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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1923 Duesenberg Model A with touring car body by Leon Rubay

The Duesenberg Model A was the first automobile in series production to have hydraulic brakes and the first automobile in series production in the United States with a straight-eight engine. Officially known as the Duesenberg Straight Eight, the Model A was first shown in late 1920 in New York City. Production was delayed by substantial changes to the design of the car, including a change in the engine valvetrain from horizontal overhead valves to an overhead camshaft; also during this time, the company had moved its headquarters and factory from New Jersey to Indiana. The Model A was manufactured in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1921 to 1925 by the Duesenberg Automobiles and Motors Company and from 1925 to 1926 at the same factory by the restructured Duesenberg Motor Company. The successors to the company began referring to the car as the Model A when the Model J was introduced. (Full article...)

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Checker Motors Corporation was a vehicle manufacturer, and later an automotive subcontractor, based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The company was established by Morris Markin in 1922, created by a merger of the firms Commonwealth Motors and Markin Automobile Body, and was initially named the Checker Cab Manufacturing Company. The manufacturer was originally based in Chicago, before moving to Kalamazoo in 1923. The company was renamed Checker Motors in 1958.

Checker made the iconic American taxi cab, valued by taxicab companies for its durability in heavy use. Special features included wide rear doors, large rear seats and trunks, and jump seats for two extra passengers. In later years, the company had trouble competing with fleet discounts offered by the larger manufacturers, as well as economies of scale in procuring components. The final models were produced in 1982. After 1982, Checker invested significantly in the third party manufacturing business, serving GM and Chrysler. (Full article...)

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Mercedes-Benz C 180 Cabriolet

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Tavares in 2018

Carlos Tavares (born 14 August 1958) is a Portuguese business executive, primarily in the automotive sector. He was the chief executive officer (CEO) of Stellantis from January 2021 to December 2024, (when it was the world's fourth largest automaker by sales), a conglomerate that was formed by a merger that he had overseen, that of the PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Earlier, he was chief operating officer (COO) at Renault. (Full article...)

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On this day January 1

1910 — Ford Model T production moves to Highland Park, Michigan

1919 — Edsel Ford becomes president of the Ford Motor Company

1961 — Ford president Robert McNamara leaves office to become Secretary of Defense; he is replaced by Henry Ford II

1967 — Lynn Townsend becomes chairman of Chrysler Corporation

1979 — Ford Motor Company buys 25% of Mazda

1993 — Robert Eaton becomes chairman of Chrysler Corporation

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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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When you drive from Melbourne to Broken Hill, as I did recently, you find you want to do it in a bigger, more comfortable car. If consumers bought what they wanted to buy there would always be (plenty) who would buy a full-size car.

—Denny Mooney

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General images

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

Image 1Model-T Ford car parked near the Geelong Art Gallery at its launch in Australia in 1915 (from History of the automobile)
Image 2Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A (from History of the automobile)
Image 31926 Bugatti Type 35 (from History of the automobile)
Image 4Bertha Benz, the first long distance driver (from Car)
Image 5A 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 61929 Alfa Romeo 6C (from History of the automobile)
Image 7Gurgel Supermini (from History of the automobile)
Image 81954 Plymouth Savoy Station Wagon, one of the first US all-metal station wagons (from History of the automobile)
Image 9A 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 10The original Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car, built in 1885 and awarded the patent for the concept (from Car)
Image 111924 Doble Model E (from History of the automobile)
Image 121885-built Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use (from History of the automobile)
Image 131946 GAZ-M20 Pobeda, one of the first mass-produced cars with pontoon design (from History of the automobile)
Image 14Cugnot's 1771 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (from Car)
Image 15A robotic Volkswagen Passat shown at Stanford University is a driverless car. (from Car)
Image 16Volkswagen Beetle (from History of the automobile)
Image 17The Vélib' in Paris, France, is the largest bikesharing system outside China. (from Car)
Image 18Fiat 4 HP, the first car model produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat in 1899 (from History of the automobile)
Image 19In 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 201959 Morris Mini-Minor (from History of the automobile)
Image 21The Präsident automobile (from History of the automobile)
Image 22Stuttgart, 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 231929 Austin Seven (from History of the automobile)
Image 24The second Marcus car of 1888 (from History of the automobile)
Image 25Audi A4 daytime running lights (from Car)
Image 26Rolls-Royce Phantom III (from History of the automobile)
Image 271974 Citroën DS (from History of the automobile)
Image 28Panel for fuses and circuit breakers (from Car)
Image 29Carl Benz, the inventor of the modern car (from Car)
Image 30The 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 31A Chevrolet Suburban extended-length SUV weighs 3,300 kilograms (7,200 lb) (gross weight). (from Car)
Image 321958 Lancia Appia (from History of the automobile)
Image 33Car exhaust gas is one type of pollution
Image 34The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car of all-time. (from Car)
Image 35The Selden Road-Engine (from History of the automobile)
Image 362011 Nissan Leaf electric car (from Car)
Image 37The first automobile in Japan, a French Panhard-Levassor, in 1898 (from History of the automobile)
Image 38The Ford Model T (foreground) and Volkswagen Beetle (background) are among the most mass-produced car models in history. (from History of the automobile)
Image 39The Toyota Corolla is the world's bestselling nameplate. (from History of the automobile)
Image 40The Flocken Elektrowagen was the first four-wheeled electric car (from Car)
Image 41Cugnot's steam wagon, the second (1771) version (from History of the automobile)
Image 42Ford Motor Company automobile assembly line in the 1920s (from Car)
Image 43Ransom E. Olds founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile) in 1897. (from Car)
Image 44A car being assembled in a factory (from Car)
Image 45The German Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888, perhaps the first electric car in the world (from History of the automobile)
Image 46Trucks' 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 47Result of a serious car collision (from Car)
Image 48A replica of Richard Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive 'Puffing Devil' (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 50Steam machine of Verbiest, in 1678 (Ferdinand Verbiest) (from Car)