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Have you ever gotten a little too excited using your parking brake? At some point, most of us pull up just a little too hard and get our brake lever jammed.  There are several situations that require a little extra braking power. Knowing when and how to use your brake will help you avoid sticky situations.    When should I use my parking brake?   If you drive a manual transmission you might use your emergency brake every time you park your vehicle. You might even be using it when you are drivin...

Don’t you hate it when you try to find ways to save on gas and the first response you get is “drive less”?  If that was an option, I wouldn’t be looking up solutions. Unfortunately, we all depend on our vehicles and we all have to drive. Which means we all have to buy gas. But how can we do all this and still save money?    You can’t make it far in search results without coming across dozens of tips on how to make your gas go further. In case you’ve missed out, here are some of the best t...

Your vehicle is made of many different parts. In fact, a single vehicle can have 30,000 components or more! With so many parts, it’s hard to keep track of what they all do. In order to maintain your vehicle’s performance, your belts are something you should be familiar with. They might not be good at keeping your pants up but the belts in your car play a big role in your vehicle’s performance. The major belts in your vehicle are the serpentine belt and timing belt. Serpentines are responsibl...

Let's talk about automotive performance. This term means a lot of things to a lot of people... from better handling, more speed, more off-road or track capability or even better fuel economy. For the purposes of this list, performance means one thing; getting where you are going sooner. Consider the following top pick performance upgrades if you want to put more power to the ground: Cold-air Intake - Factory air boxes are restrictive and are usually more about packaging under the hood than fe...

It used to be as common as falling leaves in autumn for people to work on their own cars.  And while this red-blooded American pastime has not completely disappeared from our world, the expense and complexity of newer cars make some repairs best left to the professionals.  Here is a quick list of, "Don't try this at home"' auto repairs: 1.  Check Engine Diagnostics - With everyone from big box parts stores to smartphone app developers making it possible to talk to the computer in your car, many...

Few things typify the holidays like hitting the road to share the magic of the season with family and friends. But with the road choked with other drivers, winter weather hazards, and long empty stretches of sleepy asphalt, a holiday road trip can quickly turn ugly. Keep the joy meter pegged by taking a few precautions to prepare for your trip. 1.  Get Your Pre-drive ZZZZZs - Drowsy driving is a largely unheralded hazard, taking a back seat to more socially active no-no's like texting and drink...

North American roads cover millions of miles of landscape through habitats that vary from desert and grassland to mountain or forest and everything in-between. While we enjoy the freedom of the open road, we are nearly always crossing through the homes of wild creatures which may venture out on the road at the worst time possible.  Follow these tips to avoid a collision with our natural neighbors. 1.  Pay Attention - It may seem like the most basic of instructions, but in our tech-crazy world t...

Time has a way of sneaking up on everyone, and so does mileage on a vehicle. If you have a long commute or regularly put lengthy interstate trips on your car, you can easily rack up 15-18,000 miles a year. Even though today’s cars don’t need as much maintenance as cars from a generation ago, it’s still something you can’t neglect. Here’s a reminder of some important milestones for service on your vehicle:    Monthly  • Check tire inflation • Check oil and transmission fluid le...