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 bright red car, a metallic blue car and a taxi painted the color of a highlighter will normally leave the factory with exactly the same footwear. Black tires. The color seems so inevitable
Open the door of certain 1980s or early 1990s cars and a small buckle begins travelling along the roofline. Sit down, close the door and the shoulder belt glides toward the B-pillar, hopefully passi
The Subaru BRAT had a cargo bed, a tailgate and the general proportions of a very small pickup truck. American versions also arrived with two plastic seats bolted into the bed, facing backward and exp
Whitewall tires have become visual shorthand for a particular kind of motoring glamour. Put them on a long Cadillac with chrome bumpers, tailfins and enough hood to host a family picnic, and the pi
The old battery has been replaced, the engine starts with renewed enthusiasm and the dashboard clock has been corrected. Then the driver’s window develops amnesia. It still moves when the swi
Opening a car’s hood is oddly ceremonial. First comes the lever beneath the dashboard, usually hidden low enough to require an undignified search around the driver’s footwell. The hood
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
A car left in the afternoon sun does not need long to turn into a small greenhouse. The steering wheel becomes unpleasant to touch, the seats feel freshly ironed and the dashboard claims it is 104 deg
The window glides upward, touches the top of the frame and immediately retreats several inches. Try it again and the same thing happens. Up, nearly closed, then back down. It has the comic timing of a