Seven Services Your Car Needs Before Winter Sets In

Snow and winter. You probably won’t see one without the other (well, maybe last year, but I doubt we will be fortunate enough to have another warm winter…). Even famously sunny Florida gets its share of snow – 14 snow “events” in the state since 2000, after only 23 snow “events” during the entire 20^th century!

People across the country will be pulling out the sweaters, firing up the boilers and turning up the thermostat in preparation for the coming cold weather, but its also a good time to think about your car. After all, just because it’s cold outside, with a few flurries in the air, doesn't mean you’ll stop driving altogether.

With that in mind, we give you seven services you should have done on your car before winter sets in for good. (Lucky for you, most of these services are often performed at little or no cost as part of an oil change and inspection at our Hare Chevrolet Service Department!)

1.  Freshen the Oil – Motor oil has two tough jobs: It has to beat the heat during the summer while it protects your engine, and it has to flow quickly during winter’s cold temperatures to lubricate your car’s engine when it first cranks up.
2. Check the Cool – Ever filled a glass bottle full of water, screwed the top on tight, and then put it in the freezer to see what would happen? It’s not good, don’t try it. (But if you must know, it explodes!) Imagine what can happen inside your engine and radiator if the water/antifreeze mixture isn't strong enough to prevent it from freezing in cold weather. Before the mercury dips, have your antifreeze strength tested, and consider replacing the old antifreeze if it may be too weak to handle the winter.
3. Top the Wash – Like antifreeze, your windshield washer fluid is a special blend of alcohol and water that resists freezing Make sure to have your fluid topped off before welcoming wet wintry weather to your neck of the woods, because the last thing you want to find when trying to wash your windshield on a cold morning is frozen washer fluid.
4. Switch the Blades – Your windshield wipers took a beating during the looooong, hot summer and the summer wears down the rubber. That means your wipers may not work as well in the winter as you would like, an important safety consideration since most areas of the country receive at least some wintry precipitation. Consider having your wiper blades replaced now (which Hare Chevrolet’s Parts Department can help you with!) so they keep your vision unimpaired when that first snowstorm hits.
5. Crank the Juice – Mechanics often say batteries die in summer and are buried in winter. That means excess summer heat begins to degrade a battery’s ability to generate enough electricity to get your car started, and when the cold weather of winter makes cranking even harder, the battery simply isn’t up to the task. Fortunately, today’s high-tech battery testers can quickly and easily tell what shape your car’s battery is in, allowed you to head off possible cranking difficulties before you find yourself stranded in the cold.
6. Flush It – Did you know it actually absorbs moisture from the atmosphere in normal conditions? When the temperature drops and seals get brittle, even more water can diffuse its way into the brake fluid. Eventually the brake fluid can become so contaminated, the brake pedal may feel mushy and unresponsive. To make sure this doesn’t happen to you have your brake fluid tested, and the system flushed if necessary. It’s also a good time for a technician to examine your car’s brake pads, rotors and other brake components to confirm they are in good condition. After all, you want reliable stopping power when it’s slippery outside.
7. Tread Carefully – The only thing keeping your car on the road is four tiny patches of rubber, each about the size of your hand. If your tires are worn, the channels that move water away from those contact patches may not be big enough to function like they’re supposed to, leaving you with less traction. Not a good thing. So give your tires the once-over to make sure the tread has adequate life left.

*Article compiled from go.drive magazine and Hare Chevrolet Service Department

2013 Chevrolet Spark Test Drive

Chevy’s sprightly minicar, the Spark, is a big seller around the globe, but it wasn't developed with North America in mind. The "old" GM might have shipped the Korean-made tyke over to our shores and hoped for the best. Thankfully for us, the GM of today unleashed a squadron of homeland Detroit engineers onto the Spark to modify and improve the little machine for the U.S.

Under that short hood is an 84-hp, 1.25-liter four-cylinder. That’s .5-liter more than Sparks have in other markets. "The real goal there was to get a flatter, more usable torque curve out of the engine," ride and handling engineer Nathan Sumner says. The team at GM also retuned the intake manifold and the whole exhaust system to give our Spark a sportier sound and optimized the gear ratios in both the five-speed manual and the four-speed automatic with unique gearing for the U.S. market.

The original Spark was a soft rider and not what you’d describe as a fun machine when the road twists. To impart a livelier feel, Sumner’s colleagues lowered the car by 10 mm and retuned the suspension bushings and shocks. Anyone who’s spent time in a Smart ForTwo knows how unsettled that car feels at highway speeds. Sumner didn't want that to be the Spark’s Achilles’ heel, so he minimized the nervousness on the highway by first adding 15-inch wheels and improved tires, then fine-tuning the suspension. "Just a small tweak will make all the difference in the world," Sumner says. "I made one little change to the rear damper tuning, and it just calmed the whole car down. It’s really kind of a black art sometimes, finding just the right balance."

The American Spark also comes with an electronic power-steering system. It provides variable assist based on speed, so the driver can dial in a lighter feel around town and more heft through the wheel as the Spark piles on speed. "When you increase the effort at highways speeds, it makes the car much more stable and less twitchy," Sumner says.

GM says it improved the door seals, baffles, carpeting, engine acoustics, and wipers to make the Spark a quieter place to spend time. And the U.S. team enhanced the bodywork for aero. Lowering the Spark and making tweaks such as changing the mirrors gained a little by way of mileage. Sparks equipped with a manual transmission return 34 mpg combined—not exactly hybrid-level fuel sipping but not too shabby.

On the inside, the Spark has 10 airbags as well as a rollover sensing system. A gauge pod reminiscent of the Sonic, the Spark’s bigger brother, sits up front with a large LCD screen in the dash for infotainment. The rear seat on global Sparks seats three people. But that middle seat was deemed too narrow for American posteriors, so a handy console resides in its place, making the car a four-seater. There’s 11.4 cubic feet behind that rear seat and a solid 31.2 cubic feet with the rear seat folded.

Bottom Line: The Spark is clearly the most practical minicar in the segment. It conveys a sense of lighthearted fun as you slice though city traffic. Compared with Chevy’s larger Sonic, the Spark is clearly a level down in terms of ride, handling, isolation, and power. But for less than $13,000, the Spark is a solid deal.

Sonic and Volt were “Highest Ranked Vehicle Appeal among Sub-Compact and Compact Cars”

Known as “The voice of the customer”, J.D. Power and Associates awarded the 2012 Sonic and 2012 Volt as having the Highest Ranked Vehicle Appeal in their respective segments.

J.D. Power and Associates has ranked the 2012 Sonic† and 2012 Volt† as having the “Highest Ranked Vehicle Appeal among Sub-Compact Cars and Compact cars.” More than 70,000 new-vehicle buyers were included in the Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout StudySM which looked at Fuel Economy, Driving Dynamics, Vehicle Exterior, Visibility and Driving Safety, among other factors.

Volt had the highest ranking in the Compact Car category for the second year in a row. In its first year on the road, Sonic was recognized by J.D. Power and Associates as having the “Highest Ranked Vehicle Appeal among Sub-Compact Cars.”