Auto Repair Naples

Jul 16

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ventilation-air-intake-seal

If you’re planning a long road trip then you need to make sure you check your car over before you leave. This can prevent lengthy visits to the auto shop or worse still collision repairs. There are some basic checks you should carry out before you leave home. They only take a few minutes but can make the difference between an enjoyable road trip and a miserable one.

Check your tyre condition and pressures. These are the only contact point with the road so it is vitally important that they are in good condition. Correct tyre pressures will not only improve your fuel economy but also make the rider smoother and enable the car to hold the road better. Make sure you check the spare wheel too! Check your lights, headlights, brake lights, main beam and indicators. Some police are more stringent than others when it comes to broken lights.

Under the hood, check all your liquids. Make sure there is plenty of coolant, with the right mixture of anti-freeze for the conditions. Ensure windshield wash is topped up and that the nozzles are clear. Next check power steering fluid, brake fluid and oil and top up as necessary. Carry any spare oil you may have in the trunk.

While you are under the hood, quickly check all the hoses and belts. Turn the car over and listen for hissing noises which can indicate leaks. Run the engine for a bit to make sure the fan comes on. You can tell a lot from an engine just by looking at it and listening to it.

Just spending fifteen minutes doing these basic checks can not only prevent incidents but also give you confidence in your vehicle. Both or either of these will make your trip that much more enjoyable.

America, Cars, and MPG

Jul 16

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We Americans love our cars. We’re famous for it, well that and the cheap gas prices anyway. Even with the slow demise of the auto industry in recent months, we are still stalwart supports of our vehicles.

With increasing gas prices, traffic, and pollution we are still driving everywhere we can and enjoying (mostly) every minute of it. The Transportation Department reports that there are over 107 million households with an average of 1.9 million cars and 1.8 million drivers. They are big numbers. They equate to 204 million vehicles and 191 million drivers to drive them.

There has been a steady increase in cars over drivers for the past twenty five years as families disintegrate, commuting increases, family wealth increases and more teens wanting to drive. The cars themselves have become longer lasting in this time, with a typical car doing 200,000 miles in its lifetime.

The main reason for having a car is to commute to work or the school run, however people are increasingly acquiring vehicles for specialized purposes. Many families have a “weekend car” which is generally a sports car or SUV. They may drive an efficient car during the week and something a little more fun at the weekend.

A survey carried out by the Transportation Department in 2002 found 91% of commuters use their own cars. 57% of these are cars or station wagons, 21% are vans or SUVs and 19% are light trucks. Only 8% of American families don’t own vehicles.

Since 9/11 more people than ever have been taking to the road for their vacations. Flights are down overall with many people electing to stay closer to home and drive where they need to go. With hundreds of thousands of miles of road, there is no shortage of vacation destinations in the country and just about everywhere has a gas station or garage for auto repairs.

Choice may be becoming more limited and gas prices might be getting slowly higher, but there is no perceived change in our relationship with our cars any time soon. The type of vehicle we purchase is slowly shifting away from gas guzzlers to hybrids or more fuel efficient cars, but we are still driving nonetheless.