Top Automotive Myths

Movies, water cooler discussions and urban legends have created a lot of myths when it comes to the automotive industry.  In today’s blog, we debunk (we love that word) a lot of these automotive follies in our newest post. Enjoy!

Myth - Engine oil should be changed every 3000 miles.  -  The newest engines perform at optimal performance for an extended period of time.  Consult your owners’ manual and trust the engineers who designed the engines, not the fast-lube industry marketing folks who advocate 3000-mile changes.

Myth – Placing a potato into the exhaust pipe will stop the engine – a potato pressed into the exhaust pip will shoot out wen the engine starts running!

Myth – Sugar in the gas tank will ruin the engine – False!  Sugar doesn’t dissolve in gasoline nor does does it mix I added as a liquid.  It just sits at the bottom of the gas tank.  If a ton of sugar was poured into the gas tank then it would eventually clog the fuel lines or filters, thus stopping the engine but it could take compressed air to blow it out.

Myth - Aftermarket oil and fuel additives work well and are worth the money - Reality: No, they don’t work well, and they’re not worth the money. TV and magazine ads demonstrating dramatic results fail to mention that the conditions shown in the ads don’t exist in every-day engine operation.

These are just a few myths from the automotive industry.  What’s one you’ve heard recently?

The Myths vs. Facts of Hybrid Cars

There’s been a ton of discussions around hybrid vehicles lately and many consumers still wonder how they work, the benefits they have and the overall cost of one of these vehicles.  In today’s blog, we find the facts in a pile of fiction. 

Hybrids require plugs to recharge, right?

Not exactly.  Modern hybrid vehicles utilize a system called regenerative charging.  In other words, every time you apply the brake on your hybrid, the gas engine transfers a portion of electrical power back into the battery component.  This automatically recharges the battery.  So, if you keep your battery charged between 40 and 60 percent of it's max, these hold a life up to 100,000 miles!

Hybrids have no power, right?

Of course they do!  New technology allows many of the same high-power attributes of regular vehicles to be applied to hybrids also.  Just because hybrids are known for their fuel economy does not mean they are under powered.

Hybrids will cure our dependency on foreign oil, right?

Although almost 37 times as many hybrids were sold in America in 2007 than were sold in 2000, it represented only 2.5 percent of the total cars sold that year. By some estimates, if the 350,000 consumers who purchased a hybrid in 2007 each saved one gallon of gas per day, the total savings is still just a drop in the bucket. The fact is that hybrids, although they present a clear alternative to over-consumption of fossil fuels, do not solve all of America's problems when it comes to foreign oil.

These are just a few answers to your questions.

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How to Feng Shui Your Car

First and foremost, what exactly IS Feng shui? Well, to put it simply, it’s an ancient art and science developed thousands of years ago that reveals how to balance energies of a given space to ensure health and good fortune for those inhabiting it.  Simple enough, right? WRONG.  Very wrong!

Life is chock-full of play dates, careers, vacations, mistakes and mishaps…So, how do you SIMPLIFY your life?  Well, start by Feng Shui-ing your car.  You spend a ton of time there anyway during your commute, road trips and it also functions as the main vessel for kid transport.  Why shouldn’t this area exhibit a sense of Zen? In today’s blog, we’ll discuss ways to make your life easier and add a little peace to your daily mayhem.

1. 1. Keep Clear of Clutter – By keeping your vehicle clean and clutter-free, it will unclutter your mind, so to speak.  Be sure your car is free of garbage, junk and unnecessary items, especially in the trunk.
2. 2. Clean, Fresh Air – If the weather permits, open your window!  It causes slight drag on your vehicle, but it’s a great diffuser.  Also, try and use some aromatherapy scents like peppermint and lemongrass to highten your energy level that helps clear your focus, while lavender or sweet orange will be soothing and calming. 
3. 3. Best Colors for Your Car – Let your feelings be your guide.  Choose the colors you enjoy the most that cause a tranquil feeling. 

Do you have any Feng Shui tips to add? 

Our Favorite Instagram Photos of All-Time

Once in a while, a photo comes along that defines our brand, our goals and our automotive tenacity to the tee.  

For those not familiar with Instagram, Instagram is an online photo-sharing and social networking service that enables its users to take a picture, apply a digital filter to it, and share it on a variety of social networking services, including its own. A distinctive feature is that it confines photos to a square shape, similar to Kodak Instamatic and Polaroid images, in contrast to the 4:3 aspect ratio typically used by mobile device cameras.

By December 2010, Instagram had 1 million registered users.[50] In June 2011 Instagram announced it had 5 million users[51] and it passed ten million in September of the same year.[52] In April 2012, it was announced that over 30 million accounts were set up on Instagram.

In today’s blog, we’re providing our choice for the TOP Instagram photos of all time:  

Are Self-Driving Cars Coming Sooner Than We Think?

Yes.  Yes.  Yes.  According to Daily Finance: “This is no pipe dream. Google's (GOOG) well-publicized experiments with self-driving cars have shown the world that this is real technology, not a science-fiction dream. In fact, it's just one more step on a journey that has been under way for several years -- a journey toward taking the "driving" out of car ownership.”  Google has been hard at work at this process, you can check out their progress here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9Fxp3HK6DI  The vehicle drives itself, maintaining speed and angles throughout. 

Other manufacturers like Mercedes are working on a system that will allow drivers to leave the car to drive itself at speeds of up to 30 mph (gotta start somewhere!).  The process is somewhat similar to radar cruise control, in which the autonomous driving system uses a series of cameras and sensors to control the speed of the car and the distance to the front of the other vehicle.  Mercedes-Benz engineer Dr Stefan Schweher told the website the technology "allows the driver to concentrate on other things" while they navigated morning or evening traffic.

Wow, sounds pretty cool! What do you think?  Would you want your car to drive for you?  Leave us feedback!