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, not cargo.

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. One of the first cars affordable by the masses was the Ford Model T, begun in 1908, an American car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. 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. The car is considered an essential part of the developed economy.

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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The RS Spyder (Type 9R6) is a racing car designed by Porsche in conjunction with Penske to compete in Le Mans Prototype Class 2 (LMP2) racing. The car takes its name from the legendary Porsche 550 Spyder of the 1950s (combined with Porsche's common "RennSport" (lit.: racing sports) designation). The car marked Porsche's first return to the top level of sports prototype racing since the firm abandoned its Porsche LMP in 1999.

The RS Spyder made its debut in the final event of the 2005 American Le Mans Series (ALMS) at Laguna Seca winning its class. Since then the RS Spyder has won the ALMS LMP2 Championship in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and took class honours at Le Mans in 2008 and 2009. The outright victory at the 2008 12 Hours of Sebring was the first major victory for Porsche in endurance racing for five years and it was also the first time in 14 years that the non-premier class won the 12 Hours of Sebring overall. Regulation changes for the 2011 season rendered the RS Spyder obsolete but the car has left a legacy in the Porsche 918 Spyder, which uses a development of the RS Spyder's engine and the Porsche 919 Hybrid which carried Porsche's racing program on into the LMP1 category starting in 2014. (Full article...)

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A steam car is a car (automobile) propelled by a steam engine. A steam engine is an external combustion engine (ECE), whereas the gasoline and diesel engines that eventually became standard are internal combustion engines (ICE). ECEs have a lower thermal efficiency, but carbon monoxide production is more readily regulated.

The first experimental steam-powered cars were built in the 18th and 19th centuries, but it was not until after Richard Trevithick had developed the use of high-pressure steam around 1800 that mobile steam engines became a practical proposition. By the 1850s there was a flurry of new steam car manufacturers. (Full article...)

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1998 Peugeot 206

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Manley in 2019 with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

Michael Manley, often known as Mike Manley (born 6 March 1964) is an English businessman and current CEO of American automotive retailer AutoNation. He previously served as managing director of the North American operations of Stellantis. In 2018 Manley was appointed as CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), following the announcement that previous CEO Sergio Marchionne would step down for health reasons. (Full article...)

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On this day May 15

1996 — Chrysler Corporation begins exporting right-hand drive Neon compacts in an attempt to re-enter the global car market after pulling out and selling Chrysler Europe and Chrysler Australia in the early 1980s.

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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 nearly identical Ford Model T engines were produced for exactly 12,000 days
...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?

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Selected quote of the day

Congestion charging was a radical solution to a long-standing problem. It has helped to get London moving again after years of choking traffic.

—Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, October 2003

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General images

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

Image 1A 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 2The German Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888, perhaps the first electric car in the world (from History of the automobile)
Image 3Volkswagen Beetle (from History of the automobile)
Image 41929 Austin Seven (from History of the automobile)
Image 5Cugnot's steam wagon, the second (1771) version (from History of the automobile)
Image 6In 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 7The Selden Road-Engine (from History of the automobile)
Image 8Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A (from History of the automobile)
Image 9Road congestion is an issue in many major cities (pictured is Chang'an Avenue in Beijing). (from Car)
Image 10Steam machine of Verbiest, in 1678 (Ferdinand Verbiest) (from Car)
Image 11A replica of Richard Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive 'Puffing Devil' (from History of the automobile)
Image 121929 Alfa Romeo 6C (from History of the automobile)
Image 13The first automobile in Japan, a French Panhard-Levassor, in 1898 (from History of the automobile)
Image 14The Präsident automobile (from History of the automobile)
Image 15Ford Motor Company automobile assembly line in the 1920s (from Car)
Image 16A robotic Volkswagen Passat shown at Stanford University is a driverless car. (from Car)
Image 172011 Nissan Leaf electric car (from Car)
Image 181958 Lancia Appia (from History of the automobile)
Image 19Cugnot's 1771 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (from Car)
Image 20The original Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car, built in 1885 and awarded the patent for the concept (from Car)
Image 21A car being assembled in a factory (from Car)
Image 22Ransom E. Olds founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile) in 1897. (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 241959 Morris Mini-Minor (from History of the automobile)
Image 25Rolls-Royce Phantom III (from History of the automobile)
Image 26The Flocken Elektrowagen was the first four-wheeled electric car (from Car)
Image 27The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car of all-time. (from Car)
Image 28Scaled model of the second Marcus car of 1875 (from History of the automobile)
Image 29Audi A4 daytime running lights (from Car)
Image 30Fiat 4 HP, the first car model produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat in 1899 (from History of the automobile)
Image 311974 Citroën DS (from History of the automobile)
Image 32Trucks' 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 33A 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 341885-built Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use (from History of the automobile)
Image 35The 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 361946 GAZ-M20 Pobeda, one of the first mass-produced cars with pontoon design (from History of the automobile)
Image 37A Chevrolet Suburban extended-length SUV weighs 3,300 kilograms (7,200 lb) (gross weight). (from Car)
Image 38Gurgel Supermini (from History of the automobile)
Image 39The Vélib' in Paris, France, is the largest bikesharing system outside China. (from Car)
Image 40Model-T Ford car parked near the Geelong Art Gallery at its launch in Australia in 1915 (from History of the automobile)
Image 41Bertha Benz, the first long distance driver (from Car)
Image 42Panel for fuses and circuit breakers (from Car)
Image 431924 Doble Model E (from History of the automobile)
Image 44Result of a serious car collision (from Car)
Image 45The Toyota Corolla is the world's bestselling nameplate. (from History of the automobile)
Image 46Car exhaust gas is one type of pollution
Image 47The Ford Model T (foreground) and Volkswagen Beetle (background) are among the most mass-produced car models in history. (from History of the automobile)
Image 481926 Bugatti Type 35 (from History of the automobile)
Image 491954 Plymouth Savoy Station Wagon, one of the first US all-metal station wagons (from History of the automobile)
Image 50Carl Benz, the inventor of the modern car (from Car)