Amy’s Garage

by Amy Mattinat

Denver to Durango

Today started the first leg of my Audi Journey. The weather was cold the skies gray and we were told there was black ice on the mountain roads. The weather people were calling for sunny skies, so we had an extra long breakfast and started out on the road about 1.5 hrs behind schedule.

I met my partners this morning: Kami Buchholz and Bob Massa.

Kami writes for www.kjbsyndicate.com and provides her readers with vehicle driving impressions that emphasize the technical features of popular automobiles. She is also the Detroit Editor of Automotive Engineering International. A monthly publication that reports on product development trends. Sounds like she would be pretty high tech and dry… but Kami is so much fun to have in the car. She tells the funniest stories and has a great eye for spotting deer, birds, waterfalls and the biggest wasp nest I have ever seen hanging off a branch of a tree.

Bob is representing Michelin Tire. He is driving the whole way with the Audi Mileage Marathon. That’s 4,800 miles and 14 days of driving. I’m really enjoying to talking to Bob about one of my favorite automotive subject: Tires!

I feel that tires are one of the MOST Important parts of an automobile. Why? because it is the only contact the vehicle has with the road. Bob has been in the tire business in one aspect or another for years and years. I had always had the misconception that to make tires, they poured liquid rubber into a mold. Way Wrong! I learned a lot today about how tires are made. Tomorrow Bob has a video to show me so I can see what he was talking about. I’ll write more about tires after I get the visual to go with my notes.

But What About The Car?

This little Audi A4 TDI (Turbo Diesel Injection) is wicked fun to drive. Hugs the road, has quick pick-up and go - or should I be blunt and say it kicks butt when you need to pass a huge truck carrying a giant road vehicle that is taking up more then half the road and going very slow!

Plus, it is very styling! checkout this front grill. Is it sexy or what?

The trunk is loaded with all of our luggage with room to spare. The seats are very comfy with lots of various ways to adjust the seats. This is always a good thing after sitting in a car for over 8 hours. Bob also claims he has plenty of legroom in the back.

It drives so nice that I keep forgetting it’s a diesel. It climbs the steep mountain roads without a hiccup and hugs the road when cruising down the curvy backside of the mountains.

I wanted to share with you two of my favorite views of the day! The first one is outside the Mt. Princeton Hot Springs where we had lunch, and the second is ‘A Magic Valley’ we found cruising down one of the many mountain roads we drove on today.

Tomorrow we head to Sedona Arizona. I hear the scenery will be even more spectacular!

by Amy Mattinat

E85

My last post was to shout out the great news that Los Angeles County has approved a ground breaking facility that will revolutionize the Biofuel industry. They are going to be making their E85 out of Grass clippings, wood chips, paper products, and cardboard… and not corn.

Then I got a bunch of questions wondering what the heck was E85 anyways?

E85 is a special alternative fuel that is a blend of 15% gasoline and 85% ethanol. This special blend is used to power Flex Fuel Vehicles. You may have trouble finding a E85 fueling station at this time, because there are only about 1500 in the USA, and none in VT, NH, ME, CT RI or NJ. Seems the North East if lagging behind in the E85 arena.

Flex Fuel Vehicles? OK, so there is not a lot of difference in a Flex Fuel vehicle and a regular gasoline engine vehicle. Mechanically, the only difference is the addition of a fuel sensor that detects the ethanol/gasoline ration and the various parts that had to be upgraded to tolerate the ethanol, which is very corrosive.

Making fuel out of ethanol is not a new idea. Henry ford’s first cars were made to run on ethanol, but gasoline was so plentiful and cheap that it became the fuel of the day.

Flex Fueled vehicles running on E85 don’t really get any better gas mileage then their gasoline counter parts, but the advantages to using E85 versus gasoline are HUGE!

• Ethanol burns cleaner and tests have shown reduction in those nasty harmful hydrocarbon and benzene emissions.
• E85 can help reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) that harmful greenhouse gas that is a major contributor to global warming - and causing Vermont rain all summer - which only lasts 3 months if we are lucky.
• Ethanol is like totally renewable! It may be the hero of the day by helping to reduce our dependency on petroleum fuels.
• Manufacturing ethanol out of scraps will help clean up the environment while providing an alternative to straight gasoline powered engines!

