The Toyota WiLL Vi was a compact car launched in Japan in January 2000 as part of WiLL, a shared brand created by companies from several industries. Its carriage-inspired body was unusual enough. The
There was a time when a dead battery in a manual car meant looking around for two people willing to help. One took the wheel, the others pushed, and with a little speed and a well-timed release of the
A classic car could provide a cigarette lighter within easy reach of the driver, another for the front passenger and sometimes individual ashtrays for the people in the back. Yet bring a cup of coffee
Inside a modern automotive design studio, there are enormous screens, virtual-reality headsets, laser scanners, 3D printers and computers capable of rendering a car so convincingly that its paint appe
A new car speaking to its driver no longer feels remarkable. Navigation systems issue directions, safety assistants complain about lane markings and voice controls wait patiently for somebody to remem
There was a time when getting lost required some commitment. A driver would unfold a road map across the steering wheel, locate two towns that appeared to be printed directly on top of one another, th
A dashboard without a radio now looks unfinished. Even the most basic car is expected to provide music, news and something to fill the silence when traffic has stopped moving but the clock has not.
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
The rear defroster has been running for several minutes. Most of the glass is clear, traffic behind the car has returned to recognizable shapes, yet one narrow stripe of fog remains stretched across t
The key has left the ignition. The doors are locked. From beneath the hood comes the unmistakable roar of a large electric fan apparently unaware that the journey ended. Waiting beside the car for