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
Long before a crash-test dummy sat behind the wheel of a family sedan, one was strapped into an aircraft ejection seat. Its assignment involved rocket sleds, aviation helmets and the violent forc
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
A concrete barrier beside a highway looks like one of the least forgiving objects a car could encounter. It is heavy, rigid and often positioned only a few feet from traffic moving at serious speed.
A third brake light is remarkably easy to ignore. It sits in the rear window or above the tailgate, performs one job and receives considerably less attention than the lamps surrounding it. That ano
A seat belt can work perfectly all week, then refuse to move on the one morning when the car happens to be parked nose-down on a steep driveway. Pull gently and nothing happens. Give it a firmer tu
So, can you legally drive without a rearview mirror? The slightly irritating answer is: maybe. That is not very satisfying, but it is the truth. In the U.S., mirror laws are not perfectly iden
There are plenty of things inside a trunk that nobody pays much attention to. A jack that has never left its plastic tray. A spare wheel that may or may not contain air. A collection of reusable shopp
The tires are new, the wheels are back on and the invoice is folded into the glovebox. Before handing over the keys, the technician mentions one final detail: come back after a short period of driving
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