Portal:Cars

The Cars Portal

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. French inventor Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot built the first steam-powered road vehicle in 1769, while French-born 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 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 1908 Model T, 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 Sunbeam Tiger is a high-performance V8 version of the British Rootes Group's Sunbeam Alpine roadster, designed in part by American car designer and racing driver Carroll Shelby and produced from 1964 until 1967. Shelby had carried out a similar V8 conversion on the AC Cobra, and hoped to be offered the contract to produce the Tiger at his facility in the United States. Rootes decided instead to contract the assembly work to Jensen at West Bromwich in England, and pay Shelby a royalty on every car produced.

Two major versions of the Tiger were built: the Mark I (1964–1967) was fitted with the 260 cu in (4.3 L) Ford V8; the Mark II, of which only 633 were built in the final year of Tiger production, was fitted with the larger displacement Ford 289 cu in (4.7 L) engine. Two prototype and extensively modified versions of the Mark I competed in the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans, but neither completed the race. Rootes also entered the Tiger in European rallies with some success, and for two years it was the American Hot Rod Association's national record holder over a quarter-mile drag strip. (Full article...)

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Mercedes-Benz (German pronunciation: [mɛʁˌtseːdəs ˈbɛnts, -dɛs -] ^ⓘ), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Mercedes-Benz AG produces consumer luxury vehicles and light commercial vehicles badged as Mercedes-Benz. From November 2019 onwards, Mercedes-Benz-badged heavy commercial vehicles (trucks and buses) are managed by Daimler Truck, a former part of the Mercedes-Benz Group turned into an independent company in late 2021. In 2018, Mercedes-Benz was the largest brand of premium vehicles in the world, having sold 2.31 million passenger cars.

The brand's origins lie in Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft's 1901 Mercedes and Carl Benz's 1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen, which is widely regarded as the first internal combustion engine in a self-propelled automobile. The slogan for the brand is "the Best or Nothing". (Full article...)

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Maserati Spyder

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Marchionne in 2007

Sergio Marchionne (Italian: [ˈsɛrdʒo marˈkjɔnne]; 17 June 1952 – 25 July 2018) was an Italian-Canadian businessman, widely known for his turnarounds of the automakers Fiat and Chrysler, his business acumen and his outspoken and often frank approach, especially when dealing with unpalatable issues related to his companies and the automotive industry.

Marchionne was the chairman of CNH Industrial, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, the chairman and CEO of FCA US LLC, the chairman and CEO of Ferrari, and the chairman of Maserati. He was the chairman of Swiss-based SGS and vice chairman of UBS from 2008 to 2010, as well as the chairman of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association for 2012 (first elected in January 2006). He was a member of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, and the chairman of the Italian branch of the Council for the United States and Italy. (Full article...)

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On this day February 16

1843 — Henry M. Leland born

2005 — Fiat S.p.A. splits Maserati from Ferrari

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?

Selected quote of the day

The public don't know what they want; it's my job to tell them.

—Alec Issigonis

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General images

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

Image 1Rolls-Royce Phantom III (from History of the automobile)
Image 2Ford Motor Company automobile assembly line in the 1920s (from Car)
Image 31926 Bugatti Type 35 (from History of the automobile)
Image 4Trucks' 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 5A replica of Richard Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive 'Puffing Devil' (from History of the automobile)
Image 61974 Citroën DS (from History of the automobile)
Image 71929 Austin Seven (from History of the automobile)
Image 8A car being assembled in a factory (from Car)
Image 9Panel for fuses and circuit breakers (from Car)
Image 10A 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 111958 Lancia Appia (from History of the automobile)
Image 121959 Morris Mini-Minor (from History of the automobile)
Image 13Gurgel Supermini (from History of the automobile)
Image 14Model-T Ford car parked near the Geelong Art Gallery at its launch in Australia in 1915 (from History of the automobile)
Image 151924 Doble Model E (from History of the automobile)
Image 16The Präsident automobile (from History of the automobile)
Image 17A 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 18The Ford Model T (foreground) and Volkswagen Beetle (background) are among the most mass-produced car models in history. (from History of the automobile)
Image 191946 GAZ-M20 Pobeda, one of the first mass-produced cars with pontoon design (from History of the automobile)
Image 20Audi A4 daytime running lights (from Car)
Image 21Bertha Benz, the first long distance driver (from Car)
Image 22The Selden Road-Engine (from History of the automobile)
Image 23Car exhaust gas is one type of pollution
Image 24Steam machine of Verbiest, in 1678 (Ferdinand Verbiest) (from Car)
Image 25The original Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car, built in 1885 and awarded the patent for the concept (from Car)
Image 26The 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 27The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car of all-time. (from Car)
Image 28Volkswagen Beetle (from History of the automobile)
Image 29Road congestion is an issue in many major cities (pictured is Chang'an Avenue in Beijing). (from Car)
Image 30Scaled model of the second Marcus car of 1875 (from History of the automobile)
Image 31The German Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888, perhaps the first electric car in the world (from History of the automobile)
Image 32The Toyota Corolla is the world's bestselling nameplate. (from History of the automobile)
Image 331954 Plymouth Savoy Station Wagon, one of the first US all-metal station wagons (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 35Stuttgart, 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 36Ransom E. Olds founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile) in 1897. (from Car)
Image 372011 Nissan Leaf electric car (from Car)
Image 38Cugnot's 1771 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (from Car)
Image 39The Vélib' in Paris, France, is the largest bikesharing system outside China. (from Car)
Image 40In 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 41The first automobile in Japan, a French Panhard-Levassor, in 1898 (from History of the automobile)
Image 42The Flocken Elektrowagen was the first four-wheeled electric car (from Car)
Image 43A robotic Volkswagen Passat shown at Stanford University is a driverless car. (from Car)
Image 44Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A (from History of the automobile)
Image 45Result of a serious car collision (from Car)
Image 46Fiat 4 HP, the first car model produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat in 1899 (from History of the automobile)
Image 471929 Alfa Romeo 6C (from History of the automobile)
Image 48Cugnot's steam wagon, the second (1771) version (from History of the automobile)
Image 49Carl Benz, the inventor of the modern car (from Car)
Image 50A Chevrolet Suburban extended-length SUV weighs 3,300 kilograms (7,200 lb) (gross weight). (from Car)

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