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Mechanics Still Assert 3,000 mile interval oil change is good
How long do you go without changing your oil? My father grounded me every time I went over 3,000 miles in my car without changing the oil. Every time I came home from college, he would check the mileage and oil of my car to see if I had disobeyed his command. He always told me that oil is the lifeblood of my car, and I believe him and still do; however, I’m not so sure I think my vehicle needs an oil change every 3,000 miles. (but old habits die hard, I’m afraid)
The reason I bring this up is that Valvoline conducted a study saying that the majority of certified mechanics still believe the 3,000 mile mark is the best mileage to get your oil changed without doing damage to your car. However, beware of a "study" done by an oil company. Each of the mechanics they surveyed also said Valvoline was the best choice, so obviously the study was partial toward Valvoline.
Many people today are starting to think the 3,000 mile mark is antiquated because of better oil and better engines that cars use. I am one of those people, however, I still get the oil changed every 3,000 miles just because that’s what I’ve done my whole life and I feel like I owe it to my father (crazy, huh?).
I would imagine that engine erosion varies largely from car to car and driver to driver. Maybe this Valvoline study/survey will persuade a 3rd party non-biased group to conduct another survey.
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Delphi’s future looks bleak
Sometimes in the auto world and in the business world, bad news is always delayed and that happens to be the case with Delphi Corp. Delphi has been delaying their annual report for months, however, when the report finally dropped Tuesday, their total loss for 2005 was 4.8 billion.
That’s a magnificent number. Not too many companies can pull that off and still be around to talk about it.
Delphi has been wrestling with unions and General Motors Corp over the past year about how to cut costs. It seems as though they failed.
About 12,600 Delphi and 35,000 GM workers already have agreed to leave their plants, giving Delphi, GM and their unions more flexibility in creating a cost-cutting plan of wage and benefit reductions without the threat of a damaging strike.
So far, Delphi is still promising to meet all pension plans, and let’s hope they do keep that promise, especially since the CEO still made 3.75 million last year and Rodney O’Neal, the president, made 2.1 million
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Key American Auto Makers are feeding China’s hunger for cars.
While the American auto industry is struggling to stay alive, China’s auto sales have risen 50 percent for this year. And guess who’s taking the lead for most cars sold in china. You’re wrong, it’s not who you think.
General Motors is actually selling the majority of cars in China.
The data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed total sales in the first half at 1.8 million units, up 46.9 percent from the same period of 2005.
The main reason for GM’s success is that they have a joint venture in China, with a state owned auto maker. It’s odd that GM is losing relevance quickly in the US but gaining interest/relevance in China. GM’s sales in China, over the past year, have risen 49 percent, which accounts for the majority of what’s going on with China’s auto sales
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Police Department begins using Ethanol
In Illinois the Morris Police Department will be introducing a new fuel flex car to their squad. The Morris Police Department is getting a Dodge Durango that uses E85, which is 85% ethanol.
This is a major step for the Morris Department, and they’re excited about the new technology. The E85 will save the police department 30 cents a gallon with the new dodge Durango. Next year the police department plans on retiring five cars, and they hope to be able to use Fuel Flex vehicles.
It will not be long until the majority of vehicles use E85, and this publicity for E85 may in fact push it a little closer to main stream use.
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Ford is investing in hybrid tech, now that’s a suprise
Ford Plans to invest $1 Billion into hybrid technology. Since Ford has abandoned their promise to have 250,000 hybrids by 2010, they’re now trying to show they still care about hybrids.
Ford plans to build a center for developing new fuel efficient or hybrid cars in Gotenborg, which happens to be where Volvo, it subsidiary company, is located.
The center will produce new hybrid technology for all of Ford’s brands in Europe, and for Volvo models worldwide, the companies said.
The plant will be run by Volvo but will provide Ford with the new technology too. To be exact about the investment, Ford plans to spend 1.36 billion to supplement technological changes that will occur.
