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Tesla Motors' lineup of all-electric vehicles — its existing Roadster, almost certainly its impending Model S, and possibly its future Model X — apparently suffer from a severe limitation that can largely destroy the value of the vehicle. If the battery is ever totally discharged, the owner is left with what Tesla describes as a "brick": a completely immobile vehicle that cannot be started or even pushed down the street. The only known remedy is for the owner to pay Tesla approximately $40,000 to replace the entire battery. Unlike practically every other modern car problem, neither Tesla's warranty nor typical car insurance policies provide any protection from this major financial loss. Here's how it happens. More »

Henry Ford may have popularized the American car, but it was legendary General Motors Designer Harley Earl who, through his concepts, made it sexy. One example — the Corvette's twin brother, the Oldsmobile F-88 — was so desirable, Earl secretly crated the entire concept car out of GM and shipped it, piece-by-piece, to his friend and former competitor. More »

Sakichi Toyoda was born in Japan 145 years ago today on February 14th, 1867. By all accounts a hard-working entrepreneur, Toyoda's greatest success was building a small business manufacturing textile looms. That business ended up growing into a company that, for two years beginning in 2008, became the world's largest automaker. That company is named Toyota. We've always wondered: Why the change from "d" to "t"? More »

The perils of New York City parking are legendary. Often times the space between a legal and illegal parking spot is often times no more than one sheet of paper. Here's Kathryn A Higgins' story from Thought Catalog that could probably be just as easily titled "How NOT To Park Your Car In Manhattan." — Ed. More »

We all remember our first car, and although few of us still have it — even fewer of us probably were thoughtful enough to tell that car how we felt about it. But Kelcie Moseley did just that at Thought Catalog. Here’s the letter she sent. Write your own in the comments below. —Ed. More »

In Ronald Reagan's day, it wasn't smart for an American politician to be seen in a Japanese vehicle, but the soon-to-be-President quietly kept a quirky Subaru BRAT at his ranch in California under an agreement that the automaker would get progress reports from Reagan on the little truck's performance. Read about how this strange arrangement came to be in this report from Benjamin Preston exclusively for Jalopnik —Ed. More »

Rauno Aaltonen drove a Mini Cooper S to the model's last victory in the 1967 Monte Carlo Rally. It was a stunning victory, but Aaltonen's been harboring a secret. How he actually won. Here, he shares that secret with Autos.Sympatico.ca's Matt Bubbers. —Ed. More »

Contrary to its depiction as a backward desert full of terrorists, Pakistan is home to beautiful scenery and a few free-spirited travelers who explore the country in 4×4 vehicles. Baber Khan, editor of the car website PakWheels.com, shares his story and amazing photos. — Ed. More »

In a new book by journalist Adrian Humphreys, Jimmy Hoffa's onetime driver Marvin Elkind claims that the Teamsters boss was buried in Detroit in the foundation of its most iconic building — the Renaissance Center, current world headquarters of General Motors. The book is called "The Weasel: A Double Life in the Mob" — and here, for the first time, exclusively, is that full, chilling excerpt. —Ed. More »

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 »