model E (from History of the automobile)