Others
A Fatal Hand-Crank Accident Helped Change the Way Every Car Starts

Starting a modern car requires so little effort that the action barely registers. Turn a key, press a button or let the vehicle recognize that its driver has climbed aboard. A second later, the engine

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People Once Wanted Car Radios Banned Because Listening While Driving Seemed Far Too Dangerous

A dashboard without a radio now looks unfinished. Even the most basic car is expected to provide music, news and something to fill the silence when traffic has stopped moving but the clock has not.

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Others
The Seatbelt That Chased You Across the Door Was America’s Cheaper Alternative to an Airbag

Open the door of certain 1980s or early 1990s cars and a small buckle begins travelling along the roofline. Sit down, close the door and the shoulder belt glides toward the B-pillar, hopefully passi

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One Rule Forced American Car Designers to Reuse the Same Headlights for Over 40 Years

Park a 1940s Jeep beside a Chevrolet sedan, an early Volkswagen Beetle and a British roadster, then look closely at their headlights. The surrounding bodies could hardly be more different. The glass c

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Automatic Shifters Once Put Reverse Beside Low. PRND Helped End the Confusion

A driver can move between unfamiliar modern cars and still understand the transmission selector within seconds. Park sits at one end, followed by Reverse, Neutral and Drive. Lower ranges, manual modes

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A Fight Over European Chicken Created the Subaru BRAT’s Strangest Feature

The Subaru BRAT had a cargo bed, a tailgate and the general proportions of a very small pickup truck. American versions also arrived with two plastic seats bolted into the bed, facing backward and exp

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Whitewall Tires Started as a Manufacturing Compromise. Then They Became a Status Symbol

Whitewall tires have become visual shorthand for a particular kind of motoring glamour. Put them on a long Cadillac with chrome bumpers, tailfins and enough hood to host a family picnic, and the pi

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America Chose the Right Side of the Road Before Cars Even Existed

The United States was already keeping right long before anyone had an engine, a steering wheel, or an argument about who had the right of way at a four-way stop. The habit began with horses

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Car News
Rare 1965 Ford Mustang Joins The National Historic Vehicle Register

Millions of Mustangs have been built since 1964, but this Wimbledon White convertible has a story few can match. The 1965 Ford Mustang has become only the 38th vehicle added to the National Historic V

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The Ford Deuce Coupe Gave Rock Music One of Its Most Famous Misheard Lyrics

Some misheard lyrics just become part of civilization. Nobody even argues about them anymore. They just live there forever, lodged in pop culture, passed from one generation to the next like a

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