Jesse Singer articles

Your car was parked. You were somewhere else. Then somebody hit it, and somehow your insurance bill became the next thing taking a hit. You weren’t speeding, distracted, or even driving. So before you accept that higher price, there’s something your insurer needs to explain.

They filled driveways, crowded supermarket parking lots, and appeared in commercials between your favorite TV shows. Some sold so well that imagining American roads without them would’ve sounded ridiculous. Now mention their names to a younger driver and you might get the same reaction as someone explaining an eight-track player.

The car gets used once a week, starts when it’s supposed to, and seems perfectly happy in the driveway. Then comes the warning: Drive it every day or you’ll ruin it. Nobody wants an expensive repair bill. But is taking that advice actually helping?

They look incredible. You’d love to own one. But before you picture yourself behind the wheel, take a look at your driveway. These cars sit so close to the pavement that getting home could be more nerve-racking than driving them.

You’ve seen them in person or, if not, you recognize them from old movies, vintage ads, and photos from car shows. One look and you know you know the car—but could you actually name the car without looking at the badge? Let’s see how many come back to you.

You’ve changed your own winter tires for years without thinking much about it. Then your insurance company says that doing the job yourself could leave you without coverage. Since when does saving a trip to the mechanic come with a warning like that?

Everybody remembers the Ford F-100 and Chevrolet C10. But the 1970s were packed with plenty of other trucks that didn’t leave the same kind of marks in our collective automotive memories. Do you remember even five of these?

Imagine someone handed you the keys to Jay Leno’s entire car collection. Every classic, every supercar, every strange old machine you’d need him to explain before you could start it. What would it cost to make the whole thing yours? Go on, pick a number...

Some were clever. Some were a nuisance. And a few disappeared so quietly that you may have forgotten they ever existed until you see one again. How many of these do you remember using?