At a classic car show, a Trabant can attract two kinds of attention. Some people remember one from the streets of East Germany. Others have heard that it was made of cardboard and want to know whether
A freshly washed car can reveal things its owner had never noticed. Park it near a window or a row of straight lights, look along the side, and the reflection begins to wobble. The paint is glossy,
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
A vehicle identification number has the charm of a password printed by a malfunctioning office computer. It is long, awkward to recite and generally ignored until an insurer, parts supplier or registr
The car looked spotless when it was parked. Then it rained overnight, or perhaps the wheels received an enthusiastic blast at the car wash. By morning, the shiny brake rotors had turned orange. Not sl
BMW and reliability have had a weird relationship for a long time. There was a stretch where people talked about older BMWs like they were carved out of granite. The straight-sixes had a reputa
Tie rods are one of those parts most people never think about until the steering starts feeling weird. Then suddenly a mechanic is saying “inner tie rod,” “outer tie rod,” &
Some cars barely leave the driveway anymore. One owner works from home. Another keeps a second car for weekends. Someone else leaves town for a few weeks and comes back expecting the car to start like
The average car on American roads is now almost 13 years old, which sounds surprising until you think about what a new car costs now. Then it sounds completely logical. A lot of people are h
Cars are getting heavier every year, and there's no sign of it stopping. The EPA has been tracking this since the early '80s, and new vehicles just keep adding more weight. Electric batteries,