Photo Courtesy Of General Motors

The 2013 Buick Verano Turbo averages 24 mpg overall.

If you’re of a certain age and remember when General Motors led the world in automobile production, then you may be wondering whether the good old days could possibly return.

Photo Photo Courtesy Of Volkswagen

The Volkswagen Beetle convertible boasts a gas-powered engine and automatic transmission.

One of our friends often wears a T-shirt that declares that “Life is too short to drive boring cars.” Over the past month, we’ve driven four cars that would never be considered boring.

Photo Courtesy Of Donna Mccord

A dirty air filter can reduce the efficiency of a car’s heating and air-conditioning systems.

Q: Now that the days are getting warmer, I want to use my air conditioner. But when I first turned it on last week, it didn’t seem to do a good job cooling my car down. Also, every time I turn on either the heater or the air conditioner, there is a foul smell. I went to a nearby auto repair shop and was told that nothing was wrong with the air conditioner – I just need a new cabin air filter. I am skeptical about that and wonder what a cabin air filter is and how that could fix my problems.

Judd Stiff of Los Altos shows off his 1921 Model T Ford last week. At age 17, Stiff acquired the Model T and said that other than a few fixes and replacement parts, the car looks exactly as it did when it left the factory. If you have a car to showcase, email a photo of it to Pete Borello at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Photo Courtesy Of Ford Ford plans to sell its new Focus Electric only in California and New York next year. The car offers an estimated 75-mile driving range on a single charge.

Over the past five years, models of all sizes have poured out of the Ford development center in Dearborn, Mich. Now the company has broadened its sights even more, aiming squarely at Toyota’s lead in high-efficiency hybrid automobiles and Nissan’s early entry in electric vehicles.

Q: After work the other day, I went out to my car and it would not start. One of my co-workers volunteered his car to jump-start mine. My car started, and I drove it to my repair shop. It turned out all I needed was a new battery, but my repair shop told me that jump-starting a car can be dangerous or can cause electrical problems if not done correctly. So, was I just lucky that nothing happened or are they exaggerating the possible concerns? And why did the battery go dead like that with no warning?

A: There are a number of things that can go wrong and cause serious damage to a vehicle’s electrical system or even harm you if the jump-start is not performed correctly – cables crossed, hooking a positive to a negative, etc.