Topping up the washer tank ought to be one of the least complicated jobs a car can demand. Open the bonnet, find the right cap, pour. There is no good reason for it to become an ongoing conversation w
Being unable to put fuel into an almost-empty car is a peculiarly annoying problem. There is diesel in the pump, space in the tank and apparently no reason the two should have trouble meeting. Yet the
A delivery van usually gets noticed because it is blocking something. Nissan found another way: give it a face, a rounded shell and the proportions of a snail that has somewhere to be. The S-Cargo
The cloth catches halfway across the dashboard. Instead of lifting the dust, it leaves a few fibers behind, and a fingertip pressed against the surface comes away with the unpleasant impression that s
Deer whistles offer a particularly appealing bargain. Attach a small device to the front of the car and, supposedly, the air passing through it will warn animals before you reach them. There is no scr
There was a time when a dead battery in a manual car meant looking around for two people willing to help. One took the wheel, the others pushed, and with a little speed and a well-timed release of the
The car has stopped. Your foot is on the brake, the selector says P, and everything feels settled. Then you release the pedal and the car shifts slightly on its wheels. On a slope, that little move
A photograph of a Citroën DS traveling with one rear wheel missing looks as though someone has caught the car halfway through a mechanical disaster. The body sits unexpectedly level. The front wh
Approach a BMW Isetta with the keys and the usual question comes first: where is the door handle? The answer is on the front of the car. Open its single door and the windshield, dashboard and steering
On some older cars, each headlight wears a wiper blade small enough to look like a toy. It can be an amusing sight now, particularly when one blade has stopped halfway across the lamp. The equipment h