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I rode a bicycle 3000 miles around Europe in the 1970s. My face would turn black from the diesel soot after a long day on busy roads. Someone I know said she stopped walking to school in London after seeing how sooty her clothes became. Europe was well behind the US in cleaning up fuels and...

When discussing batteries I think of all the times mine have died and all the times I have helped someone else with a jump.

Lots of ugly vehicles on the road today. Not an overall fan of Tesla, but they have the best front ends in the EV business.

What I hate to see are people doing something stupid, and often if you try to inform them, no matter how politely, they get angry. I have found it is very difficult to help people avoid problems because of this. Example 1 is a likely looking parking spot near our house that is a poorly marked No...

Lots of people in France and in Europe live in apartments and probably would have a more difficult time charging, just like here. Overall I think in Europe around 50% live in multifamily dwellings.

It may be too obvious to mention but when I do oil changes in my driveway I slide a plastic tarp under the car to catch any drips or splashes. I've also switched from using one of those squarish oil drain containers where one side is a shallow catchment area to just a deep round oil drain tub...

And it matters a lot where you live in each state. Coastal southern Maine tends to be warmer than inland northern Maine. But, the point remains that extreme cold in any state is bad for EV range and must be taken into consideration. Plus you've gotta heat the car or you freeze, use more...

Unfortunately, the generation generalizations being made are mostly insults based on vibes, not science.

Arbitrary categorization of generations under titles like Gen X and Boomers has promoted a lot of bad thinking. Study some history and you will find older people were always complaining about what younger people were doing, and vice versa. I suspect our increased longevity has exacerbated things...

I think we are all vulnerable to making sweeping pronouncements based on our own experience. We see something and extrapolate that to being a universal truth. For example, we just had a rather cold and wet spring here, but that doesn't mean the world is getting colder or wetter! My experience is...

It surprises me that some BITOG members try to max out their battery life. Do you do the same with your tires? Or your engine oil and filter? I look at the battery like every other maintenance item--I like to change it before it's broken.

I'm an expert in another field. Written books on the subject. Numerous presentations. I worked in the business for decades. Etc. I hardly ever go to a social media forum on the subject because it is just constant bickering over the stupidest stuff that has been solved. Sure, new things come...

Another situation you can encounter is no cell service, which cuts off all your apps. Can you pay with a credit card?

One huge factor for me is how much cost and hassle would it be to set up a level 2 charger at home. Our 1870 house has limited electric service and funky wiring. An electrician I had here ballparked it at $5-10K to upgrade us enough so we could run an electric stove. Plus, we may move within a...

A further aspect of this is it is really hard to dislodge long-held beliefs lodged there by authoritative figures. Witness the endless arguments here about OCIs or oil specs. I had an elderly relative who refused to wear a seatbelt because she had heard stories about people trapped in cars. Well...

Another aspect of this is denying you were wrong when shown the evidence, or experiencing the consequences!

My pet theory, which is just a theory, is we are hardwired to remember solutions to survival problems: eat this, not that; avoid that animal; watch for these weather signs; etc. But the modern world presents us with many problems that are not able to be solved on our own without research...

"Some older stock made in China CQP including the 84356 used a nitrile P type sealing gasket." My made in China ones have red P type gaskets, and they sure feel like silicone to me.

Will a CVT go 200-300K, assuming routine maintenance? And how much is that maintenance?

With a modern car you don't want an iffy battery. Too many computer controlled things rely on a.steady and correct voltage. Plus, our computer controlled engines are so good at starting that a battery can fire up the car one day, and not the next. Happened to a friend recently on a Cooper with a...