Power Cruiser Motorcyles: PM Road Test
The Night Rod is the rock star of this group. It's mean and menacing and it made us feel cool just standing next to it. Its intoxicatingly techy baritone V-twin growl and seamless acceleration curve come courtesy of engine design help from ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Top 5 New Pickup Trucks: Comparison Test
Few vehicles are so perfect for so many Americans as the full-size pickup. That's why these big haulers have perennially been our nation's best-selling vehicles. But now the creators of this quintessentially American icon - Ford, General Motors ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
What Do You Know About Plug-in Hybrids?
Photograph by Dan Saelinger Published on: April 10, 2007 [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Bring Back Our Knobs: Analog vs. Digital
Sometimes you just want to reach out and touch something. But product designers don't always want to let you. Not so long ago, if I wanted to adjust the heat in my car, or the volume on my car radio, I could grab a nice, simple knob. Turn it to ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Is Your Car Smarter Than You Are?
Early in December 2005, Debbi Dixon was running late for dinner, so the medical lab technician pushed her 2004 Subaru Outback a little harder than normal down Swanee Bean Road. "It was already winter here in Thetford, Vt.," she says, "and [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
What's That Wobble? Popular Mechanics Auto Diagnosis
Cars, like animals, can communicate with people when something's wrong. Often it's through a really annoying, odd noise. Sometimes, though, it's a feeling - perhaps a subtle one. But if there's a worn or unbalanced component, the most ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
What's That Sound? Listen To Your Car
At low speeds, especially in the morning. Speeds up with car. Flat-spotted tire. As the tire rotates the flat spot thumps on the ground. Nylon-cord tires will flat-spot overnight and make this sound until they warm up. It's usually worse in ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Auto Diagnosis - What's That Smell?
After the engine has warmed or possibly even after it's shut off for a few minutes. Coolant containing sweet-smelling (but toxic) ethylene glycol is leaking from somewhere. It could be coming from a radiator or heater hose, a failed intake ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
PODCAST: Man Vs. Machine
Is your car smarter than you? We'll test three computer-assisted vehicles against three carbon-based drivers to see if ABS, yaw control and throttle-by-wire can out-drive our experts. Plus: It's hard out there for a nerd. We'll check in with ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
It Can Tear You Apart
I'm trying to replace the engine in my car with a used one because I can't afford to have the old one rebuilt. I have the new (old) engine in my garage, and it still has all the fuel-injection hoses and stuff. This is probably easy--but how do ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
The Heat Is On
My battery failed after four years, which I thought was a little too soon. The repair shop that installed it thought the same, so they replaced the battery with a somewhat larger one, the biggest they could get to fit into the battery tray. They ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Saturday Mechanic: Changing Gear Lube
You can't complain about the years of service your old 4x4 pickup has put in. It has done yeoman duty, day in and day out. In return, you've been more than happy to do much of its maintenance yourself. Now, perusing the lubrication schedule in ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
