Open the door of an American-market performance car from the early 1980s and something may appear terribly wrong. There is the dramatic driving position, a powerful engine and perhaps a body design
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 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
The engine is off. The dashboard has gone dark. The key is out, or the start button has been pressed for what felt like a sufficiently final time. Still, the radio keeps playing. Then the dr
A slow turn into a parking space should not feel dramatic. The car is barely moving, the steering wheel is wound around and there is little opportunity for anything exciting to happen. Then a front
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
Walk past a parked car after dark and the cabin can seem completely asleep, apart from one tiny red light pulsing on the dashboard. Blink. Pause. Blink again. Since red dashboard lights usua
Few things make a car owner question reality quite like finding every window open in the morning. The doors are still locked. Nothing appears to be missing. There is no broken glass, no damaged wea
Close a car door with every window shut and the air inside has to go somewhere. The door pushes a substantial volume of air into an already sealed cabin. Without an escape route, pressure builds fo
Shift an automatic car into Drive, release the brake and it begins moving without a touch of the accelerator. The movement is usually gentle. Just enough to edge forward in traffic, ease into a par