Anti-lock Braking System

Alloy Wheels – Many wheels are made of steel, but an alloy wheel is made of a mixture of two or more metals. Most alloy wheels are primarily made of aluminum.

All-Season Tires – Most vehicles roll off the production line with all-season tires. This type of tire combines the major benefits of summer and winter tires, providing good traction during winter road conditions and not wearing as quickly on hot, dry pavement.

Automatic Transmission – Unlike a manual transmission, an automatic transmission uses the power and torque of a powertrain to automatically change gears as the vehicle moves. The driver doesn’t have to have any interaction with a clutch to change gears.

Climate Control System – This is a system that includes the heating, air conditioning, and ventilation.

Coupe – A coupe is a two-door car with the rear seats enclosed.

Environmental Protection Agency – Abbreviated as EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency is a federal agency that regulates air quality and sets fuel economy and emissions standards.

Hatchback – A hatchback is usually a three- or five-door vehicle that features a full rear door with a rear window.

Horsepower – Commonly abbreviated as hp, horsepower is the power produced by an engine and is an indicator of how powerful a vehicle’s engine is.

Muscle Car – The term was born in the mid-1950s and described cars with high horsepower. It’s still in use today and is interchangeable with “pony car.”

Sedan – A sedan is a vehicle that features four doors with a fixed roof and a standard trunk.

Torque – Expressed as lb-ft, torque is the force exerted by the engine on the crankshaft. Engines that produce high torque at low rpm will accelerate faster.

The post Auto Terms Glossary appeared first on Jack Matia Honda.

Spring cleaning doesn’t have to be hard. Here are some simple car spring cleaning tips that will make you feel more confident behind the wheel and will have you turning heads on the road.

Check Your Tire Pressure

While many cars come with a tire pressure monitoring system, there are still some that don’t. Check the tire pressure of each of your tires to ensure that your road handling and efficiency are in tip-top shape.

Inspect/Replace Wiper Blades

Your windshield wipers are essential, especially when the spring season brings ample rain. Inspect your wipers and, if needed, replace them. Wipers should be replaced at least once a year or bi-yearly.

Tidy Up Inside

Throwing away old receipts and fast food bags is a quick and easy way to feel cleaner in your car. If you have enough time on your hands, take a vacuum to the inside after you’ve cleared it of trash and get all that dust and grime that’s been sitting around.

Wash and Wax

Giving your car a thorough washing doesn’t have to be hard – you don’t even have to do it yourself! Take a trip to your local carwash and get a wash and wax. This is sure to get your car looking clean and ready for spring.

If you ever want more tips about cleaning or maintenance, we’re always here to give advice at Jack Matia Honda.

The post Car Spring Cleaning Made Simple appeared first on Jack Matia Honda.

If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to save money, you’re probably looking for ways to cut costs wherever you can. While you can’t avoid buying gas (unless you’re driving an electric car), you can take steps to reduce the gas that you use. These quick tips on saving gas from Jack Matia Honda will help you move through 2018 with more money in your bank account.

Clean Out Your Car

For every extra 100 pounds a car carries, its fuel efficiency is reduced by 1-2%. Keep your car cleaned up for optimum performance and efficiency.

Get Regular Check-Ups

Your car needs clean oil and fresh air filters like we need water and food to move through our tasks. Taking care of your car will help it last longer and drive better, so schedule your check up with Jack Matia Honda every few months.

Stick to the Pavement

As fun as it can be to go off-road, gravel and dirt roads can significantly reduce your vehicle’s gas mileage.

Don’t Idle

If you plan to sit in park for over a minute, you’ll save more gas by turning your engine off and back on than by idling.

Check Your Tire Pressure

Driving on tires that are under-inflated is bad for both traction and efficiency. Check your tire pressure every few weeks to ensure that your vehicle is deliver the best fuel efficiency possible.

The post Tips on Saving Gas in 2018 appeared first on Jack Matia Honda.

If you’re looking for the secrets to keeping your New Year’s resolutions, we’ve got the answers. These tips from Jack Matia Honda will help you carry out your goals with success.

Be Realistic

If you want to keep your New Year’s resolutions, you have to make them attainable. Don’t put yourself up to an unrealistic challenge. Instead, start with small goals that you know you will be able to achieve. Setting yourself up for immediate success will help you build momentum, and get you ready to face larger goals as the year progresses.

Go Month by Month

Thinking of resolutions as a year-long process can be tricky. A much easier method is to break your resolutions down month by month. Take the smaller goals that you’ve come up with in step one and apply them to each month. This will give you small steps, and a feeling of success every few weeks.

Don’t Give Up

So you missed your mark one month—so what? No one has a perfect record when it comes to making big changes; the important part is to remember your main goal, and to keep pushing towards that goal even if you don’t carry out each step perfectly.

The post How to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions appeared first on Jack Matia Honda.

If you’re like many Americans, odds are you or your family are traveling in order to be together on Thanksgiving. The holiday feast is only a few weeks away, but it isn’t too late to come up with a new family tradition. We here at Jack Matia Honda would like to share some of our favorite Thanksgiving family traditions.

Eat a Big Breakfast

While many families choose to fast in order to save room for some delicious turkey, others indulge themselves with a hearty breakfast. As it turns out, a big breakfast makes for a great start to the Thanksgiving festivities! Make sure to add eggs, bacon, pancakes, waffles, and pie to the Thanksgiving menu this year.

Remember Loved Ones

Giving thanks is the whole point of Thanksgiving, but the holiday can also be a day of remembrance. As family travels from throughout the country, make it a point to sit down and remember loved ones who have since passed away. Cherish their memories, tell heartfelt stories, and take a moment of silence. You may even learn a thing or two about your family.

Have Thanksgiving Dinner…for Dinner

Did you ever think it was a little odd that most families have their Thanksgiving dinner in the afternoon? While there’s a reason for it, why not simply have Thanksgiving dinner for dinner? Setting out a plate of snacks can help tide over hungry relatives, assuming the big breakfast didn’t fill them up, of course!

The post Thanksgiving Family Traditions appeared first on Jack Matia Honda.

If you’re shopping around for a new car, you’ve no doubt heard about the Honda lineup. Why buy Honda? There are plenty of reasons why many drivers are dedicated to the Honda brand. Here are five of our top reasons at Jack Matia Honda.

Affordable

If you’re looking for a vehicle with a friendly price tag, Honda is your brand. These vehicles are extremely affordable and offer a lot of bang for the buck.

Efficient

Hondas are known for a lot of things, and one of those is their efficiency. From the compact Honda Fit hatchback to the versatile Honda CR-V, these vehicles will save you money at the gas pump.

Safe

Honda vehicles feature long lists of modern technology, including smart safety features. The Honda Sensing® safety suite available in Honda vehicles is a collection of intelligent, advanced, and active safety features.

Fun to Drive

Honda cars are not just about practicality—these vehicles are plenty of fun to drive too, with nimble handling and manual transmissions available in many models.

Resale Value

If you’re ever ready to resell your Honda, you can be sure that you’ll get some of the best resale value on the market from it. These cars are built to last a long time, though, so you should be happy with your Honda for years to come.

The post Why Buy Honda? appeared first on Jack Matia Honda.

Knowing when and how to prep your car for the winter months is a crucial skill. Here are a few pointers.

Check Tire Pressure Regularly

Cold temperatures cause tires to lose their air pressure faster. As a result, you’ll lose traction and get worse fuel economy. Check and fill your tires regularly.

Test Your Battery

When the air gets cold, your battery is also affected, often lowering its capacity. Make sure your battery can take the extreme drop in temperature.

Invest In New Wiper Blades

Wipers do a lot of work in the winter when it comes to moving slush, grime, and ice out of the way, so a new set is definitely in order.

Replace and Clean Exterior Lights

Visibility is critical in the winter, so make sure you check your headlights, taillights, turn signals, and all other exterior lights to ensure they work. Additionally, try cleaning headlight covers on the inside for brighter lights.

Add a Coat of Wax

Most people think finishing the exterior of their car with wax is purely a cosmetic thing. It preserves the color and prevents the usual wear and tear that comes with age. However, a coat of wax can also prevent corrosive road salt from damaging the lower half of your vehicle.

If you need any help when you prep your car for winter, let us know here at Jack Matia Honda.

The post How to Prep Your Car For Winter appeared first on Jack Matia Honda.

For decades, the pickup truck segment has been ruled by the big three: the Ford F-150, the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, and the RAM 1500. No challenger has come forth to topple these giants from their thrones—until now.

The Honda pickup truck, known as the Honda Ridgeline, has emerged to surprise industry insiders with its sales numbers, as data suggests the competitor is actually stealing sales from longtime favorites.

In the past year, Honda has sold 40,000 units of the 2017 Ridgeline stateside. The truck’s success is due to its carlike design, which Honda representatives say has not only brought in loyal truck enthusiasts, but a few new buyers who previously weren’t interested in driving a pickup. A big part of the appeal is the Honda Ridgeline’s smaller size, taking advantage of the fact that rivals like Ford haven’t sold the midsizes like the Ranger in the US for years.

Another thing that’s so appealing about owning a Honda pickup truck is the features. Whereas many trucks are known for their rugged capabilities, the 2017 Honda Ridgeline makes owning a pickup fun, with tailgating features like speakers in the bed, a 400-watt outlet, and a cooler-sized compartment with a drain that can be filled with ice and your beverage of choice.

While the big three are still the reigning champions, the Honda pickup truck has found its niche. Check it out at Jack Matia Honda.

The post Honda Pickup Truck Stealing Attention from the Big Three appeared first on Jack Matia Honda.

There’s no doubt that the automotive industry has had its eyes set on a future of autonomous driving for some time now. These days, most vehicles can be equipped with their own array of autonomous tools that help increase safety, like park assist or automatic braking. Many of the Hondas on the lot at Jack Matia Honda are set up with the Honda Sense suite of safety features like these. Beyond that, however, Honda didn’t seem to be the most competitive brand in the race for self-driving vehicles—until now.

Recently, Honda hosted journalists at their main facility in Japan in order to announce their plan to seriously invest in the move toward a Honda self-driving car. The PR gathering gave them a chance to both offer rides in prototypes of self-driving cars, and also announce an exciting new partnership with Waymo.

Waymo is a sibling to Google under the parent company of Alphabet. Waymo, the self-driving division, has made it a goal of theirs to partner with an established automaker in order to work toward developing autonomous vehicles. Since Waymo has no interest in making cars of their own, and Honda need the technological support, it seems to be a perfect match, and we can’t wait to see what this pair comes up with in the next decade.

The post Could a Honda Self-Driving Car Be in the Near Future? appeared first on Jack Matia Honda.

Whether it’s a blowout or you simply need to replace an old tire with a new one, knowing how to change a tire should be common knowledge for all drivers. We here at Jack Matia Honda have a quick guide on how to change a tire, just in case it happens to you.

1. Find a safe place to stop, like a straightaway. Avoid stopping on curves and hills.
2. Turn on your hazards lights so other drivers can see you from a distance.
3. Set the parking brake and wheel wedges if you have them.
4. Pry off the hubcap to access the lug nuts.
5. Loosen the lug nuts by turning them counterclockwise. Don’t remove them entirely.
6. Consult your owner’s manual to where to place a jack on your make and model.
7. Raise the vehicle six inches to a foot in the air. Don’t put any part of your body beneath the vehicle.
8. Finish unscrewing the lug nuts and place them where you won’t lose them, such as inside the hubcap.
9. Remove the flat tire by pulling straight out. Replace it with the spare tire by pushing straight in.
10. Tighten the lug nuts by hand. Don’t use the wrench just yet.
11. Lower the vehicle, but don’t remove the jack. Finish tightening the lug nuts with the wrench.
12. Lower the vehicle and remove the jack. Check the spare tire’s pressure. If all is well, return your tools and flat tire to your vehicle.

The post Direction on How to Change a Tire appeared first on Jack Matia Honda.