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
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
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
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
What would the man who designed the Tesla Model S do with the very first example of its final edition? In Franz von Holzhausen’s case, the answer is simple: protect it and leave the design alone
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