About 15 years ago, I had a regular feature in The New York Times called “Rust in Peace.” It was a simple concept. I talked about some bad cars and explained what made them so, well, bad. You can ...

There’s an old joke, later made into an internet meme, that goes something like this: “Have you seen my dog? He has brown fur, he’s missing his right ear, blind in one eye and has three legs. He ...