A small square or circular panel sits almost flush with the painted bumper. It has no button, light or obvious reason to exist. Once spotted, though, it becomes surprisingly difficult to ignore. Be
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
Cruise control feels wonderfully precise on a flat highway. Set it to 65 mph and the speedometer settles into place, leaving the car to handle the small adjustments that a human ankle normally makes.
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 window glides upward, touches the top of the frame and immediately retreats several inches. Try it again and the same thing happens. Up, nearly closed, then back down. It has the comic timing of a
The tire-pressure warning light is not one of the dashboard’s more mysterious creations. It looks like a sagging tire with an exclamation mark inside, which is a fairly direct way of saying, &ld
The car looked spotless when it was parked. Then it rained overnight, or perhaps the wheels received an enthusiastic blast at the car wash. By morning, the shiny brake rotors had turned orange. Not sl
The car is parked out front, freshly washed and looking suspiciously pleased with itself. The seller hands over the key, mentions that it “runs beautifully,” and points out that the engine
Used-car listings make everything sound cleaner than it really is. The trim is right there. The features are listed. The price looks more or less in line with the other cars you have been watching
When people ask how fast NASCAR cars actually go, what they usually mean is one of two things. Either they want the big, satisfying number, or they want to know why modern NASCAR somehow