How to Keep Warm Quickly in Cold Weather (Car Edition)

When it’s cold, everything sucks.  Your main goal is to take precaution to ensure optimal warmth.  That means, shoveling the car out of snowy oblivion, making lunches on a cold tiled kitchen, bundling up the kids and warming up the car as quickly as possible.  We feel your pain, as a matter of fact, we share it, because there’s nothing worse than freezing your butt off in single digit degree weather.  In today’s blog, we’re providing tips on getting warm as quickly as possible with quick tips from the car gurus.  Enjoy!

First, winterize your car.  Use winter-weight oil and anti-freeze to perform better in the winter and maintain your battery.  Be sure your battery is in goof working order.

Start your car normally and be patient. Now, let your windows defrost by putting the setting on high, letting your car idle for ten minutes.  To help control humidity and dampness on your windows run the blower on the floor to keep your carpeting dry, when not needed to defrost your windows. This will prevent your windows from steaming up on the inside.

Today's engine and fluid technology is designed to start working as soon as you turn the key (or at lease once your windshield is defrosted). Not only does idling waste gas and cause pollution, it can actually cause damage to your vehicle.

If you're faced with severe winter conditions, you may want to consider a block heater, which warms the engine, or a battery warmer. A battery loses power as the temperature goes down, so warming it gives it that extra boost.

Cheers!

Uncommon Reasons For Getting a Ticket

You usually know WHY you got that traffic ticket.  “I was speeding, officer,” is the most common response, accompanied with a hanging head of shame and a defeated demeanor.  Tickets are a necessary evil for governing our roads, but the dread of receiving one always seems to deplete your mood…and your pockets.  In today’s blog, we discuss some uncommon reasons for being pulled over and given a citation from a traffic cop.

1.    Cruising in the left lane of a multilane highway – instead of using this lane to pass slower traffic on the right, you’ve grown accustomed to cruising for miles on end.  Stop it!

2.    Driving slower than normal traffic flow – if the speed limit is 65 mph and you’re traveling 38 mph, either something’s wrong or you’ve misjudged your vehicle’s speedometer.  Try and keep with the flow of traffic to avoid standing out.

3.    Peeling out at a stop sign – performing a peel out after a light turns green is a BAD idea.  It utilizes more fuel, damages your tires, and can warrant the attention of the police officer driving behind you.  Plus, squealing tires are just, well, annoying.

4.    Racking up unpaid parking or traffic citations – if you’re a magnet for attracting traffic tickets, you should always be willing to pay off these small fines as soon as you receive them.  Racking up a lot of these can lead to bigger and more expensive problems for your driving endeavors.

5.    Offensive bumper stickers – Plastering your vehicle with bumper stickers that are racist, include profanity, and are downright degrading, can lead to unwanted attention and a traffic stop. Keep your bumper stickers to a minimum (or at least within the safe range) and always make sure you’re abiding by the rules. 

6.    Acting like a “jerk” – Traffic stops have a moment where they can go either way.  Being belligerent during a stop can add extra violations on top of your primary citation.  When the officer asks: “Do you know why I stopped you?” take your time, asses the question and answer honestly.  This will keep your ticket to a minimum and de-escalate any quarrel that could have been created.

Hey Fans, do you have any weird or strange ticket citations?  Feel free to comment below!

Add Us to Your Circles on Google+

Have you logged into your Google+ Profile lately?  Well, if you have, you’ll realize there were a TON of new aesthetic changes!  Google+ recently released a new way to managing your profile content on Google+.  Now, you have access to a jumbo Google Cover Image at the top of your page and app integration.  We recently upgraded, so feel free to check us out right here:

https://plus.google.com/b/110237101585303082395/110237101585303082395/posts

See you on Google+!

A List of Favorite Automotive Blogs

“We read to know that we are not alone.”

― William Nicholson

True.  We read to share experiences, to tell others how we feel about a certain subject and to find meaning in our lives in comparison to those around us.  Car enthusiasts, like you and I, love to read about the new advancements in vehicle tech, the coolest new supercar to hit the market and to understand and develop a sense of where we fit in the world.  When you love cars, it becomes second nature to learn more about them and how they aid us in traveling around the nation.  In today’s blog, we’re providing a list, created by our own dealership, of our favorite automotive blogs.  Enjoy!

Jalopnik – http://www.jalopnik.com - is a cool, fun sister site of Gizmodo.  The auto blog provides breaking news and insight into the automotive industry in a creative and fun way. 

Autoblog – http://www.autoblog.com - The autoblog site is INTENSIVE.  There’s tons of information on specific vehicles and types as well as a handy search menu that allows users to pull up a review by the manufacturer and model.  There’s also a lot of written content and commentary from active users

Consumer Reports – http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/ - Consumer Reports does a great job of providing detailed insight on car ratings, top picks,

The Car Connection – http://www.thecarconnection.com/ - Looking to do some really detailed car research? The Car Connection provides thorough reviews of your favorite vehicles via a Meta rationg each car the best out of 10.  They also provide their LIKES and DISLIKES with each vehicle in their detailed explanation.

Carscoop – http://www.carscoops.com/ - Think you know the automotive industry?  Carscoop is a great site for emerging content.  They’re usually at the head of the pack when it comes to new content, auto shows and over-the-top vehicles.

Kicking Tires – This blog is FOR CAR BUYERS. Nuff said. Check it out for the latest and greatest!