"They can make up anything!" Seinfeld's George Costanza famously said of mechanics. "Nobody knows! By the way, you need a new Johnson rod in there."

The Texas state legislature is considering a law that would let drivers crank it up to 85 mph in some rural stretches of highway. But if drivers care about how much money they are spending at the gas pump, they will stay in the right lane and below the limit.

It's hard to imagine, but once upon a time, a 1946 Packard, '57 Chevy or a '68 Ford Falcon didn't cause a major stir on the highway any more than a Honda Accord, Audi A4 or a Dodge Ram would today.

All motorists need to be careful on the highway to avoid becoming victims of crimes while driving; crimes that include carjacking, sexual assault, robbery and worse. The following are some tips to help keep you safe while getting from here to there.

If you're planning a trip to the New York City any time soon and want to keep safe as you make your way about, you couldn't do better than riding with NYC Transit bus operator Michael Sanua, who's been transporting New Yorkers and tourists through rain, snow, sleet and traffic since 1988 without a single smash-up.

Unrestrained pets cause more than 30,000 accidents annually, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA), and the Travel Industry Association of America says 29 million Americans have traveled with a pet on a trip of 50 miles or more in the past five years. With those kinds of numbers, it's important to remember that pets have special needs on the road.

Eddie Hagan was driving down a rural road near his suburban home, behind the wheel of his Honda Civic. It was just after six in the morning and he was on his way to work. It was just like any other day -- until it wasn't.

It's not news that Americans' waistlines are much bigger than they used to be, and what should or should not be done about it remains a continual subject of debate. But in the meantime, extra-large Americans get up and go to work like anyone else and they need vehicles to get them there and back. Is the auto industry paying attention?

California resident Victor Murillo was recently awakened at 3:00 in the morning by a loud metallic thud outside his apartment window. Thinking the sound was made by a garbage truck, he rolled over and went back to sleep. But when he emerged from his apartment to go to work and started up his Toyota Tacoma, the engine sounded like a small volcano erupting. The din was loud enough to wake a neighbor, and while Murillo shut off the truck and wondered what could possibly be making so much racket, th

For most people, witnessing a highway crash means stopping what they're doing and assisting however way they can, whether that means calling authorities, helping to push disabled vehicles off the road, warning and diverting oncoming traffic, or providing lifesaving measures.

Vehicle fires are one of the scariest things that can happen on the road – and they happen more often than you think. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) says 33 car fires are reported every hour in the U.S., and 18 percent of all reported fires occur on a road or highway and involve a motor vehicle. One person per day died in a car fire incident between 2003 and 2005, and in 2007 there were 258,000 vehicle fires causing 385 deaths, 1,675 inju

New York City is known as the city that never sleeps, but a lot of us don’t sleep because there’s a guy leaning on the horn of his car on the street below our windows. It doesn't matter if it's 3:00 AM or that your next-door neighbors have infants, or that there are enormous signs posted reading, "Don't Honk: $350 Fine." For many drivers in New York and other crowded urban American are

For most, the sight of a hearse elicits an immediate feeling of sobriety, respect, and even dread. For others, however, hearses have a beauty that should be embraced and cherished. And then there are those hearse fanatics who are drawn to the vehicles’ macabre charm. “You have to look past their original somber funereal purpose to what lies beneath,” writes Sandra Mitchell, who r

P.T. Barnum said "There's a sucker born every minute," before the dawn of mass-produced automobiles, but peddlers of bogus mileage-enhancers and proponents of unnecessary auto maintenance procedures are carrying on Barnum's tradition. Everything from magnets to vortex generators to water injectors and useless "ectoplasm traps" are hawked in the marketplace, and

It’s a full house on Saturday night at the Hyde Park Drive-In in Poughkeepsie, New York. That makes owner Barry Horowitz happy. His family has owned and operated the drive-in theater since 1950. “We’re surviving, and that’s a good thing,” he says, echoing the mantra of today’s economy. For drive-in owners, it’s particularly acute. Forty years ago, over fou

“How to be a passenger?” you ask. “What’s next, ‘how to put your pants on?’ All a passenger has to do is sit back and enjoy the ride, eat a sandwich, talk on the phone or play air drums, right?” Wrong, actually. Passengers can -- and frequently do -- distract drivers from their task, sometimes with expensive or tragic consequences. But it’s possible,

You'd think a guy with almost 2.8 million miles on his car would want to stay put for a minute. But Guinness Book of World Records holder Irv Gordon, a 70-year-old retired science teacher who bought his 1966 Volvo P1800 new, is aiming to roll his speedometer over to 3 million miles in the next three years. "I got a full tank," he says, as I climb into the passenger seat of the sm

The Pontiac Aztek seemed like a great idea at the time. It was the late ’90s, the American economy was booming, and we were buying Sport Utility Vehicles by the literal millions. By 2000, the light truck category accounted for approximately one third of the 17 million cars bought in the U.S., a ratio that would trend even higher as the decade progressed. The midsized Aztek was a can’t-

Shopping for a new car at an auto dealership is right up there with getting a root canal for many people, largely due to the dread of having to deal with high-pressure salespeople. Most know that whatever flabby protest they come up with in the face of add-ons, options or “Sign Now!” exhortations will be met by expert reasoning, cajoling and pressure. Resistance, for all but the most s

Next to an actual fender bender, the sound of your ride making a direct hit on a pothole is one of the most spine-jolting noises you'll ever hear in your car. But if you think your nervous system is rattled by running your 3,000-pound ride into an enormous road abyss, think about your car's tires, chassis, suspension and rims, all of which can be compromised after a particularly viciou