You unbuckle, open the door and feel the seat belt brush against your leg. It should have disappeared toward the pillar, but half of it is still hanging beside the seat. Give it a little help and it w
The first minute is often the worst. You start the car, turn on the fan and get a brief gust that smells faintly sour or musty. By the time the cabin has cooled, the smell has faded enough to make you
Tire valve caps have a talent for disappearing. One drops beside the air pump, another vanishes during a tire change, and the next set you find online looks far nicer than the little plastic ones the
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
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,
A stubborn wheel nut invites a familiar response: a longer wrench, a firmer pull and perhaps a few unkind words. On certain older Chryslers, that approach can end with a snapped stud. The nut was neve
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 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
Look at an American car from 1971, then find the same model from 1974. The earlier car may have a slim chrome blade tucked neatly against its body. Three years later, the bumper appears to have lef