Portal:Cars
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. 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. One of the first cars affordable by the masses was the Ford Model T, begun in 1908, 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.
Lexus (レクサス, Rekusasu) is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation. The Lexus brand is marketed in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide and is Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. It has ranked among the 10 largest Japanese global brands in market value. Lexus is headquartered in Nagoya, Japan. Operational centers are located in Brussels, Belgium, and Plano, Texas, United States. Created at around the same time as Japanese rivals Honda and Nissan created their Acura and Infiniti luxury divisions respectively, Lexus originated from a corporate project to develop a new premium sedan, code-named F1, which began in 1983 and culminated in the launch of the Lexus LS in 1989. Subsequently, the division added sedan, coupé, convertible and SUV models. Lexus did not exist as a brand in its home market until 2005, and all vehicles marketed internationally as Lexus from 1989 to 2005 were released in Japan under the Toyota marque and an equivalent model name. In 2005, a hybrid version of the RX crossover debuted and additional hybrid models later joined the division's lineup. Lexus launched its own F marque performance division in 2007 with the debut of the IS F sport sedan, followed by the LFA supercar in 2009. (Full article...)Selected article -Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC is the holding company of Jaguar Land Rover Limited, also known as JLR, and is a British multinational automobile manufacturer which produces luxury vehicles and sport utility vehicles. It is a subsidiary of Tata Motors and has its head office in Whitley, Coventry, UK. The principal activity of Jaguar Land Rover Limited is the design, development, manufacture and sale of vehicles bearing the Jaguar and Land Rover marques. Both marques have long histories prior to their merger – Jaguar going back to the 1930s and Land Rover to the 1940s – first coming together in 1968 as part of the British Leyland conglomerate, later again independent of each other, and then as subsidiaries of BMW (in the case of Land Rover), and Ford Motor Company (Jaguar). In 2000, Rover Group was broken up by BMW and Land Rover was sold on to Ford Motor Company, becoming part of its Premier Automotive Group. (Full article...)Selected picture of the daySelected biography -
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 May 8
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