Solution to Problem 3: "Traffic Jam"

It makes the most sense to try to place the long words first, so that even if you find that the word stretches into the white area, you'll be able to tell exactly where it goes.

MASERATI must go from G10-G3, TRIUMPH must go from H6-B6, RENAULT must go from A10-G4, PONTIAC must go from B10-H4, SUBARU must go from E1-E6, HUDSON must go from D5-I10, and TALBOT must H6-C1.  The final square is a little harder to place quickly, but if you look at the letters around it and try to place it with a remaining word on the list, you see that the only way it could be used is REO going from E5-C3.

Here is the completed diagram with all of the words entered (read the unused letters for a secret message from Will Shortz!):

The solution to the problem is EALT HRLA MUIR ATDE.

Comments: it's rare even in magazines like Games for word searches to be mentally stimulating, although doing it under time pressure can make things interesting.  My strategy for word searches in general is to look for very specific patterns that will stand out in the diagram, like the double-L in CADILLAC or the UZU pattern in ISUZU, rather than just searching for the first letter in the word.  Often I will search for "large" letters like M's and W's, and find all of the words that contain any instances of any of them.  This puzzle was a slight departure for me, because when I went looking for the M in TRIUMPH, I was disappointed.  Still, I believe it was the first puzzle that I attacked.

According to Nick Baxter, this is a problem that punished some people who didn't look for all of the words. Specifically, if your first action was to place HUDSON at D6-D1 instead of D5-I10 and you didn't notice that TRIUMPH or REO couldn't be placed under those circumstances, then you would have a 16-letter solution that looked correct but wasn't.