Cross Country Adventures & Road Trip Planning

Cross country driving continues to be a popular vacation pastime. As air travel prices continues to become more expensive and more of a hassle, many are discovering that taking your a vehicle on a road trip is enjoyable. Besides, taking your own car offers more freedom, saves money, no flight delays and best of all-- no TSA!

When on a cross country or road trip, the journey becomes part of the vacation. If the trip is properly planed you will see that America has many beautiful, scenic roads.

Properly planning the trip will save you time, money, and stress. You will enjoy

the adventure more.

Below are some tips to get the most out of your next cross country trip.

Prepare your car:

• Check fluid levels (engine oil, coolant, transmission fluid, brake fluid, power steering fluid, windshield washer fluid)
• Make sure belts and hoses are strong and snug
• Check breaks
• Check tires

Saving money on gas:

You don't need to wait unless your tank is empty to fill it up. If you see low gas prices, stop to take a break and to take advantage of the gas prices. The more you can minimize gas prices, the more you save. 

Packing for your road trip:

Remember to pack for emergencies, entertainment, fine dining and outdoor adventures. You never know what your adventure will hold!

More Gas Less Cash! What Type of Gas is For You?

In the good old days you had countless choices: Ethel, Leaded, Unleaded, and more… Now that option is diminished, with Unleaded becoming the victor.  Now, when you head to the gas station, your alternatives come in different form: octane, special additives, and ethanol content, derivatives of unleaded. Sometimes, I find myself thinking of which type of gas would be beneficial for my specific vehicle.  In today’s blog, we discuss the best options for you, check it out!

Octane

Octane has three options: 87, 89, and 92.  Large engines perform well on 87 octane, smaller cars do well with 89, and high performance cars run perfect on 92 octane.  The higher the octane rating the more compression the fuel can handle before it ignites.  If your engine begins to knock, then fuel is igniting from the compression, not from the spark.  Thus, damaging your engine.  If this continues to occur, it’s time to buy higher-octane gas.

Special Additives

Special Additives are beneficial because their utilized by fuel companies to keep the inside of the engine clean.  For example, Exxon uses high amounts of additives in their gas to keep your system clean.  All the major gas companies use detergent additives to help keep the engine clean, so this should not really be a consideration. 

Ethanol content

The final option is ethanol content.  The lower the ethanol content, the better the fuel will burn in your engine, providing a longer life for your engine.  Ethanol is also good because it improves fuel economy, sometimes giving up to a 20% boost. 

Roadside Assistance Tips

The road can be a dangerous place.  We all take the necessary precautions to create a safe vessel for our daily commute, but in some cases, things are unavoidable.  If you have been the victim of a flat tire, or mechanical mishap, then you’ve experienced that lonely feeling.  You’re stuck on the side of the road, all of your contacts are either busy or too far away for contact, and you feel stranded. Alone.  Roadside assistance has created a safe haven for daily commuters.  It’s a great service that provides assistance to motorists whose vehicles have suffered a mechanical failure that is significant enough to leave them stranded.  In today’s blog, we provide some tips for getting through it.

The first thing you should do is call and establish with the operator what the problem is.  The call is then relayed to the tow driver or emergency officials.  By popping the hood to see what’s wrong or getting out and checking the damage, you can survey the problem.  This gives the officials a general idea of what to expect.  Please, take caution, if you feel as if you’re taking a chance, stay in your vehicle!!

The next thing to do is describe your location.  According to eHow: “Tell the operator where exactly you were driving and where you think you may be on the road. This will help the operator call the closest tow truck company or emergency medical services so that they can get to you as quickly as possible. Turning on your flashers or your headlights and, if you feel safe doing so, put out reflective triangles behind your car to help the tow truck driver find you in a shorter amount of time.”

Information!  Information!  Information! Always keep a copy of all the info you would need for roadside assistance.  One should be in your wallet or purse, while the other should be easily accessible in your vehicle.  This should include the numbers that you would need for the operator, expiration date, and other details.

These are just a few tips for you guys to check out…feel free to comment!

Tips on Learning to Drive Manual

If you’re like us, then you love speed.  Not just any speed, but the feeling of driving on a breezy morning, your hair whipping back, the music blazing, hands shifting gears like a pro at Talladega Superspeedway.  If you’ve imagined this scenario, then you understand the coolness of learning to drive “stick,” otherwise known as manual.  In today’s blog, we’re showcasing some tips of how to navigate while driving manual.

Drive on Level Ground

Put on your seatbelt.  While learning, it’s also good to roll down the windows to hear the engine to know when to shift gears accordingly.

Check out the Pedals

There are three.  From left to right they are

1. Clutch – disengages spinning engine from the wheels and allows you to switch gears.  Before you switch gears, the clutch must be depressed.
2.  Brake
3. Gas

 Tips:

• Make sure you push the clutch all the way in before shifting to the next gear
• Does your vehicle seem like it’s about to stall? PUSH the clutch again and wait for the engine to return to idle and repeat.
• If you’re having difficulty starting the car from a stop, make sure that you are slowly letting off the clutch.  Pause at the friction point (the part where the engine starts to move the car and continue slowly pulling the clutch out.
•  Learn to recognize the sounds of your engine; you should eventually be able to tell when to change gears without relying on the tachometer.
• Try to watch if you are on a hill or a steep area. You can roll back and hit the person or object behind you if you are not holding in the brake and clutch.
• Two other descriptions mean the same thing as "manual transmission"--"stick shift" and "standard."

Preparing Your Vehicle For Winter

Winter is coming.  This year has flown by, and in that flurry of work, quick vacations, and visits to the store, you’ve forgotten one thing: Winter is almost here.   Our dealership takes pride in providing insightful information on our blog.  Today, we’re continuing that trend.  In today’s blog, we’re discussing some quick effective tips on preparing your vehicle for winter.  Feel free to comment below:

Inspect your antifreeze: Your car contains a 50/50 mixture of water and antifreeze. It’s an essential part of your vehicle’s protection.  Take it into us to check out, and also ask about a radiator flush while you’re at it.

Check out the tires: Winter is the time to amp up your tire protection if you’re not doing so.  The National Highway Transportation Safety Board says you need at least 2/32” of depth to be safe.  Try using the old penny test to check your tires.  Just place it between the tread, if the tread covers part of Lincoln’s head, you have more than 2/32 of tread.

Replace your wipers: Anything coming from the sky will land right on your windshield.  Also, there’s a soupy muck that’s created on the road once the highway department clears the road.  The muck contains sand and salt, both of which can end up on your windshield.  You need new, clean, efficient wipers. 

Clean your battery posts: Regularly treating your battery is key.  Make sure the posts are clean and void of acidic residue. 

Inspect your brakes: Come in today and have one of our technicians check these out for you.  These will be crucial on a slippery road. 

These are just a few tips to get you going.  Stay tuned weekly and subscribe below!