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 rather than cargo. There are around one billion cars in use worldwide.

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...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Recognized content - show another

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

The Ferrari P4/5 (officially known as the Ferrari P4/5 by Pininfarina) is a one-off sports car made by Italian sports car manufacturer Ferrari but redesigned by Pininfarina for film director James Glickenhaus, son of stock exchange magnate Seth Glickenhaus.

The car was initially a 2003 Enzo Ferrari but the owner James Glickenhaus preferred the styling of Ferrari's 1960s race cars, the P Series. The project cost Glickenhaus US$4 million and was officially presented to the public in August 2006 at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elégance. Several websites were allowed to publish images of the clay model in July 2006. (Full article...)

List of recognized articles

Selected article - show another

Headquarters in Toyota, Japan

Toyota Motor Corporation (Japanese: トヨタ自動車株式会社, Hepburn: Toyota Jidōsha kabushikigaisha, IPA: [toꜜjota], English: /tɔɪˈjoʊtə/, commonly known as simply Toyota) is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the largest automobile manufacturer in the world, producing about 10 million vehicles per year.

The company was founded as a spinoff of Toyota Industries, a machine maker started by Sakichi Toyoda, Kiichiro's father. Both companies are now part of the Toyota Group, one of the largest conglomerates in the world. While still a department of Toyota Industries, the company developed its first product, the Type A engine, in 1934 and its first passenger car in 1936, the Toyota AA. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

edit

Selected picture of the day

2005 Mercedes-Benz S350

Selected biography - show another

Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was an Austrian-Bohemian-German automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first gasoline–electric hybrid vehicle (Lohner–Porsche), the Volkswagen Beetle, the Auto Union racing cars, the Mercedes-Benz SS/SSK, and several other important developments and Porsche automobiles.

An important contributor to the German war effort during World War II, Porsche was involved in the production of advanced tanks such as the VK 45.01 (P), the Elefant (initially called "Ferdinand") self-propelled gun, and the Panzer VIII Maus super-heavy tank, as well as other weapon systems, including the V-1 flying bomb. Porsche was a member of the Nazi Party and an honorary Oberführer of the Allgemeine SS. He was a recipient of the German National Prize for Art and Science, the SS-Ehrenring and the War Merit Cross. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies

edit

On this day February 7

1942 — The government of the United States of America orders passenger vehicle production to be stopped and converted to war effort.

2007 — Ford announces it will resurrect the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable nameplates for the 2008 versions of the Ford Five Hundred, Ford Freestyle, and Mercury Montego.

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

The Aston Martin DB9 is the car that I'd be most likely to sell my children into slavery for.

—Jeremy Clarkson

Topics

General images

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

Image 11974 Citroën DS (from History of the automobile)
Image 21924 Doble Model E (from History of the automobile)
Image 31954 Plymouth Savoy Station Wagon, one of the first US all-metal station wagons (from History of the automobile)
Image 4A 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 5Gurgel Supermini (from History of the automobile)
Image 6Ransom E. Olds founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile) in 1897. (from Car)
Image 71929 Alfa Romeo 6C (from History of the automobile)
Image 8Model-T Ford car parked near the Geelong Art Gallery at its launch in Australia in 1915 (from History of the automobile)
Image 9The Toyota Corolla is the world's bestselling nameplate. (from History of the automobile)
Image 10Result of a serious car collision (from Car)
Image 111946 GAZ-M20 Pobeda, one of the first mass-produced cars with pontoon design (from History of the automobile)
Image 12The German Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888, perhaps the first electric car in the world (from History of the automobile)
Image 13The second Marcus car of 1888 (from History of the automobile)
Image 14A replica of Richard Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive 'Puffing Devil' (from History of the automobile)
Image 15In 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 16Carl Benz, the inventor of the modern car (from Car)
Image 171959 Morris Mini-Minor (from History of the automobile)
Image 181885-built Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use (from History of the automobile)
Image 19Trucks' 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 20A 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 21A Chevrolet Suburban extended-length SUV weighs 3,300 kilograms (7,200 lb) (gross weight). (from Car)
Image 22Steam machine of Verbiest, in 1678 (Ferdinand Verbiest) (from Car)
Image 23Stuttgart, 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 24The Präsident automobile (from History of the automobile)
Image 25Volkswagen Beetle (from History of the automobile)
Image 26The Selden Road-Engine (from History of the automobile)
Image 272011 Nissan Leaf electric car (from Car)
Image 28Cugnot's steam wagon, the second (1771) version (from History of the automobile)
Image 29A robotic Volkswagen Passat shown at Stanford University is a driverless car. (from Car)
Image 30The original Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car, built in 1885 and awarded the patent for the concept (from Car)
Image 31Ford Motor Company automobile assembly line in the 1920s (from Car)
Image 32Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A (from History of the automobile)
Image 33The 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 34Panel for fuses and circuit breakers (from Car)
Image 35Cugnot's 1771 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (from Car)
Image 36The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car of all-time. (from Car)
Image 37The Vélib' in Paris, France, is the largest bikesharing system outside China. (from Car)
Image 38Road congestion is an issue in many major cities (pictured is Chang'an Avenue in Beijing). (from Car)
Image 39The Ford Model T (foreground) and Volkswagen Beetle (background) are among the most mass-produced car models in history. (from History of the automobile)
Image 401958 Lancia Appia (from History of the automobile)
Image 41Audi A4 daytime running lights (from Car)
Image 421926 Bugatti Type 35 (from History of the automobile)
Image 43Rolls-Royce Phantom III (from History of the automobile)
Image 44Car exhaust gas is one type of pollution
Image 45The first automobile in Japan, a French Panhard-Levassor, in 1898 (from History of the automobile)
Image 46Bertha Benz, the first long distance driver (from Car)
Image 47The Flocken Elektrowagen was the first four-wheeled electric car (from Car)
Image 48A car being assembled in a factory (from Car)
Image 49Fiat 4 HP, the first car model produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat in 1899 (from History of the automobile)
Image 501929 Austin Seven (from History of the automobile)