Portal:Cars

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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 around 1.644 billion cars in use worldwide as of January 2025.

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. (Full article...)

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

An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle used to transport patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to medical emergencies by emergency medical services (EMS), and can rapidly transport paramedics and other first responders, carry equipment for administering emergency care, and transport patients to hospital or other definitive care. Most ambulances use a design based on vans or pickup trucks, though others take the form of motorcycles, buses, hearses, aircraft and boats.

Ambulances are generally considered emergency vehicles authorized to be equipped with emergency lights and sirens. Generally, vehicles count as an ambulance if they can transport patients. However, it varies by jurisdiction as to whether a non-emergency patient transport vehicle (also called an ambulette) is counted as an ambulance. These vehicles are not usually (although there are exceptions) equipped with life-support equipment, and are usually crewed by staff with fewer qualifications than the crew of emergency ambulances. Conversely, EMS agencies may also have nontransporting EMS vehicles that cannot transport patients. (Full article...)

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View of the 2007 JAHFA induction ceremony

The Japan Automotive Hall of Fame (or JAHFA) is a non-profit organization established to recognize and honor individuals who have contributed greatly to the development of the Japanese automotive industry and automotive culture, and to designate historical automobiles that were epoch making in their respective times.

The Japan Automotive Hall of Fame is based at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo, Japan. It was established in 2000 and, since 2001, five or six people have been inducted in an annual award ceremony held at the museum. (Full article...)

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2004 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor

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Ford in 1915

Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist and business magnate. As the founder of the Ford Motor Company, he is credited as a pioneer in making automobiles affordable for middle-class Americans through the system that came to be known as Fordism. In 1911, he was awarded a patent for the transmission mechanism that would be used in the Ford Model T and other automobiles.

Ford was born in a farmhouse in Springwells Township, Michigan, and left home at the age of 16 to find work in Detroit. It was a few years before this time that Ford first experienced automobiles, and throughout the later half of the 1880s, he began repairing and later constructing engines, and through the 1890s worked with a division of Edison Electric. He founded the Ford Motor Company in 1903 after prior failures in business, but success in constructing automobiles. (Full article...)

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On this day October 29

Portal:Cars/Anniversaries/October 29

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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

When I see an Alfa Romeo go by, I tip my hat.

Henry Ford talking with Ugo Gobbato in 1939

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General images

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

Image 1A replica of Richard Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive 'Puffing Devil' (from History of the automobile)
Image 2Car exhaust gas is one type of pollution
Image 3The first automobile in Japan, a French Panhard-Levassor, in 1898 (from History of the automobile)
Image 4Audi A4 daytime running lights (from Car)
Image 5Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A (from History of the automobile)
Image 6A car being assembled in a factory (from Car)
Image 7The original Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car, built in 1885 and awarded the patent for the concept (from Car)
Image 8The second Marcus car of 1888 (from History of the automobile)
Image 9Carl Benz, the inventor of the modern car (from Car)
Image 10Steam machine of Verbiest, in 1678 (Ferdinand Verbiest) (from Car)
Image 11Cugnot's 1771 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (from Car)
Image 12Rolls-Royce Phantom III (from History of the automobile)
Image 13Result of a serious car collision (from Car)
Image 141946 GAZ-M20 Pobeda, one of the first mass-produced cars with a pontoon design (from History of the automobile)
Image 151926 Bugatti Type 35 (from History of the automobile)
Image 16Stuttgart, 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 17In 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 18Bertha Benz, the first long distance driver (from Car)
Image 19The Toyota Corolla is the world's bestselling nameplate. (from History of the automobile)
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 21A robotic Volkswagen Passat shown at Stanford University is a driverless car. (from Car)
Image 22The Vélib' in Paris, France, is the largest bikesharing system outside China. (from Car)
Image 231955 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible (from History of the automobile)
Image 24Trucks' 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 251929 Austin Seven (from History of the automobile)
Image 26Panel for fuses and circuit breakers (from Car)
Image 272011 Nissan Leaf electric car (from Car)
Image 28Volkswagen Beetle (from History of the automobile)
Image 29The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car of all-time. (from Car)
Image 30Model-T Ford car parked near the Geelong Art Gallery at its launch in Australia in 1915 (from History of the automobile)
Image 31The Selden Road-Engine (from History of the automobile)
Image 32A Chevrolet Suburban extended-length SUV weighs 3,300 kilograms (7,200 lb) (gross weight). (from Car)
Image 33The German Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888, perhaps the first electric car in the world (from History of the automobile)
Image 34The 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 351929 Alfa Romeo 6C (from History of the automobile)
Image 36A 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 371982 Toyota Camry (from History of the automobile)
Image 381959 Morris Mini-Minor (from History of the automobile)
Image 39The Präsident automobile (from History of the automobile)
Image 40The Ford Model T (foreground) and Volkswagen Beetle (background) are among the most mass-produced car models in history. (from History of the automobile)
Image 41Ford Motor Company automobile assembly line in the 1920s (from Car)
Image 42Fiat 4 HP, the first car model produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat in 1899 (from History of the automobile)
Image 431924 Doble Model E (from History of the automobile)
Image 441974 Citroën DS (from History of the automobile)
Image 45Road congestion is an issue in many major cities (pictured is Chang'an Avenue in Beijing). (from Car)
Image 46Ransom E. Olds founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile) in 1897. (from Car)
Image 471987 Renault Espace (from History of the automobile)
Image 48The Flocken Elektrowagen was the first four-wheeled electric car (from Car)
Image 491885-built Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use (from History of the automobile)
Image 50Cugnot's steam wagon, the second (1771) version (from History of the automobile)