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.

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. One of the first cars affordable by the masses was the Ford Model T, begun in 1908, 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 Howmet TX (Turbine eXperimental) is an American sports prototype racing car designed in 1968 to test the competitive use of a gas turbine engine in sports car racing. Planned by racing driver Ray Heppenstall, the TX combined a chassis built by McKee Engineering, turbine engines leased from Continental Aviation & Engineering, and financial backing and materials from the Howmet Corporation.

Although not the first attempt at using a turbine powerplant in auto racing, the Howmet TX was the first and is still the only turbine to win a race, earning two Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) race victories and two qualifying sprint victories during its only year of competition. The TX later set six Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) land speed records for turbines after being retired from racing. (Full article...)

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Headquarters in Fuchū, Japan (2020)

Mazda Motor Corporation (マツダ株式会社, Matsuda Kabushiki gaisha), also known as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. The company was founded on January 30, 1920, as Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., a cork-making factory, by Jujiro Matsuda. The company then acquired Abemaki Tree Cork Company. It changed its name to Toyo Kogyo Co., Ltd. in 1927 and started producing vehicles in 1931.

Mazda is known for its innovative technologies, such as the Wankel engine, the SkyActiv platform, and the Kodo Design language. It also has a long history of motorsport involvement, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1991 with the rotary-powered Mazda 787B. In the past and present, Mazda has been engaged in alliances with other automakers. From 1974 until the late 2000s, Ford was a major shareholder of Mazda. Other partnerships include Toyota, Nissan, Isuzu, Suzuki and Kia. In 2023, it produced 1.1 million vehicles globally. (Full article...)

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2005 Mercedes-Benz S350

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Shinichiro Sakurai in 1953

Shinichiro Sakurai (桜井眞一郎, Sakurai Shin'ichirō, 1929–2011) was a Japanese engineer inducted into the Japan Automotive Hall of Fame who originally worked for Prince Motor Company then later moved to Nissan. After graduating from Yokohama National University, Sakurai worked for the Shimizu Corporation before he was given the opportunity to work in the Japanese automotive industry, which was his first intent. He later joined Prince as a chassis engineer in 1952, and was heavily involved in the development of the first generation Nissan Skyline (also called the Prince Skyline). He continued to head the Nissan Skyline project long after the Nissan takeover, headed the Nissan MID4 project, and was appointed President of Autech (a Nissan subsidiary) in 1986. He continued to work in the automotive field up until his death.

Sakurai died of heart failure on January 17, 2011.

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On this day June 7

1911 — Brooks Stevens, the automobile designer who also coined the term "planned obsolescence", is born.

1933 — Ford Motor Company builds the last of its 199 Tri-Motor airplanes.

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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

The Aston Martin DB9 is the car that I'd be most likely to sell my children into slavery for.

—Jeremy Clarkson

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General images

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

Image 1A Chevrolet Suburban extended-length SUV weighs 3,300 kilograms (7,200 lb) (gross weight). (from Car)
Image 2Carl Benz, the inventor of the modern car (from Car)
Image 31924 Doble Model E (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 5A 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 6Scaled model of the second Marcus car of 1875 (from History of the automobile)
Image 7Bertha Benz, the first long distance driver (from Car)
Image 8Cugnot's steam wagon, the second (1771) version (from History of the automobile)
Image 9In 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 10Ford Motor Company automobile assembly line in the 1920s (from Car)
Image 11Audi A4 daytime running lights (from Car)
Image 121926 Bugatti Type 35 (from History of the automobile)
Image 13Model-T Ford car parked near the Geelong Art Gallery at its launch in Australia in 1915 (from History of the automobile)
Image 14The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car of all-time. (from Car)
Image 15Panel for fuses and circuit breakers (from Car)
Image 161929 Austin Seven (from History of the automobile)
Image 17The Vélib' in Paris, France, is the largest bikesharing system outside China. (from Car)
Image 18A car being assembled in a factory (from Car)
Image 19A robotic Volkswagen Passat shown at Stanford University is a driverless car. (from Car)
Image 20Car exhaust gas is one type of pollution
Image 21Stuttgart, 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 22Fiat 4 HP, the first car model produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat in 1899 (from History of the automobile)
Image 23A replica of Richard Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive 'Puffing Devil' (from History of the automobile)
Image 24The Flocken Elektrowagen was the first four-wheeled electric car (from Car)
Image 25Gurgel Supermini (from History of the automobile)
Image 26The Präsident automobile (from History of the automobile)
Image 271958 Lancia Appia (from History of the automobile)
Image 28Volkswagen Beetle (from History of the automobile)
Image 29The 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 30The first automobile in Japan, a French Panhard-Levassor, in 1898 (from History of the automobile)
Image 31The Selden Road-Engine (from History of the automobile)
Image 321946 GAZ-M20 Pobeda, one of the first mass-produced cars with pontoon design (from History of the automobile)
Image 33Rolls-Royce Phantom III (from History of the automobile)
Image 341959 Morris Mini-Minor (from History of the automobile)
Image 35The Toyota Corolla is the world's bestselling nameplate. (from History of the automobile)
Image 362011 Nissan Leaf electric car (from Car)
Image 37Road congestion is an issue in many major cities (pictured is Chang'an Avenue in Beijing). (from Car)
Image 38Steam machine of Verbiest, in 1678 (Ferdinand Verbiest) (from Car)
Image 39The German Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888, perhaps the first electric car in the world (from History of the automobile)
Image 401885-built Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use (from History of the automobile)
Image 41Result of a serious car collision (from Car)
Image 421974 Citroën DS (from History of the automobile)
Image 43Cugnot's 1771 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (from Car)
Image 441929 Alfa Romeo 6C (from History of the automobile)
Image 45Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A (from History of the automobile)
Image 46The original Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car, built in 1885 and awarded the patent for the concept (from Car)
Image 471954 Plymouth Savoy Station Wagon, one of the first US all-metal station wagons (from History of the automobile)
Image 48Trucks' 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 49The Ford Model T (foreground) and Volkswagen Beetle (background) are among the most mass-produced car models in history. (from History of the automobile)
Image 50Ransom E. Olds founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile) in 1897. (from Car)