Blog

One thing I learned while I lived in the south is that people seriously neglect the maintenance on their cars when they are not forced to do it. In Florida, you can drive on your tires YEARS past when they should have been replaced. I have seen tires down there that I would not have believed  held air if I was not seeing with my own eyes. I’m talking about seeing entire bands through the rubber. In the north, 3/4 of your year involves ice on the roads (slight exaggeration). If you have tires that are not tip-top shape, then your car will literally just not leave the driveway. Not that you don’t want it to! It just physically won’t move…

Anyway. Here is my list of things you should check/accomplish before the weather outside gets frightful, and frightful it will get friends….

• Tires

I would say the most important item on the list. Since tires are what connects you to the road it’s important that they are in good shape and are the correct tires for your current conditions. Most cars will come with “all weather” tires and that’s fine. But even all weather tires wear down. You can use the “penny test” to check if you need new tires. Below is a really simple article by Firestone showing you how to do it. The best part is that all you need is a penny. If you don’t have a penny, then no worries because you need a lot more than that to buy new tires. http://www.firestonecompleteautocare.com/penny-tire-test/ In all seriousness, this is how most people end up in a ditch, or worse, in an accident. Check your tires and make sure they are ready to rock. If you have a sports car that has tires designed for summer weather, you could consider getting a separate set of winter tires (and rims) for your ride. Obviously, this is the far more expensive option, but with places like Tire Rack and Discount Tire Direct you can buy complete wheel and tire sets that are already balanced and ready to mount. All you need to do is swap them out. Additionally, Discount Tire Direct teamed up with EBay and are using their interface for ease of shopping and better prices. Lastly, check for cracks, bulges, nails, etc., all over the tire. You will not want to deal with a blowout in the winter time.

• Fluids

This isn’t just as simple as getting an oil change. Well, it kind of is, let me explain. As you know oils come in different weights. The viscosity of oil is a measurement of its resistance to deformation. Basically, the more viscous something is, the thicker it is. Temperature plays a big role in viscosity as well. The colder it is the more viscous an oil becomes. So if you are using a high weight oil and it gets REALLY cold then you will be putting extra pressure on your oil pump, and worse yet, you my not be properly lubricating your motor. So if you are getting close to an oil change you may want to consider a lower viscosity for the colder months of the year. Also, included in fluids would be your antifreeze and even your wiper fluid. If you have been adding water to you radiator (big no-no) then now is the time for a flush and refill with the proper mixture. Additionally, you can get wiper fluid that has antifreeze in it so your wiper tank does not turn into a block of ice and you cannot use it. Oh, and it will also split that cheap plastic tank in half too.

• Wiper Blades

Wiper blades get their own category because they are arguably as important as tires. I only say that because what good are healthy tires if you cannot see where you are driving? If it’s snowing there are times where you cannot see the lines in the road, and sometimes you can barely tell where the road is!! Having good, weather appropriate wiper blades combined with antifreeze wiper fluid will give you the best vision for driving in inclement weather.

• • Battery

Batteries are one of those things that get ignored until they don’t work, like refrigerators or roommates.  In winter, the cold weather takes a toll on your battery. One that works just fine in the summer might have issues starting your car in winter. This issue is due to your cold cranking amps being stunted by the cold. Additionally, your car requires MORE power to start in the winter. You could take your battery out and go get it bench tested for health. However if you are not exhibiting any other issues then just making sure the connections are clean should be good enough. You can get a battery post cleaner at any car parts shop or online. Here is what they look like, you can click the image to pick one up on Amazon (affiliate link).

• • Maintenance

This is a bit of a catch all. These are the types of things that should be done anyway but sometimes they get neglected. Things like inspecting your tie rod ends, ball joints, transmission fluid, drive belt(s), etc. If you need to get any of this done, especially if you plan to do any of it yourself, get it done BEFORE it gets nasty out. If you have hit your knuckles while working in the freezing cold then you know what I mean. You so not want to have to deal with maintenance in the cold. For instance, my dad’s truck had a cooling line rupture in the dead of winter. My mom was driving and she was alone. Luckily, she’s a badass and was like, “WTF ever, I’ll just drive it home.” So she did. Anyway, the point is my dad spent 5-6 hours outside (truck won’t fit in the garage) replacing the water pump, thermostat, and all cooling lines on the rig. Now, I cannot speak for him, but I assume it was not a super fun time.

