Author: staff@jalopnik.com (Jason Marker)
In 2003, Chrysler reintroduced the legendary Hemi engine to American automotive buyers after a decades-long hiatus. The primary of the “third generation” Hemis was the 5.7-liter, gas-powered, 90-degree, pushrod V8 that replaced the older 5.9-liter Magnum V8 in 2003 Dodge Ram pickups. This recent hemi was a clean sheet design with a forged iron block, four-bolt essential bearings, forged con rods, and light-weight aluminum pistons. The heads were aluminum cross-flow units with two valves and two spark plugs for every cylinder. It was, for the time, a particularly efficient, high-tech, and powerful mill. From the Ram, where it was the…
Every auto parts store in America has a wall of engine and transmission additives that, regardless of what’s actually in them, guarantees to repair or rebuild some component or system that needs actual, mechanical work. There’s some sort of tincture for nearly every problem, from leaking radiators to worn valve seals to slipping transmissions, and nearly all of them are auto parts store products to keep away from. Give it some thought, if you happen to could really, truly fix your automotive with a $10 bottle of goop out of your local AutoZone, how would skilled mechanics stay in business?…
Muanpare Wanpen/Shutterstock For many drivers, a vehicle’s automatic transmission — essentially the most common form of transmission nowadays, more’s the pity — has three settings: Drive, Park, and Reverse. Most automatic transmissions, nevertheless, can do rather more than simply go forward, go backwards, and stop your automobile from rolling into traffic. Some have lower gears you may shift into. Other, fancier transmissions have things like adjustable shift points or a hybrid “manumatic” clutchless shifting setting. And all of them, from the only old-school Turbo 350 to essentially the most advanced modern auto, share the identical useful setting: Neutral. Putting a…
JoshBryan/Shutterstock As a baby of the Nineteen Eighties who got here of age within the early ’90s, pop-up headlights are, in my mind, the height of automotive cool. All of the raddest, most interesting cars of my childhood — Lamborghinis, Starions, Trans-Ams, Fieros — had pop-ups. Heck, even mom cars like Honda Accords had ’em. I once even had the pleasure of owning a automobile with flip-up headlights, my 1990 Dodge Daytona. Unfortunately, you only don’t see pop-up headlights anymore, which is an actual bummer. Why, though? Why don’t cars have flip-up headlights anymore? Is it forgotten knowledge? Nah. Is it a…
