The brake pedal is down. The engine may even be running. Yet the gear lever remains planted in Park with the determination of a fence post. Pulling harder rarely improves the situation. It can, how
There are few sounds more effective at making a driver feel guilty than the crunch of a manual gearbox going into reverse. The clutch is buried in the carpet. The car is standing still. Everything see
Park some cars facing a garage door at night and start the engine. Before the wheels have moved an inch, the headlights perform a small piece of theater. The beams dip toward the ground, rise again
Electric cars have developed a sound of their own. Not the familiar chug of an engine or the rising growl of an exhaust, but a smooth, slightly eerie hum that seems better suited to a spacecraft glidi
A car left in the afternoon sun does not need long to turn into a small greenhouse. The steering wheel becomes unpleasant to touch, the seats feel freshly ironed and the dashboard claims it is 104 deg
A car battery does not need to be completely dead to leave the car behaving as though it is. Sometimes the battery is charged and perfectly willing to work, but the electricity cannot get past the
The seller has polished the paint, vacuumed the carpets and arranged the service receipts in a folder that looks reassuringly thick. The engine starts without complaint. No warning lights remain on af
A car sits empty in the driveway, engine off and doors locked, yet all three brake lights are glowing as though an invisible driver has a foot planted on the pedal. It looks like a wiring problem. Pos
Neutral has a reassuring name. It sounds harmless, disconnected and mechanically impartial. Put the selector in N, release the parking brake and the car can roll. Surely that means it can also be towe
A cold engine starts, and a pale cloud rolls out of the exhaust. The sight is particularly dramatic on a winter morning, when the plume hangs behind the car as though the engine has chosen a new caree