Portal:Cars References

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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The fleet of flexible-fuel vehicles in Brazil is the largest in the world. Since their inception in 2003, a total of 30.5 million flex fuel cars and light-duty trucks were registered in the country, and over 6 million flexible-fuel motorcycles, both by March 2018. The market share of flex-fuel autos and light commercial trucks represented 88.6% of all light-duty registrations in 2017. There were over 80 flex car and light truck models available in the market manufactured by 14 major carmakers, and five flex-fuel motorcycles models available .

Brazilian flexible-fuel vehicles are optimized to run on any mix of E20-E25 gasoline and up to 100% hydrous ethanol fuel ( E100). Flex vehicles in Brazil are built-in with a small gasoline reservoir for cold starting the engine when temperatures drop below 15 °C (59 °F). An improved flex motor generation was launched in 2009 which eliminated the need for the secondary gas tank. ( Full article...)

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Tesla Model 3

An electric car or electric vehicle (EV) is a passenger automobile that is propelled by an electric traction motor, using only energy stored in on-board batteries. Compared to conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quieter, more responsive, have superior energy conversion efficiency and no exhaust emissions and lower overall vehicle emissions (however the power plant supplying the electricity might generate its own emissions). The term "electric car" normally refers to plug-in electric vehicle, typically a battery electric vehicle (BEV), but broadly may also include plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), range-extended electric vehicle (REEV) and fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV).

The electric vehicle battery typically needs to be plugged into a mains electricity power supply for recharging in order to maximize the cruising range. Recharging an electric car can be done at different kinds of charging stations; these charging stations can be installed in private homes, parking garages and public areas. There are also research and development in other technologies such as battery swapping and inductive charging. As the recharging infrastructures (especially those with fast chargers) are still in its relative infancy, range anxiety and time cost are frequent psychological obstacles against electric cars during consumer purchasing decisions. ( Full article...)

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Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster

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1885 lithograph of White

Thomas H. White (April 26, 1836 – June 22, 1914), was an American industrialist and philanthropist. In 1876 he founded the White Sewing Machine Company in Cleveland, Ohio, predecessor of White Consolidated Industries. He was also an automotive pioneer through the White Motor Company, which went on to produce cars, trucks, buses and tractors. In 1913 he established the Thomas H. White Charitable Trust, which is still active as the Thomas H. White Foundation. ( Full article...)

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On this day April 26

1984 — New Ford Transit van features the first direct injection Diesel engine

1990 — Holden announces that it will stop assembling cars in New Zealand

1995 — AutoEuropa in Palmela, Portugal begins assembly of the Ford Galaxy and Volkswagen Sharan

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 Japanese will never equal the name of Ferrari or Lamborghini, even with the NS-X. A name like Honda can never rise up, even if it builds the best car in the world. A Honda will always be a Honda.

— Mauro Forghieri of Lamborghini describing Honda's new supercar in 1989

Topics

General images

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

Image 11924 Doble Model E (from History of the automobile)
Image 2The 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 3A replica of Richard Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive 'Puffing Devil' (from History of the automobile)
Image 4Ford Motor Company automobile assembly line in the 1920s (from Car)
Image 5 Ransom E. Olds founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile) in 1897. (from Car)
Image 61954 Plymouth Savoy Station Wagon, one of the first US all-metal station wagons (from History of the automobile)
Image 7Trucks' 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 81926 Bugatti Type 35 (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 10In 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 11The first automobile in Japan, a French Panhard-Levassor, in 1898 (from History of the automobile)
Image 121929 Austin Seven (from History of the automobile)
Image 131946 GAZ-M20 Pobeda, one of the first mass-produced cars with pontoon design (from History of the automobile)
Image 14The Präsident automobile (from History of the automobile)
Image 15A Chevrolet Suburban extended-length SUV weighs 3,300 kilograms (7,200 lb) (gross weight). (from Car)
Image 161959 Morris Mini-Minor (from History of the automobile)
Image 17 Road congestion is an issue in many major cities (pictured is Chang'an Avenue in Beijing). (from Car)
Image 18 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A (from History of the automobile)
Image 19Car exhaust gas is one type of pollution
Image 20A car being assembled in a factory (from Car)
Image 211885-built Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use (from History of the automobile)
Image 22The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car of all-time. (from Car)
Image 23 Rolls-Royce Phantom III (from History of the automobile)
Image 24 Stuttgart, 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 25 Carl Benz, the inventor of the modern car (from Car)
Image 26Scaled model of the second Marcus car of 1875 (from History of the automobile)
Image 272011 Nissan Leaf electric car (from Car)
Image 28The Selden Road-Engine (from History of the automobile)
Image 29 Panel for fuses and circuit breakers (from Car)
Image 30The Vélib' in Paris, France, is the largest bikesharing system outside China. (from Car)
Image 31 Audi A4 daytime running lights (from Car)
Image 32 Volkswagen Beetle (from History of the automobile)
Image 331958 Lancia Appia (from History of the automobile)
Image 34Result of a serious car collision (from Car)
Image 35 Fiat 4 HP, the first car model produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat in 1899 (from History of the automobile)
Image 36Model-T Ford car parked near the Geelong Art Gallery at its launch in Australia in 1915 (from History of the automobile)
Image 37The Flocken Elektrowagen was the first four-wheeled electric car (from Car)
Image 38The German Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888, perhaps the first electric car in the world (from History of the automobile)
Image 39The Ford Model T (foreground) and Volkswagen Beetle (background) are among the most mass-produced car models in history. (from History of the automobile)
Image 40The Toyota Corolla is the world's bestselling nameplate. (from History of the automobile)
Image 41 Gurgel Supermini (from History of the automobile)
Image 42A robotic Volkswagen Passat shown at Stanford University is a driverless car. (from Car)
Image 431929 Alfa Romeo 6C (from History of the automobile)
Image 44 Bertha Benz, the first long distance driver (from Car)
Image 45Steam machine of Verbiest, in 1678 ( Ferdinand Verbiest) (from Car)
Image 46Cugnot's 1771 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (from Car)
Image 47A 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 48A 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 49Cugnot's steam wagon, the second (1771) version (from History of the automobile)
Image 501974 Citroën DS (from History of the automobile)