Press the accelerator hard in a conventional automatic car and its behavior follows a familiar rhythm. The engine climbs through the rev range, the transmission changes gear and the engine note drops
A concrete barrier beside a highway looks like one of the least forgiving objects a car could encounter. It is heavy, rigid and often positioned only a few feet from traffic moving at serious speed.
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 parking brake has been released, but the red warning light remains on. The first reaction is usually to pull the lever again or press the parking-brake switch a few times. Perhaps the sensor
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
There was a time when replacing a car battery was a reassuringly simple job. Disconnect the old one, wrestle it out of its tray, drop in the new one and tighten the terminals. If the engine started, t
When people see fuel economy numbers change, the first instinct is usually to blame the car. Maybe the engine got worse. Maybe the transmission tuning changed. Maybe the automaker got sloppy. M
There's a number that car salespeople don't bring up, and financial advisors mention mostly to people who already bought the car. The moment you drive a new vehicle off the dealer's lot, i
Fourteen percent. That’s how far Ford’s May sales slid compared with last year. On paper it looks like a red warning light, 190,000 vehicles that never drove off the lot. Social feeds
I still remember the day I fell for the pitch. My hatchback had just come out of a basic wash, and the detailer, towel in hand, grinned like he’d discovered electricity. “If you reall