Few automotive features can make a parked car look as alive as pop-up headlights. Turn the switch and two neat sections of bodywork rise from the hood, pause with theatrical precision and reveal the l
One tire wanders across the painted line and the previously quiet cabin erupts with a harsh mechanical growl. The steering wheel trembles, the seat vibrates and, for half a second, it feels as if some
Start certain cars in front of a garage wall and the headlights put on a brief performance. The beams drop, rise and settle. Some sweep sideways too, giving the impression that the car has opened i
Wash a car in the evening and look through its wheels the next morning. The brake rotors may have turned bright orange. The change can happen quickly enough to feel impossible. The discs looked cle
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
What would the man who designed the Tesla Model S do with the very first example of its final edition? In Franz von Holzhausen’s case, the answer is simple: protect it and leave the design alone
There is something reassuring about keeping an emergency window hammer in the car. It sits in the center console or door pocket, looking wonderfully uncomplicated. If the car ever ends up in water, ca
Opening a car’s hood is oddly ceremonial. First comes the lever beneath the dashboard, usually hidden low enough to require an undignified search around the driver’s footwell. The hood
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
Few things make a car owner question reality quite like finding every window open in the morning. The doors are still locked. Nothing appears to be missing. There is no broken glass, no damaged wea