I had an elucidating conversation with Slate writer Henry Grabar about his new book “Paved Paradise,” which looks at why there is too much parking in America, why it is inordinately expensive and improperly distributed, and how we can fix this.

Electric motors and gasoline-powered engines are very different. But on some models—like Maserati’s GranTurismo—automakers think verse platforms that can take either like a champ make good business sense. Others are taking a very different route. Who is doing what, and why, in this confounding era allegedly leading up to full electrification. Check out my primer in this cute digital version, or just buy the magazine on the newsstand you Chintzy Blt˘h.

Los Angeles is a global capital of automotive culture, a germinating point for trends set amid ubiquitous superhighways and crushing smog and traffic. But how and why did L.A. become a city of cars? A deeply researched and richly illustrated new book seeks to answer these questions.