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 over 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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Exterior of the Piquette Avenue Plant

The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant is a former factory located within the Milwaukee Junction area of Detroit, Michigan, in the United States. Built in 1904, it was the second center of automobile production for the Ford Motor Company, after the Ford Mack Avenue Plant. At the Piquette Avenue Plant, the company created and first produced the Ford Model T, the car credited with initiating the mass use of automobiles in the United States. Prior to the Model T, several other car models were assembled at the factory. Early experiments using a moving assembly line to make cars were also conducted there. It was also the first factory where more than 100 cars were assembled in one day. While it was headquartered at the Piquette Avenue Plant, Ford Motor Company became the biggest U.S.-based automaker, and it would remain so until the mid-1920s. The factory was used by the company until 1910, when its car production activity was relocated to the new, larger Highland Park Ford Plant.

Studebaker bought the factory in 1911, using it to assemble cars until 1933. The building was sold in 1936, going through a series of owners for the rest of the 20th century before becoming a museum in 2001. The Piquette Avenue Plant is the oldest purpose-built automotive factory building open to the public. The museum, which was visited by over 31,000 people in 2018, has exhibits that primarily focus on the beginning of the United States automotive industry. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002, became a Michigan State Historic Site in 2003, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006. (Full article...)

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Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (German pronunciation: [ˌbeːʔɛmˈveː] ^ⓘ), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of luxury vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The company was founded in 1916 as a manufacturer of aircraft engines, which it produced from 1917 to 1918 and again from 1933 to 1945 creating engines for aircraft that were used in the Second World War.

The companies automobiles are marketed under the BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brands, and motorcycles are marketed under the BMW Motorrad brand. Also in 2023, BMW was the world's ninth-largest producer of motor vehicles, with 2,555,341 vehicles produced and in 2023 the 6th largest by revenue. In 2023, the company was ranked 46th in the Forbes Global 2000. The company has significant motor-sport history, especially in touring cars, sports cars, and the Isle of Man TT. (Full article...)

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1998 Peugeot 206

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Edward Thomas Welburn Jr. (born December 14, 1950) is an automobile designer and former General Motors' Vice President of Global Design, a role in which he served from 2003 to 2016 and the same position that Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell once held. To date, Welburn still holds the distinction of having been the highest-ranking Black-American in the global automotive industry. He has overseen the development of recent GM products, such as the Chevrolet Corvette, Cadillac Escalade and Chevrolet Camaro. Welburn has overseen groundbreaking concepts such as:the Oldsmobile Aerotech, Cadillac Ciel, and Buick Avista. Welburn was also the lead GM designer on the Chaparral 2X Vision GT, a concept car designed for the video game Gran Turismo 6. The car features 4-wheel steer and active aerodynamics, claimed to be similar to a wingsuit, and was made available in December 2014. (Full article...)

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On this day December 15

1861 — Charles Duryea is born

1955 — Sales of the Rambler Six begin, creating and defining a new market segment in the United States, the "compact car".

2000 — Bugatti Automobiles SAS is incorporated

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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

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 11974 Citroën DS (from History of the automobile)
Image 2Gurgel Supermini (from History of the automobile)
Image 3Model-T Ford car parked near the Geelong Art Gallery at its launch in Australia in 1915 (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 5The Selden Road-Engine (from History of the automobile)
Image 6Result of a serious car collision (from Car)
Image 7A Chevrolet Suburban extended-length SUV weighs 3,300 kilograms (7,200 lb) (gross weight). (from Car)
Image 8Cugnot's steam wagon, the second (1771) version (from History of the automobile)
Image 9A replica of Richard Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive 'Puffing Devil' (from History of the automobile)
Image 10The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car of all-time. (from Car)
Image 11Audi A4 daytime running lights (from Car)
Image 12Car exhaust gas is one type of pollution
Image 13Cugnot's 1771 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (from Car)
Image 14Steam machine of Verbiest, in 1678 (Ferdinand Verbiest) (from Car)
Image 15A 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 16Stuttgart, 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 17Ford Motor Company automobile assembly line in the 1920s (from Car)
Image 18The Vélib' in Paris, France, is the largest bikesharing system outside China. (from Car)
Image 19A robotic Volkswagen Passat shown at Stanford University is a driverless car. (from Car)
Image 20Bertha Benz, the first long distance driver (from Car)
Image 21The first automobile in Japan, a French Panhard-Levassor, in 1898 (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 23The German Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888, perhaps the first electric car in the world (from History of the automobile)
Image 241958 Lancia Appia (from History of the automobile)
Image 25The Ford Model T (foreground) and Volkswagen Beetle (background) are among the most mass-produced car models in history. (from History of the automobile)
Image 261926 Bugatti Type 35 (from History of the automobile)
Image 271885-built Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use (from History of the automobile)
Image 28Volkswagen Beetle (from History of the automobile)
Image 29The Präsident automobile (from History of the automobile)
Image 30Rolls-Royce Phantom III (from History of the automobile)
Image 31Ransom E. Olds founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile) in 1897. (from Car)
Image 32In 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 33Panel for fuses and circuit breakers (from Car)
Image 34The original Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car, built in 1885 and awarded the patent for the concept (from Car)
Image 351929 Alfa Romeo 6C (from History of the automobile)
Image 361954 Plymouth Savoy Station Wagon, one of the first US all-metal station wagons (from History of the automobile)
Image 371924 Doble Model E (from History of the automobile)
Image 381959 Morris Mini-Minor (from History of the automobile)
Image 39The Toyota Corolla is the world's bestselling nameplate. (from History of the automobile)
Image 401946 GAZ-M20 Pobeda, one of the first mass-produced cars with pontoon design (from History of the automobile)
Image 41Trucks' 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 42A car being assembled in a factory (from Car)
Image 43Carl Benz, the inventor of the modern car (from Car)
Image 442011 Nissan Leaf electric car (from Car)
Image 45Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A (from History of the automobile)
Image 46The Flocken Elektrowagen was the first four-wheeled electric car (from Car)
Image 47Fiat 4 HP, the first car model produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat in 1899 (from History of the automobile)
Image 481929 Austin Seven (from History of the automobile)
Image 49The second Marcus car of 1888 (from History of the automobile)
Image 50Road congestion is an issue in many major cities (pictured is Chang'an Avenue in Beijing). (from Car)