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
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 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
An engine can be low on oil and sound perfectly content. It may start normally, idle without complaint and carry the car through the morning commute. The driver sees no smoke, hears no knocking and re
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
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
The key has left the ignition. The doors are locked. From beneath the hood comes the unmistakable roar of a large electric fan apparently unaware that the journey ended. Waiting beside the car for
The engine is off. The dashboard has gone dark. The key is out, or the start button has been pressed for what felt like a sufficiently final time. Still, the radio keeps playing. Then the dr
A slow turn into a parking space should not feel dramatic. The car is barely moving, the steering wheel is wound around and there is little opportunity for anything exciting to happen. Then a front
Electric cars have developed a sound of their own. Not the familiar chug of an engine or the rising growl of an exhaust, but a smooth, slightly eerie hum that seems better suited to a spacecraft glidi