Aikido and the Car Guy

Aikido is where you find it

2007-07-20T16:36:53-04:00

I don't know how many times I've been asked what Aikido is all about. I know what it is to me. That's a bit tough to explain though, in under a week.

While researching some things for this blog, I ran across a very useful description of Aikido.

I did not expect to find this on a Malaysian political site. The fact that I did, makes today a bit more special.

Now, if I could just sell a car....

Go bravely into the day

2007-04-11T23:15:29-04:00

Do not look upon this world with fear and loathing. Bravely face whatever the gods offer.

Morihei Ueshiba
Founder of Aikido

..it's been a long..time coming

2007-04-11T14:41:45-04:00

David Crosby..."A long time gone." I have been so busy with ON PIT ROW and the bench racing blog that I have neglected Aikido and the Car Guy. That is about to change. Just a couple quickies today unless my evening frees up sooner than I expect.

The picture is kind of an ultimate car guy fantasy. A full - life size model car . Found this at the Hemmings auto blogs. It was erected at some car show somewhere. I just thought that it was cool.

Oh yeah. We're still working from the dungeon. But you can definitely save some CASH if you're in the market for ANYTHING.

Tax credits and hybrids

2007-03-28T11:58:41-04:00

Attention all of you green machine buyers past and future. There's a good article on the Consumer reports Auto Blog about the faze out of tax credits for hybrid vehicles.

Disappearing act
The 2006 tax credit size depended on a vehicle’s estimated fuel economy. While a Toyota Prius was eligible for a credit of $3,150, a four-wheel-drive Ford Escape Hybrid qualified for only $1,950, and a two-wheel-drive Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid got only a token $250. more...

I can only speak to the popularity of Toyota's hybrid vehicles, the 2007 Camry, Highlander and of course the Prius. They have been HOT. I don't think the disappearance of the tax incentives will greatly affect sales of these things. We'll see in the next six months or so.

Cheap insurance

2007-03-22T12:32:37-04:00

How often do you have the oil changed in your vehicles?

I have tried to stick to a 3000 mile or 3 month benchmark for my family cars and have recommended the same when asked. Several auto manufacturers are specifying longer intervals however.

According to an article in todays mlive.com....

DETROIT (AP) — Most major automakers agree: The adage that you should change your car's oil every 3,000 miles is outdated, and even 5,000 miles may be too often.

Ford Motor Co. became the latest manufacturer to extend its oil life guidelines, making public that it is raising the recommended oil change interval from 5,000 miles to 7,500 on its newly redesigned 2007 models and all subsequent redesigned or new models. more ...

The story goes on to quote representatives of Ford Motor Company pointing out that improvements in the current generation of motor oils allow for the longer times between service.

Other manufacturers are relying on sensors do do the work. Mlive says...

Some manufacturers, such as Honda Motor Co. and General Motors Corp., have stopped making recommendations on all or most of their models, instead relying on sensors that measure oil temperature extremes and engine revolutions over time to calculate oil life and tell drivers when to get the lubricant changed. Oil can lose its lubricating properties if it runs at too low or too high of a temperature.

Peter Lord, executive director of GM's service operations, said oil can last 12,000 miles or even more for many drivers who don't run their vehicles in extreme heat or cold or tow heavy loads.

Yikes! More sensors. According to Ford's guy, they feel that people will go by set mileage intervals, and not trust the sensors. Would you trust the sensors. I assume that they buy these sensors from the same people that bring you the check engine or service engine soon sensors.

I pass.

Toyota has taken a different path altogether. The Mlive piece says...

Toyota Motor Corp. reduced its change interval from 7,500 miles to 5,000 in 2004 in part because it found that more drivers ran their vehicles under severe stop-and-start and short trip conditions that cause oil to deteriorate more quickly, said company spokesman Bill Kwong.

Toyota also had an oil sludge buildup problem on less than 1 percent of its 1997-2002 model year vehicles, Kwong said. Changing the oil more frequently prevents the sludge problem, which he said was caused by owners going more than 7,500 miles before changing oil.

The mechanic that I trust most in this world, told me not long ago that, 3000 mile should be the upper limit of oil use in this part of the country.

It is good advice that is still cheap insurance.

Unity of mind and technique

2007-03-18T23:02:20-04:00

In extreme situations, the entire universe becomes our foe; at such critical times, unity of mind and technique is essential - do not let your heart waver!

Morihei Ueshiba
Founder of Aikido

Signs Signs Everywhere Signs

2007-03-16T21:01:37-04:00

Signs Signs Everywhere are Signs is still a good song. And with sound of jack hammers ringing in my ears I think the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is part of the construction crew still working away on our little portion of the dealership. The used car department has been compressed into this little sort of cave, the only remainder of the original Toyota showroom that is still in use. It's pretty dingy in here.

The big news today is we, finally, have the new sign. And it really is awsome. It looked great during daylight today but I had to come back tonight to see it lit up. The pics probably don't do it justice but now, at last, we look like a brand new store.

Next door the new car crew live like kings. They can't see out the front of their building due to the size of the new sign, like the song says, "Blockin' out the scenery". Persevere men. Stiff upper lip and all.

The service department is new and clean and sparkly. Our new digs will be worth the wait. I wonder if there are any bats in here.

A good home

2007-03-16T00:03:40-04:00

I sold a car tonight. I know. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut, and all that. In fact, a blind squirrel should probably have been able to sell this particular car.

This was and will most likely, continue to be, a special car. It isn't and wasn't special because of the brand of car it is. A domestically manufactured station wagon doesn't ring any bells at the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auctions, brought to you by the Speed Channel, unless maybe it's a Chevy Nomad. The miles on the odometer were quite a bit lower than the average ten year old. A ten year old car though, is no youngster.

But I told the very nice man, who ended up buying this car something that I say maybe a half dozen times a year. I see, probably, thousands of cars in a year. Very few jump out to me as special. In the exceptional ones, I can almost feel the love that the previous owners had for their car. You can just tell when a car has been pampered, coddled. This time, I think the buyer both believed me and saw the evidence himself.

Every time I get a chance to offer one of these, typically one owner, cream-puffs for sale, I try very hard to be the seller. But buying cars is hard. It's hard to trust not just the seller but sometimes your own eyes. Skilled detailing and thorough preparation can make most decent vehicles look,feel and perform just fine. You or I would be more than satisfied with the purchase of most of these cars and there are plenty out there to choose from.

Cream puffs are a different breed. There are many impostors. All I know for sure is, a nice family found the real thing tonight. If I don't step on myself somehow, I'll have another long term happy, customer. Thanks mostly to the proud original owners of this aging ten year old.

Do you NASCAR?

2007-03-13T12:35:49-04:00

I have a radio show.

You can't imagine how strange it is for me to write that sentence, and then to read it. I never wanted to be in radio. I mean, I get stomach churning, hands shaky nervous if I have to speak in front of even a small group. For going on seven years now, Steve Wronkowicz, Bill Clark and, this year, Jason Parton and I have been doing a show called ON PIT ROW.

ON PIT ROW is a NASCAR show. And it's a good one, if I may say so. We have great guests, lots of spirited NASCAR debate and more fun that a fifty year old should be allowed to have, clothed. But don't take my word for it. The show is broadcast live on Tuesdays from 5 to 7 pm in Toledo on AM 1230, WCWA and at various times on our other ON PIT RADIO Network stations.

Do you NASCAR? Chances are you do. It is the number one spectator sport in the USA.

Now, I have always been an auto racing fan. My interests lay more in sports cars and Formula One - European style, racing. I watched the occasional Stock Car race, but not enthusiastically. I didn't get it, then. I get it now. I here more water-cooler chat about the races and the qualifying and the latest controversy for NASCAR than I do for anything else. Walk around the mall and count the folks wearing their racing gear. To me it is a fascinating phenomena. NASCAR people are passionate!

Not a NASCAR fan? Lots of you out there too. I just make one request of you. Don't let your decision to decline the pleasure be influenced by someone else's opinion. Try this.

Listen to this week's ON PIT ROW.
Log on to onpitrow.com and go to our weblog, Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie, and read a few posts.
Watch the pre race coverage of this week's race.
Watch the race, or as much as you can. Give it a fair shot.
Check the blog again on Monday after the race.
Listen to next week's ON PIT ROW .

Sounds like a lot to do, but it will give you a real understanding, as a new fan, of what is going on. You just might get hooked.

The gorgeous painting of Richard "The King" Petty's Plymouth Superbird is by Rob Ijbeme and is one of an un- freakin-believable collection of his paintings. Go, right now go to Rob's Car-a Day site. Just make sure you remember how you got there.

Forging the sword

2007-03-09T23:45:11-05:00

Iron is full of impurities that weaken it: through forging, it becomes steel and is transformed into a razor-sharp sword. Human beings develop in the same fashion.

Morihei Ueshiba
Founder of Aikido