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.[1][2] 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.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the country, see Central African Republic. For other uses, see Car (disambiguation), CARS (disambiguation), and Automobile (disambiguation).
"Passenger car" redirects here. For the railroad car that carries passengers, see Passenger railroad car. For other uses, see Passenger car (disambiguation).This article may be in need of reorganization to comply with Wikipedia's layout guidelines. The reason given is: messy layout. Please help by editing the article to make improvements to the overall structure. (July 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Car A Volkswagen Beetle, one of the most recognizable car models of all time Classification Vehicle Industry Various Application Transportation Fuel source Petrol, electricity, diesel, natural gas, hydrogen, solar, vegetable oil Powered Yes Self-propelled Yes Wheels 3–4 Axles 2 Inventor Carl Benz Invented 1886; 137 years ago
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.[1][2] 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.[3] In Europe and other parts of the world, demand for automobiles did not increase until after World War II.[4] 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.[5][6] The transition from fossil fuel-powered cars to electric cars features prominently in most climate change mitigation scenarios,[7] such as Project Drawdown's 100 actionable solutions for climate change.