Autogazette: tips to help you get more miles per dollar out of your car

Black Enterprise, Nov, 1992 by Jay Koblenz

Which brings up the next point: If you like your car - ifs something special and not just a necessary appliance to get you to a job you hate - then, it's worth spending a little extra for better tires. Good tires grip the road better. They improve,your ability to take evasive maneuvers and stop more quickly if there's trouble. They'll also enhance your driving fun.

Unfortunately, all tires are a compromise. You can choose high mileage, great traction or a low price. Most people go for low price, while driving enthusiasts pick traction (as long as the other two are reasonable). Government regulations require manufacturers to specify ratings in the area of anticipated mileage and traction. While these ratings aren't directly comparable from one manufacturer to the next they offer some helpful guidelines. Each tire is coded for mileage and traction; ask your salesperson to explain the codes. If he or she can't shop elsewhere. (Also refer to last year's BLACK ENTERPRISE 1992 Auto Gazette, Nov. 199Z p.135 for a brief explanation of tire coding.)

Another important factor is weather. if you face winters, but those not bad enough for serious snow tires, look into all-season tires. If rain is your main concern, some tires do better than others. The first tire developed with excellent wet-weather performance in mind is the Goodyear Aquatred. It's at the high end of the price scale and looks a bit odd, but it works.

With all the choices out there, it's simply a matter of doing your shopping. To some extent, when you spend more, you get more. Just be sure you drive the right bargain.

Driving safety and performance go hand in hand Nobody wants their car to break down somewhere on the highway, far from civilization, or in their driveway when they're late for an important appointment.

Because cars these days are better than ever, we tend to forget about taking care of them. They always seem to run well and, until there's a problem, you can get away with plenty of mistreatment. Frankly, it doesn't work that way for cars any better than it does for a marriage. Fortunately, there are some very simple steps you can take to help hold and keep your car together

* Read your owners manual You know, that publication you tossed in the glove box when you bought about? Not only will it tell you all sorts of information about your car - maybe there is a remote trunk release hidden in the glove box - but there's a useful listing of minimum maintenance requirement The key work is minimum." Driving under more rigorous conditions requires more frequent attention.

* Check the oil. Open the hood - it's not that tough - and find the dip stick. Or find a friendly neighbor, relative or full-service gas station and have the oil checked regularly. If the car is using more than it used to, or more than a quart every couple thousand miles, that indicates a problem.

* Change the oil. You should do it every 6,000 miles as the minimum, and more often is better, particularly if you live in dusty, smoggy area.