The brake pedal is down. The engine may even be running. Yet the gear lever remains planted in Park with the determination of a fence post. Pulling harder rarely improves the situation. It can, how
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
Shift an automatic car into Drive, release the brake and it begins moving without a touch of the accelerator. The movement is usually gentle. Just enough to edge forward in traffic, ease into a par
A parked car should understand the concept of being parked. The engine is off. The keys are inside the house. The garage has been quiet for hours. Then something beneath the car begins to hu
Neutral has a reassuring name. It sounds harmless, disconnected and mechanically impartial. Put the selector in N, release the parking brake and the car can roll. Surely that means it can also be towe
Luxury SUVs have become as much about the passengers as the person behind the wheel, and BMW's latest China-exclusive X5 L reflects that shift. Unveiled less than a month after the standard X5,
A dead battery is annoying in any parking space. It becomes considerably more awkward when the car is nose-first inside a garage and the tow truck needs it in Neutral. The brake pedal feels normal.
Park, Reverse, Neutral and Drive need little introduction. Then there is B. It sits on the shifter of many hybrids looking important but refusing to explain itself. Battery seems like the obvious
Park on a slope, move the shifter to P, take a foot off the brake, and most automatic cars will perform a small, familiar shuffle. The body rolls a fraction of an inch, stops with a muted clunk, then
There is a reason car ads suddenly get louder around the Fourth of July. Summer is usually one of those weird in-between stretches for car sales. Spring tax-refund buyers have already made