Now, in a perfect world we would always be on top of all of these things. But life frequently gets in the way. We end up relying on our cars day after day but not taking care of them. Most of the year that’s really not that big of a deal. If we break down we call roadside assistance or press our On Star or MBrace button and someone comes right by to help us out. But in the dead of winter, things become much more complicated and much more dangerous. Please do your part to make sure that your car is safe for yourself, your family, and the thousands of people that you drive past everyday.

Be safe this winter season and don’t forget to have fun!

Now I have owned a lot of cars. I mean a LOT. I am somewhere around the mid 50’s in count and one day I’ll post my (running) list of vehicles to the blog for you.  After owning that many cars, you start to hone in on what you really like to see in your ride. The format, price range, options, power, etc. These are all important when deciding what car or truck will work for you. Now my way of determining what I really love is looking at the cars that I have owned twice (sometimes 3 times).  My thought processes is that there must be something that I like about this car so much that I gravitate toward it multiple times at different points in my life.  That being said, here is a current list of cars that I have owned at least twice.

Dodge/Plymouth Neon
Ford F150
Jeep Cherokee
Jeep Wrangler
Chrysler 300

Now its no secret that I am a fan of Mopar. I think they have made some really great products. I am not a fan of the creation of FCA but I think they are still making good vehicles that stand up to the competition on the global market (and look better doing it). Anyways back to the list.

Your first car was likely not great, but you learn a lot from it.

A few on the list are pretty simple to explain. The first on the list was my very first car. I was gifted a 1995 Plymouth Neon that had gone through a hail storm and was totaled out (thank you sis, you’re the best!). I did unimaginable things to that car. I gutted it and put huge subs into it, I modded the engine, and I may have even gotten a few wheels of the ground at times but that’s a different story for a different time. You learn so much from your first car. It’s much like your first “time”. Its likely not great, but you learn a lot.

On that basis alone I loved that car and I still do today. I find it charming, extraordinarily simple, and not terribly ugly. I mean, look at it!

They were both mine but I was replacing it at the time and frankly, it was not really worthy of committing it to film at that point.

The next few cars are pretty straight forward. A truck is a truck and when you feel like you need one, you go buy one. I prefer F150s or Ram 1500s because I like the way perform and they are not Chevy…

The Cherokees explain themselves. If you have not yet, go drive a second generation Cherokee. You will love it. Simple, rugged, and capable as all hell.

The Wrangler… OHHHH the Wrangler. It has all the things a Cherokee has plus the ability to drop the top. Not to mention you can transform this thing into an off road monster and the AMC 4.0 6 cyc is a rock solid bad ass motor (read its interesting history here). Every human on earth should own one. It might be the secret to world peace.

Now that brings me to the Chrysler 300.  You may or may not know this but the 300 numbering system is more than 60 years old. Chrysler used the 300 naming for a line of “letter cars” built starting in the mid-1950’s. Read more about the origin of the 300 line here.  The modern versions of these cars are spectacular. They are comparatively affordable, offer an insane amount of options, and bonus, they can get out of their own way with its strong HEMI heart.

Every human on earth should own a Jeep Wrangler. It might be the secret to world peace.

I first owned a 300 back in 2012. I leased it and I picked out the one with the most options. Man, did I LOVE that car! It was huge, elegant, and powerful. What’s not to love?

While I had that car my partner and I moved across the country and both started working from home. A hefty payment combined with the fact that it barely left the driveway drove us to get rid of in in lieu of something cheaper and less… awesome (I believe it was a Kia Soul).  It totally broke my heart to get rid of it but I knew at the time it was the right decision. Ever since then I have occasionally cruised the lots to look for a 300 that had low miles and was in good condition.

Fast forward 5 years…

We moved back to Michigan, my husband now commutes to work, we have a few rides comprising of the GLK 250, the Wrangler and of course, the X. I found myself again with a hefty payment on the Mercedes which I just don’t drive that much since I am still working from home. However, this time things were different….

Its now been 6 years since the release of the second generation of the 300. This time the 300 IS the cheaper car that I can go find to lower my payment! YES!!

I was super excited at the prospect and we found one pretty quickly. Its a 2011 with only 58k on it and it is DECKED OUT. I got all the options that the car had to offer and I got it at a price that wont make me cringe when it sits in the driveway too long.

Since I last had the 300 I’ve learned a lot about what I want out of a car. I think that knowing what actually makes you happy whether is in a vehicle or otherwise is a pretty powerful thing. Just try to make sure it does not take buying over 50 cars to figure it out.