From SEMA to Suzuka to your local streets, the automotive world is as far-reaching topically as it is geographically. Jalopnik has explained matters big and small, ranging from why you can’t open and unlock a car door at the same time to how racing’s governing body requires aspiring racing drivers to build their résumé to be eligible to race in Formula One. Here are some of the best explainers from over the past few years:
Have you ever wondered how speed limits are set? Ryan Felton dove deep into the topic and the concept of the 85th-percentage speed:
Our hypothetical engineer figures out how many drivers are on the road and how fast they drive. Once that data’s collected, it’s plotted out to help determine how fast the majority of drivers are traveling. In particular, the engineer wants to determine the “85th percentile speed”—meaning how fast 85 percent of the cars travel.
Read the full explainer here.
Why can’t every new foreign-built vehicle be legally imported into the United States? Mercedes Streeter explained how the 25-year import rule came to be:
The 25 year import rule remains infamous today for halting the dreams of enthusiasts before they can even get off of the ground.
Money was certainly a factor, but they were not without other concerns about poor quality conformity conversions being done that could have put drivers in danger. Nobody wants to learn that a car they were told had airbags actually didn’t. Of course, the automakers complained about poor conversions harming their image.
Reputable importers had a solution that could have fixed this. Sadly, it was ultimately ignored.
Read the full explainer here.
Have you ever wondered how soot build-up for vehicle exhaust is cleaned from tunnel ceilings? Justin Westbrook looked into how agencies managed the unenviable task:
Instead, New York and cities across the world clean tunnels using big special trucks. Most of these trucks use a combination of high pressure water streams and giant spinning brushes, like you’d find in a drive-thru car wash, to spray and scrub the walls of the tunnel.
Read the full explainer here.
How do team personnel survive Formula 1’s marathon globe-trotting schedule? Elizabeth Blackstock looked at the mandatory shutdown meant to be a welcome respite for exhausted staff:
The regulation requires every F1 team to stop work for 14 consecutive days. All development, analysis — really any work to be done to the car has to be stopped, unless it is pre-approved by the FIA. Teams and drivers are even prohibited from reading emails. However, teams are able to do maintenance to prepare for the 50 more weeks of racing ahead.
Read the full explainer here.
Has there been more car fires in recent years? Lawrence Hodge explored the data surrounding both recent fire-related recalls and reported vehicle fires:
So what can we take from all of this? Automakers still have work to do—ideally the fires would stop. But despite millions of vehicles being affected by recalls, the decline of vehicle fires means that the recalls are doing what they’re supposed to: motivating people to bring in their vehicles for repairs before a terrible accident can happen.
Read the full explainer here.
Have you ever wondered how to get out of a car booting scam? Justin Westbrook shared a video from Lock Picking Lawyer explaining the process with simple tools:
Car booting is not only annoying for those who get booted, it’s an easy gateway for scammers to cheat people out of money, it often targets lower-income people, and it also compounds the basic problem of a car being in the way by making it unable to move. It turns out, a very common type of car boot is also super easy to remove without paying any fines.
Read the full explainer here.
Thinking of ways to save on insurance with rarely-driven cars? Andrew P. Collins went through the ins and outs of California’s Planned Non-Operation status:
If you have a car in California and want to take it off the road for a while, to save money on registration and insurance you can file “Planned Non-Operation.” Here’s a brief rundown on how “non-op” works, how to use it, and some potential pitfalls with it.
Planned Non-Operation, also referred to as PNO or just “non-op,” is an option you’ll see every time your annual California vehicle registration renewal notice comes around. “I forgot to put my broken BMW E30 on non-op three years ago and now I’m broke,” your car buddy might have once told you. Don’t be that friend!
Read the full explainer here.
Looking for the differences in all-wheel drive systems? Patrick Rich extensively explained how each type of all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive functions:
All-wheel drive and four-wheel drive may seem like simple concepts, but in reality, there are dozens of widely different systems out there, and a lot of confusion in marketing material and in “common knowledge.” The dead of winter seems like the perfect time for me to publish this ridiculously deep-dive on the various ways cars can power all four wheels.
Read the full explainer here.
Are you worried about getting your off-roader stuck in an unrecoverable position? Rory Carroll shared Mad Matt 4WD’s exploration of winching a truck backward with a front-mounted winch:
I’ve been doing a fair amount of winch research lately, and one thing I’ve always kind of wondered about is winching your truck backwards with front-mounted winch. Do you just kind of sling the cable underneath and start winching?
It turns out, yeah, you can do that.
Read the full explainer here.
Wanting to follow the international stars giving NASCAR a go? Elizabeth Blackstock gave a brief overview of NASCAR and its unique brand of road course racing:
This weekend, international drivers from multiple disciplines will be taking on stock car racing with the NASCAR Cup Series at Watkins Glen. If you’re new to the NASCAR series because you’re looking to check out the likes of Kimi Raikkonen, Daniil Kvyat, or Mike Rockenfeller, then you’re in luck. We’re going to break down the stock car series so even new fans can enjoy the action.
Read the full explainer here.