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.

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 is a central feature of most climate change mitigation scenarios. (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Recognized content - show another

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

Exterior of the Piquette Avenue Plant

The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant is a former automobile factory located within the Milwaukee Junction area of Detroit, Michigan, United States. Built in 1904, it was the second center of automobile production for the Ford Motor Company, after the Ford Mack Avenue Plant. At the Piquette Avenue Plant, the company created and first produced the Ford Model T, the car credited with initiating the mass use of automobiles in the United States. Prior to the Model T, several other car models were assembled at the factory. Early experiments using a moving assembly line to make cars were also conducted there. It was also the first factory where more than 100 cars were assembled in one day. While headquartered at the Piquette Avenue Plant, Ford Motor Company became the biggest U.S.-based automaker, and it remained so until the mid-1920s. The factory was used by the company until 1910, when its car production activity was relocated to the new, larger Highland Park Ford Plant.

Studebaker bought the factory in 1911, using it to assemble cars until 1933. The building was sold in 1936, going through a series of owners for the rest of the 20th century before becoming a museum in 2001. The Piquette Avenue Plant is the oldest purpose-built automotive factory building open to the public. The museum, which was visited by over 31,000 people in 2018, has exhibits that primarily focus on the beginning of the United States automotive industry. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002, became a Michigan State Historic Site in 2003, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006. (Full article...)

List of recognized articles

Selected article - show another

BMW Headquarters in Munich, Germany

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (German pronunciation: [ˌbeːʔɛmˈveː] ^ⓘ), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational conglomerate manufacturer of luxury vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Germany. The moniker "BMW " first came into use when the German firm Rapp Motorenwerke changed its name to Bayerische Motoren Werke GmbH (BMW GmbH) in 1917. Thereafter, in 1922, the name and assets of BMW GmbH were transferred to the aircraft manufacturer Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG (formerly Otto Flugmaschinenfabrik), thereby giving rise to the company known today as BMW AG.

BMW AG's automobiles are marketed under the BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce brands while its motorcycles are marketed under the BMW Motorrad brand. In 2023, BMW became the world's ninth-largest producer of motor vehicles (with 2,555,341 vehicles made in that year alone) as well as the 6th largest automaker by revenue. In 2023, it was ranked 46th in the Forbes Global 2000. The company also has significant motor-sport history, especially in touring cars, sports cars, and the Isle of Man TT. BMW initially focused on aircraft engine production during World War I, a legacy that influenced the company's engineering emphasis on performance and precision. Known as "The Ultimate Driving Machine", the brand is celebrated for engineering vehicles that blend high-end luxury with sharp, driver-focused performance. Following postwar restrictions on aircraft manufacturing, BMW diversified into motorcycle production in the 1920s and later entered the automobile market, establishing itself as a major player in the automotive industry. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

edit

Selected picture of the day

Porsche 911 GT3 Touring

Selected biography - show another

Münter in 2014 at Chicagoland Speedway

Leilani Maaja Münter (born February 18, 1974) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and environmental activist. She last competed in the ARCA Menards Series, and previously drove in the Firestone Indy Lights, the development league of IndyCar. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies

More biography articles

edit

On this day August 3

1900 — The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company begins production in Akron, Ohio

1924 — The legendary Bugatti Type 35 debuts at the Grand Prix of Lyon.

1971 — W. O. Bentley dies

edit

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.

edit

Selected quote of the day

People can have the Model T in any color -- so long as it's black.

—Henry Ford

Topics

General images

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

Image 1A 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 2The Toyota Corolla is the world's bestselling nameplate. (from History of the automobile)
Image 3The first practical car, Carl Benz's Patent-Motorwagen Nr. 2 of 1886 (image from 1888) (from Car)
Image 4The Flocken Elektrowagen was the first four-wheeled electric car (from Car)
Image 5The second Marcus car of 1888 (from History of the automobile)
Image 6The Selden Road-Engine (from History of the automobile)
Image 7A car being assembled in a factory (from Car)
Image 8Cugnot's 1771 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (from Car)
Image 9Rolls-Royce Phantom III (from History of the automobile)
Image 10Panel for fuses and circuit breakers (from Car)
Image 11Road congestion is an issue in many major cities (pictured is Chang'an Avenue in Beijing). (from Car)
Image 121929 Austin Seven (from History of the automobile)
Image 131982 Toyota Camry (from History of the automobile)
Image 14The German Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888, perhaps the first electric car in the world (from History of the automobile)
Image 15Ransom E. Olds founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile) in 1897. (from Car)
Image 16Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A (from History of the automobile)
Image 17Cugnot's steam wagon, the second (1771) version (from History of the automobile)
Image 181929 Alfa Romeo 6C (from History of the automobile)
Image 19The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car of all-time. (from Car)
Image 20Model-T Ford car parked near the Geelong Art Gallery at its launch in Australia in 1915 (from History of the automobile)
Image 211946 GAZ-M20 Pobeda, one of the first mass-produced cars with a pontoon design (from History of the automobile)
Image 22A replica of Richard Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive 'Puffing Devil' (from History of the automobile)
Image 23The 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 241955 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible (from History of the automobile)
Image 25A robotic Volkswagen Passat shown at Stanford University is a driverless car. (from Car)
Image 26Stuttgart, 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 27Ford Motor Company automobile assembly line in the 1920s (from Car)
Image 281987 Renault Espace (from History of the automobile)
Image 29Result of a serious car collision (from Car)
Image 30The Ford Model T (foreground) and Volkswagen Beetle (background) are among the most mass-produced car models in history. (from History of the automobile)
Image 31The Vélib' in Paris, France, is the largest bikesharing system outside China. (from Car)
Image 322011 Nissan Leaf electric car (from Car)
Image 33Car exhaust gas is one type of pollution
Image 34A 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 35Volkswagen Beetle (from History of the automobile)
Image 36The 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 37Fiat 4 HP, the first car model produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat in 1899 (from History of the automobile)
Image 38A Chevrolet Suburban extended-length SUV weighs 3,300 kilograms (7,200 lb) (gross weight). (from Car)
Image 39Audi A4 daytime running lights (from Car)
Image 40The Präsident automobile (from History of the automobile)
Image 411974 Citroën DS (from History of the automobile)
Image 421924 Doble Model E (from History of the automobile)
Image 43In 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 441959 Morris Mini-Minor (from History of the automobile)
Image 45Steam machine of Verbiest, in 1678 (Ferdinand Verbiest) (from Car)
Image 461926 Bugatti Type 35 (from History of the automobile)
Image 47The first automobile in Japan, a French Panhard-Levassor, in 1898 (from History of the automobile)
Image 48Carl Benz, creator of the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, considered by many as the first modern car. (from History of the automobile)
Image 49Carl Benz, the inventor of the modern car (from Car)