I’ve got my eye on this one and will keep you informed when this becomes our new reality!

Alan Cohen has a new website www.LAAutoRefferal.com.

Alan has taken his 30+ years experience in the automotive service industry and created a website to relieve the anxiety and stress of getting a car repaired.

His website provides a Professional Independent Service Shop Review for shops around LA California. They put the shops through a 10 step process to determine if a shop meets their qualifications.

In looking over Alan’s qualifications of a good repair shop, I have taken his best and added them to my own to create a list of what you need to look for in a shop to help you determine if this is a good fit for your automotive repair and service needs.

1. How clean, organized and carefully thought out is the shop and waiting room?
2. Are customers greeted when they come into the shop? Does the Service Advisor show interest in the customer and make them feel at ease?
3. Does the S.A. run triage during the interview? Meaning…are they able to determine the reason why a vehicle was brought in by asking the right questions to get all the symptoms so the technician will have the information necessary to make a diagnosis without wasting their time and your dollars.
4. Does the S.A. explain the shops repair / service process so you understand how the job is going to happen. For example: “We will do a brake diagnosis to find out what is wrong with the brakes. We will put together an estimate to fix the problem and call you to get your permission before we do any work. Once we have your permission, we will complete the repair and call you to let you know when you can pick up your car. Any questions?”
5. Does the shop have a lot of repeat customers? Customers are more likely to stay with a shop that they trust and does a good job for them on a regular basis.
6. Does the shop guarantee their work with at least a 6 month / 6,000 mile in house warranty?
7. Is there at least one ASE (Automotive Service Excellence) Master Technician on staff? This non-profit organization offers exams that set a national standard of technician competence.
8. Is the shop AAA approved or do they belong to any other groups that show that the shop is determined to keep up with the latest information on how to repair the newest technologies that are on the road?
9. Get a Referral: Ask around to see if folks you know have had a good or bad experience with this shop. (This is what www.LAAutoRefferal.com is providing for folks who live in LA.)

   Alan wrote this very interesting article and has given me permission to reprint it.

   Dealerships VS Independents

   There are many differences between dealerships and independent shops. The first is that most dealerships are bigger than independent shops, and have a much higher overhead.

   Then there is liability. From my experience while working at a dealership, when a quote is made for a repair it is usually higher than at an independent shop.
   Read the rest of the article!

According to Automotive News: After only six years of selling the Hummer brand, GM announced that they are “pulling the plug on Hummer and considering all options for the brand, including selling it”

What does this mean for the approx. 170 Hummer dealers across the country and especially for the 35 dealers that spent millions building specially distinctive quonset-hut style showrooms? It means that Hummer had a good ride for a couple of years, but now they’re running out of a rode to drive on. It also means that these 170 dealers invested in the wrong brand at the wrong time.

{According to Automoitve News Data Center & Company Sources} Hummer under GM sold:

• 20,000 units in 2002
• 35,000 units in 2003
• 30,000 units in 2004
• 55,000 units in 2005
• 72,000 units in 2006
• 55,000 units in 2007
• will be interesting to see if they even sell 10,000 units this year…

Some dealers are dreaming that a Hummer Hybrid System will magically appears to save the day. Other dealers are hoping that the price of gas will drop drastically and folks forget about fuel economy.

This AutoGirl predicts that Hummer will turn back into a Army type rescue vehicle that is was design for in the first place.

What do you think will happen to the mighty Hummer?

Jenny Ortiz from the Car Care Council Women’s Board turned me on to a very cool website: www.drivesmarterchallenge.org

This is an interactive website that computes the $ savings on your specific year, make and model vehicle if you take their 1-6 recommended fuel efficiency actions.

The website also gives money-saving gas tips, online resources and has a creative campaign at www.sixdegreechallenge.org

This campaign will help you lower winter energy use by explaining the interconnectedness of energy-related issues that affect you, your families, your communities, your state, your county and our world.

Check these websites out and tell me what you think!