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Those in the North - Winterize.....Those in the South - I Envy Your Salt Free Vehicles
It's that time of the year again, and us Yankees sure are starting to experience old man winter. In addition to the wind-chill (which only e
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12/8/2010 - 12:43 PM
Chris
Power Steering Fluid Flush / Fluid Exchange / Routine Maintenance
Mark recently visited the dealership and they recommended that he change his power steering fluid, otherwise known as a power steering flush.
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4/5/2010 - 11:31 PM
Chris
Nissan Safety Recall 2010 - Brake Issue - That makes Toyota, Honda, & Nissan - YOUR OUT!
It seems like lately all I talk about are these recalls, but then again, what else is there to talk about. Toyota is fighting an uphill
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3/3/2010 - 7:06 PM
Chris
2010 Chicago Auto Show - Toyota Was Anything But Dead! Auto Show
We went to the 2010 Chicago Auto Show today and I remembered why I hated the auto show so much.....the droves of people caused me anxiety. I
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2/21/2010 - 8:16 PM
Chris
Toyota Cars, Trucks, SUVs news - Toyota Corolla Steering Recall
Many of you have heard about yet another recall from Toyota, this time affecting the 2009-2010 Corolla, which is the world's top selling automobil
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2/18/2010 - 7:01 PM
Chris
What is the Password for Contra? - an American Boy's Past Time - Nintendo had it right!
If you ask any guy between the ages of 25-35 what the secret password for Contra is, you should get an immediately response that goes something li
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2/14/2010 - 6:36 PM
Chris
Another Recall! Honda recalls 438,000 vehicles due to airbag issues.
According to CNN, Honda has expanded it's airbag recall to over 400,000 vehicles world wide. In the shadow of Toyota's meltdown, Honda
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2/10/2010 - 1:49 PM
Chris
Toyota Commitment TV commercial
We wanted to share with you Toyota's Commitment commercial to fixing the cars that have been recalled, watch below
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2/9/2010 - 8:40 AM
mjourdan
Tie Rods - when they brake, its NO good. Yes, make sure to grease your ball joints
I was having a conversation this past weekend about Tie Rods and thought it would make for some interesting conversation here. The Tie Rod c
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2/2/2010 - 6:34 PM
Chris
Toyota Recall - Ok, so, do they know what the gas pedal problem is?
One of the downfalls from leaving the industry is that I don't always get the inside scoop like I use to. Much like you, I sometimes have to
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1/30/2010 - 5:18 PM
Chris
Toyota Recall Extension - Recall Effects 1.1 Million more Vehicles - Toyota Gas Pedal Recall
Today Toyota announced and extension to their already massive recall. The recall now includes: 2009-2010 RAV4 2009-2010 Coro
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1/27/2010 - 7:01 PM
Chris
Toyota Recall - Toyota Temporarily Suspending Sales of Selected Toyota Vehicles - January 2010
Here is the link to the press release for Toyota's recall: Toyota Recall The affected vehicles are: 2009-2010 RAV4
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1/25/2010 - 4:08 AM
Chris
Lexus LF Ch Concept Car Photos
While stumbling across the internet I found a great set of photos taken from a photo shoot for the Lexus LF-Ch concept car. I was super impressed with
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1/22/2010 - 8:42 PM
mjourdan
When Buying a Car Should You Buy an Extended Warranty? This is a common car question and one that people stress about!
Recently, I had a friend ask me about buying an extended warranty which was being offered to him at the paper signing portion of his new
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1/21/2010 - 7:06 PM
Chris
Used Car Trade-In Tip - Just a Suggestion - Buying a Car can be Painful, let me be your Vicodin!
