Why are my tires turning brown? Protective ingredients in the rubber can work their way to the surface, leaving a brownish film known as blooming. Road dirt and brake dust can look similar. Blooming i
Washing a car in winter can feel wonderfully pointless. The bodywork is clean for perhaps half a journey. Then a truck passes in the opposite direction, the windshield receives a cold brown showe
In 1974, a shipment of 1,000 boxy Swedish sedans arrived in North Korea. The cars were Volvo 144 GLs, sensible four-door machines known for sturdy construction, generous interior space and all the
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.
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
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
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 feels perfectly normal around town. At 35 mph, nothing rattles. At 50, there may be the faintest tremor. Reach highway speed and the steering wheel begins a steady dance between the driver&rsq
The tires were set perfectly that morning. Then, after a long stretch of highway, the pressure display shows every one of them sitting several pounds higher. Out comes the gauge. Sure enough, the d
The reservoir under the hood is sitting close to the minimum line. There is a bottle of brake fluid on the shelf. The obvious response seems to be pouring in enough fluid to bring the level back to &l