Is GM comming back after Toyota beatdown ??

Is GM coming back after Toyota beat down, taking over the majority market share in automobile sales in the US?? Well it looks like GM feels the VOLT is the answer. General Motors is developing a plug-in hybrid technology for its Chevy Volt that is miles ahead of Toyota and Honda. GM plans to blow past the competition with its new technology by 2010. GM has been unleashing the best vehicles it has ever produced. Quality is better than ever. Designs are being lauded. And critics are falling over themselves praising new versions of such previously dullard drives as the Chevy Malibu. Even a Buick,the Enclave SUV (BusinessWeek.com, 8/24/07), is drawing kudos, and GM can't make them fast enough to meet demand. But overall, GM sales are down almost 6% this year, compared with a drop of 2.5% for the industry through the first 10 months of the year. Indeed, some believe the "wow" factor of getting more than 100 mpg could help plug-ins eclipse the popularity of hybrids. GM says the Volt technology will allow consumers to go up to 40 miles on battery power, after which the gas engine kicks on to recharge the battery while the driver continues. If a driver makes several short trips on battery power, the battery can simply be plugged in overnight to recharge. Many drivers could go weeks without gassing up. GM engineers say the Volt and electric car program have "an open purse," meaning that when they need more money, they get it. A123 Systems Chief Executive David Vieau says GM's schedule for 2010 is "a risk" as far as using the nano-phosphate battery, but he believes they'll make it.When Toyota launched its first hybrids, it lost money for a few years on each one until the cost of the technology came down as sales volume went up. But the halo effect of the hybrid more than made up for it. The same internal study at GM that indicates consumers see the automaker as "part of the problem" also showed that the image of the Prius led car buyers to believe that Toyota's trucks and SUVs were about 25% more fuel efficient than they really are. Says GM's Burns: "We didn't understand the marketing benefit to the whole company that a hybrid would have, but Toyota schooled us on that." resource: www.businessweek.com

Should my Gas Mileage Stay the same all Year ?

With today's cars ( 1996 and newer ) the fuel usage is controlled by the engines computer. The computer uses several sensors to decide how much fuel to inject into the engine. The sensors on the engine determine outside air temperature, air flow, engine temperature, and how well the engine is doing its job. So if one of these sensors is not operating correctly, it will effect the fuel mileage.

The outside temperature can change the fuel consumption. If you are driving in a warm climate, take a fuel mileage reading and then drive in a cold climate, you will see a decrease in fuel mileage in the colder temperatures. Why? When the Engine is colder it takes more fuel to burn to get the engine up to normal operating temperatures. In the old days it was called a choke. Now the computer does this for you. So you can expect worse fuel mileage in the winter if it gets cold where you live.

If you live in the same climate year round then you will not see a change in fuel mileage unless you change your driving habits or let someone else drive your car....

2003 f150 Heater is blowing cold air, Why ?

Question :

My 2003 f150 heater is blowing cold air, both heater hoses get hot and the temp gauge is in the normal zone [straight up]

Answer : The most common concern on these trucks is a broken temp blend door. It kinda hard to diagnose, If you were to have the a/c set to max air and on high blower and you turned the temp from cold to hot, you should here a change in how the air flow sounds while the door is moving. You really need to know what its suppose to sound like, if you know someone else with a working truck to compare to.

Make sure the knob is not broken on the temp,knob.. pull that off and look for cracks where is attaches to the shaft.

I suspect the broken door and it requires the whole dash be removed and the heater box cover removed to replace the door. Its a 8 hour job.

How Much Better is Hybrid Car Gas Mileage?

In certain driving modes, hybrid electric gas cars offer you no better fuel efficiency than standard cars. Also the fuel efficiency of Hybrid cars and SUV's works counter intuitive to what you would expect. Your gas mileage could be more volatile with a hybrid vehicle due to the way it operates in different driving modes, and how much time you spend in each driving mode. In some driving modes, your fuel efficiency can be better, and in some modes your fuel efficiency can offer you no benefit at all.

Simply put, the added price of the vehicle out ways the fuel savings unless you keep the vehicle longer than 8 years...... Keep in mind car manufacturers are building cars to make "profit". Its up to you to decide if a hybrid is right for you.

Heater blows cold, rev the engine you get heat ???

Question :

I have a '95 windstar, heater blows cold, rev the engine you get heat, heat circulates entire system even rear heater, changed thermostat - no help, changed heat sensor - no help, changed water pump - no help, elevate front end to refill radiator and aid circulation - no help, engine runs great - no warning lights, at wits end - please help.

