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...)

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Ford Pinto

The Ford Pinto is a subcompact car that was manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company in North America from 1970 until 1980. The Pinto was the first subcompact vehicle produced by Ford in North America.

The Pinto was marketed in three body styles throughout its production: a two-door fastback sedan with a trunk, a three-door hatchback, and a two-door station wagon. Mercury offered rebadged versions of the Pinto as the Mercury Bobcat from 1975 until 1980 (1974–1980 in Canada). Over three million Pintos were produced over its ten-year production run, outproducing the combined totals of its domestic rivals, the Chevrolet Vega and the AMC Gremlin. The Pinto and Mercury Bobcat were produced at Edison Assembly in Edison, New Jersey, St. Thomas Assembly in Southwold, Ontario, and San Jose Assembly in Milpitas, California. (Full article...)

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Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited is a British luxury automobile maker that has operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of BMW AG since 2003 – as the exclusive manufacturer of Rolls-Royce-branded motor cars. The company's administrative and production headquarters are located on the 42-acre (17 ha) Goodwood Estate in Goodwood, West Sussex, England, United Kingdom.

From 1906 to 2003, motor cars were manufactured and marketed under the Rolls-Royce brand by Rolls-Royce Limited and Rolls-Royce Motors. The Rolls-Royce Motor Cars subsidiary of BMW AG has no direct relationship to Rolls-Royce-branded vehicles produced before 2003, other than having briefly supplied components and engines. The Bentley Motors Limited subsidiary of Volkswagen AG is the direct successor to Rolls-Royce Motors and various other predecessor entities that produced Rolls-Royce and Bentley branded cars between the foundation of each company and 2003, when the BMW-controlled entity started producing cars under the Rolls-Royce brand. (Full article...)

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Smart Fortwo

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Kenichi Yamamoto (山本健一, Yamamoto Kenichi, 16 September 1922 – 20 December 2017) was a Japanese mechanical engineer and business executive. He supervised the development of the Mazda Wankel rotary combustion engine, and served as Mazda's President (1984–1987) and Chairman (1987–1992). (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 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

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 1The 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 21929 Austin Seven (from History of the automobile)
Image 31987 Renault Espace (from History of the automobile)
Image 4In 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 51974 Citroën DS (from History of the automobile)
Image 6Audi A4 daytime running lights (from Car)
Image 7Volkswagen Beetle (from History of the automobile)
Image 8The second Marcus car of 1888 (from History of the automobile)
Image 9Car exhaust gas is one type of pollution
Image 101955 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible (from History of the automobile)
Image 11Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A (from History of the automobile)
Image 12The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car of all-time. (from Car)
Image 13Panel for fuses and circuit breakers (from Car)
Image 141885-built Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use (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 16A Tesla Model Y electric car, the world's best-selling electric car, and the best selling nameplate in 2023. (from History of the automobile)
Image 17The first automobile in Japan, a French Panhard-Levassor, in 1898 (from History of the automobile)
Image 18A robotic Volkswagen Passat shown at Stanford University is a driverless car. (from Car)
Image 19Result of a serious car collision (from Car)
Image 201926 Bugatti Type 35 (from History of the automobile)
Image 21Ransom E. Olds founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile) in 1897. (from Car)
Image 22Carl Benz, the inventor of the modern car (from Car)
Image 23A car being assembled in a factory (from Car)
Image 24A 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 25The Toyota Corolla is the world's bestselling nameplate. (from History of the automobile)
Image 26Stuttgart, 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 27Trucks' 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 28Cugnot's 1771 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (from Car)
Image 29The Präsident automobile (from History of the automobile)
Image 301959 Morris Mini-Minor (from History of the automobile)
Image 31Ford Motor Company automobile assembly line in the 1920s (from Car)
Image 32Fiat 4 HP, the first car model produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat in 1899 (from History of the automobile)
Image 33Bertha Benz, the first long distance driver (from Car)
Image 34The Selden Road-Engine (from History of the automobile)
Image 35Road congestion is an issue in many major cities (pictured is Chang'an Avenue in Beijing). (from Car)
Image 36The Vélib' in Paris, France, is the largest bikesharing system outside China. (from Car)
Image 371946 GAZ-M20 Pobeda, one of the first mass-produced cars with a pontoon design (from History of the automobile)
Image 38The Flocken Elektrowagen was the first four-wheeled electric car (from Car)
Image 391982 Toyota Camry (from History of the automobile)
Image 40Rolls-Royce Phantom III (from History of the automobile)
Image 411929 Alfa Romeo 6C (from History of the automobile)
Image 42A replica of Richard Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive 'Puffing Devil' (from History of the automobile)
Image 43The Ford Model T (foreground) and Volkswagen Beetle (background) are among the most mass-produced car models in history. (from History of the automobile)
Image 44The German Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888, perhaps the first electric car in the world (from History of the automobile)
Image 45Cugnot's steam wagon, the second (1771) version (from History of the automobile)
Image 46A Chevrolet Suburban extended-length SUV weighs 3,300 kilograms (7,200 lb) (gross weight). (from Car)
Image 472011 Nissan Leaf electric car (from Car)
Image 48Steam machine of Verbiest, in 1678 (Ferdinand Verbiest) (from Car)
Image 49Model-T Ford car parked near the Geelong Art Gallery at its launch in Australia in 1915 (from History of the automobile)
Image 501924 Doble Model E (from History of the automobile)