If you find that a bumpy road broke off the end of one of your old spark plugs, you should probably call a tow truck. Just don't try to MacGyver your car like I did.

I was once told, in a dark, back-alley Gchat conversation, that a friend of mine didn't know how to change a tire.

Have you ever spent hours digging for the manual in your glovebox, only to realize you lost it years ago and/or spilled coffee on it so now it's useless?

The great dream of the amateur mechanic is to someday use his or her skills to instantly transform a worthless pile of junk into a working vehicle. For one Jalopnik reader, that dream came true.

As America's Arsenal for Democracy shifted its Nazi-ass-kicking apparatus into high gear during WWII, the rivet reigned supreme as the fastener of choice for heavy manufacturing. Everything from buildings and bridges to planes, tanks, and automobiles were stuck together with rivets, fastened into place by air…

When you own an old, no-longer-popular beater car, it can sometimes be difficult to find parts and information. My brand of automotive pain/pleasure currently lies in the realm of obsolete Subarus, and while they do have a decent following, they've never attracted the kind of money-spewing fanboys that, say, small…

Have you noticed a little too much bounce when you drive your car over bumps? Get out and push down on each corner of the car. If it bounces more than once or twice, it's time to replace the shocks or struts on that corner.

Unless you carry a flamethrower, there is no perfect way to get your car out of the snow. I managed to figure out pretty much the worst way.

Many of us have gone on long road trips, but usually over the summer. The air is warm (sometimes, stifling hot), the scenery is green (or gold in dry places), and the roads are busy with vacationers eager to see the world's largest ball of twine or whatever.

I'm moving. Again. But before I cart my belongings from Colorado east to the land of bad summer and winter weather, I need to figure out the cheapest way possible to do it.