Portal:Cars

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An electric car charging station at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This station is run by Petrobras and uses solar energy.

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, 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...)

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A Procar BMW M1, painted in the colour scheme used by BMW Motorsport

The BMW M1 Procar Championship, sometimes known simply as Procar, was a one-make auto racing series created by Jochen Neerpasch, head of BMW Motorsport GmbH, the racing division of automobile manufacturer BMW. The series pitted professional drivers from the Formula One World Championship, World Sportscar Championship, European Touring Car Championship, and other international series against one another using identically modified BMW M1 sports cars.

Billed as an opportunity to see a mix of drivers from various motorsport disciplines, the championship served as support races for various European rounds of the 1979 Formula One season, with Formula One drivers earning automatic entry into the Procar event based on their performance in their Formula One cars. Austrian Niki Lauda won the inaugural championship. In 1980, the series held some events outside of Formula One schedule, and was won by Brazilian Nelson Piquet. BMW chose not to continue the championship in 1981 to concentrate on their entrance into Formula One. (Full article...)
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The Ford Model T (foreground) and Volkswagen Beetle (background) are among the most mass-produced car models in history.

Development of the automobile started in 1672 with the invention of the first steam-powered vehicle, which led to the creation of the first steam-powered automobile capable of human transportation, built by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot in 1769. Inventors began to branch out at the start of the 19th century, creating the de Rivaz engine, one of the first internal combustion engines, and an early electric motor. Samuel Brown later tested the first industrially applied internal combustion engine in 1826. Only two of these were made.

Development was hindered in the mid-19th century by a backlash against large vehicles, yet progress continued on some internal combustion engines. The engine evolved as engineers created two- and four-cycle combustion engines and began using gasoline. The first modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use—and the first car in series production appeared in 1886, when Carl Benz developed a gasoline-powered automobile and made several identical copies. In 1890, Gottlieb Daimler, inventor of the high-speed liquid petroleum-fueled engine, and Wilhelm Maybach formed Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft. In 1926, the company merged with Benz & Cie. (founded by Carl Benz in 1883) to form Daimler-Benz, known for its Mercedes-Benz automobile brand. (Full article...)
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2004 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor
2004 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor
2004 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor

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Mondial de l'Automobile de Paris, 2012
Louis Schweitzer (born 8 July 1942) is a Swiss businessman who is a former chairman of the board of Groupe Renault, first taking the post on 27 May 1992, succeeding Raymond Lévy. He was also CEO from 1992 to 2005. He was in addition Chairman of AstraZeneca until 8 June 2012 where he was appointed as a Director on 11 March 2004. He is a non-executive director of BNP Paribas, Electricité de France, Veolia Environnement, Volvo AB and L'Oréal, and Vice-Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Philips Electronics NV (Full article...)

On this day March 29

1938 — The Overseas Highway opens
1995 — Production of the Ford Modular engine family begins at Windsor Engine

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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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