Answer :

The flapper door that allows the flow of either hot or cold is not opening fully , caused by a vacuum leak. Once you rev the engine you are creating more vacuum and this fully opens the flapper door until you release the accelerator. Locate and repair the vacuum leak and this will cure your problem. *note*This is a common occurrence.

How Do I Check My Flat Tire For Leaks ?

If you think you have a leak in a tire, check out the valve stem on the tire before you take it to a mechanic.

To determine whether the core of the valve stem is leaking, remove the cap and use your finger to apply a little soapy water around the valve. If bubbles form, the core is leaking and needs to be replaced. You can get a new core and a valve-repair tool at any auto-parts store.

Here's how to replace the valve: 1) Carefully jack up the car so you can let the air out of the tire. 2) Unscrew the valve using the repair tool. 3) Safety tip: Be careful! The valve can fly out just from the pressure in the tire. 4) Screw the new core in place and refill the tire with the proper amount of air. Then retest to make sure the new valve core is functioning properly. If it is, put the valve cap back in place.

Why won't My window go up ???

Question : The Motor on my electric window is running but the window will not go up! what's the best way to get my window at lest up?

Answer: The problem is the window regulator needs to be replaced. You will need to remove the door panel and replace it. I recommend replacing the the motor and regulator at the same time and can be purchased as one unit.

In the mean time, you can remove the door panel, lift the window and place a block of wood under it to help support the window until you can repair it properly.

My door adjar light won't go off, Why ?

Question : My door ajar light won't go off causing me to drive around with my imterior lights on. i've cleaned all around my door and checked them over and over and they still stay on. they started staying on for a little while and would shut off after a few minutes, now they won't go off at all.

Answer : Your door switch has failed. They are internal in the door latch inside the door itself. These are extremely common to fail and are generally in stock at your local dealer. You will need to have it replaced. Usually it is the drivers door latch as it is the one that gets used the most often. These is assuming that none of the doors are ajar.

My Car Won't Start , What could it be ??

The Number One cause for your car or truck to give you the "click, click, click" no start blues is a dead battery. Just because the radio plays or the lights illuminate on the dash doesn't mean the battery has a strong enough charge to start your engine. The Engines starter requires over 50 amps to spin it, where as the radio only requires less than 5 amps.

1. Make sure your battery connections are clean of corrosion on the inside and out.
2. Check for corrosion inside the battery cables themselves.
3. Check for loose connections at the battery.
4. Fully charge a battery before testing.
5. After charging and testing the battery or replacing the battery, Test the alternator.

Privacy Policy

We are committed to the privacy of our visitors. We collect no personal information about you when you visit our Web site unless you choose to provide that information to us. Here is how we handle information about your visit to our Web site: Information Collected and Stored Automatically: If you do nothing during your visit but browse through the Web site, read pages or download information, we will gather and store certain information about your visit automatically. This information does not identify you personally. We automatically collect and store information like the following concerning your visit. Your IP address (an IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are surfing the Web) from which you access our Web site; The type of browser and operating system used to access our site; The date and time you access our site; The pages you visit; and If you linked to our Web site from another Web site, the address of that Web site. We use this information to help us make our site more useful to visitors—to learn about the number of visitors to our site and the types of technology our visitors use.Information That You Voluntarily ProvideWe do not collect personally-identifiable information unless you choose to provide it to us. If you provide us with personally identifiable information, for example by sending an e-mail or by filling out a form and submitting it through our Web site, we use that information only to respond to your message and to help us provide you with the information and services that you request CookiesA cookie is a piece of data stored on the user’s computer tied to information about the user. My site use cookies for tracking visitors’ activity. Some of my business partners use cookies on our site (for example, advertisers). However, I have no access to or control over these cookies, once I have given permission for them to set cookies for advertising. You can choose not to accept cookies by modifying your browser settings. At any time, you may remove any cookie stored on your hard drive by deleting them in your browser’s settings section. LinksThis Web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that I am not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. I encourage my users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every Web site that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this Web site. AdvertisersI use outside ad companies to display ads on my site. These ads may contain cookies and are collected by the ad companies, and I do not have access to these information.~ We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. Ad ServersTo try and bring you offers that are of interest to you, we have relationships with other companies that we allow to place ads on our Web pages. As a result of your visit to our site, ad server companies may collect information such as your domain type, your IP address, and clickstream information. Google AdvertisingGoogle, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on your site. Google's use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to your users based on their visit to your sites and other sites on the Internet. Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy.