Remember the Smart Fortwo? The tiny two-seater that could squeeze into parking spaces most cars wouldn’t even attempt? It’s finally getting a successor. Smart has unveiled the new #2 at
A retired police car can make an ordinary used-car listing look expensive. There is plenty of room, a purposeful set of steel wheels and the promise of hardware built for a harder life than the school
Open a car door slowly and you may feel it pause partway, then settle again when opened farther. Those pauses are useful when you are climbing out beside another parked car. They also explain why a fa
Look down beside the pedals of an older car and you may find a small metal button poking through the carpet. It is easy to mistake for an abandoned starter or some ingenious accessory installed by a p
Long before carmakers filled dashboards with screens, an important piece of engine information was displayed outside the windshield. Early automobiles often carried their radiator filler caps at
Open the door of a large American sedan from the 1950s and the front seat looks less like a modern cockpit than a particularly comfortable sofa. There is no center console dividing driver and passe
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
Drivers spend hours holding the steering wheel without giving much thought to what lies behind it. Remove the trim, switches and wiring, and the basic arrangement appears simple. A shaft carries th
In a conventional car, the relationship between the brake pedal and the brake lights feels reassuringly simple. Press the pedal and the red lamps illuminate. Release it and they go dark. Drivers be
The woodgrain paneling on an old station wagon rarely fools anyone. Even when new, the printed vinyl was not likely to be mistaken for hand-finished mahogany. It was wood in the same way a kitchen