New windshield wipers can still smear if there is residue on the glass, the blades are the wrong fit or the rubber is not sitting against the windshield properly. Cleaning the glass and checking the i
On some older cars, each headlight wears a wiper blade small enough to look like a toy. It can be an amusing sight now, particularly when one blade has stopped halfway across the lamp. The equipment h
Nothing about the rear of a 1959 Cadillac suggests moderation. Its fins rise above the trunk like extravagant pieces of roadside architecture, edged in chrome and carrying two red taillights shaped li
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
The key has left the ignition. The doors are locked. From beneath the hood comes the unmistakable roar of a large electric fan apparently unaware that the journey ended. Waiting beside the car for
Follow an SUV down a wet highway and its rear end soon develops a familiar gray coating. The bumper gets dirty. The license plate gets dirty. The rear window looks as though someone misted it with mud
Replacing windshield wipers used to be one of those jobs that made everyone feel mechanically competent. Lift the arm. Turn the blade. Unclip it. Spend several minutes questioning the little plasti
BMW and reliability have had a weird relationship for a long time. There was a stretch where people talked about older BMWs like they were carved out of granite. The straight-sixes had a reputa
There's real money to be saved by doing your own car maintenance. Oil changes, air filters, wiper blades, bulbs — these are legitimately easy, and the savings are real. A cabin air filter th
Fifty-three and a half percent. That’s how many roadside breakdowns come down to tires, not engines or mysterious sensors—just rubber that never got a second glance before a family pil