This is a good move of Ford’s part. Though it may be a bit late, it’s better to be late than never to do it at all. To ride the hybrid wave, Ford is going to have to really get into gear and do things right the first time; one more mistake of Ford’s part could spell disaster.
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Ford and GM look to crossover vehicles
Detroit’s automakers, Ford and GM, will be cutting back their midsized SUV’s, and in some cases, popular mid-sized SUVs will be cancelled completely. In fact, the infamous Trailblazer will be axed by 2010. In 2009 GM was going to give the trailblazer a remake, however, it seems it will instead be cancelled.
The moves come as sales of mid-sized SUVs slump. U.S. sales of the Trailblazer and Envoy peaked at a combined 418,381 units in 2004. That dropped to 352,012 units last year.
When the trailblazer is killed off, GM will begin implementing crossover vehicles that will be more economical for larger families to buy. Most of the cross over vehicles are still in concept design, so it will be a year or two before we see any of them.
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We can give you peace of mind
Are you going on vacation this summer?
If so, you may want to get an extended warranty. If you have a new or used car, which covers about everything, you need to make sure your warranty is up to date. You can get a quote from us with no obligation to buy.
And, if you’re out on the road this summer, we will be with you if you have a warranty from us. If you have our bumper to bumper coverage and something goes wrong with your car, all you’ll have to do is find an accredited auto shop and the warranty will more than likely cover the problem. Check out what our bumper to bumper coverage will cover and give you peace of mind.
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What we’re about
An auto warranty is a guarantee that we’ll take care of your car if anything goes wrong with it. We provide an extensive amount of warranty programs for you to choose from. For example, we offer a powertrain warranty, which include most engine parts. The parts you usually don’t see from day to day, like the drive shaft or steering axel. Then, we offer a component warranty plan. We cover many different components of your car, which would include many engine parts but also interior and exterior parts. We also have a coverage plan called bumper to bumper. This is the plan we pride ourselves in. If you want the complete coverage of almost anything you could thing about, then you want our bumper to bumper plan.
We offer all three of these warranty choices for new and used cars, and these warranty plans can be customized to meet your needs. Your factory warranty does not even come close to covering the things your car like our warranty programs do. So, if you want peace of mind about your auto, give us a call at 1.800.419.3499, or get a quote from our website.
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Ford changes promise
A few months back, Bill Ford promised that his company, Ford Motor co., would produce 250,000 hybrids by 2010. However, now it seems that Ford is rearranging their promise.
Ford is now not promising any number of hybrids at all. Ford has changed their focus. Now, they’re promising 2 million alternative fuel vehicles by 2010. So, instead of completely catching the hybrid fever, they’ll just be producing more cars that use E85 and other bio fuels.
Ford stated in the email that the Blue Oval will focus more on other fuels like ethanol, clean-diesel and bio-diesel. In conjunction Ford is announcing a partnership with VeraSun Energy today to create an "ethanol corridor" with 50 new E85 pumps between Kansas City and Chicago.
Ford does still plan to produces a hybrid Mazda Tribute, a hybrid Ford Fusion, and a Hybrid Mercury Milan in 2008.
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Ford tries something new
Everyone knows that the auto industry is not exactly a bed of roses right now. Thus, companies are pulling out all the stops when it comes to innovation and new ideas. While in last place, Ford is trying the most "innovative" approach, www.fordboldmoves.com. Boldmoves is a documentary style website that’s "behind the scenes" style deep within the ranks of Ford. The website is a nifty advertising scheme that, in theory, could get people interested in Ford’s business model.
I’m sure, however, that the documentary style is not so documentary. Usually in unscripted an documentary you end up with things like "The Office" in real life, and I’m sure Ford will not allow others to see the nuts and bolts of the company like we would wish. To an extent, I’m sure the "documentary" is fairly scripted. But, who knows, it’s new; maybe boldmoves will prosper and become a interesting piece of work.
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