If you are worried about the exterior condition of your vehicle which you plan to trade-in when purchasing a new car or truck; wait for a rainy da
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1/20/2010 - 1:52 PM
Chris
Child Saftey Seats - Important information for Rear Facing Infant Car Seats
About five years ago I went through an extensive course to obtain my Child Passenger Safety certification. In my class were fire fighters, p
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1/19/2010 - 10:29 PM
Chris
Kelly Blue Book - The Perfect Car Finder - New Cars or Used Cars
Kelly Blue Book.com offers a great tool to help you find your next New or Used vehicle. They call it their "Perfect Car Finder" and it
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1/18/2010 - 1:58 PM
Chris
2010 Auto Show is coming to town - New Cars and New Concepts - Honda CR-Z
We plan on attending the Auto Show this year when it comes to Chicago, but let me introduce you to a new vehicle I am excited to see from Hon
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1/13/2010 - 6:52 PM
Chris
Windshield De-Icer is Good Stuff - Washer Fluid or Windshield Wiper Fluid
Just one quick note seeing I just added some to both of my cars and thought it would be good to comment on it. For the yankees out there, ma
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1/3/2010 - 9:50 PM
Chris
Fuel Injector Cleaning or Fuel System Cleaning or now the fancy word is Engine De-Carbonization
Recently, one of us had a check engine light come on and brought the vehicle in for service. The service guy explained that several cod
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1/2/2010 - 4:51 PM
Chris
The Rental Car - Chevy Aveo - Car with Power to Car that's Manual
In my last post I mentioned that I was driving a Chevy Aveo as a rental when I had my CRV in the body shop for repairs. My Honda has power w
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12/31/2009 - 2:38 PM
Chris
Wiper Blades - The Essential Winter Handicap
Winter has arrived in Chicago and I've already seen the first multi-inch accumulation. I'm currently driving a loaner vehicle, which I will
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12/14/2009 - 10:27 PM
Chris
Winterize Your Car or Truck - Part II
Again, here in the northern half of the U.S. of A, snow happens, and sometimes, snow happens big. It's important to not only have appropriat
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11/23/2009 - 11:10 PM
Chris
Winterize Your Vehicle - Part I
This is the first post of three that I will write about winterizing your vehicle. For those of us who live in regions where snow happens, pr
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11/22/2009 - 1:36 AM
Chris
Mark's Morning Flat Tire - Can Costco be the New Tire Store?
Mark was telling me a story today about his weekend rendezvous with the tire fix-it guy and how he found an unbeatable deal at grocery store of al
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11/14/2009 - 10:23 PM
Chris
Why I'm not a Mechanic anymore - or the Maytag Man
I was telling this story to a friend the other day and it made me realize that I should probably share this very blushing tale about a very stupid
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9/10/2009 - 9:48 PM
Chris
Using Your iPod to Buy a Car
Today in the Wall Street Journal there was an article about a guy who went into a Jeep dealership to buy a Wrangler and the salesperson tried
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8/27/2009 - 9:52 PM
Chris
Car Question - Scratch Remover - Does it work?
Straight from the Suggestion Box, Mr. Blank asked about touch-up paint and/or the scratch remover stuff you see on infomercials and if it actually
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8/25/2009 - 9:31 PM
Chris
Free Car Questions Answered - Really, I want to HELP and Talk Cars
I thought I would take this opportunity to reiterate why this website exists and why I want you to ask me questions or suggest topics to talk abou
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8/22/2009 - 1:32 PM
Chris
How to Pick a New Car - JD Powers as a Car Question Source
There are a few resources out there that I trust to keep me informed about new and used car pricing, quality ratings and current finance rates.&#
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8/20/2009 - 9:16 PM
Chris
Honda CR-V Proposed Settlement
I received a notification today that my previous 2005 Honda CR-V is part of a class action lawsuit regarding the location of the oil filter in rel
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8/17/2009 - 9:49 PM
Chris
Cash for Clunkers - Car Questions Confusion
In my last post I gave some opinions about the C.A.R.S. program also known as Cash for Clunkers. I realized today that there was one aspect
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8/16/2009 - 9:24 PM
Chris
Cash for Clunkers - Car Questions Overload
So, Cash for Clunkers has been in our world for a few weeks now and has been super successful for many dealerships. If you are not familiar
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8/13/2009 - 11:01 PM
Chris
A/C Recharge - What it really means to recharge your air conditioning.
