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 rather than 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 widespread in the 2020s. 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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Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

The Citroën C3 Picasso is a car produced by the French motor company Citroën from 2008 to 2017. It has a five-door mini MPV design and was first unveiled at the 2008 Paris Motor Show as a concept car named "Drooneel". The Picasso is the mini MPV version of the Citroën C3 and the successor of the Citroën Xsara Picasso, and was designed to compete with the Opel Meriva, Nissan Note, Renault Modus and Ford Fusion.

The C3 Picasso was assembled in December 2007 at the PSA Trnava Plant in Slovakia, which Citroën announced from France in July 2008 would be the sole manufacturer of the model. Citroën presented the finished product to the Slovak press and public on 25 September before it was unveiled to the world in October at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. The Trnava Plant by then was expected to be building 28 cars per hour as the C3 Picasso went on sale in France in February 2009 for €14,950. The company began to sell the car in other European markets in March 2009. (Full article...)

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Hyundai Motor Company, often referred to as Hyundai Motors (Korean: 현대자동차 listen) and commonly known as Hyundai (현대; [ˈhjəːndɛ]; 'modernity'), is a South Korean multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, which was founded in 1967. Currently, the company owns 33.88 percent of Kia Corporation, and owns a luxury cars subsidiary, Genesis. The three brands altogether make up the Hyundai Motor Group.

Hyundai operates the second largest automobile manufacturing facility in the world in Ulsan, South Korea which has an annual production capacity of 1.6 million units. The company employs approximately 75,000 people worldwide. Hyundai vehicles are sold in 193 countries through 5,000 dealerships and showrooms. As of November 2024, Hyundai is the world's third-largest carmaker in terms of production, behind competitors Toyota and Volkswagen. (Full article...)

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Selected picture of the day

2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring

Selected biography -

Schmitz in 2007

Sabine Schmitz (German: [zaˈbi.nə ʃmɪt͡s]; 14 May 1969 – 16 March 2021) was a German professional motor racing driver and television personality. She was born in Adenau to a family in the hotel and catering business, and raised in one of the villages nestled within the Nürburgring. She initially trained to join the same profession as her parents before choosing to begin a career in racing, working as a driver for BMW and Porsche.

She became known for being an expert on the Nürburgring circuit, being the first woman to win a major 24h race overall, and winning two victories in 24h races during the course of her driving career on the circuit. She also became a cult icon on television, following her appearance on BBC's Top Gear, making recurring appearances alongside several of the programme's presenters. In March 2021, Schmitz died of cancer at the age of 51, following a diagnosis in late 2017. (Full article...)

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On this day August 19

1927 — Last Ford Model T is produced in England.

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.

Selected quote of the day

My car is just all ate up with motor

—Darrell Waltrip, explaining his NASCAR success in 1977

Topics

General images

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

Image 1Stuttgart, 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 2The Ford Model T (foreground) and Volkswagen Beetle (background) are among the most mass-produced car models in history. (from History of the automobile)
Image 3A car being assembled in a factory (from Car)
Image 4The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car of all-time. (from Car)
Image 52011 Nissan Leaf electric car (from Car)
Image 6A Chevrolet Suburban extended-length SUV weighs 3,300 kilograms (7,200 lb) (gross weight). (from Car)
Image 7Panel for fuses and circuit breakers (from Car)
Image 8Rolls-Royce Phantom III (from History of the automobile)
Image 9The original Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car, built in 1885 and awarded the patent for the concept (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 111987 Renault Espace (from History of the automobile)
Image 12Steam machine of Verbiest, in 1678 (Ferdinand Verbiest) (from Car)
Image 131974 Citroën DS (from History of the automobile)
Image 141929 Alfa Romeo 6C (from History of the automobile)
Image 151924 Doble Model E (from History of the automobile)
Image 161959 Morris Mini-Minor (from History of the automobile)
Image 17The Flocken Elektrowagen was the first four-wheeled electric car (from Car)
Image 181955 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible (from History of the automobile)
Image 19Result of a serious car collision (from Car)
Image 20A Tesla Model Y electric car, the world's best-selling electric car, and the best selling nameplate in 2023. (from History of the automobile)
Image 21Audi A4 daytime running lights (from Car)
Image 22A replica of Richard Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive 'Puffing Devil' (from History of the automobile)
Image 231929 Austin Seven (from History of the automobile)
Image 24Carl Benz, the inventor of the modern car (from Car)
Image 25Cugnot's 1771 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (from Car)
Image 26The first automobile in Japan, a French Panhard-Levassor, in 1898 (from History of the automobile)
Image 27Ford Motor Company automobile assembly line in the 1920s (from Car)
Image 281885-built Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use (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 30Cugnot's steam wagon, the second (1771) version (from History of the automobile)
Image 31Model-T Ford car parked near the Geelong Art Gallery at its launch in Australia in 1915 (from History of the automobile)
Image 32Volkswagen Beetle (from History of the automobile)
Image 331926 Bugatti Type 35 (from History of the automobile)
Image 34Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A (from History of the automobile)
Image 351982 Toyota Camry (from History of the automobile)
Image 36The German Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888, perhaps the first electric car in the world (from History of the automobile)
Image 37Car exhaust gas is one type of pollution
Image 38The Toyota Corolla is the world's bestselling nameplate. (from History of the automobile)
Image 39Bertha Benz, the first long distance driver (from Car)
Image 40The Vélib' in Paris, France, is the largest bikesharing system outside China. (from Car)
Image 41The Selden Road-Engine (from History of the automobile)
Image 42Ransom E. Olds founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile) in 1897. (from Car)
Image 43The second Marcus car of 1888 (from History of the automobile)
Image 44In 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 451946 GAZ-M20 Pobeda, one of the first mass-produced cars with a pontoon design (from History of the automobile)
Image 46A robotic Volkswagen Passat shown at Stanford University is a driverless car. (from Car)
Image 47The Präsident automobile (from History of the automobile)
Image 48The 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 49Trucks' 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 50Fiat 4 HP, the first car model produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat in 1899 (from History of the automobile)