Try as one might to avoid excessive screen time for the kids, there will be times on a family road trip in which backseat urchins can be kept in rapt attention by some sort of tablet. It could be on the way to a far-flung location, after the nth hour of driving, or simply because you need all hands to be quiet or I’m…
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Try as one might to avoid excessive screen time for the kids, there will be times on a family road trip in which backseat urchins can be kept in rapt attention by some sort of tablet. It could be on the way to a far-flung location, after the nth hour of driving, or simply because you need all hands to be quiet or I’m…
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In 2019, most new cars and trucks come with a backup camera as standard equipment. Daddy Goverment decreed the rearward lens to be standard safety equipment about a year ago, with the effort pushing for this law gaining steam in the early 2000’s after a tragic driveway accident. Having more visibility astern is never a bad thing. (more…)
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This is a slightly difficult list since virtually every vehicle on the road takes a different type of fuel filter. Unless you're driving a GM product from the '90s; experience shows they all used roughly the same one from about 1990 until about 2008. Also, know that there typically aren't service intervals for the replacement of these things - generally, when they go bad,…
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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…)
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You’ve seen plenty of vehicles with completely nuked dashboards in Murilee’s Junkyard Find series. After a lifetime of baking in the sun, these cars end up with cratered and cracked interiors that resemble the moon’s surface. It’s not pretty. (more…)
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Amazon’s highly-anticipated annual shopping event, Amazon Prime Day, is finally here. Amazon Prime Day starts today, July 12th, and runs through tomorrow, July 13th. Consider it an early version of Black Friday or Cyber Monday, or just a way to score a really good deal. As always, this year's Amazon Prime Day marks a chance to get amazing, killer deals on the things you…
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There are some unassailable truths ingrained in the minds of most gearheads: the check engine light will illuminate just after you catch up on all your bills, fuel prices will rise before a long weekend, and a clean car runs better. (more…)
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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…
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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…)
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There's a marked difference between having to wash a car and wanting to wash a car. The former is a chore that is assigned to sullen teens in the wash bays of countless car dealers across the nation. The latter is a task enjoyed by gearheads on a Sunday afternoon. (more…)
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Every single gearhead reading this enjoys a clean car. Whether we take the time to actually remove life’s various and sundry detritus, well, that’s a different story. We all know people whose engine compartments are tidier than their passenger compartments. (more…)
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It's a safe bet that most DIYers are grateful to the wrenching deities for the democratization of LED illumination - especially when talking about work lights. Your author used to toil under cars and in tight spaces with incandescent work lights that heated themselves to approximately the surface of the sun, as I'm sure you all did as well. This invariably led to skin-searing…
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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…)
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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,…
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If you’re doing any sort of DIY work that requires the removal and installation of nuts and bolts, a torque wrench is a great tool to have on hand. This is doubly true if you have a propensity for swapping the wheels and tires of your vehicle. Properly torquing those lug nuts is critical to avoid a potentially calamitous situation. (more…)
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