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Today's the 40th anniversary of the 15,007,034th Volkswagen Beetle built — the number needed to surpass the former record holder for most produced car — the Model T. It made the Beetle officially the world's best-selling car. As a way to commemorate this event, and because I have a big, obvious soft spot for old Beetles, I made a little video showing you how anyone can draw a Beetle using just two ovals. More »
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If you accidentally lock your keys in the car and don't have your wedge and metal rod handy, you can often unlock the car from the outside using nothing but your shoelace. More »
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Here's the situation: You wake up, dazed, and find yourself floating weightlessly in the cramped confines of a Soyuz orbital module, possibly the victim of a prank by wealthy, well-connected friends — or maybe some espionage plot. Maybe you owe money to some powerful Russians. Who knows — maybe you even planned it. Whatever the reason, you're there, and now you need to take charge of the situation. I'm here to help. Here's how to fly it. More »
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Yesterday, Heather Peters proved one woman can strike a blow against a major automaker when she succeeded in a landmark California case against Honda for making false claims about fuel economy.The key? Take them to small claims court. With her help, we've created this definitive step-by-step guide to how she, like a modern-day David, took on Goliath — and how you can too. More »
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After watching the new They Might Be Giants music video you may have been overcome with an irrepressible urge to go out and make a pink Cadillac hearse monster truck. Here's how to do it. More »
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Recently, keyless starting has become a popular option on many new cars. So why should you be denied the sublime joy of starting a car without a key just because you happen to drive a two-decade-old piece of crap? You shouldn't, that's why. So I'm here to help, as long as you're willing to accept that keyless starting is just a candy-ass version of hotwiring. More »
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The cost of producing expert-looking car videos is decreasing with advances in technology, but it still takes teamwork and some specialized knowledge to make something of near-broadcast quality. Here's how one director did it, with a little tech knowledge and a much littler budget. — Ed. More »
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Let's face it: sooner or later, you're going to get abducted. It's a down economy, there's lots of increasingly desperate unemployed folks, and it's a more dignified way to meet new people than, say, Craigslist personals. So, yes, you'll probably get abducted, but that doesn't mean you have to like it. More »
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Turbocharging is the single most popular method for adding brute power to an engine, but this video shows the manufacturing of a turbocharger is anything but brutal. Instead, the process combines precision machining with ancient methods of metal shaping. More »
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The basic principles of hydraulically-assisted power steering have stayed the same for decades. Even today this Army-produced clip about how a series of pumps and valves help point the wheels is just as relevant and informative as it was for skinny-armed recruits back in the Fifties. More »
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This video, put together by the University of California in the late 1950s, has a straightforward agenda: explain how car crashes and seat belts work, and why wearing the latter helps you survive the former. The message resounds clearly to this day. More »
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The basic principles of automobile internal combustion engines have remained the same for decades. Even today this endearingly goofy clip of gasoline going from tank to exhaust fumes is just as relevant and informative as it was for aspiring moonshine runners in the '30s. More »
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The attention of drivers at the annual 13-hour endurance race at Virginia's International Raceway is constantly split between the track and the delicious scent of smoking meats wafting into their race cars. That's thanks to a crazy competition pitting teams of corner safety workers against each other in a trackside cook-off. More »
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In the immediate postwar era, when automatic transmissions were still somewhat unusual and mysterious, the U.S. Army used its significant training skills to teach the troops about how spinning oil between two sets of paddles can move a truck. More »
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Don't adjust your screen. That is a 2003 Infiniti FX35 splashing through mud on Saline Valley Road, the 78-mile dirt route into Death Valley, "the most desolate wilderness in North America." It's what we did, without dying, last weekend. Here's how. More »
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Google+, the 800-pound search engine gorilla's answer to the 800-pound social media gorilla named Facebook, now has a new type of profile for non-people. They're called "Google+ Pages" and some of your favorite car brands are using 'em — including, now, us. More »
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If you've owned a car for awhile, chances are you've locked your keys inside. You can pay to have a professional break into your car for you, or you can just learn how to do it yourself to save both time and money. More »
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K-PAX Racing's turned an off-the-line Volvo C30 into a world-beating race car in 60 days. Driver Robb Holland's giving us weekly race reports on Project Grocery Getter. This week they rack up their first win. —Ed. More »
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Most car manufacturers state that paper air filters should be changed every year or 15,000 miles, whichever comes first. This is an extremely easy maintenance task that anyone can DIY instead of overpaying the tech at Jiffy Lube. More »
