Road Trip Playlist

Shut Up And Dance – Walk The Moon

All Right Now – Free

Sharp Dressed Man – ZZ Top

Slow Ride – Foghat

Roadhouse Blues – The Doors

China Grove – The Doobie Brothers

Runnin’ Down A Dream – Tom Petty

I’ve Been Everywhere – Johnny Cash

All Day And All Of The Night – The Kinks

Ramblin’ Man – The Allman Brothers Band

Born To Run – Bruce Springsteen

Fortunate Son – Creedence Clearwater Revival

Shiny Happy People – R.E.M.

Wouldn’t It Be Nice – The Beach Boys

Send Me On My Way – Rusted Root

Summer Of ‘69 – Bryan Adams

Take Me Home, Country Roads – John Denver

Africa – Toto

Purple Rain – Prince

Take On Me – a-ha

Beer For My Horses – Toby Keith and Willie Nelson

Hot Blooded – Foreigner

My Sharona – The Knack

Bennie And The Jets – Elton John

You Make My Dreams – Daryl Hall & John Oates

Please Mr. Postman – The Marvelettes

Down Under – Men At Work

All Along The Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix

Are You Gonna Be My Girl – Jet

Are you terrified of the check engine light coming on? It’s totally fine, I am too. One of the greatest things I learned recently, though, was that of the top five reasons that check engine light comes on, well. Only a couple are really bad. The others are totally reasonable and easy to fix. Check them out!

1. Your gas cap. This should be the first thing you check, because if it’s off/loose/broken it can set your check engine light off due to fuel vapors leaking out. If it’s off or loose, just put it on tightly! If it’s broken or altogether missing, it can be replaced by your dealer for cheap.

2. Your spark plugs need to be replaced about every 100,000 miles, so it could just mean it’s time for that to happen.

3. It could be your Mass Airflow Sensor, which tells your vehicle’s computer how much fuel to use based on the amount of air coming into your engine. If this is broken, your emissions will increase, and your vehicle could stall out.

4. Your oxygen sensors (aka O2 sensors) might need to be replaced. These monitor the amount of unburned oxygen in your exhaust, and then tell your vehicle’s computer how much fuel is actually being burned in your engine. Letting these go unfixed can burn out your catalytic converter.

5. Finally, it could actually be your catalytic converter (aka cat). This part reduces exhaust gases, and when it is burned out your MPGs will go down and your acceleration won’t be what it needs to be.

All in all, no matter what – if your check engine light goes on and it’s not the gas cap, get it into the shop ASAP. Good luck!

It’s that time of year for long road trips and bored passengers – so we’ve put together a list of our favorite games to play in the car for passengers of any age! The driver can get in on most of these too, so you’ll be able to break up the tedium of the road with these great games. Check them out and share your favorites on our Facebook!

1. Alphabetical Categories – start with a category (i.e. food, music) and then start from A and travel down the alphabet naming things within that category

2. 21 Questions – a classic, you have to guess what one person is thinking in 21 questions or less. You can’t repeat a question that’s already been asked, and whoever guesses it correctly gets to think of the thing for the next round.

3. Word Association – one person starts with a word, the next person has to think of a word that’s associated to that previous word in some way, and the game goes onward until someone makes a mistake or says something way too out of the realm of possibility to count.

4. The License Plate Game – see how many license plates you can spot from different states/provinces! This is harder and harder the shorter the trip is!

5. While You Were Sleeping – when someone falls asleep, everyone else who is awake has to create the most believable story possible. Stay in character – if you don’t, you lose a point. If someone goes off-script, ask “are you sure?” This is a great game for everyone!

We all get a little angry sometimes, right? It’s totally okay! This is just a part of life. But when we get angry on the road, that’s where the problems start. This road-related anger is also known as road rage, and it’s dangerous as heck! That’s why we have put together this list of tips to use for when you’re feeling a little angry on the road – it’s better to be calm and safe than angry and potentially dead!

