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 remarkably low odometer reading has a way of making every other detail fade into the background. The paint may be dull, the tires may look suspiciously old and the service book may contain a de
The charging session is complete. The battery has enough range, the dashboard looks satisfied and everyone is ready to leave. The plug, unfortunately, has made other plans. Pressing its rele
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
The emergency jack in a car’s trunk rarely inspires confidence. It is narrow, awkward and usually accompanied by a handle that looks as though it escaped from flat-pack furniture. Then ther
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
A car can sit unused for several days without concern. Stretch that pause into several weeks, however, and the first signs of neglect may begin to appear. The battery loses charge, the tires remai
BMW and reliability have had a weird relationship for a long time. There was a stretch where people talked about older BMWs like they were carved out of granite. The straight-sixes had a reputa
Everybody blames winter when a car battery dies. The freezing morning. The weak crank. The sad little clicking noise that instantly ruins your day before coffee. People act like cold weather pe
Headlines about electric vehicle owner satisfaction and failure rates certainly catch our eye sending us into a research frenzy about what cars are actually the most reliable and not just glazed in hi