Look down beside the pedals of an older car and you may find a small metal button poking through the carpet. It is easy to mistake for an abandoned starter or some ingenious accessory installed by a p
Drivers spend hours holding the steering wheel without giving much thought to what lies behind it. Remove the trim, switches and wiring, and the basic arrangement appears simple. A shaft carries th
In a conventional car, the relationship between the brake pedal and the brake lights feels reassuringly simple. Press the pedal and the red lamps illuminate. Release it and they go dark. Drivers be
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 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
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
The tires were set perfectly that morning. Then, after a long stretch of highway, the pressure display shows every one of them sitting several pounds higher. Out comes the gauge. Sure enough, the d
Watch the back of two cars at the same intersection and you might notice something odd. The first car hits the brakes, then one of its red brake lights starts flashing. The second car does the
A tire can look almost offensively healthy for its age. The tread grooves are deep. There are no nails in sight. The sidewalls still turn glossy after a wash, and the car has covered so few miles th
Most drivers assume they would know if something serious was wrong with their car. That seems fair. If a vehicle has a safety problem, surely someone would call, email, text, send a giant red enve