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March 2009
Dave’s auto & tire center 610 NORTH HOOSAC ROAD, WILLIAMSTOWN MA (413)458-0256 MARCH 2009 www.davesautoandtirecenter.com RECESSION. We hear about it on the news. We see the effects in our communities, as towns and schools attempt to grapple with the budget cuts coming from the state level; those that, one way or another, get passed on to us. We see it as large and small businesses close, or layoff employees. By now most of us know people who have been directly affected by the economy. The psychology of resentment, frustration and anger are powerful as we see the government give away billions so rich executives don’t have to forgo their multi-million dollar bonuses. The rest of us are left to fend for ourselves in a struggling economy, and hope for the best. We all choose different ways to handle the global slowdown. Cooper Tire is closing its Albany, GA plant and laying off those 1400 workers, while Hankook Tire, a Korean based company, is having its US & overseas factories go to a four day work week, thus retaining all its jobs, while making the necessary cutbacks to scale down production. Michelin and Goodyear are having major layoffs, but Goodyear is forging ahead with fifty new tire designs, hoping new product will help with market share. Bridgestone has given six months notice of 500 layoffs in its La Vergne, TN plant; this after a previous 150 employee layoff. Marangoni has seen a 10% increase in unit sales as consumers opt for less expensive products, and Chinese imports are up 15.8%, all in the face of a 4.8% drop in car tire sales. (Information gleaned from a handful of tire industry journals.) On a more creative note, Toyo and Bridgestone/Firestone are trading technology and manufacturing capacity to make themselves stronger companies, while remaining independent. Toyo has more capacity than it needs in its Georgia plant, while Bridgestone has extra capacity in Brazil, a market Toyo is anxious to get into. So the two companies together are working to improve their bottom lines. I have not heard of Toyo laying off any workers yet. Here at Dave’s Auto and Tire Center we are going to be doing what we have always done, providing quality service in an upbeat and friendly atmosphere. Our focus, as always, is on keeping up with the latest technologies and training. We always prefer to provide the highest quality of service possible. Even though it may cost a few dollars more up front, in the long run it can save hundreds. Through deals like our Car Care Club we offer huge savings. And now, through the internet, we are offering even more in the way of discounts and service packages. On our website you can keep up with our latest blogs and newsletters, and watch for monthly specials and discounts. Right now you can find blogs on potholes and oil changes. We promise more fun reading as time goes by. THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU This April will be the beginning of our 15th year in business and we just wanted to say thanks to all our customers who have supported us over these years. We hope to be able to say the same at the beginning of our 30th year. THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU Thanks also to all of you who have helped us collecting can tabs for the Shriner’s Hospital for Children. Next time I go down I will have about 10 gallons worth of can tabs. We will continue to collect these, so keep contributing. Remember, it’s for the kids, and it doesn’t take much effort. Just pop off your can tabs, collect them, and bring them in to us. AUTOMOTIVE NOTES Every vehicle, if properly cared for, can be made to last longer. There are some things you need to make sure you do to maximize the investment you have in your car. First, check your vehicle maintenance schedule and do your best to keep up with the routine services. Those services are designed to catch as many problems as possible before they leave you stranded somewhere. In the winter, in our part of the world, salt and sand on the road surfaces contribute to the rusting under a car. In an ideal world the underside of your car would be washed off on a daily basis when driving under these conditions. However, that is not at all practical. Yet, washing the underside of the vehicle as often as possible in winter will contribute to a longer life for it. Often we condemn a car due to rust that otherwise would be repairable. Garaging your car also helps. Parking on dirt or grassy surfaces is the worst thing for your car as the moisture underneath that creates a high humidity situation, which keeps the underside from drying out when wet. The longer the moisture holds on the more rusting going on. Protecting your car from the elements will add to its longevity. Lastly, go to our web site and read the recent blog on the importance of oil changes, and make sure the pictures there do not resemble the inside of your engine. www.davesautoandtirecenter.com WHAT, EXACTLY, IS A CUV? What is a CUV? A crossover utility vehicle. It’s smaller than an SUV, and bigger than a car. It’s got more space than a car, but uses much less gas than its larger cousin. Usually they are built on a car platform, rather than a truck platform, and have a slightly beffier suspension, in order to handle the greater demand of increased load capacity. They are generally available with four and six cylinder engines. They don’t quite handle like a car though. They handle and ride a little stiffer than a car, and don’t quite have the traction of an SUV because of the added weight the SUV has and the lock in 4WD. However, the Toyota Rav 4 has a differential lock, which can be used under 25mph; it works beautifully. With the push of a button a slippery road suddenly becomes easier to traverse. The lock automatically shuts off when you reach 25mph, so that it can’t damage anything. The CUV seems to fill the role in modern society formerly filled by the Station Wagon! Those of you who remember being hauled around by your parents in the family station wagon are as old as I am. There are fewer of us every year. As our children age, and our grandchildren are allowed to drive, their children may remember the CUV as a thing of the past, yet there will always be a need, in modern society, to transport families and their stuff to a place other than their abode. Something will be designed to fill that role; and some guy will sit on that future version of a laptop writing about those days gone by, when they were growing up and their parents carted them around in a CUV, and their grandkids will say, “What the heck is a CUV?” Since you read the Dave’s Auto and Tire Center newsletter to all the young ones in your life they will be able to recall sitting on you lap and hearing all about what a CUV is. Then that third grader will look longingly into your eyes and say “What is a manadnock?” Your spelling program won’t recognize it, but it is on that child’s vocabulary list! Hey, don’t ask me for any help. Driving through winter your wheels spin and slip under acceleration causing extra wear on your transaxle. Now that spring is just about here think about having your transmission flushed out. Many manufacturers recommend transaxle fluid flushes every 30 or 60k under normal driving conditions. However the slipping around in winter is considered sever driving conditions; under severe conditions the flushes need to be done more often. A simple check of the condition of your fluid will let us know whether or not your transmission needs a flush now. The color and the smell of the fluid indicate the state of fluid wear. If your fluid is no longer pink, or if it smells burnt, that fluid should be flushed out. We can check it for you on most vehicles in a few minutes and at no charge (unless your vehicle has a sealed transmission), so stop in. We also have a collection of glass containers that have automotive fluids in various states of decay for comparison. THE LATEST DAVE’S AUTO & TIRE CENTER POLL We are still on our quest for understanding the ultimate nature of mankind. Our quest has led us down unforeseen pathways of the absurd. We have asked all kinds of ridiculous questions and gotten answers that would baffle the most philosophical minds that have ever lived. Major political candidates have ignored us, while we have been embraced by that fringe of society willing to be known to associate with us. We have been led down dark paths as we sift through the festering rot of contemporary life, and we have seen the true underside of serious man (in the generic homo-sapiens sense) and found new depths of silliness not known to exist before now. The world wide web has recently been introduced to a partial history of our quest as two past newsletters have been posted. Now it is standing ready to assist, in any way possible, in the understanding of its creators and users. So we are introducing a two-fold path, analog and digital, to respond and win cool stuff, and we will have four 1st place winners, each of whom will receive $50.00 gift certificates to one of the area’s fine eating establishments. Two will be chosen from the digital entries and two from those who worked up the courage to actually stop in and drop off the entry form below. There will also be a handful of lesser prizes, one will be a signed copy of Eve Yohalem’s YA novel Under the Forever Sky. Other prizes are yet to be determined but will be book related, so lots of people will win stuff. Now it is off to the races. Over time many people have come up with a list of “The Hundred Greatest Books Ever Written.” Of course time passes between the compiling of said lists, and in the meantime new books are written. Everyone’s list usually includes a major religious text, however those that publish books, like Franklin Press or Easton Press from a list leave them off, because most homes already have several bibles or Korans etc… if that is important to them. Reading such a list is interesting if futile. No two people would come up with the same list. However, I enjoy looking at such a list to see which books I would kick off the list, given the time period in which it was written, and what I would put on. For example A. Edward Newton, writing at the beginning of the 20th century included Disraeli’s Henrietta Temple. Now, I like Disraeli, I like his father even better, but I would not put any of his novels in the top 100, though a couple might fit in the top 200, if I compiled such a list; remembering, of course, that I would be choosing from the books that I have read, or at least read part of. Then, too, where would you put something like Dr. Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language? It would make my top 100, but it is not a book that lends itself to ready reading, but the book shows a great and ever ready wit, and can be quite amusing. Not exactly bed-time reading. Personal taste becomes the key to any such list. Dickens would not be on my list, but Maugham would, twice. When compiling his list Eddie Newton took an intelligent approach, his list is called 100 good novels, which will be posted to the web site, under blogs, to give people some ideas. So we would like to compile a list of the hundred greatest books based on the clientele from Dave’s Auto and Tire Center, with the ultimate goal of choosing the best book ever written. Even Eddie Newton chose the Bible as the best book ever, so we are taking those major religious texts out of the equation. Because we are trying to generate some interest in our web pages we will be giving away multiple prizes. We normally have about fifty people enter our drawings, but this time each person can enter as many times as they want up 100, the catch is they have to name a book (different each time). You can enter with just one book, or up to a hundred. You do not have to write them on separate pieces of paper, we will enter your name once for each book submitted. To enter at the web site click on Blogs, then click on the Eddie Newton list, then click comments and put your suggestions. Feel free to keep coming back and adding books, up to one hundred. Be sure to put in your contact information. The drawing date will be posted on the website when it is determined. To enter in person simply writes the names of the books and your contact information on a piece of paper and drop it off at the shop, or mail it in. Each person can only win one prize. The drawing will be for the best prizes first. Remember our commitment of integrity for all our polls! 1. This poll will have no bearing on anything of any import whatsoever. 2. This poll will be shared with no political party. 3. This poll is guaranteed to be accurate to within a +/- 98% margin of error. 4. Our respondents were not chose at random and do not represent a random sampling of the population. 5. Our respondents may or may not be registered voters and may or may not care. 6. All the information collected by out polls contains personal bias. 7. This poll will not help the economy. If you want to enter the drawing but do not want to submit any responses simply put your contact information on the form below and get it in to us, or use the contact us link on the website and ask to be entered. Name_________________ Phone_________________ Quote: You can read kant by yourself, if you like; but you must share a joke with someone else. Robert Louis Stevenson
