Posted by Don Elliott Auto Group on 3:26 AM
Is rustproofing your car worth it? In short, yes! Rust is a car’s natural enemy. More than just a discoloration of metal, rust is the corrosive result of a chemical reaction between oxygen and iron. Though rust technically corrodes just the surface of iron or an iron-based alloy (such as steel), fresh iron is exposed during this process of corrosion, which in turn can become “infected” with rust. Given enough time, this cycle will repeat over and over to the point when the rust completely disintegrates the metal. Put simply: Rusted metal is not as structurally strong as rust-free metal. Since most cars are made of metal (especially...
Posted by Don Elliott Auto Group on 3:07 AM
How safe is your vehicle from theft? Find out which cars thieves hate tangling with the most: Having seen how car thieves have a special attraction for the Cadillac Escalade, what cars do they hate the most? Interestingly, it's a mix of cars and midsize SUVs, such as the Chevrolet Equinox, the Highway Loss Data Institute reports. It may not be because it isn't cool to be cruising around in an Audi A6 or an Equinox. Rather, it may be because these vehicles have really good anti-theft mechanisms. It's clearly not because these vehicles are undesirable. Looking over the list, they are all fairly popular, even if some are niche...
Posted by Don Elliott Auto Group on 5:09 AM
Congratulations, Ram! The shootout put five pickups that cost no more than $30,000 in head-to-head testing to determine which was the best bang for a shopper's buck. The Ram took the title because of its outstanding performance in payload capacity, 0-60 testing and handling as well as its impressive array of features for the price. Overall, the Ram not only outperformed the other four trucks, but it also had the fewest sacrifices or compromises feature-wise. The ST Quad Cab is our Best Truck for $30,000. Ram found the winning formula that balances price, performance and features. Read more: http://special-reports.pickuptrucks.com/2011/09/30k-shootout-results.html...
Posted by Don Elliott Auto Group on 6:52 AM
Are we approaching an era of self-driving cars? “Fred Flintstone had a car that he had to power with his own feet; by that standard, all of today's cars are pretty easy to use. But cars are becoming even more user-friendly -- so user-friendly, in fact, that they may not even require a user at all. That's because much of the new car technology involves taking over the role of the driver. For instance, no longer does a driver need to mind the blind spots, as certain cars come with detection systems that will alert the operator to obstacles in other lanes. If a driver should start to drowse off and drift into another lane, the steering...
Posted by Don Elliott Auto Group on 4:42 AM
Did you know that you can contact our technicians through this form http://www.donelliott.com/page/askatech/master/secondary/ and ask a question about your vehicle? Of course you can always give us a call at 800-939-8413. We look forward to hearing from you!...
Posted by Don Elliott Auto Group on 3:45 AM
The Dodge Caliber will be discontinued starting in November. The Dodge Caliber, the car that was “anything but cute,” will be ending production on November 23, 2011, according to documentation recently sent to dealers. Those who want Redline 2 paint or power express sunroofs can get them starting in October, shortly before the end. The Caliber was launched in 2006 as a 2007 model, accompanied by official putdowns of the Dodge Neon, which had been so popular in 1994 that many dealers had waiting lists. Early Neons had numerous quality issues, due largely to cost-cutting, though these had been dealt with by 1998; however, it was late...
Posted by Don Elliott Auto Group on 6:01 AM
GM uses stereo headphone technology to help fuel economy. The 2011 Chevy Equinox gets 32 miles per gallon on the highway, four mpg better than segment competitors like the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 and Ford Escape – all rated at 28 mpg. It achieves this rating by enabling the crossover’s engine to run at a lower RPM. However, this posed a new challenge for noise and vibration engineers. “There’s a boom, or very low frequency rumble that comes from the engine when it runs in that RPM range,” said Noise and Vibration Development Engineer Jim Vallance. “We knew if we could deaden those booms, we could run the engine at the lower RPM, which...
Posted by Don Elliott Auto Group on 6:40 AM
Is texting while driving really worse than drunk driving? That’s the question that Christopher Neiger from “How Stuff Works” asked. Read more to find out his conclusion. Texting, or short message service(SMS), is a quick form of communication that allows users to send 160 characters or less to and from their cell phones and smartphones. A study by the Pew Research group in 2009 and 2010 reported that out of the number of Americans who have cell phones, 58 percent of adults and 66 percent of teens use them to text [source:Motavalli]. With these high percentages of Americans using text messaging every year, many are bringing...
Posted by Don Elliott Auto Group on 5:53 AM
The Chevrolet Volt was named to Edmunds.com 2011 Consumers’ Top Rated Vehicles List. In addition to being one of the nation’s premier resources for online vehicle research, Edmunds.com also provides a key opportunity for owners themselves to review their vehicles, creating a unique—and important—measure of quality from consumers who know those vehicles best. Comments from new Chevy Volt drivers included: “I have owned my Volt since mid-March, and have used exactly 20 gallons of gas over 3,100 miles. I also own a Prius and feel that the Volt, though a bit smaller, is a big leap forward over that fine car. The Volt is quicker,...
