MSN Ai

If you hang around car people long enough, you will hear it: automatic car washes will ruin your paint, and only a careful hand wash is truly safe. That warning was not invented out of thin air, but it also is not the whole story in 2026. The real answer depends less on “automatic versus hand wash” and more on what is touching the paint, how clean it is, and how the wash is maintained.

If your brother used your pickup to tow far more than its rated capacity, “no damage was done” is not something you should simply take on faith. Automakers set tow ratings for a reason, and those limits are tied to braking, cooling, structure, tires, axle loads, and drivetrain stress. If the truck was overloaded by a meaningful amount, getting it inspected is the smart move.

If your insurer says adding your teenage son could nearly double your premium, you are not being singled out. That kind of jump is common because insurers usually rate all licensed household drivers, even if one of them only drives occasionally. The big issue is not how often he drives, but the risk profile insurers assign to newly licensed teens.

If your condo board wants EV owners to pay more just to park, even when they are not plugged in, it is reasonable to ask whether that is fair. The short answer is that fairness depends on what the fee is paying for, what your governing documents allow, and what state law says. The biggest mistake owners make is assuming the board can charge whatever it wants just because electric vehicles are involved.

You bought the car, set up the app, and then months or years later a new prompt appears. Accept updated data-sharing terms, or lose some connected features. That feels less like routine paperwork and more like the rules changed after the sale.

Explore Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s hidden race car graveyard, where 80 wrecked NASCAR machines include Juan Pablo Montoya’s jet-dryer car, Danica Patrick’s Kansas Ford, and other infamous relics with remarkable stories.

A dark shadow stretches across the pavement, the road ahead is clear, and suddenly the car hits the brakes hard enough to make your stomach jump. Moments like that can turn a reassuring safety feature into something that feels unnervingly unpredictable. Reports of unexpected braking are real, but so are the crashes these systems prevent, which makes the question of whether modern driver-assistance technology is actually safe more complicated than it first appears.

From choke knobs and mechanical radio presets to cigarette lighters and floor-mounted high-beam switches, discover the obsolete dashboard features younger drivers would barely recognize in today's touchscreen-filled cars.

There are cars you buy because they’re practical, and then there are cars you remember seeing once in a parking lot 50 years ago.

Electric cars can wear tires faster than gas vehicles. Learn why EV weight and instant torque matter, plus simple ways to make your tires last longer.