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...)

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.

Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch is an American animated television series, produced by Hanna-Barbera, which originally aired for one season on NBC from September 7 to November 30, 1974. The show aired for 13 half-hour episodes.

With an ensemble voice cast consisting of Frank Welker, Judy Strangis, Don Messick, Paul Winchell and Lennie Weinrib, the show follows an anthropomorphic car named Wheelie and a trouble-making motorcycle gang called the "Chopper Bunch". (Full article...)

List of recognized articles

Selected article - show another

Tesla Model 3

An electric car or electric vehicle (EV) is a passenger automobile that is propelled by an electric traction motor, using only energy stored in on-board batteries. Compared to conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quieter, more responsive, have superior energy conversion efficiency and no exhaust emissions and lower overall vehicle emissions (however the power plant supplying the electricity might generate its own emissions). The term "electric car" normally refers to plug-in electric vehicle, typically a battery electric vehicle (BEV), but broadly may also include plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), range-extended electric vehicle (REEV) and fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV).

The electric vehicle battery typically needs to be plugged into a mains electricity power supply for recharging in order to maximize the cruising range. Recharging an electric car can be done at different kinds of charging stations; these charging stations can be installed in private homes, parking garages and public areas. There are also research and development in other technologies such as battery swapping and inductive charging. As the recharging infrastructures (especially those with fast chargers) are still in its relative infancy, range anxiety and time cost are frequent psychological obstacles against electric cars during consumer purchasing decisions. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

edit

Selected picture of the day

BMW 2002

Selected biography - show another

1885 lithograph of White

Thomas H. White (April 26, 1836 – June 22, 1914), was an American industrialist and philanthropist. In 1876 he founded the White Sewing Machine Company in Cleveland, Ohio, predecessor of White Consolidated Industries. He was also an automotive pioneer through the White Motor Company, which went on to produce cars, trucks, buses and tractors. In 1913 he established the Thomas H. White Charitable Trust, which is still active as the Thomas H. White Foundation. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies

More biography articles

edit

On this day May 28

1999 — Delphi Corporation becomes independent of General Motors

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 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?

edit

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

Topics

General images

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

Image 11954 Plymouth Savoy Station Wagon, one of the first US all-metal station wagons (from History of the automobile)
Image 2Steam machine of Verbiest, in 1678 (Ferdinand Verbiest) (from Car)
Image 3The Ford Model T (foreground) and Volkswagen Beetle (background) are among the most mass-produced car models in history. (from History of the automobile)
Image 4A car being assembled in a factory (from Car)
Image 5The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car of all-time. (from Car)
Image 6Car exhaust gas is one type of pollution
Image 7A 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 8Trucks' 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 9The German Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888, perhaps the first electric car in the world (from History of the automobile)
Image 10The original Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car, built in 1885 and awarded the patent for the concept (from Car)
Image 11A robotic Volkswagen Passat shown at Stanford University is a driverless car. (from Car)
Image 12The Flocken Elektrowagen was the first four-wheeled electric car (from Car)
Image 13The Selden Road-Engine (from History of the automobile)
Image 14A 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 15Cugnot's 1771 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (from Car)
Image 162011 Nissan Leaf electric car (from Car)
Image 171929 Austin Seven (from History of the automobile)
Image 18Bertha Benz, the first long distance driver (from Car)
Image 19Ransom E. Olds founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile) in 1897. (from Car)
Image 201959 Morris Mini-Minor (from History of the automobile)
Image 21In 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 22Model-T Ford car parked near the Geelong Art Gallery at its launch in Australia in 1915 (from History of the automobile)
Image 231958 Lancia Appia (from History of the automobile)
Image 24Result of a serious car collision (from Car)
Image 25Cugnot's steam wagon, the second (1771) version (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 27Carl Benz, the inventor of the modern car (from Car)
Image 28Volkswagen Beetle (from History of the automobile)
Image 291885-built Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use (from History of the automobile)
Image 30Scaled model of the second Marcus car of 1875 (from History of the automobile)
Image 31Panel for fuses and circuit breakers (from Car)
Image 32Gurgel Supermini (from History of the automobile)
Image 331926 Bugatti Type 35 (from History of the automobile)
Image 34A replica of Richard Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive 'Puffing Devil' (from History of the automobile)
Image 35Audi A4 daytime running lights (from Car)
Image 36Ford Motor Company automobile assembly line in the 1920s (from Car)
Image 371974 Citroën DS (from History of the automobile)
Image 38The 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 39Fiat 4 HP, the first car model produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat in 1899 (from History of the automobile)
Image 40The Präsident automobile (from History of the automobile)
Image 41The Vélib' in Paris, France, is the largest bikesharing system outside China. (from Car)
Image 42Rolls-Royce Phantom III (from History of the automobile)
Image 431929 Alfa Romeo 6C (from History of the automobile)
Image 44The first automobile in Japan, a French Panhard-Levassor, in 1898 (from History of the automobile)
Image 45A Chevrolet Suburban extended-length SUV weighs 3,300 kilograms (7,200 lb) (gross weight). (from Car)
Image 461924 Doble Model E (from History of the automobile)
Image 47Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A (from History of the automobile)
Image 481946 GAZ-M20 Pobeda, one of the first mass-produced cars with pontoon design (from History of the automobile)
Image 49Road congestion is an issue in many major cities (pictured is Chang'an Avenue in Beijing). (from Car)
Image 50The Toyota Corolla is the world's bestselling nameplate. (from History of the automobile)