The Cars PortalA 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, not cargo. French inventor Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot built the first steam-powered road vehicle in 1769, while French-born 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 German inventor Carl Benz patented his Benz Patent-Motorwagen. Commercial cars became widely available during the 20th century. One of the first cars affordable by the masses was the 1908 Model T, an American car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. 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. The car is considered an essential part of the developed economy. 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 are predicted to cost less to buy than petrol-driven cars before 2025. 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...) Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.
The 1950s were pivotal for the American automobile industry. The post-World War II era brought a wide range of new technologies to the automobile consumer, and a host of problems for the independent automobile manufacturers. The industry was maturing in an era of rapid technological change; mass production and the benefits from economies of scale led to innovative designs and greater profits, but stiff competition between the automakers. By the end of the decade, the industry had reshaped itself into the Big Three, Studebaker, and AMC. The age of small independent automakers was nearly over, as most of them either consolidated or went out of business. A number of innovations were either invented or improved sufficiently to allow for mass production during the decade: air conditioning, automatic transmission, power steering, power brakes, seat belts and arguably the most influential change in automotive history, the overhead-valve V8 engine. The horsepower race had begun, laying the foundation for the muscle car era. (Full article...)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...)
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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...)
On this day April 29
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Selected quote of the dayWhen I see an Alfa Romeo go by, I tip my hat. Henry Ford talking with Ugo Gobbato in 1939 TopicsGeneral imagesThe following are images from various car-related articles on Wikipedia.
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