1. If you’ve got someone right up your rear end, tailgating you like there’s no tomorrow, let them pass when it’s safe to do so. Move over if you can, and wave them on if they need a little encouragement.

2. When you’re deciding when to leave your house in the morning, plan for delays. Google Maps has a really good way of letting you know when you can expect to arrive – and it takes traffic and accidents into account. If you’re early, it’ll be a nice surprise, and if you hit traffic you won’t be too frustrated.

3. Drive safely! This should be paramount no matter when you’re driving, but when everyone is in a rush you should set a good example for everyone else by being a great driver.

4. If you are stressed or you feel yourself devolving into that road rage state, listen to some calming music or talk radio. May we recommend NPR?

5. Lay off the horn. If you find yourself honking a lot, consider… not doing that. The worst thing about it is that it just makes other people angry as well, and then everyone is angry and it becomes a nightmare.

6. If you come across someone else who is experiencing road rage – whether or not you are as well – don’t make eye contact or be aggressive with them. Let them be, and let them pass you if you can so that you are safely out of the danger zone. They can be angry somewhere else!

With the onset of winter, we might be more inclined to do a little bit of nesting – as in, make our spaces as cozy as possible for our long winter’s nap. Unfortunately, we’re not bears, and this usually manifests in a LOT of clutter piling up in places like our homes and cars and us not wanting to clean it out until the spring… which is months away. Here are our tips to nipping that clutter monster in the bud by getting your car clean quickly!

Supplies you will need:

• trash bags

• air freshener spray (like Febreze)

• upholstery cleaner (like Resolve)

• car cleaning wipes

• vacuum

• Q-tips

First, get all the trash out of your car. Put it in a trash bag and throw it away. Take another trash bag and put all the stuff you want to keep but just not in your car into it and bring that into your house. Everything that you want to keep in your car can go into a third bag and be set aside for later.

Vacuum everything out. Use the wand attachment for maximum crevice access and get EVERYTHING. Every nook and cranny. The spaces between seats, the floors, the vents, everything. If your vents are really gross then get them with a Q-tip dipped in cleaning solution and then vacuum them out again. Use some wipes to get all the dust off of your smooth surfaces. If you have stains in your upholstery, use the upholstery cleaner per the directions.

Finally, spray some nice air freshener and get everything back into your car, but organized, and you’re all set. Impress your friends and family with your cleanliness!

Are you the type of person who likes to have music playing in the car? I know how that is! I’ve definitely described myself as being “allergic to silence” before, which isn’t true factually but it’s how I feel in my soul. Anyway, I have put together a short playlist for the holidays that can either stand alone or serve as a jumping-off point for more music to listen to this holiday season. Check it out and let me know what you think!

What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve? – Ella Fitzgerald
White Winter Hymnal – Fleet Foxes
Greensleeves – Vince Guaraldi Trio
On Ice – Chris Thile
Marshmallow World – The Regrettes
Baby, It’s Cold Outside – Lydia Liza and Josiah Lemanski
Sister Winter – Sufjan Stevens
Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow – Lady Antebellum
We’re Goin’ To The Country! – Sufjan Stevens
Good “Swing” Wenceslas – Count Basie Orchestra

Today’s blog is a crash course in checking your oil. Buckle up and dive in! (And then after, make sure you go and check your oil!)

1. Open the hood. Prop it so it stays open.

2. Locate the oil dipstick next to the engine. It should have a yellow handle and/or be labeled.

3. Pull out the dipstick and wipe it on a clean cloth or paper towel.

4. Dip the stick all the way back in.

5. Pull it out again and look at the oil level.

   1. If it’s in the middle of the hatched/indicated area, you’re good. More is better, less is okay, but if you’re lower than the area you need to get your oil topped up and have your system checked for leaks.

