Few automotive features can make a parked car look as alive as pop-up headlights. Turn the switch and two neat sections of bodywork rise from the hood, pause with theatrical precision and reveal the l
A new car speaking to its driver no longer feels remarkable. Navigation systems issue directions, safety assistants complain about lane markings and voice controls wait patiently for somebody to remem
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
Changing a car battery used to be one of the cleaner bargains in home mechanics. Remove two terminals, undo the clamp, lift out the old battery and fit the new one. The clock might need resetting a
One tire wanders across the painted line and the previously quiet cabin erupts with a harsh mechanical growl. The steering wheel trembles, the seat vibrates and, for half a second, it feels as if some
A dashboard without a radio now looks unfinished. Even the most basic car is expected to provide music, news and something to fill the silence when traffic has stopped moving but the clock has not.
Park a 1940s Jeep beside a Chevrolet sedan, an early Volkswagen Beetle and a British roadster, then look closely at their headlights. The surrounding bodies could hardly be more different. The glass c
Every passenger knows the type of driver. Conversation begins, the accelerator relaxes and the car gradually slows. The driver starts speaking, enthusiasm builds and the speed rises again. Nothing dan
The usual history of the rearview mirror is wonderfully neat. Ray Harroun entered the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911 with a mirror attached to his Marmon Wasp. He drove alone while his competitors
The FullGood Motor SS Dolphin sounds like a strange combination of words and ideas. A Chinese company, a BYD platform, a plug-in hybrid, and the unmistakable shape of a 1950s Chevrolet Corvette. Someh