When I was younger, my grandfather would pick me up from Grapevine and drive me back to Dallas to stay with him and grandma for the weekend. Every time he picked me up, he would ask if I wanted to go the “pothole way” or the “skunk way”. Now that I’m older and driving myself, I realized that the “pothole” way was actually highway 183. I also realize how much he probably hated when I chose that route because potholes can actually damage your Chevy‘s tires, chassis, suspension and wheels/rims.
When it comes to advice on potholes, the first thing I’ll tell you is to flat out avoid them at all costs. That doesn’t mean you should violently swerve to try and miss them though. What I mean is that if you see one far enough away and have enough time to change lanes. But let’s face it, that’s not always the case. You could either be traveling at too high of speeds to get out of the way in time or be stuck in between other vehicles.
A friend of mine once told me that he always sped up when he saw a pothole because he thought that high speeds would make your Chevrolet “fly” over the gap in the concrete. This is a very common misconception, though. The higher your speeds, the greater the damage you could cause. So if you’re going to hit a pothole, try and slow down as much as possible. But don’t forget to look in your rear view mirror. You don’t want to break hard enough to cause the car behind you to panic or worse, rear-end you.
When you’re about to hit a pothole, get a tight grip on your Chevrolet‘s steering wheel. If you don’t, you may find yourself losing control and swerving left or right. Weather.com says that a pothole can send enough of a shock through your steering system to send your car into the next lane, potentially causing an accident… even if you don’t lose control.
Something else to keep in mind… DON’T BRAKE INTO A POTHOLE. I know I said you should slow down above, but I did not mean that you should hit the brakes the second before you hit the pothole. In fact, this is one of the worst things you can do to your Chevy. So slow down as much as possible, but be sure to let off the brakes in enough time for your car to come out of the “nosedive” position it’s in from hard braking.
We’re going to be seeing a LOT of rain this week in Dallas Ft Worth, Chevy owners. And guess what? Rain hides potholes! So be extra cautious. As I mentioned before, potholes can seriously mess up your Chevrolet in Dallas and Ft Worth. So if you’ve hit a lot recently, or even a really large one, you should probably bring your car in to the Classic Chevrolet service department and have your alignment checked. Moral of the story? Do your best to avoid hitting potholes in your new or used Chevrolet, DFW.
If you have young children and OnStar you should think about checking this out this Christmas. Your new Chevy can tell you just exactly where Santa is on his trip this Christmas Eve. My children love it.
As part of a special partnership with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), OnStar subscribers can follow Santa Claus’ journey on Christmas Eve as he makes his way around the world in a single night.
Beginning on Christmas Eve at 6 a.m. EST, all subscribers have to do is push their blue OnStar button and ask for a “Santa Update.” An OnStar Advisor will be happy to provide updates on the jolly old elf’s journey using information provided by NORAD.
Individuals without an OnStar subscription can visit the NORAD Santa Tracker or call 877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) for Santa’s location.
Will you be following Santa’s journey this year? – OnStar
Let me know if you give this a try and how your kids feel about it!
I would have never given another thought at hand drawing a billboard but apparently this artist didn’t mind at all. In order to save a little bit of money but more than likely just for fun and publicity Chevy decided to have a man hand draw a billboard instead of purchasing one. Granted it took him 8 hours to complete but if you watch the video below I think he did a really good job.
*** Warning **** There is a bad word in this video but it was too interesting not to share. This is one hectic crazy commercial that Chevy did over in China for the new Chevy Cruze! Looks like it was probably a ton of fun. I would have loved to do something like that. In fact, I am surprised no one crashed. Ha!
Everyone is loving the new Chevrolet Cruze and if you get the opportunity to test drive one I say go for it! You’ll love it.
Wouldn’t you love to do something like that? The only thing they forgot to do was paint the cars pink, blue, red, orange, yellow… Well you get the picture.
Do you know what spark plugs are used for? Do you know how important they are? Well they are a very important part of your new or used car or truck. They must be properly working for your vehicle to be working.
A spark plug is an electrical device that fits into the cylinder head of some internal combustion engines and ignites compressed fuels such as aerosol gasoline, ethanol, and liquefied petroleum gas by means of an electric spark. – Wikipedia
Ok… So why are these funny looking things so important?