6. Look at the oil quality and color.

   1. If there are a lot of particles or if the oil looks sludgy, you need to get it changed as soon as possible.

7. Put the dipstick back in.

8. Close your hood.

9. Congratulate yourself on a job well done.

When you’re in the market for a new car, the first thing you’re going to do is pick some that you like, whether online or in the lot, and then go for a test drive. Yes, you need to take that test drive, friend! Here’s how they usually work, in terms of using the test drive to determine if the vehicle is right for you or not:

BEFORE TEST DRIVE: I have so many questions about this car. I am going to keep a list and make sure that I answer all these questions so that I can make an informed decision about my vehicular future.

DURING TEST DRIVE: This car is the best! Car. I love car. Vroom vroom. I am FAST and BEAUTIFUL.

AFTER TEST DRIVE: Yeah, um, it had a steering wheel. And went… forward? Maybe also backward. Good car.

Don’t be like this. Have a list, remember the list, bring a friend to prompt you with the list during the drive. To make it even easier, we have created a list for you to bring so that you don’t even have to think about it.

1. How is the ride in the vehicle? Is it bumpy, smooth, or detached? Of course, the ride will always depend on what type of vehicle you are testing, but does it meet your expectations?

2. Test the brakes to see how they are. Are they rubber-band-y? Responsive? Slow? Sticky? The most important question is: would you trust them to save your life? Test the brakes in every type of situation you can imagine.

3. How’s the acceleration? Can you get up to the speed you want in the amount of time you want? Acceleration can make or break the vehicle for a lot of people.

4. From inside of the vehicle, is it loud? Can you see out of all the windows properly?

5. How are the steering and handling? Check the turning radius by making a U-turn somewhere safe. Can you get down curvy roads with ease?

We all experience smells in our lives, whether they’re in our homes, our offices, or even our cars. However, there are some smells that mean trouble. Check out our list of what smells those are and what they mean for you and your vehicle.

If you smell rotten eggs, it means that your catalytic converter is having trouble. This could be either a fuel injection problem or that your cat is failing because there’s hydrogen sulfide in your exhaust causing the stench. Get this repaired as soon as possible.

If you smell sulfur, it is a gear lubricant leak that should be repaired. The leak is coming from either the manual transmission, the transfer case, or the differential housing. The smell comes from a sulfur compound in the oil. Look under your car for oily puddles.

If you smell maple syrup, it is your coolant leaking. Coolant contains ethylene glycol, which smells sweet but is very toxic. This is an easy fix but should be repaired.

If you smell gas, it’s gas. Easy peasy. This means you have a leak in your fuel injection line or a fuel tank vent hose in your engine. If you have a newer car, this is a real concern.

If you smell hot oil, it’s hot oil. Another easy one, this means you have an oil leak, and the oil is dripping (or spraying) onto the exhaust manifold and burning while your engine is running. Try to find the leak and stem it but really you should take your vehicle in for service and repair as soon as possible.

Do you hate stopping at the gas station? Do you feel like you’re spending a lot more time there than usual, or even spending a lot of money on gas? Here’s a solution for that – drive your car in such a way that your fuel economy is maximized! We can’t tell you that you’ll go from getting 30mpg to 70mpg – that’s just not possible unless you got a completely new car – but you can see a couple miles per gallon worth of improvement, which can definitely add up over time! Here are our tips on driving to maximize your fuel economy.

Don’t speed. When you speed, you’re accelerating and decelerating a lot, which messes with your MPG’s. For every five mph over 50 you go, you’re paying roughly 10-20 cents more per gallon of gas.

If you have a storage box or bicycle rack on your roof, consider switching to something that is rear-mounted. With something bulky on your roof, your aerodynamics decrease, which in turn decreases your mileage.

Avoid idling as much as possible. Come to a full stop and then turn off your vehicle. Idling wastes a lot of gas, and also is pretty bad for the environment when you think about the exhaust.

Use your cruise control! It eliminates extra acceleration and deceleration that might happen when you’re driving on the highway and keeps you moving at a consistent speed. I’ve been using it more and have seen my MPG’s go up!

Have patience and focus on safety. When you’re paying attention, you’re more likely to drive safely and save gas at the same time!