There is something reassuring about keeping an emergency window hammer in the car. It sits in the center console or door pocket, looking wonderfully uncomplicated. If the car ever ends up in water, ca
Opening a car’s hood is oddly ceremonial. First comes the lever beneath the dashboard, usually hidden low enough to require an undignified search around the driver’s footwell. The hood
Follow an SUV down a wet highway and its rear end soon develops a familiar gray coating. The bumper gets dirty. The license plate gets dirty. The rear window looks as though someone misted it with mud
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
The car has been washed, rinsed, and dried. From a few steps away, the paint looks spotless. Run a hand across the hood, however, and the surface tells a different story. Instead of feeling slick, it
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
A car door can hide an impressive amount of water before anyone notices. Usually, the first clue arrives after heavy rain or a thorough car wash. Pull away from the curb and something splashes near
The old-fashioned car antenna made no attempt to hide what it was. It was a long metal whip sticking proudly out of a fender, ready to catch radio stations, snag a car-wash brush or disappear overnigh
There is nothing behind the car. No wall, no shopping cart, no decorative boulder placed by a landscape designer with a grudge. Still, the moment Reverse is selected, the parking sensors erupt. The
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