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.

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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Speed Buggy is an American animated television series, produced by Hanna-Barbera, which originally aired for one season on CBS from September 8, 1973, to December 22, 1973. With the voices of Mel Blanc, Michael Bell, Arlene Golonka, and Phil Luther Jr., the show follows an orange anthropomorphic dune buggy who alongside teenagers Debbie, Mark, and Tinker, solves mysteries while participating in racing competitions around the world. The series was produced by Iwao Takamoto, executive produced by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, and directed by Charles A. Nichols.

The series was originally developed under the working titles Speed Bug and Speed Buggs before Speed Buggy was settled on. Takamoto was less involved with the series due to the trust he had in storyboard and animation artist Bob Singer. The concept for the show was inspired by the 1968 Walt Disney Pictures film The Love Bug and the Speed Racer anime franchise. Several of the storylines originated on another Hanna-Barbera series, Josie and the Pussycats. (Full article...)

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Crude electric carriages were first invented in the late 1820s and 1830s. Practical, commercially available electric vehicles appeared during the 1890s. An electric vehicle held the vehicular land speed record until around 1900. In the early 20th century, the high cost, low top speed, and short-range of battery electric vehicles, compared to internal combustion engine vehicles, led to a worldwide decline in their use as private motor vehicles. Electric vehicles have continued to be used for loading and freight equipment and for public transport – especially rail vehicles.

At the beginning of the 21st century, interest in electric and alternative fuel vehicles in private motor vehicles increased due to: growing concern over the problems associated with hydrocarbon-fueled vehicles, including damage to the environment caused by their emissions; the sustainability of the current hydrocarbon-based transportation infrastructure; and improvements in electric vehicle technology. (Full article...)

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Carl (or Karl) Friedrich Benz (German: [kaʁl ˈfʁiːdʁɪç ˈbɛnts] ^ⓘ; born Karl Friedrich Michael Vaillant; 25 November 1844 – 4 April 1929) was a German engine designer and automotive engineer. His Benz Patent Motorcar from 1885 is considered the first practical modern automobile and first car put into series production. He received a patent for the motorcar in 1886, the same year he first publicly drove the Benz Patent-Motorwagen.

His company Benz & Cie., based in Mannheim, was the world's first automobile plant and largest of its day. In 1926, it merged with Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft to form Daimler-Benz, which produces the Mercedes-Benz among other brands. (Full article...)

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On this day April 28

1876 — Nicola Romeo is born

1916 — Ferruccio Lamborghini is born

1939 — Powel Crosley Jr. unveils the Crosley minicar at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

2006 — Chung Mong-koo, chairman of Hyundai, is arrested for embezzlement

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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

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

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General images

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

Image 11929 Alfa Romeo 6C (from History of the automobile)
Image 2Trucks' 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 3The Toyota Corolla is the world's bestselling nameplate. (from History of the automobile)
Image 4The Präsident automobile (from History of the automobile)
Image 5Ford Motor Company automobile assembly line in the 1920s (from Car)
Image 6The original Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car, built in 1885 and awarded the patent for the concept (from Car)
Image 7A Chevrolet Suburban extended-length SUV weighs 3,300 kilograms (7,200 lb) (gross weight). (from Car)
Image 81974 Citroën DS (from History of the automobile)
Image 9Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A (from History of the automobile)
Image 10Road congestion is an issue in many major cities (pictured is Chang'an Avenue in Beijing). (from Car)
Image 11Model-T Ford car parked near the Geelong Art Gallery at its launch in Australia in 1915 (from History of the automobile)
Image 121946 GAZ-M20 Pobeda, one of the first mass-produced cars with pontoon design (from History of the automobile)
Image 13The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car of all-time. (from Car)
Image 14Audi A4 daytime running lights (from Car)
Image 151926 Bugatti Type 35 (from History of the automobile)
Image 161924 Doble Model E (from History of the automobile)
Image 17Ransom E. Olds founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile) in 1897. (from Car)
Image 18Cugnot's 1771 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (from Car)
Image 19Gurgel Supermini (from History of the automobile)
Image 20Result of a serious car collision (from Car)
Image 211954 Plymouth Savoy Station Wagon, one of the first US all-metal station wagons (from History of the automobile)
Image 22A robotic Volkswagen Passat shown at Stanford University is a driverless car. (from Car)
Image 23Cugnot's steam wagon, the second (1771) version (from History of the automobile)
Image 24Carl Benz, the inventor of the modern car (from Car)
Image 25Fiat 4 HP, the first car model produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat in 1899 (from History of the automobile)
Image 26Steam machine of Verbiest, in 1678 (Ferdinand Verbiest) (from Car)
Image 27The Ford Model T (foreground) and Volkswagen Beetle (background) are among the most mass-produced car models in history. (from History of the automobile)
Image 28A 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 291958 Lancia Appia (from History of the automobile)
Image 301929 Austin Seven (from History of the automobile)
Image 311959 Morris Mini-Minor (from History of the automobile)
Image 32Bertha Benz, the first long distance driver (from Car)
Image 33The German Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888, perhaps the first electric car in the world (from History of the automobile)
Image 34The Flocken Elektrowagen was the first four-wheeled electric car (from Car)
Image 35Volkswagen Beetle (from History of the automobile)
Image 36A replica of Richard Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive 'Puffing Devil' (from History of the automobile)
Image 372011 Nissan Leaf electric car (from Car)
Image 38The Vélib' in Paris, France, is the largest bikesharing system outside China. (from Car)
Image 391885-built Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use (from History of the automobile)
Image 40The first automobile in Japan, a French Panhard-Levassor, in 1898 (from History of the automobile)
Image 41Car exhaust gas is one type of pollution
Image 42Stuttgart, 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 43Rolls-Royce Phantom III (from History of the automobile)
Image 44A 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 45In 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 46A car being assembled in a factory (from Car)
Image 47Panel for fuses and circuit breakers (from Car)
Image 48The Selden Road-Engine (from History of the automobile)
Image 49Scaled model of the second Marcus car of 1875 (from History of the automobile)
Image 50The 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)