You do not need a new electric car to reduce your impact. Keeping your current car longer and running it well avoids the emissions of building a new one, and a few habits can cut fuel use by a meaningful margin. Drive more smoothly Driving style has the biggest effect, and it costs nothing. Hard … Read more
Choosing a tow vehicle starts with the trailer, not the car. Know what you will pull, loaded and ready to go, and the rest of the decision follows from a few numbers in the owner’s manual. The numbers that matter A comfortable margin is wise. Many experienced towers aim to stay at around 80 percent … Read more
Car thieves look for easy opportunities: an unlocked door, a key left inside, a car whose model is known to be easy to steal. Making your car a little harder to take than the one next to it is often enough. The basics still work A surprising share of stolen cars are left unlocked or … Read more
Color is usually the last thing people choose, but you will see it every day, and it has some practical effects on cleaning, temperature and resale value. The popular choices White, black, gray and silver account for the large majority of cars on the road in most countries, according to annual reports by paint suppliers … Read more
Fuel is one of the few car costs you can influence every day. Most of the savings come from how you drive, a few from simple maintenance, and almost none from the gadgets sold online. Slow down a little on the highway Speed is the single biggest factor. Above roughly 50 mph, fuel use rises … Read more
A long drive asks more of a car than months of short trips: hours at highway speed, heavy loads, heat or cold, and roads far from your usual mechanic. A check a week before you leave gives you time to fix anything it turns up. A week before If a service is almost due, have … Read more
“Off-road” means very different things to different people. For one driver it is a gravel road to a campsite; for another, a rocky trail that requires locking differentials. Be honest about which kind you will actually do, because real off-road hardware makes a vehicle heavier, thirstier and less comfortable on pavement. What makes a vehicle … Read more
The best time to look for a mechanic is before you need one. When the car has broken down, you take whoever is available; with a little time, you can find someone you trust for years. Start with recommendations Ask friends, neighbors and colleagues who drive similar cars where they go and whether they would … Read more
A clean interior makes every drive more pleasant and helps the car keep its value. Working in the right order saves time: from top to bottom, dry before wet. Before you start Take everything out: rubbish, loose items, child seats and floor mats. It is the step most people skip, and it makes the rest … Read more
City driving is slow, tight and full of stops. A car that is great on an open road can be tiring in town: too wide for narrow streets, hard to see out of, thirsty in traffic. A good city car flips those priorities. Size and visibility Length and turning circle matter more in town than … Read more