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This morning a young Australian woman had a bomb strapped to her freaking neck in what seems to have been an extortion attempt. Terrifying. Luckily the bomb squad saved the day. But how exactly do they safely kill bombs dead? More »
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You know how the car differential works, right? Well, have you ever wondered how trains take corners, with their wheels connected by solid steel axles? In this clip from the BBC series Fun to Imagine, America’s coolest nuclear physicist and frigideira percussionist Richard Feynman leaves the world of quantum electrodynamics and samba to explain the simple brilliance of train wheels. More »
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Did you know that America's best educational videos actually came from automakers? Like this Chevrolet film from 1937 that provides the best explanation ever for the basic principles behind a car's differential. More »
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A guide on how to survive a plane crash should always begin with the sage advice: "Don't even think about getting on an airplane." Minneapolis native Katie Hearney's 20-step quasi-service piece for The Awl, an artisanal Gawker fan-site, does just that. More »
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Most sports, including Icelandic youth soccer, are televised. Unfortunately, American broadcasters dictate we get 900 hours of NASCAR for every one hour of something we actually want. Here's our guide to watching live sports when the powers-that-be won't let you. More »
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A dynamometer, or "dyno" as they're called by you and I, is a device for measuring force, moment of force (torque), or power. In the automotive world, they're used to precisely calculate the power produced by a vehicle's engine at the wheels. A stand-alone dyno setup can cost more than $50,000. Here's how some guys decided to build their own redneck dyno for just $2,000. More »
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K-PAX Racing's turned an off-the-line Volvo C30 into a world-beating race car in 60 days. Driver Robb Holland's giving us weekly race reports on Project Grocery Getter. Race three: Miller Motorsports Park, a little late. —Ed. More »
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We've already seen "Why did you turn," and now we have "Why did you accelerate?" Why is it suddenly so hard to load cars onto trucks these days? More »
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It's a common conceit in movies that when someone starts shooting, innocent bystanders scatter. Sadly, this new video of two guys hanging in their car during a deadly police shootout in Houston shows some people don't emulate action movies the one time they probably should. More »
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K-PAX Racing's turned an off-the-line Volvo C30 into a world-beating race car in 60 days. Driver Robb Holland's giving us weekly race reports on Project Grocery Getter. Race two: Long Beach. —Ed. More »
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Digital artist Luis Nieves wowed us last week with a rendering of the iconic Ford GT40 in Gulf livery so realistic we said it would make you dream in pixels. More »
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K-PAX Racing's turned an off-the-line Volvo C30 into a world-beating race car in 60 days. Driver Robb Holland's giving us weekly race reports on Project Grocery Getter. First race: St. Petersburg. —Ed. More »
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K-PAX Racing's attempting to turn an off-the-line Volvo C30 into a world-beating race car in 60 days. Driver Robb Holland's going to give us weekly project updates. Part Eight: the finale. —Ed. More »
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K-PAX Racing's attempting to turn an off-the-line Volvo C30 into a world-beating race car in 60 days. Driver Robb Holland's going to give us weekly project updates. Part Seven: them's the brakes. —Ed. More »
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K-PAX Racing's attempting to turn an off-the-line Volvo C30 into a world-beating race car in 60 days. Driver Robb Holland's going to give us weekly project updates. Part Six: a shocking revelation. —Ed. More »
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We're going full speed, Wile E. Coyote on a giant ACME rocket style, headed towards the finish line three weeks away. Looking at our C30 now you're thinking "Wait a sec… it's taken you guys four weeks just to get the car down to a painted shell with roll cage!?!" More »
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Video games and YouTube only takes one so far into learning the tricks of rally driving. Autopia's Jason Paur went to rally school for a real education. — Ed. More »
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One month down, one month to go and the guys at K-PAX Racing are right on schedule. That's one of the great things about these guys, they have built so many racecars that they have turned what is basically an art into a science. It's pretty awesome to watch and even cooler to actually be a part of.  More »
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With another icy mess predicted for the Northeast this week, we figure it's high time to help explain the best way to get your car out of the ice and snow. Yu see, in a snowpocalypse, the difference between the guy who gets his car out and the guy who's stuck at the curb for a week rests on a bit of planning, some common sense and a lot of hard work. More »
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K-PAX Racing's attempting to turn an off-the-line Volvo C30 into a world-beating race car in 60 days. Driver Robb Holland's going to give us weekly project updates. Part three: hooning the stock car, welding a cage. — Ed. More »
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K-PAX Racing's attempting to turn an off-the-line Volvo C30 into a world-beating race car in 60 days. Driver Robb Holland's going to give us weekly project updates. Part two: reducing two cars to a million parts. —Ed. More »
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