Car Questions (Page 45)

The simple answer to why drivers sit in traffic jams so frequently is we all want to use the same piece of interstate at the same time causing the demand for space on the freeway to exceed the capacity. Given this, there are forces at work that can be explained by human nature and an analogy drawing upon particle motion.

Thanks to a unique plug-in product called CarCheckup, you now have access to all that on-board diagnostics (OBD) data that was once available only to professional mechanics, but with the added benefit of recording trip information.

Currently, the national news is reporting regular gasoline at $3.75 a gallon in California. Moammar Khadafy, who has been driven daffy by gargantuan oil wealth (and maybe all those “virgin” bodyguards), is a big question mark in the Middle East causing gas prices to become volatile.

The rising price of gas has resurrected a common miscreant from the oil embargo of the 1970s: gasoline thieves who drain gas tanks but the modern thieves are drilling holes in tanks to steal fuel.

The Petroleum Quality Institute of America is out with advice on what is the worst oil to put in your engine and it might surprise you where you can buy it.

One auto recall is bad enough, but four in two years is a bit much for any auto owner. So, you get a little experience with handling the process.

Have you ever waited for AAA to show up to help you change your tire only to watch them and think that it is easier than you thought. There were even some flat tires in today's Rolex 24 at Daytona and these drivers fix it literally withing seconds.

Auto journalists and designers too often speak in terms that they assume the public understands.