Autoblog

Study: Female drivers avoid touching dipsticks

Jeff Glucker — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 08:57:00 EST

In a study conducted by UK used car website Autoquake.com, it seems that women are less likely to to perform basic maintenance compared to men.

According to the study, women are far more likely to avoid checking their vehicles' oil level, with 12 percent of survey respondents admitting they never even look at it. This compares to just eight percent of men claiming the same. Additionally, 14 percent of women responded that they never check tire pressure, while only seven percent of men admit they don't, either.

On the positive side, a good portion of women do perform basic car maintenance, including 22 percent claiming they check their tire pressure every month and another 27 percent saying they check their oil with the same frequency. Twenty-one percent of females surveyed even say they check their brake fluid level once a month. However, all those figures are still below the percentages for male respondents. See for yourself after the jump.

[Source: Autoquake.com | Image: Getty]

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Study: Female drivers avoid touching dipsticks originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 08:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Prestone melts GM 3.6-liter engine block with blowtorches to show importance of coolant

Chris Shunk — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 12:32:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Videos, GM

Click above to watch the video after the jump

It doesn't take a gearhead to know that engine coolant is vitally important to the overall health of your car or truck. Still, thousands of vehicle owners ignore their coolant every year to the detriment of their precious powertrains. Prestone wanted to demonstrate just how important coolant is to the health of an engine, but this isn't the sexiest topic on earth. So did Prestone spend big bucks on a CGI simulation? How about boring us with a video showing how long it takes for a vehicle sans fluids to go up in smoke? Nope. Instead Prestone gave some well-trained pyromaniacs high-powered blow torches and melted the aluminum engine block of a General Motors 3.6-liter V6.

Hit the jump to watch as GM's high-feature V6 feels the heat of several blowtorches. It only took about 20 minutes to mutilate everything but the crankshaft and cylinder sleeves, but Prestone cut the carnage down to three manageable minutes.

[Source: YouTube via USA Today]

Continue reading Video: Prestone melts GM 3.6-liter engine block with blowtorches to show importance of coolant

Video: Prestone melts GM 3.6-liter engine block with blowtorches to show importance of coolant originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 12:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PSA: Eating in the car increases risk of food poisoning

Chris Shunk — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 18:31:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Safety

Ever eat in your car? If so, we're thinking there is a good chance there is currently at least one french fry stuck between the driver seat and the center arm rest. That's pretty bad, but a study by researchers from British auto accessories retailer Halfords shows that there probably are a lot more disgusting things in your ride than some fried potatoes or a few chunks of shredded lettuce. Scientists swabbed the door handles, steering wheel, shift knob, radio and seats and found bacteria ranging from Staphylococcus to Bacillus Cereus. Those names just sound unhealthy, and in reality they are the germs that cause food poisoning, impetigo severe nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Those nasty germs enter your car through the soil you walk on, the pets you travel with, the passengers you transport and the very hands you use to eat all that food.

That's really bad news if you eat in your car regularly, and the study by Halfords shows that 70 percent of people do just that. Further, half of those study admitted to leaving food behind in the car, giving those bacteria the sustenance they need to help ruin your week. And don't think that since this is summertime that the sun will bake your interior to the point where the germs die off. Quite the contrary, the nasty little microbes multiply faster as your vehicle heats up, bolstering the little buggers for the impending fight against your immune system.

To protect yourself from these germs, the best defense is to keep your hands clean and leave the eating for a clean kitchen table. But if you must eat while driving, scientists feel that car owners should clean their vehicles as often as one would wipe down that kitchen table. We're not the type to shy away from every germ nature has to offer, but something as serious-sounding as Staphylococcus makes us want to make with the disinfecting wipes in short order.

[Source: Daily Mail | Image: Getty]

PSA: Eating in the car increases risk of food poisoning originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 09 Jun 2010 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ashes to residual ashes: take care of your car in areas of falling ash

Jonathon Ramsey — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Maintenance, Etc.

For those of you who have to deal with falling ash from fires, such as the folks in Southern California right now, the most important car care tip for you could be not to let ash interact with water on your car or remain on the car for a long time. If ash and water -- even nighttime dew -- get together on your car's paint, the water reacts with the calcium, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium in ash and might result in chemical etching. It essentially has the same effect as pouring Drano on your car. And you wouldn't do that. While it's impractical to wash your car every night before putting it to bed, at least wipe it down.

[Source: Meguiar's | Photo credit: hypertypo]

Ashes to residual ashes: take care of your car in areas of falling ash originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 22 Nov 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Master Mechanics vote for 3,000-mile oil change interval

John Neff — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 08:01:00 EST

Filed under: Maintenance

In a survey conducted by Valvoline, sixty-percent of ASE certified Master Automobile technicians questioned said that a vehicle's oil should be changed every 3,000 miles. Twenty-nine percent said between 3,000-5,000 miles is acceptable and just two percent voted that between 5,000-10,000 miles is okay.

This has to be one of the oldest running debates in the world of car care. The advents of synthetic motor oil and systems that monitor oil life have weakened the age-old 3,000-mile argument. Special programs like BMW Assist (pdf), for instance, enable a vehicle to notify the dealer itself when an oil change is required, 3,000 miles be damned.

While it's true that the oil in your car is its lifeblood, it's tough to take serious a survey about oil change intervals that's conducted by Valvoline. (Those mechanics surveyed also just happened to vote Valvoline their number one oil of choice.) We're pretty certain those companies selling motor oil wouldn't mind 1,500-mile oil change intervals if someone were bold enough to recommend them.

The real question is how often do you wait to change your oil? We're curious if anyone out there who has a habit of going longer than 5,000 miles has suffered severe engine problems as a result.

[Source: The Auto Channel]

Master Mechanics vote for 3,000-mile oil change interval originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 13 Jul 2006 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battle of the sexes a wash when it comes to car care

Joel Arellano — Fri, 12 May 2006 12:01:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Maintenance, Etc.

A recent nation-wide survey by Jiffy Lube casts strong doubt upon the age-old image that men know more about cars than women. When asked, for example, where to find a tire's air-pressure, two-thirds of the men answered incorrectly as opposed to 45-percent of women. The percentages were the same when men and women were asked if synthetic oils increased mileage between oil changes.

Men fared better in a few questions: 78 percent of men surveyed knew the purpose of antifreeze versus 56 percent of women.

[Source: Jiffy Lube International via PR Newswire]

Battle of the sexes a wash when it comes to car care originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 12 May 2006 12:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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