Portal:Cars

The Cars Portal

The Ford Model T, produced from 1908 to 1927, is widely credited with being the first mass-affordable automobile, and it remains one of the best-selling cars 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 1–8 people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are over 1.6 billion cars in use worldwide as of 2025^[update].

In 1769 the French inventor Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot built the first steam-powered road vehicle, a large three-wheeled dray to carry artillery pieces at walking pace. In 1808 the Swiss inventor François Isaac de Rivaz designed and constructed the first internal-combustion-powered automobile; range was limited to tens of metres by the gaseous fuel held in a large balloon.

Until the late nineteenth century the only source of mechanical power for long-distance travel by land was coal in a steam engine. A notable early example of a personal steam carriage was that made in 1840 by Frank Hills of Deptford, near London. This cruised at 26 km/h (16 mph) and was used for day trips, including one of 206 km (128 miles).^{: 149–150} In France between 1873 and 1885 Amédée Bollée built a series of steam-powered road passenger vehicles. These pioneered fully-independent suspension and the front-mounted engine with rear-wheel drive. (Full article...)

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

Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch is an American animated television series, produced by Hanna-Barbera, which originally aired for one season on NBC from September 7 to November 30, 1974. The show aired for 13 half-hour episodes.

With an ensemble voice cast consisting of Frank Welker, Judy Strangis, Don Messick, Paul Winchell and Lennie Weinrib, the show follows an anthropomorphic car named Wheelie and a trouble-making motorcycle gang called the "Chopper Bunch". (Full article...)

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This is a list of the most expensive cars sold in public auto auctions through the traditional bidding process. The record is held by a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut coupe sold in 2022 for €135 million to a private collector.

This list only consists of those sold for at least $4 million in auction sales during a traditional bidding process, inclusive of the mandatory buyers premium and does not include private, unsuccessful (failing to reach its reserve price, incomplete) and out-of-auction sales. (Full article...)

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McLaren F1

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André Michelin in 1920

André Jules Aristide Michelin (16 January 1853 – 4 April 1931) was a French industrialist who, with his brother Édouard (1859–1940), founded the Michelin Tyre Company (Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin) in 1888 in the French city of Clermont-Ferrand.

In 1900, André Michelin published the first Michelin Guide, the purpose of which was to promote tourism by car, thereby supporting his tyre manufacturing operation. (Full article...)

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On this day October 30

1963 — The first Lamborghini, the 350GTV, is unveiled at the Turin Motor Show

1967 — After a decade of success at Chevrolet, Ed Cole becomes president of General Motors.

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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 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.

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Selected quote of the day

To Users, Agents, Importers, Dealers and Manufacturers of Gasolene Automobiles:

United States Letters Patent No. 549,160, granted to George B. Selden, November 5, 1895, controls broadly the commercial forms of gasolene automobiles. ... Both the Basic Selden patent and all other patents owned as aforesaid will be enforced against all infringers.

—1904 advertisement by the Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers exhorting compliance with the Selden patent

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General images

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

Image 1The Toyota Corolla is the world's bestselling nameplate. (from History of the automobile)
Image 2The Präsident automobile (from History of the automobile)
Image 3A replica of Richard Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive 'Puffing Devil' (from History of the automobile)
Image 4Fiat 4 HP, the first car model produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat in 1899 (from History of the automobile)
Image 5Rolls-Royce Phantom III (from History of the automobile)
Image 6Steam machine of Verbiest, in 1678 (Ferdinand Verbiest) (from Car)
Image 7A 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 81974 Citroën DS (from History of the automobile)
Image 9The Vélib' in Paris, France, is the largest bikesharing system outside China. (from Car)
Image 101946 GAZ-M20 Pobeda, one of the first mass-produced cars with a pontoon design (from History of the automobile)
Image 11The 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 12A Chevrolet Suburban extended-length SUV weighs 3,300 kilograms (7,200 lb) (gross weight). (from Car)
Image 13A 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 14Cugnot's steam wagon, the second (1771) version (from History of the automobile)
Image 15Result of a serious car collision (from Car)
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 17Ford Motor Company automobile assembly line in the 1920s (from Car)
Image 18A robotic Volkswagen Passat shown at Stanford University is a driverless car. (from Car)
Image 19In 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 201959 Morris Mini-Minor (from History of the automobile)
Image 21Model-T Ford car parked near the Geelong Art Gallery at its launch in Australia in 1915 (from History of the automobile)
Image 22Car exhaust gas is one type of pollution
Image 231929 Alfa Romeo 6C (from History of the automobile)
Image 24The first production car: 1888 Benz Patent-Motorwagen Model 2 on loan from Science Museum, London to Automuseum Dr Carl Benz, Ladenburg, 2014 (from Car)
Image 25The first automobile in Japan, a French Panhard-Levassor, in 1898 (from History of the automobile)
Image 261982 Toyota Camry (from History of the automobile)
Image 27Amédée Bollée jr driving L'Obéissante at Le Mans, 1923 (from Car)
Image 28The Selden Road-Engine (from History of the automobile)
Image 29Frank Hills' steam carriage, 1840 (from Car)
Image 30Cugnot's 1771 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (from Car)
Image 311929 Austin Seven (from History of the automobile)
Image 32Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A (from History of the automobile)
Image 33Percentage-of-total-sales figures for electric, plug-in hybrid, and hybrid vehicles approximately quadrupled from 2020 to 2026. (from History of the automobile)
Image 34The Flocken Elektrowagen was the first four-wheeled electric car (from Car)
Image 352011 Nissan Leaf electric car (from Car)
Image 361924 Doble Model E (from History of the automobile)
Image 37A car being assembled in a factory (from Car)
Image 38Panel for fuses and circuit breakers (from Car)
Image 39Carl Benz, the inventor of the modern car (from Car)
Image 40The first practical car, Carl Benz's Patent-Motorwagen Nr. 2 of 1886 (image from 1888) (from Car)
Image 41The second Marcus car of 1888 (from History of the automobile)
Image 42Audi A4 daytime running lights (from Car)
Image 43Carl Benz, creator of the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, considered by many as the first modern car. (from History of the automobile)
Image 44The German Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888, perhaps the first electric car in the world (from History of the automobile)
Image 451987 Renault Espace (from History of the automobile)
Image 46Ransom E. Olds founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile) in 1897. (from Car)
Image 471926 Bugatti Type 35 (from History of the automobile)
Image 481955 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible (from History of the automobile)
Image 49Road congestion is an issue in many major cities (pictured is Chang'an Avenue in Beijing). (from Car)
Image 50Volkswagen Beetle (from History of the automobile)