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
In 1974, a shipment of 1,000 boxy Swedish sedans arrived in North Korea. The cars were Volvo 144 GLs, sensible four-door machines known for sturdy construction, generous interior space and all the
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
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
Select Reverse, walk behind the car and one white lamp comes on. The other stays dark. The rear light clusters look symmetrical. Both contain clear and red sections. Surely one bulb has fail
They run around the edge of almost every modern windshield: a solid black border that gradually breaks into smaller and smaller dots before disappearing into clear glass. Most drivers have stared t
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 average check engine light repair cost in the US just hit a record $554. That is up 33 percent in a single year, and it is the kind of number that should make every car owner pay attention. The
Picture this. It's pushing 95 degrees in the grocery store parking lot, your arms are full of bags that are already sweating through the paper, and your key fob picks today to give up. You jab the
Most former auto executives disappear into boardrooms or consulting jobs after leaving the industry. Herbert Diess decided to start building electric tractors instead. A few years after being pus