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...)

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Lexus LS 500

The Lexus LS (Japanese: レクサス・LS, Hepburn: Rekusasu LS) is a series of full-size luxury sedans that have served as the flagship model of Lexus, the luxury division of Toyota, since 1989. For the first four generations, all LS models featured V8 engines and were predominantly rear-wheel-drive. In the fourth generation, Lexus offered all-wheel-drive, hybrid, and long-wheelbase variants. The fifth generation changed to using a V6 engine with no V8 option, and only one length was offered.

As the first model developed by Lexus, the LS 400 debuted in January 1989 with the second generation debuting in November 1994. The LS 430 debuted in January 2000 and the LS 460/LS 460 L series in 2006. A domestic-market version of the LS 400 and LS 430, badged as the Toyota Celsior (Japanese: トヨタ・セルシオ, Hepburn: Toyota Serushio), was sold in Japan until the Lexus marque was introduced there in 2006. In 2006 (for the 2007 model year), the fourth generation LS 460 debuted the first production eight-speed automatic transmission and an automatic parking system. In 2007, V8 hybrid powertrains were introduced on the LS 600h/LS 600h L sedans. (Full article...)

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Stellantis N.V. is a multinational automotive manufacturing corporation formed in 2021 through the merger of the French PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), which was itself created by the merger of Italy's Fiat and the US-based Chrysler, completed in stages between 2009 and 2014. Stellantis is headquartered in Hoofddorp, Netherlands, while the CEO now operates from Auburn Hills, Michigan.

As of 2025, Stellantis ranked as the world's fifth-largest automaker by global sales volume, behind Toyota, Volkswagen Group, Hyundai Motor Group, and the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance. That same year, it placed 61st on the Forbes Global 2000 list of the world’s largest public companies. Stellantis shares are listed on the Euronext Paris, Borsa Italiana, and New York Stock Exchange. (Full article...)

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Mini Cooper

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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...)

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On this day August 5

1888 — Bertha Benz, wife of the inventor of the automobile Karl Benz, takes her husband's car, the Benz Patent Motorwagen for a 180 km (112 mi) overnight trip, the first ever long-distance automobile journey. Since 2008 this event is commemorated by a Bertha Benz Memorial Route.

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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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Our mission is to offer the top performance sportscar manufactured legal for US roads. The sport in sportscar is motorsports, and in our case that means racing at road courses that include Daytona, Sebring, Road America, Watkin's Glen, Laguna Seca, Three Rivers, Homestead, and the like.

My cars are designed to be capable of the lowest lap times of any car manufactured US legal on tracks like these. The development process includes extensive racing at the professional level, where performance and durability are enhanced and demonstrated

—Warren Mosler

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General images

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

Image 1In 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 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 3The Ford Model T (foreground) and Volkswagen Beetle (background) are among the most mass-produced car models in history. (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 51959 Morris Mini-Minor (from History of the automobile)
Image 6A car being assembled in a factory (from Car)
Image 7The Präsident automobile (from History of the automobile)
Image 8Trucks' 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 91982 Toyota Camry (from History of the automobile)
Image 101946 GAZ-M20 Pobeda, one of the first mass-produced cars with a pontoon design (from History of the automobile)
Image 11The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car of all-time. (from Car)
Image 12The original Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first modern car, built in 1885 and awarded the patent for the concept (from Car)
Image 13The first automobile in Japan, a French Panhard-Levassor, in 1898 (from History of the automobile)
Image 14Audi A4 daytime running lights (from Car)
Image 15Fiat 4 HP, the first car model produced by Italian manufacturer Fiat in 1899 (from History of the automobile)
Image 162011 Nissan Leaf electric car (from Car)
Image 17Panel for fuses and circuit breakers (from Car)
Image 18Car exhaust gas is one type of pollution
Image 19Cugnot's 1771 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris (from Car)
Image 20Cugnot's steam wagon, the second (1771) version (from History of the automobile)
Image 211955 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible (from History of the automobile)
Image 22Carl Benz, the inventor of the modern car (from Car)
Image 23Model-T Ford car parked near the Geelong Art Gallery at its launch in Australia in 1915 (from History of the automobile)
Image 241929 Austin Seven (from History of the automobile)
Image 25Ford Motor Company automobile assembly line in the 1920s (from Car)
Image 26Bertha Benz, the first long distance driver (from Car)
Image 27Volkswagen Beetle (from History of the automobile)
Image 28A Chevrolet Suburban extended-length SUV weighs 3,300 kilograms (7,200 lb) (gross weight). (from Car)
Image 29Steam machine of Verbiest, in 1678 (Ferdinand Verbiest) (from Car)
Image 301974 Citroën DS (from History of the automobile)
Image 31A 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 32The Vélib' in Paris, France, is the largest bikesharing system outside China. (from Car)
Image 33A robotic Volkswagen Passat shown at Stanford University is a driverless car. (from Car)
Image 34Stuttgart, 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 35A 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 36The Selden Road-Engine (from History of the automobile)
Image 37Ransom E. Olds founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company (Oldsmobile) in 1897. (from Car)
Image 381987 Renault Espace (from History of the automobile)
Image 39The second Marcus car of 1888 (from History of the automobile)
Image 40Road congestion is an issue in many major cities (pictured is Chang'an Avenue in Beijing). (from Car)
Image 411924 Doble Model E (from History of the automobile)
Image 42The Flocken Elektrowagen was the first four-wheeled electric car (from Car)
Image 43The Toyota Corolla is the world's bestselling nameplate. (from History of the automobile)
Image 44Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A (from History of the automobile)
Image 45Result of a serious car collision (from Car)
Image 46Rolls-Royce Phantom III (from History of the automobile)
Image 471926 Bugatti Type 35 (from History of the automobile)
Image 48The German Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888, perhaps the first electric car in the world (from History of the automobile)
Image 491929 Alfa Romeo 6C (from History of the automobile)
Image 50A replica of Richard Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive 'Puffing Devil' (from History of the automobile)