Back in the days when I worked in the quick lube industry, summertime was the time for a/c recharges. People would turn their air conditioni
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8/6/2009 - 10:21 PM
Chris
My Acura Reached 100,000 miles, Here is How!
Just the other day, my 2004 Acura TSX rolled 100,000 miles. I wanted to take a picture of the odometer when it happened, but due to a slight
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8/6/2009 - 8:28 PM
Chris
Extended Warranties - To Buy or Not to Buy - That is the Car Question
As a request from the Web Guy, tonight I am going to weigh my two cents about extended warranties. I can't tell you how many times I have be
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8/4/2009 - 11:33 PM
Chris
My clutch went out and I told her to jump
So, previously, I talked about my first car, the 1987 Toyota Corolla, SR5 - hatchback. I loved that car and it loved me, however, it was fal
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8/3/2009 - 10:55 PM
Chris
My 1987 Toyota Corolla SR5, Hatchback
The first car I ever owned was a 1987 Toyota Corolla SR5- hatchback. It was red with black trim, stick shift and best of all, it had a rear
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7/30/2009 - 9:54 PM
Chris
Free Tire Repair - How can it be?
Last week, I was tweeting about a nail that I found in my wife's tire, which really pissed me off, but allowed me to form a new happy relationship
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7/23/2009 - 9:32 AM
Chris
Change your oil with High Mileage oil, trust me, it works!
Back in the days when I worked at the quick lubes, Valvoline came out with MaxLife high mileage oil and claimed that it would slow and even s
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7/22/2009 - 10:10 AM
Chris
Spare Tire - Full Size or Donut - What is the best option?
Another topic suggestion that I received and a common concern that I don't think people investigate often concerns spare tires and if having a don
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7/16/2009 - 9:01 AM
Chris
Is there any benefit of going to a dealer for an oil change versus a quick-lube shop?
This has become a very popular question, especially when people don't want to shell out any cash for something that is not the super necessary.
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7/11/2009 - 10:12 PM
Chris
Buying a car from a brand that is bankrupt and/or being sold off.....UGG
What is your opinion on buying a car from a brand that is bankrupt and/or being sold off? This question was sent to me
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6/28/2009 - 10:14 PM
Chris
New Car Review - 2009 Nissan GT-R
You looking for tech! One of the top 5 ranked cars for technology. Hard-drive-based navigation In-dash perf
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4/27/2009 - 7:56 AM
mjourdan
New Car Review - 2010 Ford Fusion
What's your opinion of the new 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid? It claims to get you 41 In-City MPG. With it's 2.5L Atkinson-Cycle I-4 Engine that gets y
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4/21/2009 - 7:40 AM
mjourdan
Vehicle Maintenance - Tire Rotation
This weekend I visited the dealership for my second of two free oil changes from when I purchased my Honda CRV. As I pulled into the service
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4/20/2009 - 8:35 PM
Chris
How many people can you cram into a VW Beetle?
This question came through the Suggestion Box, and I found it only right to respond to such a well thought out inquiry. Soooo, the answe
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4/14/2009 - 9:32 PM
Chris
New Car Review - Acura ZDX
Check out the all new concept car from Acura. The Acura ZDX... PANORAMIC GLASS ROOF 6-SPEED SEQUENTIAL SPORTSHIFT TR
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4/13/2009 - 3:57 PM
mjourdan
Car Question - Tire Pressure Sensor
Another topic that came in through our Suggestion Box... Why does my tire pressure alarm goes off every winter?