In a gasoline engine the importance of good sparkplugscannot be denied. The electrical arc between the electrode and the ground strap is like a miniature bolt of lightning that ignites the air fuel mixture and in turn generates the power that drives the wheels.
These miniature lightning bolts are commonly called sparkplug firing by most mechanics. If the sparkplug doesn’t fire, the engine doesn’t start. When diagnosing a no start condition some mechanics will say the reason the engine won’t start is because there is no fire.
It is the ignition system that produces the electrical energy that fires the plug. Spark also must be maintained long enough to allow complete combustion of the air fuel mixture in the cylinder. The ignition system then has to deliver this electrical energy to each sparkplug at the right time. – Online Auto Repair
Can you now understand why it is so important to have good spark plugs? Bad spark plugs = car can’t/may not start. When you come to visit your Fort Worth chevy dealer for a tune-up make sure you ask if they will be replacing the spark plugs. Feel free to ask me any questions.
So how many of you out there use water to clean your windshield instead of windshield washer fluid? Did you know that using water could potentially make you sick? I came across this article from Consumer Reports and I thought I needed to share it with my readers. You should use windshield washer fluid instead of water regardless if it makes you sick or not. It will clean your windshield better and when you get your regularly scheduled oil change at your Dallas Chevy dealer they will fill it up for free.
The AFP (Agence France-Presse) reports that using only water in your car’s windshield washer reservoir could increase your chances for contracting Legionnaires’ disease.
The report, coming from a recent Health Protection Agency (HPA) study, stated that motorists could increase their chances of getting the disease by around 20 percent if additional washer fluid isn’t added to the mix.
The researchers for the study interviewed 75 patients in England and Wales who had recovered from community-acquired Legionnaires’ disease between July 2008 and March 2009, comparing them to a group of matched people who had not experienced any similar infection. Willing participants were questioned on their driving habits, possible Legionella sources in vehicles, and known risk factors.
The bacteria that cause Legionnaires’ disease usually grow in the water or ventilation systems of large public buildings. When inhaled, the bacteria can cause pneumonia.
The AFP reports that this is the first time a link has been made between the disease and windshield washer fluid, and it goes on to say that “adding screen wash could mitigate the transmission of Legionella bacteria to drivers and passengers.” An HPA spokesperson commented that “further studies are now needed to determine whether the use of screen wash in wiper fluid could play a role in preventing this disease.” The HPA is exploring ways of taking this study forward with other organizations participating. The study found two exposures associated with vehicle use where there was an increased risk of Legionnaires’ disease: driving through industrial areas and driving or being a passenger in a vehicle without windshield wash in its wiper fluid. These associations had not been previously identified.
The abstract stated that “Not adding screenwash to windscreen wiper fluid is a previously unidentified risk factor and appears to be strongly associated with community acquired sporadic cases of Legionnaires’ disease.”
The HPA carried out the study after finding that cases of the potentially fatal disease were five times more prevalent among professional drivers in England and Wales than expected.
Between 400 and 550 cases of Legionnaires ’ disease have been reported in England and Wales in the last two years, with around one third of those infected as a result of travel to another country.
So next time your windshield wiper fluid needs to be topped off, use a washer detergent, not just plain water. It may cut down the risk of disease and certainly will keep the windshield cleaner.
The video is kind of slow at first but gets a little more entertaining around the 2:00 minute mark. It’s a beautiful 2010 Camaro on 22″ tires. Not sure what to think about the hydraulics. I’d have to drive with the hydraulics up cause i’d be afraid of losing the bumper going over a speed bump….What do you guys think?
A lot of people change their oil in their cars and trucks themselves. Lots of people don’t know how to change their oil and would rather just take their cars to their local Dallas Chevy dealer. I found this video that does a really great job of explaining how simple it can be to change your oil yourself if you want to. It’s a fairly simple task but you better make sure you don’t make a mess in the driveway.
I came across this story today fromUSAToday.com. Who is the better driver? The fast paced teenager or the slower paced senior? I was surprised at the answer. You’ve got to read this story. I was once a teenager and I thought I was a good driver then. I wonder how good of a driver I will be when I’m 65.
Picture this: You’re out on the road, driving in mixed traffic with your choice of drivers to follow. One is a gray-haired senior puttering along in the right lane and the other is a fresh-faced teenager moving briskly in the left lane.
