Advances in auto technology reflect welcome improvements in the cars and trucks we drive. Other than only exception I can think of, the short-lived seat belt interlock system of 1974, technological improvements have made automobiles safer, longer lasting and more convenient to operate with each…
The questions and comments readers send me regularly accumulate. Following are a few thoughts on some of the current buildup. Reader M.B. recently relayed one of her her driving annoyances, writing, “Drivers that make turns over double yellow lines. I don’t mind when there is…
Nothing reveals a car’s assets and liabilities like a six-day, 2,300-mile road trip. Fortunately, the pluses outweighed the minuses by a wide margin when we subjected the Volkswagen’s new Alltrack wagon to that acid test. On a Thursday afternoon in June, we packed our tester...
I regularly hear drivers complain that law enforcement is too lax in observing and citing certain violations. Improper turns, speeding, following too closely, or domination of the left lane are errors that we all see all too often. But rather than resulting from lack of…
Generally speaking, people buy trucks to move stuff from one place to another. Could be a boat, a travel trailer or a load for the dump. As a rule of thumb, pickups are available in four categories; compact, midsize; full-size (or light-duty); and heavy-duty. Light-duty…
Statistics reflect increased traffic deaths during the summer months. The heightened peril applies to all drivers, but especially those in their teens. For those drivers, crashes typically jump nearly 20 percent over the norm during June, July and August. One factor driving the spike is…
Automobiles powered with electricity have “sparked” interest since the middle of the 19th century. There were quite a few practical models appearing by the end of the 1800s, including a fleet of taxis roaming the streets of London in 1897 and operating in New York…
Little-known fact: In 1909, the Italian automaker Fiat began building luxury cars at a plant in Poughkeepsie, New York. Eight years later, with the outbreak of World War I, the company pulled out of the US and didn’t return until the 1950s, when it introduced…
It’s one thing to come up with a great automotive design and another to evolve it to serve a larger purpose. Does anyone believe Jaguar improved the ridiculously beautiful XK-E with the chubby 2+2 coupe? Or that the British Motor Corp. improved the MGB when...
Let’s say we were asked to pick an Official Car for the Inland Northwest. We’d want something sturdy and reliable. Something that would soldier through a rugged winter. And to handle the demands of our outdoorsy lifestyles. We’d want it to be comfortable, of course,…
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