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4/8/2009 - 10:17 PM
Chris
How to Remove Antifreeze from the Windshield Fluid Reservoir
Is there a way to remove antifreeze from windshield fluid reservoir? I was recently asked this question through the "Sugges
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4/7/2009 - 11:10 PM
Chris
How to Calculate Gas Mileage
I know what you're thinking, how hard can it be to determine gas mileage, right? Well, some people just are not familiar with the calculation us
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4/5/2009 - 10:10 PM
Chris
Dipstick Tip - Synthetic Oil vs. Regular Oil, Part 2
Synthetic oil provides many benefits for your engine. It cleans better, it cools better, and it lubricates better than conventional "regular
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3/30/2009 - 8:52 PM
Chris
How to Buy a Car - Your Salesperson's 10 Step Process - Step 4, The Walk Around
In Step 3, your salesperson began qualifying you as a customer to determine what you can or cannot buy. By the time you reach Step 4, your sa
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3/28/2009 - 2:30 PM
Chris
How to Buy a Car - Your Salesperson's 10 Step Process - Step 3, Qualify
In Step 2, Building Rapport, your potential salesperson bombarded you with personal questions and attempted to charm your pants off. Get read
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3/25/2009 - 9:08 PM
Chris
How to Buy a Car - Your Salesperson's 10 Step Process - Step 2, Build Rapport
Ok, so in Step 1 we discussed that your salesperson's first initiative is to Meet and Greet you. In a nutshell, he/she is attempting to:
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3/23/2009 - 10:30 PM
Chris
How to Buy a Car - Your Salesperson's 10 Step Process - Step 1, Meet and Greet
The time has come; this is the information you have been dying to hear. Of all the beans to spill, these garbanzos are the most requested an
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3/21/2009 - 2:01 PM
Chris
Regular Oil vs. Synthetic Oil - The Difference
Here is a simple way to remember the difference between conventional motor oil and synthetic motor oil (disclaimer: in no way does this explanation ha
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3/20/2009 - 8:37 PM
Chris
How to Buy a Car - Playing the Game
I have spent time in various automotive settings; I have repaired vehicles, sold vehicles, and trained people how to negotiate with customers. I
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3/18/2009 - 9:32 PM
Chris
Dipstick Tip - PCV Valve
Have you ever been at a quick lube/oil change place and the technician comes walking up to you holding a little metal device which he/she calls a PCV
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3/16/2009 - 10:26 PM
Chris
How to Buy a Car - Researching First
The most important part of buying a car is to simply research the vehicle before entering the dealership. I would recommend that two months prio
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3/15/2009 - 9:32 PM
Chris
Car Questions - Automotive Fluid on the Ground
If you are trying to determine what fluid has puddled on the ground under your car, here is a few tips to help make sense: Brown
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3/9/2009 - 11:07 PM
Chris
Child Safety Seats
I am the guy who, if I pull up next to you at a stop light, and I see that your kid is running around in the backseat, I am rolling my window down and
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3/9/2009 - 10:45 PM
Chris
Car Questions Answered – My Beginning
Once upon a time when I was studying the art of automotive repair, there came a point when I realized that I was not as good working on cars as
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3/8/2009 - 11:01 PM
Chris
Difference between Conventional Oil vs. Synthetic Oil
This topic will be discussed plenty, I assure you; first I want to disbar a few myths about this long lived debate. ---------------------------
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3/7/2009 - 1:01 AM
Chris
You want to give me WHAT for my trade-in???!!!
Ok, so you are all done negotiating the price of your new or used car, then comes the trade-in, the vehicle that you have taken such good care of
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3/5/2009 - 10:47 PM
Chris
Dipstick Tip - What to ask your car salesperson
The question your salesperson wants you to ask is: "what do I have to do in order to buy this car?" What you should ask your salesperson is: "w
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3/1/2009 - 9:01 PM
Chris
Middle Grade Gas, the Compromised Choice
“I put the middle grade octane in my car because I can’t afford the premium and I don’t want to put cheap gas in my car.”
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2/28/2009 - 10:29 AM
Chris
How to Buy a Car - A Three Affirmation Process
The Three Self Affirmations When Buying a Used or New Car The most popular questions I receive have to do with buying a car; probably
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2/26/2009 - 10:45 PM
Chris
Our First Entry Ever! - Car Rhetoric
My name is Chris, the Car Guy and his name is Mark, the Web Guy (more about us later). This site was created because after spending 10 years
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2/25/2009 - 9:58 PM
Chris