There is a particular stretch of road where the sun finds the narrow gap that your visor cannot quite cover. You swing the visor toward the side window, adjust it twice, and the light still lands squa
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 classic car could provide a cigarette lighter within easy reach of the driver, another for the front passenger and sometimes individual ashtrays for the people in the back. Yet bring a cup of coffee
The automobile conquered continents, crossed deserts and survived two world wars before anyone decided it desperately needed a secure place for a paper cup. For much of automotive history, drivers
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
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
Fresh motor oil is reassuring stuff. It pours from the bottle in a clear amber stream, looking clean enough to belong in a kitchen rather than an engine. A few hundred miles later, the dipstick can
The pump stops at $47.83. It is not a particularly satisfying number. Another quick squeeze would make it $48. A couple more might bring it to a nice, tidy $50. The nozzle clicks again, a few drops di
The extra button at the fuel pump has a way of making regular gasoline seem slightly irresponsible. It is sitting there with a higher number, a higher price, and the word “premium” printed
Park on a slope, move the shifter to P, take a foot off the brake, and most automatic cars will perform a small, familiar shuffle. The body rolls a fraction of an inch, stops with a muted clunk, then