How did a Mercedes taxi reach 4.6 million kilometres? Gregorios Sachinidis kept his 1976 Mercedes-Benz 240 D working in Thessaloniki for decades. Its recorded distance came with substantial mechanical
Topping up the washer tank ought to be one of the least complicated jobs a car can demand. Open the bonnet, find the right cap, pour. There is no good reason for it to become an ongoing conversation w
A retired police car can make an ordinary used-car listing look expensive. There is plenty of room, a purposeful set of steel wheels and the promise of hardware built for a harder life than the school
A freshly washed car can reveal things its owner had never noticed. Park it near a window or a row of straight lights, look along the side, and the reflection begins to wobble. The paint is glossy,
A vehicle identification number has the charm of a password printed by a malfunctioning office computer. It is long, awkward to recite and generally ignored until an insurer, parts supplier or registr
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 woodgrain paneling on an old station wagon rarely fools anyone. Even when new, the printed vinyl was not likely to be mistaken for hand-finished mahogany. It was wood in the same way a kitchen
Lower the front window in most cars and the glass disappears neatly inside the door. Try the same thing from the rear seat and several inches may remain stubbornly visible. The motor stops. The swi
Automotive fashion has produced few ideas quite as curious as taking a finished steel roof, covering it in textured plastic and charging the customer extra. For several decades, buyers did exactly tha
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