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3 days ago | 
moneydigest.com | Richard Sachek
Once upon a time, certain vintage model trains used to command a kings ransom, but they're now virtually worthless. The same goes for collections of rare stamps, as well as figurines from Hummel and Precious Moments. The latter of which would be lucky to fetch a few dollars each nowadays. So what happened to the market for these formerly hot collectible items? The folks that cherished them so highly are members of the baby boomer or silent generation, aged 60+ at very youngest.
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3 days ago | 
jalopnik.com | Richard Sachek
Toward the end of 2000s, Ford found itself in a bit of a pickle with its famous pony car, the Mustang. Pony cars from other marques, like the Chevy Camaro and Dodge Challenger, were on the cusp of galloping away from the Mustang performance-wise with their 6.2-liter LS3 and 5.7-liter Hemi engines, respectively.
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4 days ago | 
jalopnik.com | Richard Sachek
Unless you're that guy hauling a semi trailer with a regular Chevy Silverado, towing shouldn't damage your vehicle when done correctly and within proper weight limitations. That said, pulling a heavy load is an additional strain on your vehicle's components, and in particular, the transmission. Getting a new transmission, or having one rebuilt, can easily come with a multi-thousand dollar price tag, so you'll want to take precautions to protect that pricey gearbox from premature wear while towing.
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5 days ago | 
jalopnik.com | Richard Sachek
Gather a group of gearheads together and there's bound to be some friendly disagreement over various upkeep and maintenance rituals. For example, whether it's worthwhile to replace your oil drain plug with a quick-drain valve instead. Another hot topic is whether to pre-fill your new oil filter during money-saving DIY oil changes. Of course, that's assuming that you're able to pre-fill the oil filter at all.
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1 week ago | 
jalopnik.com | Richard Sachek
I might be in the minority of car owners, but I actually enjoy changing my oil. My local big box store has bargain prices for jugs of long-lasting full-synthetic oil and carries OEM filters, so I can usually get out the door for less than $40 in materials for a DIY full-synthetic oil change. Saving money is definitely nice, but so is peace of mind. I'm forever scarred by the time my wife took her SUV to a rapid oil change place that didn't fully tighten the drain plug.
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1 week ago | 
jalopnik.com | Richard Sachek
Welcome, Jalopnik readers, to something completely different: a Tesla article that has nothing to do with controversial frontman Elon Musk and his role in the Trump Administration or DOGE. Instead, we're going to address the burning question of what happens if a Tesla owner encounters an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle with a dead battery? The temptation may be strong to leave that polluting, earth-wrecking heap stranded by the side of the road.
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1 week ago | 
jalopnik.com | Richard Sachek
If you're the proud owner of a classic or specialty car, you've no doubt had the mental debate between retaining an old-school carburetor or modernizing the fuel injection. With electronic fuel injection, there's extra wiring to contend with and potentially, modifications required for the vehicle's fuel system. For example, some EFI systems require a second fuel line for returning unused gasoline back to the tank.
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2 weeks ago | 
jalopnik.com | Richard Sachek
It's no secret that Americans have a love affair with sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks. According to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, SUVs and pickups together made up nearly 75% of all new vehicles sold in the United States during the year 2022. However, across the pond, our motoring counterparts in Europe still favor the good ol' fashioned station wagon — or "estate" if you want to sound sophisticated — to fulfill their cargo hauling needs.
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2 weeks ago | 
jalopnik.com | Richard Sachek
In a lot of ways, modern car owners have it easy. Sure, you might burst into a fit of rage trying to disable that lane departure warning, but inconvenient trips to the mechanic for maintenance are far fewer than our parents or grandparents endured. Synthetic engine oil can easily last twice as long as old-school dead dinosaur juice. Ditto for automatic transmission fluid, which some manufacturers say can last 100,000 miles in normal use.
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2 weeks ago | 
jalopnik.com | Richard Sachek
There's not much of an argument among enthusiasts that Chevrolet's small-block V8 engine is the most prolific engine ever produced by General Motors. If you include the later versions like the LT1 and LS in your definition of "small-block" like GM does, more than 100 million units have been produced since 1955. That said, GM's 3.8-liter V6 was no slouch either, powering more than 25 million vehicles with bulletproof reliability since its introduction in 1975 well into the 2000s.
