It has been ages since the days when one needed to change the spark plugs in their car every 20,000 miles. Today’s machines are very different, to the point where most owners have no idea the firing order of the engine that’s powering them down the road. Still, plugs do need to be replaced eventually, even if it is at 100k. Like the recent… Read more

There are some things best enjoyed without filters - Instagram photos, discussions about pay with your boss, and those Camel cigarettes from the '80s. What definitely does require a filter is the oiling system on your car’s engine. We’ve gathered a few of them here. As a programming note, know that for purposes of making a vaguely apples-to-apples comparison in this post, we selected… Read more

To address the demand for electrons, carmakers have been busy stuffing their machines with USB ports and 120V “household” outlets. Not every car gets it right, with some offering up only a single USB port to placate the yowling masses or placing the outlet in a wholly inconvenient location. (more…) Read more

If you tend to skip over our DIY post weeks, perhaps this one will be more to your liking. While not everyone wants or has the space to wrench on their own ride, there’s a solid chance that most gearheads like to have a few cleaning tools on hand. Attacking your car’s wheels with a general use brush isn’t the best of ideas; they… Read more

Wiper blades are the Rodney Dangerfield of automotive parts. Generally ignored and routinely forgotten, they’re a rarely thought of component … until they wear out or fall apart. Then they’re the subject of foul language and rude epithets as they give up the ghost, reduced to tattered strips of rubber serving only to smear bugs across the windshield. (more…) Read more

It’s unfortunate the word ‘creeper’ has a different connotation in the Internet era. Anyone saying “Do you want to see my new creeper?” or “I crushed my old creeper and put it in the dumpster,” will likely receive a visit from the gendarmes in short order. At the very least, the FBI will be watching your texts for a couple of weeks. But we… Read more

Whether it’s a prized collector car or simply your daily beater, twisting the key (or pushing the button) only to come up with a fistful of no-go thanks to a dead battery is a deeply disappointing moment. Who left those devices plugged into the always-on 12V socket again? (more…) Read more

Far beyond the reaches of old-school car bras and hood protectors are these clear paint protection films. Targeted at drivers who give a damn about their car’s paintwork, these options are dandy ways to keep a vehicle’s finish in good shape while not hiding anything under a leather protector. (more…) Read more

Yes, yes – we've talked about this subject and the related topic of ceramic coatings in the past. We promise we’re not repeating ourselves, at least not until we’re safely ensconced in the Old Age Home for Recovering Gearheads. We’ll be in the wing where they keep folks who had an odd affinity for terrible ’90s GM cars, like the Oldsmobile Toronado Troféo. Compared… Read more

Snicker at this topic if you must, but since we’re no longer allowed to let youngsters roll around in the cargo area of a station wagon like a sack of potatoes, the available number of safety items available for parents to buy has multiplied exponentially. Infants are now strapped into rear-facing car seats that essentially become part of the car’s structure when properly installed.… Read more

We've covered mechanic’s sets in the past but, in this updated post, we are going to focus on dedicated socket sets. That means no sets with piece-count padders like Allen keys in an obscure size or that one tool that only serves to remove the Färhfvingenator on your clapped-out Volkswagen. If you disagree with our picks or have a favorite you’d like to add,… Read more

Yeah, it sucks these things exist. But it doesn’t matter what’s in the trailer— boxes of tools, camping equipment, or a Hemi ‘Cuda — it all makes a tempting target for the criminal element. This goes for camping trailers, too. A retailer near your author’s hometown has to deal with loss prevention more often than anyone would care to admit. After all, in most… Read more

Hey, you. Yeah, you with the landfill masquerading as a car. It’s time to clean it up and get organized. Having a spot in which to store all the detritus of daily life is important. It’s even more important to keep it in reach of the ankle biters unless you really like stopping every five minutes to find the juice boxes. Heck, even those… Read more

Hands up if your spouse has ever stood in the with a perplexed look as you applied tire shine to the ride-on lawnmower. Anyone? No? Well, I guess it’s just me and my fanaticism for clean machinery, then. In any case, there’s plenty of room in your arsenal of car care products for a bottle of tire shine. It’s a great topper to an… Read more

You’re on the way home from work, minding your own business, when *bang* that service truck you’ve been following for the last 10 miles flicks up a rock which impacts yer car’s windshield. Great; just great (let's see if I can get the TNG clip timing right this time). https://youtu.be/xXVPCPauiig?t=90 But all is not lost (except for that chip of the windshield that just… Read more