We wouldn't buy a car without test-driving it, and we ought not to rely on the flash of mirrors for our take on reality.
But the Department for Transport said it had no plans to install in-car breathalysers in cars - or to use them to test drink-driving offenders.
Its main crash-test building yanks a car across the floor while high-speed cameras record every crumple.
German companies have been hard at work placing hundreds of PEVs in lease-only test fleets and car share programs in the United States and Europe.
The engineers have done a beautiful job with wind and tire noise, opting for big acoustic blankets in the wheel wells, which quelled the roar coming from our test car's 19-inch summer tires.
The 400-mile race was the first real test for NASCAR's new Gen-6 car on the intermediate tracks they're built to race.
In Sacramento, Stanford University's self-driving car hit 120 mph in a test drive, and in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The cabin trim on our test car was an exquisite claret-colored Nappa top grain leather, set off with alloy and lacquer-black wood trim.
The CR test car got about 30 mpg on premium fuel, and about 27 mpg on high-test when the engine was running.
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Shortly before Lamborghini was set to introduce the new Aventador super-luxury sports car in 2011, for instance, Winterkorn took the 690-horsepower behemoth for a final test drive.
The cabin is pretty quiet although we did notice a little bit of wind noise coming from the driver-side frameless window in our test car.
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Now, of course, everything is relative, and my test car is a 2.0-liter, front-drive compact with an automatic transmission on all-season meats, so it's not remotely a sports car.
Our test car was the TL with SH-AWD ("super-handling all-wheel drive, " one of my favorite overblown Japanese brand phrases) equipped with the 3.7-liter V6 and new-for-2012 six-speed automatic (previously a five-speed).
Brawn shocked F1 by turning up at the final pre-season test in 2009 with a car that was nearly a second faster than anything else after a battle to survive following the withdrawal of former owner Honda.
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Also, the six-speed automatic transmission in my test car (no manuals available in the U.S.) was a little bit fussy, and there were occasions when the engine-transmission software was momentarily stymied as to which gear to jump to.
Crash-test footage shows the front of the car folding up like an accordion, giving it a 2.0 point rating, the second lowest of the 28 cars NCAP has examined.
While in the city, Mr. Browne also test-drove a new alternative-energy car at the site of state-run Chongqing Changan Automobile Co.
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Mr. Toyoda's approach carries risks, not least of which is the possibility of the type of high-speed accident that killed Toyota's chief test car driver in 2010.
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Although heaters are minimized to conserve battery range, Consumer Reports rated a Volt test car at a paltry average 25 miles of electric-only running before the gasoline engine kicked in under cold Connecticut winter conditions.
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The new Mercedes car will break cover in a test at Valencia in Spain on 1-3 February, with Schumacher's team-mate Nico Rosberg set to be the first man at the wheel.
Red Bull launch their new car in Jerez in Spain on Monday, ahead of a major three-day test involving many of the leading F1 teams.
Alonso, who hands the car over to team-mate Felipe Massa for the final two days of the test, said Ferrari would have some updates in Bahrain that will not have been tested in Barcelona.
But the ultimate "road warrior" test was in the family car driving to Florida for a quick 4-day vacation.
Their first test in October 2007 was a success: An all-electric car plugged in at the University of Delaware and rigged with communication software responded to a signal from PJM for a sudden burst of power to help balance supply and demand on the grid.
Rossi is to test a Formula One car in the new year, but has been tight-lipped about rumours suggesting he might switch codes.
The car was quick at Valencia but that was no real test because it is primarily a slow-corner circuit.
Before the field sobriety test began, the 37-year-old Witherspoon got out of the car, was told to get back in and obeyed, the report said.
In green transportation news, we watched in awe as Jeremy Clarkson took the world's smallest car -- which is basically a go-kart with body armor -- for a terrifying test drive on England's busy A3 highway.
Samsung's ill-fated car business, which has come to represent the chaebol's resistance to reform, was the test of Mr Kim's resolve.
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