There was a time when getting lost required some commitment. A driver would unfold a road map across the steering wheel, locate two towns that appeared to be printed directly on top of one another, th
The usual explanation sounds perfectly logical. When a car slows down, its weight moves toward the front. The front tires carry more load, so the front brakes provide more of the stopping force. That
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
Park a 1940s Jeep beside a Chevrolet sedan, an early Volkswagen Beetle and a British roadster, then look closely at their headlights. The surrounding bodies could hardly be more different. The glass c
The rear defroster has been running for several minutes. Most of the glass is clear, traffic behind the car has returned to recognizable shapes, yet one narrow stripe of fog remains stretched across t
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
The roof rack looked harmless in the driveway. At 30 mph, it was still harmless. Somewhere around 50, however, the car developed a whistle sharp enough to make every passenger start inspecting the win
The car drifts gently toward the shoulder, and suspicion immediately falls on the alignment. That is understandable. A car should travel where it is pointed, and anything that seems to tug at the s
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
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