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...)

Recognized content -

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

2017 Holden Commodore SV6 sedan (VFII)

The Holden Commodore is a series of automobiles that were sold by now-defunct Australian manufacturer Holden from 1978 until 2020. They were manufactured from 1978 to 2017 in Australia and from 1979 to 1990 in New Zealand, with production of the locally manufactured versions in Australia ending on 20 October 2017.

The first three generations of Holden produced Commodores (1978–2006) were based on the Opel designed V-body rear-wheel drive automotive platform, which was the basis of GM's largest European models, but were structurally strengthened, mechanically modified, and, in time, enlarged by Holden for Australian road conditions, production needs, and market demands. The styling of these cars was generally similar to that of the Opel Commodore C, and later, the Opel Omega A/B and their Vauxhall sister models the Vauxhall Carlton and Omega. (Full article...)

List of recognized articles

Selected article -

This list of motor vehicle awards is an index to articles that describe notable awards given to motor vehicles. The list is broken into "car of the year", other car awards, awards for commercial vehicles including trucks and trains, engines and people. The sub-lists are arranged by the country of the sponsoring organization, but typically awards are open to entries from around the world. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Selected picture of the day

Porsche 959

Selected biography -

Kjell Qvale (July 7, 1919 – November 2, 2013) was a Norwegian-American business executive. Qvale was one of the key figures in the creation of the Jensen-Healey. Qvale became the first distributor for Jaguar on the West Coast. Qvale was one of the founders of the San Francisco Auto Show and the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. He was credited with the concept of the Corkscrew signature corner of Laguna Seca. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies

On this day July 10

1928 — Alejandro de Tomaso is born

1986 — Ford Motor Company purchases 10% of Kia Motors

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

Auto racing is boring except when a car is going at least 172 miles per hour upside down.

—Dave Barry

Topics

General images

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

Image 12011 Nissan Leaf electric car (from Car)
Image 21987 Renault Espace (from History of the automobile)
Image 31946 GAZ-M20 Pobeda, one of the first mass-produced cars with a pontoon design (from History of the automobile)
Image 41885-built Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use (from History of the automobile)
Image 5Cugnot's steam wagon, the second (1771) version (from History of the automobile)
Image 6The Vélib' in Paris, France, is the largest bikesharing system outside China. (from Car)
Image 7The first automobile in Japan, a French Panhard-Levassor, in 1898 (from History of the automobile)
Image 8The Toyota Corolla is the world's bestselling nameplate. (from History of the automobile)
Image 9Panel for fuses and circuit breakers (from Car)
Image 10Trucks' 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 11Steam machine of Verbiest, in 1678 (Ferdinand Verbiest) (from Car)
Image 12The German Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888, perhaps the first electric car in the world (from History of the automobile)
Image 131929 Alfa Romeo 6C (from History of the automobile)
Image 14Result of a serious car collision (from Car)
Image 15The second Marcus car of 1888 (from History of the automobile)
Image 16The Ford Model T (foreground) and Volkswagen Beetle (background) are among the most mass-produced car models in history. (from History of the automobile)
Image 171974 Citroën DS (from History of the automobile)
Image 181959 Morris Mini-Minor (from History of the automobile)
Image 191982 Toyota Camry (from History of the automobile)
Image 20Audi A4 daytime running lights (from Car)
Image 21Rolls-Royce Phantom III (from History of the automobile)
Image 22The Selden Road-Engine (from History of the automobile)
Image 23The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car of all-time. (from Car)
Image 24Stuttgart, 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 25Volkswagen Beetle (from History of the automobile)
Image 26The Präsident automobile (from History of the automobile)
Image 27In 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 28Carl Benz, the inventor of the modern car (from Car)
Image 29A 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 301926 Bugatti Type 35 (from History of the automobile)
Image 31A Chevrolet Suburban extended-length SUV weighs 3,300 kilograms (7,200 lb) (gross weight). (from Car)
Image 32Fiat 4 HP, the first car model produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat in 1899 (from History of the automobile)
Image 33Road congestion is an issue in many major cities (pictured is Chang'an Avenue in Beijing). (from Car)
Image 34Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A (from History of the automobile)
Image 35A car being assembled in a factory (from Car)
Image 361955 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible (from History of the automobile)
Image 371924 Doble Model E (from History of the automobile)
Image 38A replica of Richard Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive 'Puffing Devil' (from History of the automobile)
Image 39The original Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car, built in 1885 and awarded the patent for the concept (from Car)
Image 40Ransom E. Olds founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile) in 1897. (from Car)
Image 41A 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 42A robotic Volkswagen Passat shown at Stanford University is a driverless car. (from Car)
Image 43Ford Motor Company automobile assembly line in the 1920s (from Car)
Image 44The Flocken Elektrowagen was the first four-wheeled electric car (from Car)
Image 45Cugnot's 1771 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (from Car)
Image 46The 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 47Car exhaust gas is one type of pollution
Image 481929 Austin Seven (from History of the automobile)
Image 49Bertha Benz, the first long distance driver (from Car)
Image 50Model-T Ford car parked near the Geelong Art Gallery at its launch in Australia in 1915 (from History of the automobile)

Things you can do to help

If you wish to help, you can:

Expand a short article

- There are many short articles that require additional information.

Update the car news

- The car news needs to be up-to-date with current automotive events.

Update the selected biography

- Add a great biography to the portal.

Find better selected pictures

- We need pictures of the beautiful cars the world has to offer.

- Upload picture for requested photographs of cars

Join the WikiProject Automobiles

- A place dedicated for enthusiasts dedicated to improving automobile coverage.

Update the selected quote

- Famous quotes from the past.

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Commons
Free media repository
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals
Wikidata
Free knowledge base
Wikinews
Free-content news
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations
Wikisource
Free-content library
Wikispecies
Directory of species
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus

Discover Wikipedia using portals