Tag: jalopnik.com

You wouldn’t have to think about the 3% rule when replacing tires of the same size. But if you’re looking to upsize on new wheels or downsize when buying the best winter tires, the rule applies. An industry standard for tire replacements, the 3% rule states that new tires should never be 3% larger or…

In my car-selling days, we had a mix of buyers at the dealership. Some paid cash, but more financed their purchases. There was leasing, too, but that’s another story. Taking out a loan is logical because not everyone can pay for a five-figure purchase out of pocket. Still, many of my customers felt comfortable writing…

A niche automaker focused predominantly on the production of cost-effective, durable taxicabs, the Checker Motors Corporation was best known for now-iconic models such as the Marathon. The Marathon changed very little during its time in production, and became an internationally recognized symbol of American urban transport, much like the later Crown Victoria. Having kicked off…

Should you trust an old car? That question will always net a wild array of different answers. Some will throw out that all-time favorite, “they don’t make them like they used to”, usually followed by a monologue of how unreliable new sensor-crazed cars are. Okay, there is some truth to that, but let’s just place…

Despite gasoline and diesel fuels both being used for internal combustion, they’re different enough that they require entirely different engines. You can’t pull up to the pump in a diesel pickup and fill it with regular just because gas prices aren’t as bad; big repair bills can follow if you do. However, folks in lab coats love…

If you’ve been paying attention, you will have noticed that automakers don’t really build cars for every tax bracket anymore. If you’re not at least upper-middle class, you probably can’t afford a new car. It’s way easier for a company to make profit margins selling those higher-priced cars, so they don’t even bother building high-volume,…

In a span of just eight days, Florida native Dunia Sierra drove home in 10 of the most random, newly purchased, financed cars. Some were exciting, expensive cars, like a 2023 Corvette Stingray, while others were normie cars, like a 2023 Toyota Highlander. But Sierra didn’t just buy a bunch of cool cars in under two…

When Rudolf Diesel (yes, really) first conceived of a design for a sparkplugless engine that used heat and compression to ignite fuel in each cylinder, he was chasing a theoretical design premise meant to chase maximum efficiency. Diesel motors do accomplish this, with their denser, slower-burning fuel contributing to significant mileage gains compared to gasoline…

We hate to break it to you, but there’s no such thing as a “lifetime” transmission filter. This also applies to the automatic transmission fluid (ATF) or continuously variable transmission (CVT) fluid, since no oil or lubricant is immune to degradation or wear. The farthest we’ve been so far is synthetic lubricants, which are mainly…

Head Florida Man Governor Ron DeSantis announced the sunshiniest State’s plans to keep itself at the forefront of aerospace and aviation, despite NASA doing a pretty good job of that lately, by going all-in on VTOLs (Vertical Take-Off and Landing aircraft). Ok, it’s not all-in on the VTOLs per se, but Monday, DeSantis signed Florida…