7 Puncture-Resistant Off-Road Tires That Say They Can Take Those Sharp Rocks Over There

If you've ever purchased a new set of tires for your car, you may have noticed colored lines painted on the treads. They usually stand out as bright stripes that encircle the tire, and their function is to help identify products or rubber compounds as they move through production. Their purpose is for the people and equipment making the tires, rather than the person buying them. German company REA, which supplies marking equipment to the tire industry, says automated color lines are used for material type identification. Its systems can mark rubber components and finished tires, giving factories a way to distinguish materials and products during production. Those markings are an important tool for workers or machines to distinguish one type of tire from another. By the time the tires arrive at a retailer and have been installed on your vehicle, the painted lines have served their purpose. They will eventually wear off as the tires accumulate mileage.

Despite a humdrum hybrid powertrain, the 2026 Honda Prelude handles like a dream, and it offers two types of tires. A set of Goodyear Eagle Touring all-season tires is standard, but Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 summer tires are a $1200 dealer-installed option. We’ve now tested one Prelude on all-season tires and another with summer rubber, and the results show the latter set helped it corner harder and stop shorter. Welcome to Car and Driver’s Testing Hub, where we zoom in on the test numbers. We’ve been pushing vehicles to their limits since 1956 to provide objective data to bolster our subjective impressions (you can see how we test here). Like most enthusiasts, we were a bit disappointed by the 2026 Honda Prelude’s firepower—or lack thereof. Now that we’ve tested a Prelude on its standard all-season tires, rather than just the set of sticky summer rubber on the first car we tested, we have the full picture of the little coupe’s performance. Unfortunately, switching from the all-season tires to dedicated summer performance tires doesn’t do as much as we initially hoped—but, fortunately, the grippier rubber does improve the sporty coupe where it counts.

Joel was previously an editor at Autoblog for nearly a decade, covering cars from humble economy hatchbacks to high-end sports cars. He has extensive driving experience with plenty of track time, and even dabbles in motorcycling. Joel has shared his experiences in the car world not just in text, but also on podcasts and web videos.

It's all dashboard lights and touchscreen warnings these days For decades, the vast majority of cars had a very simple tool to help owners properly maintain their car. That tool was a dipstick, and it enabled a quick, objective look at whether or not an engine or transmission had enough fluid inside for safe operation. Today, many cars don't offer that same simple tool to their owners. Instead, they offer digital displays that are often hidden deep in touchscreen menus. That can feel like a real step backward for DIY drivers. There is, however, a reason behind the change.

A lot of British slang doesn't seem to make a lot of sense at face value, but there is always a reason for it. Terms like 'Chelsea tractor' or 'sleeping policeman' are examples that no Brit would blink an eye at, and alongside them sits the 'jam sandwich.' Among the many key differences between American and European police cars, or in this instance, specifically British ones, is that police vehicles from a very specific era in Britain picked up the nickname 'jam sandwiches.' The reason is simple.

Brett T. Evans has more than a decade of experience driving, writing about, and evaluating automobiles. His early career comprised writing about pre- and post-war classic cars, as well as late-model performance diesel trucks. These varied experiences allowed him the chance to gain expertise in every corner of the auto world. Today, he spends much of his time on modern car culture and mass-market news. The Chevrolet Corvette Stingray convertible is getting some special attention from a most unlikely place. The Bow Tie's Japanese business arm will build a rare special edition of the V8-powered droptop, and although the changes are primarily cosmetic, hardcore Corvette fans may want to consider moving to Hokkaido or Kyoto to get their hands on one. Although oddly, the new V8 Tourer – as it's called – doesn't even get the American market's updated 6.7-liter small-block engine. This could be the first time that JDM "forbidden fruit" is less tasty than the American varietal.