Therapists often ride along in police cars, he says.

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Mazda's development engineers have achieved something elusive in the car business: They have arrived at a signature feel for their cars, in much the same way BMW's ride-and-handling boffins have dialed in a gestalt for their cars.

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For those who think we should only focus our effort in developing technologies for driverless cars, my thought is that even if you ride in an autonomous vehicle, you will want to -- and sometimes have to -- switch to "manual mode" from time to time.

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The queues for a ride on the city's cable-cars are matched only by those in Disneyland and at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

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In 2010, a forward-thinking friend of mine took me for a ride in a Ford Fusion, a gas-electric hybrid that gets more miles per gallon than comparable cars with conventional engines.

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The decision has ramifications beyond striking down a plan to put street-hail cars in boroughs outside Manhattan's central business district, where people looking for a ride usually must call a livery cab to pick them up or hope that a yellow taxi passes by.

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"People want to drive their cars a mile or two to a park-and-ride, and then take the rail in on the most congested part of the trip, " he said.

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And for those who prefer a more conventional ride, small cars like the Honda Fit hatchback and Volkswagen Jetta sedan boast what are among the roomiest interiors in their respective classes.

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