Changing a car battery used to be one of the cleaner bargains in home mechanics. Remove two terminals, undo the clamp, lift out the old battery and fit the new one. The clock might need resetting a
One tire wanders across the painted line and the previously quiet cabin erupts with a harsh mechanical growl. The steering wheel trembles, the seat vibrates and, for half a second, it feels as if some
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.
The old battery has been replaced, the engine starts with renewed enthusiasm and the dashboard clock has been corrected. Then the driver’s window develops amnesia. It still moves when the swi
A car left in the afternoon sun does not need long to turn into a small greenhouse. The steering wheel becomes unpleasant to touch, the seats feel freshly ironed and the dashboard claims it is 104 deg
Automatic stop-start has a peculiar talent for irritating drivers both when it works and when it does not. At one traffic light, the engine shuts down the moment the car stops. At the next, it keep
It is a cold morning. The windshield is cloudy, the cabin feels like a refrigerator, and the defrost button has just been pressed with all the optimism available before coffee. Then the A/C light come
A used car with gleaming paint, freshly shampooed carpets, and half a dozen pine-scented air fresheners may look beautifully prepared for sale. Or it may be trying much too hard. Flood-damaged
There was a time when changing the temperature in a car took half a second. You reached down, turned a knob, and somehow civilization survived. Now, in some cars, the same job feels like openin
Used-car listings make everything sound cleaner than it really is. The trim is right there. The features are listed. The price looks more or less in line with the other cars you have been watching