Author: staff@jalopnik.com (Chino Ortiz)
zoff/Shutterstock You are halfway through cleansing your automobile, spot a smudge on the dash, and reach for that trusty blue bottle of window cleaner. A couple of spritzes, a fast wipe, and done -– except you have just began a slow chemical war against your individual dashboard. Most business glass cleaners like Windex are loaded with ammonia, alcohol, and solvents — components which might be perfectly wonderful for glass but a nightmare for interior plastics, leather, and vinyl. Ammonia, specifically, is brutal. It breaks down the protective coatings on leather and leatherette (yeah, the fake one). Over time, the dash…
DaniiGrylls/Shutterstock For many drivers, the rear defroster button is an afterthought. You jab it on cold mornings, watch the frost melt into streaky rivulets, after which ignore it until the subsequent weather event. Defrosting is one essential rule you have to follow for winter driving. But those faint, copper-colored lines across your back glass are doing way over just banishing condensation. They’re a part of a clever little bit of physics and engineering baked right into your automotive’s rear window. Unlike the front defroster, which blows warm HVAC air across the windshield, the rear defroster relies on electricity. Thin strips,…
Siwakorn1933/Shutterstock You are driving a loaded diesel rig down a mountain pass, foot hovering over the brake pedal, heart racing. How do you slow 20,000 kilos safely without cooking your brakes? Cue the exhaust brake -– the unsung hero of diesel descents. Consider it like this — an exhaust brake slows the truck by trapping exhaust gases, forcing the engine to work against back pressure. That resistance helps decelerate the vehicle, easing the load in your regular brakes, turning the engine into its own air-powered anchor. This is not guesswork – back pressure during exhaust braking can reach as much as 60…