Statistically speaking, which driver is safer to follow? Kirk Seaman of AOL Autos’ blog asks whether it’s older driver with the slower reflexes, poorer vision, and cautious driving style, or the younger driver with faster reactions, better eyesight, and driving with the flow of traffic?
Seaman’s answer: Stay in the right lane, behind the oldster, and let the teenager go on his way. According to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the safest drivers are in the age group between 64 and 69 years old. And studies of the data reveal that teenage drivers — especially male teenage drivers — are the most dangerous drivers on the road.
Here’s Seaman’s report on why:
“In every motorized country around the world, teenage drivers are disproportionately involved in crashes,” said Dr. Anne McCartt, senior vice president for research at the Institute. “The seriousness of this problem has been recognized for decades. Only in the last few years have public policies such as graduated driving licenses been enacted to address the situation. And those laws seem to be working, but fatalities are still high.”
In 2008, 5,864 15- to 20-year-old drivers were involved in fatal crashes. That’s the bad news. The good news is that number is down by 27 percent since 1998. Driver fatalities for this age group also decreased by 20 percent in the same time period.
However, motor vehicle crashes still remain the major cause of death for teenagers. In 2008, 2,739 15- to 20-year-old drivers were killed and an additional 228,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes. Sixty percent of deaths among passenger vehicle occupants ages 16-19 were drivers.
Senior drivers, like teenage drivers, have higher crash rates per mile driven, especially when it comes to fatal crashes. But seniors don’t drive as many miles, so a better measurement of their susceptibility to accidents can be had by comparing crash rates on a per capita basis. Looking at the numbers in this way shows senior drivers have much lower crash rates. Despite their increased risk of crashing per mile driven, relatively few elderly drivers are involved in accidents because of their lower rates of exposure. In addition, the rate of fatalities per capita among seniors has decreased 40 percent since 1975 and is now at its lowest level during this period.
Let’s look at the numbers. In 2008, 15- to 20-year-old drivers made up 8.5 percent of the U.S. population, yet accounted for 12 percent of occupant deaths among all ages in passenger vehicle (cars, pickups, SUVs, and vans). Per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash. Drivers from 65 to 69 years old made up 3.7 percent of the population, but accounted for just 3.2 percent of all fatal crashes.
Major risk factors contributing to teenage crashes are those you would expect, including:
Lack of experience. Teens are more likely than older drivers to underestimate dangerous situations or not be able to recognize hazardous situations.
Poor judgment. Teens are more likely than older drivers to speed and allow shorter headways (the distance from the front of one vehicle to the front of the next).
Low seat belt usage. Compared with other age groups, teens have the lowest rate of seat belt use. In 2007, 61 percent of all 15- to 20-year-old passenger vehicle occupants killed in fatal crashes were not wearing seat belts.
“Almost all states have adopted some form of graduated driver licensing,” said Dr. McCartt. “These laws are proving effective in reducing teenage crashes.”
Graduated driver licensing (GDL) systems are designed to delay full licensure while allowing teens to get their initial driving experience under low-risk conditions. Research suggests that the most comprehensive of these programs are associated with reductions of 38 percent and 40 percent in fatal and injury crashes, respectively, among 16-year-old drivers.
“When parents know their state’s GDL laws, they can help enforce the laws and, in effect, help keep their teen drivers safe,” said Dr. McCartt.
What do you guys think about this story? I found it very interesting and as a Fort Worth Chevy dealer I felt the need to share it with you. What are your thoughts?
Hi, I'm Hagen Durant, General Manager of Classic Chevrolet in Grapevine, TX - I am a huge car and truck enthusiast and love talking cars. I'm a cyclist, health nut, father, geek, and drummer. I look forward to giving you great information about cars and trucks, driving tips, maintenance and so much more.
If you have any questions or would like to make suggestions feel free to email them to me at hagen@classicchevytexas.com
When I was younger, my grandfather would pick me up from Grapevine and drive me back to Dallas to stay with him and grandma for the weekend. Every time he picked me up, he would ask if I wanted to go the “pothole way” or the “skunk way”. Now that I’m older and driving myself, I realized that the “pothole” way was actually highway 183. I also realize how much he probably hated when I chose that route because potholes can actually damage your Chevy‘s tires, chassis, suspension and wheels/rims.
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