Barré (automobile)
Barré was a French automobile manufacturer established by Gaston Barré at Niort. Some sources give the starting date for the business as 1900, although Barré’s first automobile was presented in December 1899 at the Paris Motor Show. Production ended in 1930.
Gaston Barré
Barré was born in Cholet on 25 June 1864, but in 1888 relocated to nearby Parthenay, where he worked as a gunsmith. Six years later he moved again, establishing himself in 1894 at Niort in the rue Ricard Il, as a manufacturer and renter of cycles. France was in the middle of a massive cycling boom, and business was good. Barré relocated his business several times, but now always staying in Niort. As he amassed his fortune he decided that the future lay not with cycles but with the automobile.
Automobile production
The first car, powered by a Gaillardet engine, was exhibited in December 1899.
Several aspects of Barré’s business distinguish it from the large number of automobile manufacturers being established in France at this time. He created one of the first after-sales service centres, and also integrated into his business model a driving school. Another respect in which Barré anticipated the future of automobile manufacturing was the extent to which his cars were developed as an assemblage of components manufactured by and purchased from specialist outside suppliers. During the first decade of the twentieth century the manufacturer used engines from Aster, Buchet and De Dion-Bouton. Rather than tooling up to machine and assemble his own axles and gears, Barré also bought in these principal components from companies already equipped to produce them. There were even instances when he bought in a chassis from a competitor auto-maker.
Car
A car is a wheeled, self-powered motor vehicle used for transportation and a product of the automotive industry. Most definitions of the term specify that cars are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels with tyres, and to be constructed principally for the transport of people rather than goods. The year 1886 is regarded as the birth year of the modern car. In that year, German inventor Karl Benz built the Benz Patent-Motorwagen. Cars did not become widely available until the early 20th century. One of the first cars that was accessible to the masses was the 1908 Model T, an American car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. Cars were rapidly adopted in the United States of America, where they replaced animal-drawn carriages and carts, but took much longer to be accepted in Western Europe and other parts of the world.
Cars are equipped with controls used for driving, parking, passenger comfort and safety, and controlling a variety of lights. Over the decades, additional features and controls have been added to vehicles, making them progressively more complex. Examples include rear reversing cameras, air conditioning, navigation systems, and in car entertainment. Most cars in use in the 2010s are propelled by an internal combustion engine, fueled by deflagration of gasoline (also known as petrol) or diesel. Both fuels cause air pollution and are also blamed for contributing to climate change and global warming. Vehicles using alternative fuels such as ethanol flexible-fuel vehicles and natural gas vehicles are also gaining popularity in some countries. Electric cars, which were invented early in the history of the car, began to become commercially available in 2008.
Automobile (magazine)
Automobile is a United States-based automobile magazine published by TEN: The Enthusiast Network. A group of former employees of Car and Driver led by David E. Davis founded Automobile in 1986 with support from Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation– using the credo No Boring Cars.Automobile distinguishes itself as more of a lifestyle magazine than the other automotive publications, an editorial theme that Davis greatly expanded upon from his tenure as the editor of Car and Driver.
Unlike most other automobile magazines, Automobile does not often do instrumented tests of cars or provide much technical data. Instead, the reviews of vehicles are subjective experiential reports with the cars in their naturally intended, real world environment. Additionally, Automobile reserves a good portion of each issue covering vehicles no longer in production, but still relevant to collectors or automotive history as a whole. For example, the magazine includes features such as "Collectable Classic," an in-depth review of a particular older car, and reports from recent classic and antique car auctions. Automobile also has a regular column by former General Motors designer Robert Cumberford, who analyzes styling elements of current production models and show cars, often linking their design to those of older cars.
Automobile (disambiguation)
An automobile or car is a kind of wheeled motor vehicle. Automobile may also refer to:
