may 16 on-the-move

Monday, May 16, 2011 For Advertising Information Contact Your Local Cars.Com On-The-Move Sales Team at 599-2329

General Motors to add 4,200 in job blitzDETROIT — General

Motors plans to kick off a hiring blitz shortly that will add or preserve about 4,200 jobs in eight states, people familiar with the planning said.

GM CEO Dan Akerson is to speak at GM’s Toledo, Ohio, transmission plant, heralding updates at 17 plants that will total more than $2 billion.

Spokeswoman Kim Car-

penter declined to com-ment.

New jobs at GM first go to a pool of laid-off work-ers that now numbers about 2,000.

In Detroit, GM plans to add a bulk of the new jobs at its Chevrolet Volt factory, which straddles a border with Hamtram-ck, Mich. Interest in the Volt extended-range elec-tric car and the arrival of $4-a-gallon gasoline have prompted GM to move up the planned hire date for

new workers at the plant, likely to late summer. GM had planned to dou-ble the number of work-ers, which numbers about 1,000. Now, it may add as many as 2,000.

GM also plans to expand its work force at a variety of U.S. powertrain plants. The new hires will include a couple hundred white-collar workers. GM will add many of the jobs in 2012, with some hiring to start this year.

GM executives have

said more fuel-efficient small cars have it better prepared for high gasoline prices than in 2008.

As part of its upcoming wave of new hires, Gener-al Motors plans to deepen its bet on its extended-range electric technolo-gy.

When he speaks , Aker-son may not list all the 17 plants getting the thou-sands of jobs as a result of GM’s $2-billion-plus investment, people famil-iar with the plans said.

Instead, Akerson intends to visit other factories in the coming weeks.

After more than a decade of whittling down its global work force from about 600,000 to about 200,000, post-bankrupt-cy GM has started add-ing jobs. In the United States, the automaker has promised to add or retain 8,882 manufac-turing jobs since exiting bankruptcy in July. The new jobs have come with profitability: GM posted

its fifth straight quarterly net income last week.

GM is seeking to build more than 25,000 Volts this year, up from the original target of about 10,000, Akerson has said. As engineers work to cre-ate a less-expensive Volt that will bring in profits, executives have debat-ed a decision to produce 120,000 Volts annually starting next year, well

By Chrissie ThompsonDETROIT FREE PRESS

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/ Monday, May 16, 2011 Tallahassee Democrat / OnTheMOve

Question: With the recent warmer weather, I’ve noticed my pickup will sometimes run hot-ter than I think it should. I’m wondering if changing the thermostat to a colder one would help.

Answer: Let’s assume that the cooling system is full of coolant (a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and water is preferred), that it’s leak-free, and that you’re see-ing an occasionally high gauge reading. Start by qualifying the tempera-ture gauge readings.

A neat way to do this is with a noncontact digital thermometer, also called a temp gun. These are now widely available, and the cheapie ones have dipped below $20. This tool has many applications. You can check brake temper-ature, air conditioning or heater output, catalytic converter function, engine or transmission tempera-ture, your refrigerator or freezer’s settings. There are endless possibilities.

You can check true engine coolant tempera-ture by aiming the gun at the engine’s thermo-stat housing. If you find the truck’s gauge and the gun agree when at nor-mal and elevated temper-ature, we’ll go from there. The truck’s thermostat is designed to maintain over-all engine temperature at about 195 degrees.

At startup, the ther-mostat is closed, block-ing coolant flow through the radiator, encourag-ing the engine to warm up as quickly as possible. As coolant temperature

reaches 195, the thermo-stat opens and continu-ously meters flow through the radiator to maintain that temperature. Should conditions cause elevated temperature, the thermo-stat opens fully, allowing maximum radiator par-ticipation. As long as the thermostat is opening as it should, it plays no role in managing temperature above 200 degrees or so.

If there’s any doubt the thermostat is work-ing properly, I’d change it in a heartbeat with one of the specified rat-ing. They’re inexpensive, and it’s typically a simple job. Changing to a cold-er value, such as 180 or 160 degrees, may briefly assist a weak cooling sys-tem when you encounter a single steep hill, because you’re starting out cooler. But the drawbacks are many. Your engine was designed to run best, pro-duce the fewest emissions and deliver the best fuel economy at 195 degrees. Plus the oil remains clean-er, compared to running at colder temperatures.

There are many possi-ble causes for occasional elevated temperature: a partially restricted radi-ator, airflow across the radiator impeded by bugs or debris, an eroded water

pump impeller, a collaps-ing lower radiator hose, or a slipping fan clutch. Radiator efficiency can be checked using the heat gun, comparing upper and lower radiator hose temperature when the thermostat is open and the car is at operating temperature. With ade-quate airflow across the radiator, you should see a difference of more than 20 degrees. If desired, a heavy-duty radiator, with more air passages, can be purchased for less than $200.

Replacement could be a satisfying DIY job. Renew all hoses at this time as well. If the temperature drop across the radiator looks OK, but the inlet temperature in the top hose is notably higher than the thermostat rat-ing, the water pump may not be providing adequate coolant circulation.

For fan clutch infor-mation and testing, go to www.haydenauto.com. Click “Training,” then select a fan clutch tuto-rial. They did a nice job on this.

n Brad Bergholdt is an automotive technology instructor at Evergreen

Valley College in San Jose, Calif. Email him at [email protected].

By Brad BergholdtMCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

Check thermostat before replacing it

There are many possible causes for occasional elevated temperature: a partially restricted radiator, airflow

across the radiator impeded by bugs or debris, an eroded water pump impeller, a collapsing lower radiator hose, or a

slipping fan clutch.

above the current esti-mate of 45,000.

Akerson has said he wants GM to bet on the Volt’s technology more than any other electri-fication solution.

Pre-bankruptcy GM might have spent equal amounts on Voltec, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure-electric vehi-cles, but not new GM, Akerson said in a Janu-ary interview.

“Would you bet on every hand in poker?” he asked. “We’re taking an assessed business risk.”

The hiring blitz also includes the Warren Tech Center in Michigan and powertrain factories in Spring Hill, Tenn., and Tonawanda, N.Y.

In Toledo, GM plans to invest about $250 mil-lion and add at least 250

jobs, possibly as many as 400, depending on sales levels.

New jobs at GM first go to a pool of laid-off workers, but officials have said that GM will have accepted all those workers by the end of

this year.That means many of

these 4,200 jobs will go to new hires. According to GM’s contract with the UAW, those workers will make $14 an hour, about half of what first-tier line workers are paid.

BLITZFrom Page 1 / CARS

Ryan GaRza/The Associated PressGeneral Motors Manufacturing Manager Larry Zahner announces Friday that GM is investing $109 million in Flint and Bay City plants as part of production for the Chevrolet Volt and Chevrolet Cruze at Flint Engine Operations in Flint, Mich. Of that money, $89 million will be spent in Flint and 78 jobs will be created and saved in the Flint area.

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OnTheMOve / Tallahassee Democrat Monday, May 16, 2011 /

ST. PETERSBURG — Most auto repair shops will tell you it’s time for an oil change, new tires or sometimes even a car wash, but they keep silent on some things — for reasons that may ben-eficial to them.

1. Fluid flushes are an easy way to run up the bill.

“A lot of mechan-ics ... work on commis-sion,” said Joe Mila-no, a mechanic at Old Northeast Garage in St. Petersburg with 32 years experience.

“So they’re going to sell you (that) on what-ever you’ll buy,” he said. “The machine does the work and he gets paid a commission for it.”

Milano says many

mechanics will recom-mend a flush of brake flu-id or transmission fluid even if your car doesn’t need it. He suggests sticking to the recom-mended maintenance in your car’s manual and if you have questions about a mechanic’s advice, get a second opinion.

“Just say no” to any service you’ve got ques-tions about, says Duane Denniston from Preven-tive Maintenance Service Center in Clearwater. He has 23 years experience. “You can go back and get it next week.”

2. A blind second opinion may be in your best interest.

Even the most scru-pulous mechanics would rather make a small prof-it on your business than no profit.

You make the estimate challenge job easier for him or her by showing your first quote.

“He’s going to do his best job to beat that price (by) just enough to where it’s worth it for you to bring your vehi-cle to him,” Denniston said without a specific mechanic in mind.

“You (should) probably not tell them anything and see what (the sec-ond mechanic) tells you,” Milano said.

However, if the second quote is for the same ser-vice as the first, but at a higher price, feel free to give the mechanic a chance to beat the first price.

3 . D i s c ou nt o i l changes or tire rota-tions almost always lead to additional ser-

vices.Both Milano and Den-

niston say cheap oil changes or free rotations are big garages’ way of f inding other things wrong with your car.

“It gives them a chance to take your tires off and look for something wrong with your brakes,” Mila-no said. “They’ll lose money on a promotion for an opportunity to checklist your car.”

If you don’t have a good relationship with a trust-ed mechanic, it may be hard to tell if that sug-gestion for new brake pads or new tires is truly necessary.

Just remember: A cour-tesy check from an expe-rienced mechanic can be a life-saver if you’ve got a problem developing. But you’re also never commit-

ted to having any service performed at any time.

You can always drive away.

4. Lifetime warran-ties are nice insur-ance for you — and the garage.

Lifetime warranties give the consumer pro-tection against poorly per-forming parts but also give the garage assurance that you’ll come back to them for service.

“The parts are guaran-teed for life but not the labor,” Denniston said.

A nd labor cha rg-es often dwarf parts charges, Milano said. As with a free tire rotation, your return visit gives a garage an opportunity to discover more prob-lems to fix.

5. Some of the best shops don’t advertise

at all.“Advertising is just a

way to get people in the door,” Denniston said.

Word of mouth is the best way to find a trusted mechanic. And one who has a healthy customer base without advertis-ing often keeps every-one happy.

Here are a few other tip your auto mechanic may not tell you:

n Ask for synthetic motor oil, which lasts a lot longer. Otherwise you could get regular oil dur-ing an oil change.

n Get the original part back so you know the mechanic replaced it — and that something was wrong with it.

n Change your air fil-ters yourself and save $7 to $10. It’s virtually fool proof.

By Noah PranskyWTSP-TV — TAMPA, ST. PETERSBURG

Five things your auto mechanic won’t tell you

Not just for golf anymore

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OnTheMOve / Tallahassee Democrat Monday, May 16, 2011 / Page 5


Slide behind the wheel of Krohn Racing’s new Chevrolet Corvette Z06, which has been fitted to run on compressed nat-ural gas, and after a few minutes of driving the 500-horsepower car, you have to wonder: Why isn’t compressed natural gas more popular as a motor fuel?

It’s a question Fort Lauderdale-based Wise Gas is trying to answer. Last year the company opened a public natural gas refueling station at 650 N.W. 27th Ave., where natural gas is now sell-ing for $1.99 a gallon for the equivalent of one gal-lon of regular gasoline, which is averaging $3.93 statewide.

Wise Gas also will install a home refueling station for natural gas-powered cars — cost of the unit and installation aver-ages about $4,500, less a $1,000 tax credit — and can arrange for natural gas conversions to your current vehicle. Those conversions, for vehicles 2010 model year or older, cost between $4,700 and $7,000.

Those costs can pay off for customers who drive a lot and use a lot of fuel. That’s one reason com-pressed natural gas has found favor with fleet cus-tomers. But Jeff Greene, director of business devel-opment for Wise Gas, said plenty of Florida motor-ists also are switching to either drive natural gas-powered cars, or plan to. Among the dozens of reg-ular Wise Gas customers are a local college profes-sor and a nurse who fre-quent the Wise station on 27th Avenue.

Currently, Greene says Wise has about 75 regu-

lar customers at the sta-tion — including those who drive AT&T’s fleet of CNG-powered vehicles — plus a waiting list of about 200 customers who want to refuel there, but are awaiting upgrades to the station. Customers must have a Wright fuel card — the 24-hour-a-day station doesn’t accept cash or regular credit cards for CNG motor fuel purchases.

With the opening of the Fort Lauderdale station, the number of public CNG refueling stations in Flori-da effectively doubled, the only other one listed by the Department of Energy being a location near Pen-sacola. But Greene says

other stations are either under construction or in the planning stages for Clearwater, the Tampa area, Jacksonville, plus two in the Orlando area. At least a dozen other pri-vate facilities across the state are either owned by private companies or local government agencies, and it is conceivable that one or more of those could open to the public.

CNG vehicles are facing a chicken-or-egg situation: There aren’t many CNG-powered civilian vehicles on the road because there aren’t many places to fill up. But until there are more CNG-powered vehi-cles, what is the incen-tive to build more CNG

stations?Caught in the middle

is Space Coast Honda in Cocoa, the only Honda dealer in Florida autho-rized to sell the Honda Civic GX, a from-the-fac-tory Civic that runs on compressed natural gas. With a starting price of about $26,000, the Civic GX looks and performs just like a regular Civ-ic, but uses CNG exclu-sively.

Honda has long sold the GX in all 50 states to fleet customers, but only sold it to private customers in four Western states. Retail sales were recent-ly opened to all states, and Space Coast Honda signed. The dealership

has sold some Civic GXs for fleet use, including to NASA, but sales manag-er Doug Finwall said the retail market has been a disappointment. He has sold only six or so, a cou-ple to out-of-state custom-ers on eBay.

Even with gas hovering around $4 a gallon, “The demand just isn’t there yet,” Finwall says. He notes it’s also expensive to carry spare parts for the GX and have mechan-ics trained to work on the on the CNG-rated aspects, such as high-pressure fuel lines.

Though several man-ufacturers, including Chrysler, have CNG-pow-ered vehicles on the draw-

ing board, Greene says most civilian owners of CNG-powered vehicles bought them at auction, many of them former gov-ernment vehicles.

There’s no question CNG works very well as a motor fuel, says Simon Marshall, engineer with the Georgia-based Krohn Racing team, that hopes to enter a CNG-powered racer in the American Le Mans Series, which opens its season annual with the 12 Hours of Sebring. Team owner Tracy Krohn owns one of the largest oil and gas exploration companies in the Gulf of Mexico, and had a Cor-vette Z06 converted to compressed natural gas to prove it works not only on a Honda Civic, but in very high-performance applications, too. Driving it, you can’t tell whether you are running on CNG or gasoline — CNG, Mar-shall says, has the equiv-alent of 130 octane, com-pared to 87 octane for regular gas.

The downside, Mar-shall said: The gas must be stored under high pres-sure, at least 3,000 psi, and to give the vehicle a long range, the tank must be quite large and would likely intrude into lug-gage space. But under the hood of the Corvette, the extra hardware required to allow the Corvette to run on both CNG and gas is minimal.

CNG, says Marshall, “just makes too much sense not to pursue as a fuel.” It’s very clean, abun-dant, safe — based on mil-lions of miles of fleet use, anyway — and 85 percent of our supply comes from the U.S., the other 15 per-cent from Canada.

And with gas at $4 a gallon, “Our time is com-ing,” Greene says.

By Steven Cole SmithMCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

Natural gas builds customer base as auto fuel

RicaRdo deaRatanha/Los Angeles Times/MCTTed Simpson fills his new natural gas-powered Honda Civic GX at CNG filling station on April 19. Higher gasoline prices are building demand for vehicles that run on compressed natural gas, a fuel that can sell for as little as a third the price of gasoline.

OnTheMOve / Tallahassee Democrat Monday, May 16, 2011 / Page 7

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‘06 GMC Sierra1500

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‘07 CADILLAC CTS

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‘09 TOYOTA RAV4

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TD-0000175300


Put tax refund to good use with a car purchase

If you’re expecting a tax refund, we ask: Why not buy a toy, preferably one you can drive?

For guidance, we turned to Dave Kinney of Great Falls, Va. Kinney follows the collectible automobile market as publisher of the Hagerty Price Guide.

The guidelines were sim-ple. While there are many cars and trucks you can find for $3,000 — the average amount of a tax refund — the vehicles on this list had to be interesting to drive or hold the promise of being a future collectible.

Let’s go shopping. 1990 Mazda Miata: n About the car: A Japa-

nese interpretation of the MG-B, although it runs a lot better than the MG-B did in its day. It’s also fairly fuel efficient.

n Kinney’s take: “It’s a car that has some per-sonality and some fun — more fun than personality. It’s the classic rear-wheel drive, built-for-two sports car. They don’t go like stink, but they’re fun to drive.”

1990 Honda CRX: n About the car: Intro-

duced in 1984, the CRX was little more than a Honda Civic driveline placed in a coupe body. Fuel economy of 40 mpg or more is not unheard of.

n Kinney’s take: “These cars are little pocket rock-ets. The problem with old

CRXs is they’re not just used, but used up because they’re mostly kid-owned. The problem is finding one that hasn’t been hot-rodded up, thinking they’re doing someone a favor.”

1993 Lincoln Mark VIII: n About the car: This

rear-wheel drive, V8-pow-ered luxury coupe debuted in 1993, with jelly bean-like styling and the demeanor of a luxurious muscle car.

n Kinney’s take: “You’ll find them with miles on them. If they’ve been well-serviced, there’s no rea-son these cars couldn’t go 300,000 miles. As long as the interior is intact and all of the goodies work, it’s an unbelievably nice ride for the money.”

By Larry PrintzMcclatchy tribune news services

BEST PRICING GUARANTEED:How about no payments till March 2011?

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©2011 Classified Ventures, LLC™. All rights reserved.

REVIEWS OF THEBEST-HANDLING CARS.





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