A driver can move between unfamiliar modern cars and still understand the transmission selector within seconds. Park sits at one end, followed by Reverse, Neutral and Drive. Lower ranges, manual modes
Long before a crash-test dummy sat behind the wheel of a family sedan, one was strapped into an aircraft ejection seat. Its assignment involved rocket sleds, aviation helmets and the violent forc
Open the door of an American-market performance car from the early 1980s and something may appear terribly wrong. There is the dramatic driving position, a powerful engine and perhaps a body design
A third brake light is remarkably easy to ignore. It sits in the rear window or above the tailgate, performs one job and receives considerably less attention than the lamps surrounding it. That ano
Start certain cars in front of a garage wall and the headlights put on a brief performance. The beams drop, rise and settle. Some sweep sideways too, giving the impression that the car has opened i
The rear defroster has been running for several minutes. Most of the glass is clear, traffic behind the car has returned to recognizable shapes, yet one narrow stripe of fog remains stretched across t
A seat belt can work perfectly all week, then refuse to move on the one morning when the car happens to be parked nose-down on a steep driveway. Pull gently and nothing happens. Give it a firmer tu
Wash a car in the evening and look through its wheels the next morning. The brake rotors may have turned bright orange. The change can happen quickly enough to feel impossible. The discs looked cle
A car can leave a collision with a crushed bumper, broken lights and a hood folded into an expensive-looking shape, yet every airbag remains neatly hidden. From outside, that makes little sense. Th
The car has been washed, rinsed, and dried. From a few steps away, the paint looks spotless. Run a hand across the hood, however, and the surface tells a different story. Instead of feeling slick, it