Ray Magliozzi
Click or Clack
Shift in Buyer Preferences Limits Manual Transmission Options
Are there any mid-sized sedans that are still available with a manual transmission? The last one I drove was a Saab 9000. If so, could you recommend a ...
Spilling the Tea on an Irreproducible Experiment
Reader takes his tea for a ride around town and is surprised to see it survived the trip.
Modern Engines Work Differently
Since the computer and its associated sensors constantly maintain the optimum fuel/air mixture, it seems that a dirty air filter (within reason) would ...
Reliability isn't Everything
You also might tell your son this: Reliability isn’t everything. There’s also fun. And cute. And the image of adventure. And being in love with your c ...
Reader Is on the Right Track
Normally a fuse blows when an electrical device is drawing too much current. The whole purpose of the fuse is to sacrifice itself and cut off the powe ...
Why All the Boring Car Colors?
A casual look at traffic shows you that almost all cars are either gray, black or white — with a few red sprinkled in. OK, some people call their gray ...
Reader Is Thwarted by Modern Fuel System Design
Have the engineers at Dodge done something to prevent people from getting a hose all the way in the gas tank? Are they trying to thwart young sons’ ab ...
The Fast Lane Isn't for Cruising
The left lane is traditionally for passing, not cruising. If you want to bop along at 53 miles per hour, you should be using the right lane, or the ce ...
Timing Belt: Rubber vs. Chain
The reason car makers switched from chains to rubber timings decades ago is because they’re cheap, lightweight and simple. Obviously, a rubber belt we ...
Don't Give up on Your Car
I’m losing sleep over my reliable 2012 Chrysler 200 and its gas mileage. It’s got more than 80,000 miles on it, and usually gets between 20 and 23 mil ...
This Truck's a Lemon
Without mentioning any yellow fruit, maybe we just got a bad truck. But keep in mind the service writer said three of these items were normal and not ...
Mind Boggling Wiring Diagrams
What in the world do the wiring diagrams look like now? My mind is boggled just imagining it.
We Might Need a Nobel Laureate to Solve This Problem
When your tire's circumference gets smaller due to wear (or due to compression from excess weight in the car, or other reasons), you travel less dista ...
This Reader Is Getting Warmer
I've got a 2009 Toyota Venza. The right front likes to vibrate a lot. I've tried a lot of things over the years. Shops can't figure it out. Can you ...
Belt and Hoses Might Need Replacing
My question: Since the tires might have needed to be replaced due to age and not mileage, what about the belts and hoses in my engine? Is there a way ...
