The Joys of Owning a '12

Regular readers will recall that back in the fall I purchased my first new vehicle: a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze LT Turbo. This car has performed very VERY admirably, both on the highway and in the city. It gets great mileage, handles like a dream, and is actually a lot of fun to drive.

Well, last week after a trip to Oshawa, I came off the highway to find the engine smoking. Obviously, at under 12,000 kilometers, this is not an ideal situation. I thought at first it was just steam, but when I tracked it down it turns out there was some alien-blood fluorescent green goo flowing down onto the inside grille, and it was that green stuff that was burning up and smoking.

Green leaking fluids + smoking engine = trip to the dealer. So off I went. At first the lady who books the repairs was baffled. Smoking engine on a brand new '12? Green stuff? What the???

When the mechanic checked it out though, the answer was obvious to him. Freon leak. Apparently they dye freon bright green to make it obvious and distinguishable from the other vital fluids in the car. A small rock had flown up and dinged the a/c compressor, causing the leak.

Thankfully this specific repair is under warranty. But it's so new, neither my dealer nor the supplier in Mississauga have the parts for it yet. So the big joy now is waiting until the parts get shipped from the main production facility in Michigan! It will get fixed, but the fun is watching everybody at the dealership scratching their heads because the car is so new they've never had to actually do a repair on one yet.

This should be an interesting week.

Read more →

Free Ways to Increase Your Gas Mileage

Companies are well aware that consumers are desperate to reduce their fuel consumption.  That is why the market has been flooded with products that supposedly increase your gas mileage significantly.  Let’s ignore the fact that none of these products’ claims have been proved by the Environmental Protection Agency for a minute.  It really does not matter either way, because the fact is that there are plenty of ways to increase your gas mileage without having to spend a dime!

It is rather unfortunate that many of these extremely easy ways to increase gas mileage are still unknown by much of the general public.  The gas prices and their constant increases have caused the economy to sputter, and have put a lot of pressure on lower and middle class families.  It is important for these folks, along with everyone else that drives regularly, to know that they can save on their gas costs without making any extra financial investment!

Many of the methods for increasing gas mileage are quite simple.  For instance, did you know that having the proper level of air pressure in your tires can help you to save gas?  It is true!  Best of all, most gas stations and even car washes have free air machines that will help you to monitor and adjust your tire pressure according to whether it is a bit high or low.

You can also increase your gas mileage by avoiding certain things while driving.  For instance, you can avoid using the air conditioning* system in your vehicle, since air conditioning makes your engine work harder, which in turn means that you use more gas.  At the same time, you can drive with the windows up on cold days, which will also improve your aerodynamics, and thus, your gas mileage.  Open windows increase drag, which causes resistance that your car must overcome, after all.

*By the way, if you find you can't go long without A/C, you can manage it for efficiency as well. Use the inside air setting so you cool air that's already been cooled, rather than trying to cool the hot outside air. Once you feel the air coming through is nice and cold, leave the inside air setting on and switch the A/C off. This will save on energy, and the already-cooled air will remain actively cooled for much longer so you don't have to run the air conditioning constantly.

Another great tip for increasing gas mileage without spending a penny is simply to slow down a bit on the highway.  If you stay at the speed limit for most highways 100 km per hour), you will be operating your vehicle at right around the optimum speed for maximum fuel efficiency.  Any faster than that, and you will be sacrificing fuel efficiency to get to where you are going just a little bit earlier.

You should avoid doing certain other things, as well, such as idling your engine while you run errands or buy items at the store.  It is always better for your gas mileage for you to turn off the engine when you are stopped, even if you are only going to be gone for a couple of minutes.  You are wasting gas if you leave your car running, since you have no need for it to be running when you are not going anywhere!  You also do not need to “warm your car up” in the winter, as the only way to truly warm an engine up is by driving.  If you want it to be warm inside when you get in, try to limit the amount of time you warm up the interior of the car, at least.

These are just a few of the free methods for increasing fuel efficiency.  Try these ideas, and see how well they work for you!

Read more →