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, fuelled 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 fuels 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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Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

The Maserati MC12 (Tipo M144S) is a limited production two-seater sports car produced by Italian car maker Maserati to allow a racing variant to compete in the FIA GT Championship. The car entered production in 2004, with 25 cars produced. A further 25 were produced in 2005 after the FIA changed the rules and reduced the maximum length allowed. The second batch of 25 are 150mm shorter than the originals, making a total of 50 cars available for customers. With the addition of 12 cars produced for racing, a total of just 62 were ever produced.

Maserati designed and built the car on the chassis of the Ferrari Enzo, but the final car is much larger and has a lower drag coefficient, along with being longer, wider and taller and has a sharper nose and smoother curves than the Enzo. The Enzo had quicker acceleration, shorter braking distance, and a higher top speed at 350 km/h (217 mph), 20 km/h (12 mph) more than the MC12. (Full article...)

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Headquarters in Modena, Italy

Maserati S.p.A. (Italian: [mazeˈraːti]) is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914 in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Maserati was initially associated with Ferrari. In May 2014, due to ambitious plans and product launches, Maserati sold a record of over 3,000 cars in one month. This caused them to increase production of the Quattroporte and Ghibli models. In addition to the Ghibli and Quattroporte, Maserati offers the Maserati GranTurismo and two SUV models, the Maserati Levante (the first ever Maserati SUV) and the Maserati Grecale. Maserati has placed a yearly production output cap at 75,000 vehicles globally. (Full article...)

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2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Selected biography -

Nordmann as a Luftwaffe officer in 1943

Karl-Gottfried "Karlfried" Nordmann (22 November 1915 – 22 July 1982) was a German Luftwaffe pilot during World War II and, after the war, a president of Mercedes-Benz in North America. As a fighter ace he was credited with 78 enemy aircraft shot down in over 800 combat missions. He claimed the majority of his victories over the Eastern Front, with one during the Invasion of Poland and eight during the Battle of France and Britain.

Born in Giessen, Nordmann volunteered for military service in the Luftwaffe of the Third Reich in 1936. Following flight training, he was posted to Jagdgeschwader 132 (JG 132—132nd Fighter Wing) in October 1938. After a series of redesignations his unit was subordinated to Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing). He fought in the aerial battles over Poland, France and Britain, claiming nine victories. Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa, he was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of the IV. Gruppe (4th Group) of JG 51. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 1 August 1941 following his 31st aerial victory and received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on 16 September 1941 after 59 victories. The Oak Leaves grades to the Knight's Cross was Germany's highest military decoration at the time of its presentation to Nordmann. (Full article...)

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On this day October 25

1873 — John Willys, founder of the Willys-Overland Motor Company, is born.

1962 — Honda debuts at the Japan Motor Show with the S360, S500, and T360.

1969 — The Machine, American Motors' muscle car made its debut at the National Hot Rod Association's World Championship Drag Race Finals.

1992 — Robert Stempel resigns as chairman of General Motors.

2006 — Ferrari Formula One boss, Jean Todt, is named CEO of the carmaker.

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

It was Holden working at its best, doing a lot with a little. Some of the subterfuge we got up to to make things happen was probably more risky than we realised, but it was worth it.

—Tony Hyde

Topics

General images

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

Image 1Scaled model of the second Marcus car of 1875 (from History of the automobile)
Image 2Car exhaust gas is one type of pollution
Image 31954 Plymouth Savoy Station Wagon, one of the first US all-metal station wagons (from History of the automobile)
Image 4A car being assembled in a factory (from Car)
Image 51926 Bugatti Type 35 (from History of the automobile)
Image 6Rolls-Royce Phantom III (from History of the automobile)
Image 7Bertha Benz, the first long distance driver (from Car)
Image 81959 Morris Mini-Minor (from History of the automobile)
Image 9Cugnot's 1771 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (from Car)
Image 10A replica of Richard Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive 'Puffing Devil' (from History of the automobile)
Image 11Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A (from History of the automobile)
Image 12The Toyota Corolla is the world's bestselling nameplate. (from History of the automobile)
Image 13In 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 14A Chevrolet Suburban extended-length SUV weighs 3,300 kilograms (7,200 lb) (gross weight). (from Car)
Image 15The Selden Road-Engine (from History of the automobile)
Image 16The Präsident automobile (from History of the automobile)
Image 17Volkswagen Beetle (from History of the automobile)
Image 18The first automobile in Japan, a French Panhard-Levassor, in 1898 (from History of the automobile)
Image 191974 Citroën DS (from History of the automobile)
Image 20Steam machine of Verbiest, in 1678 (Ferdinand Verbiest) (from Car)
Image 21The Flocken Elektrowagen was the first four-wheeled electric car (from Car)
Image 221885-built Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use (from History of the automobile)
Image 23Panel for fuses and circuit breakers (from Car)
Image 24Model-T Ford car parked near the Geelong Art Gallery at its launch in Australia in 1915 (from History of the automobile)
Image 25The Vélib' in Paris, France, is the largest bikesharing system outside China. (from Car)
Image 26The German Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888, perhaps the first electric car in the world (from History of the automobile)
Image 27Road congestion is an issue in many major cities (pictured is Chang'an Avenue in Beijing). (from Car)
Image 28Fiat 4 HP, the first car model produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat in 1899 (from History of the automobile)
Image 291924 Doble Model E (from History of the automobile)
Image 30Ransom E. Olds founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile) in 1897. (from Car)
Image 31The Ford Model T (foreground) and Volkswagen Beetle (background) are among the most mass-produced car models in history. (from History of the automobile)
Image 32Result of a serious car collision (from Car)
Image 33Audi A4 daytime running lights (from Car)
Image 34A robotic Volkswagen Passat shown at Stanford University is a driverless car. (from Car)
Image 35The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car of all-time. (from Car)
Image 361929 Alfa Romeo 6C (from History of the automobile)
Image 371946 GAZ-M20 Pobeda, one of the first mass-produced cars with pontoon design (from History of the automobile)
Image 38Gurgel Supermini (from History of the automobile)
Image 392011 Nissan Leaf electric car (from Car)
Image 40The original Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car, built in 1885 and awarded the patent for the concept (from Car)
Image 41Ford Motor Company automobile assembly line in the 1920s (from Car)
Image 421929 Austin Seven (from History of the automobile)
Image 43A 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 44Trucks' 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. (from Car)
Image 45Cugnot's steam wagon, the second (1771) version (from History of the automobile)
Image 46Low battery and motors can improve safety (from Car)
Image 471958 Lancia Appia (from History of the automobile)

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