Why did Volkswagen make Harlequin cars? The multicoloured Polo began as a promotional demonstration of Volkswagen’s modular ordering system. Customers wanted the display cars, prompting the Polo
Hyundai’s Bayon used to be easy to overlook in a parking lot. The new one looks determined to make that impossible. Unveiled at the Paris Motor Show, the redesigned crossover gets chunky bodywor
Long before carmakers filled dashboards with screens, an important piece of engine information was displayed outside the windshield. Early automobiles often carried their radiator filler caps at
Volvo Cars is getting a new CEO at a difficult point for the Swedish automaker. Klaus Zellmer, the former head of Skoda, will take over as president and CEO within the next 12 months. Zellmer has m
A vehicle identification number has the charm of a password printed by a malfunctioning office computer. It is long, awkward to recite and generally ignored until an insurer, parts supplier or registr
In a conventional car, the relationship between the brake pedal and the brake lights feels reassuringly simple. Press the pedal and the red lamps illuminate. Release it and they go dark. Drivers be
The woodgrain paneling on an old station wagon rarely fools anyone. Even when new, the printed vinyl was not likely to be mistaken for hand-finished mahogany. It was wood in the same way a kitchen
Look at an American car from 1971, then find the same model from 1974. The earlier car may have a slim chrome blade tucked neatly against its body. Three years later, the bumper appears to have lef
Automotive fashion has produced few ideas quite as curious as taking a finished steel roof, covering it in textured plastic and charging the customer extra. For several decades, buyers did exactly tha
There was a time when getting lost required some commitment. A driver would unfold a road map across the steering wheel, locate two towns that appeared to be printed directly on top of one another, th