Running the engine before getting into a cold car.

At this time of year, plenty of people start their car and leave it to warm up in the morning before getting in. I'm in two minds about this. On the one hand, it lets the engine warm up and all the bearings and seals expand nicely before you start to drive it. And obviously the blower will be circulating warm air when you get in. But on the other hand, if you don't have a secure area to do this, you're practically asking to have the car stolen. Car thieves know this - they prowl suburban neighbourhoods on cold winter mornings because the pickings are plentiful and easy. And here's the other thing : when your engine is idling, it's essentially under no stress at all so it's going to take a while to heat up. If you actually just get in and drive it, the increased load on the engine helps it to heat up much more quickly. My morning commute has mild air blowing around the car after less than 1km and properly warm air in less than 2km. If you live somewhere where it's properly and consistently cold overnight, then the only true option is a sump heater or coolant heater. Sump heaters heat the oil in the engine sump so that it's not cold and gelatinous when you go to start the engine. Coolant heaters heat the coolant and circulate it around the engine to keep the block warm (not hot) so you get warm air out of the blower right away. For my money, this seems like a much better alternative to leaving the car running in the driveway while you eat breakfast.
Or you could just put on a coat and wear some gloves for the first five minutes and deal with it :-)

Winter is here for good this time.

Winter weather blew into our area over the last couple of weeks. Daytime high temperatures just below freezing, with high winds and a combination of powdery drifting snow, and wet teflon. Naturally this means that everyone around here promptly forgot how to drive in snow conditions and the accident rate went through the roof. I've said it before on this blog, and I'll say it again : winter tyres. Don't mess around with all-weather tyres if you live anywhere with a decent amount of snow and cold roads - just do it. This year I'm sporting two-wheel drive, having given up all-wheel-drive for the weight and mpg advantage. So this morning I had my first proper test of a moderately chunky SUV with 2WD and snow tyres, on packed wet snow from a standing start going uphill. It passed with flying colours. As I quietly made my way past all the other cars who were nicely polishing the road to a glossy black-ice finish with their summer- and all-weather-tyres on the same hill, I noticed the traction control light flicker on a couple of times, but it was nothing dramatic. The super sticky rubber compound, aggressive tread and plentiful siping on the tyres was doing it's job nicely. Seriously people - if you've never driven on modern snow tyres in the snow, it's a revelation.

Finding an alternative window cleaner

After the dismal performance of Armorall's customer service, I've been looking around for a suitable alternative, and I stumbled across this : Lifter-1 ProGlas. I'd never heard of this particular company before but that seemed like an opportunity to try something different. What a pleasant surprise. Their product is an aerosol but once it's been shaken up, it sprays a relatively thick, gloopy foam that sticks to the windows pretty well. A quick wipe with a cleaning cloth and a buff with a dry cloth and the inside of my car's windows are spectacularly clean again. It did a sterling job of cutting through the plastic vapour haze that builds up after a summer of being parked in the sun, and it shifted all the goop from various placements of my GPS suction cup too. It did the job quickly, with very little fuss, and the after-smell was not at all objectionable. If you're in need of a glass cleaner for your car, give them a try and let me know what you think. I really liked the job it did on my Honda which is why I'm giving them the free plug.

The Toyota floor mat issue.

You may have read about the ongoing problem Toyota has with some of its cars where the use of aftermarket floormats, or incorrectly anchored Toyota floormats, can cause the accelerator to stick fully open. Toyota are working on a fix for this problem - most likely the installation of shorter accelerator pedals, but this brings about an interesting question : should Toyota be responsible for the actions of people driving its vehicles? For example - if I stuck my hand in the way of the door and slammed it, should Toyota be expected to design a door that wouldn't injure me? The answer of course is "no" - so why are they having to solve a problem that they didn't create? If the drivers can't be bothered to use the anchoring system on the floor to hold the floor mat back, how is that Toyota's problem? It isn't. The issue is that Toyota recognise that America is a litigious society, and rather than people accepting responsibility for their own actions, they'll likely sue Toyota instead. It's sad that we've reached the stage in society where manufacturers have to change the design of a product to protect them from being sued by people who can't use the product properly. Of course Toyota aren't the first manufacturer to suffer this - any company that's ever built a ladder will tell you that 75% of the cost of the ladder to to you - the buying public - is covering the cost of lawsuits against the ladder manufacturer for people falling off their products.

The Amorall Guarantee - Pt.2

A quick followup to the blog post from a few weeks ago. Seems the Armorall guarantee is pretty much vapourware. They never responded to email or phone calls, nor even the returned pack of wipes I sent them with a letter. It's a shame - I've used their products for years, but in the face of lousy customer service like this, there's plenty of other companies out there that make competing products. It's a shame these people don't understand customer service any more. They're all in it for the quick buck at the expense of anyone who buys their products.

Chrome trim inside - why?

I recently had the misfortune to rent the most awful car I've driven in a long time. It was a GM product but I can't remember which one. What struck me the most, apart from the bad ergonomics and incomprehensible onboard computer, was the sheer volume of chrome that had been used in the cabin. They'd outlined all the instruments, centre console and vents in chrome. Now I've never been a big fan of chrome - I think it looks tacky and cheap and is a quick way of attempting to gussy up an otherwise dull design. But putting it in the cabin of a car is just inexcusable and I'll tell you why:- the sun. More specifically, when the sun reflects off all the bling inside the cabin and blinds you whilst you're driving, especially at this time of year when the sun is low in the sky. I was constantly fighting reflections and highlights from the chrome bezels as I drove - it was distracting, it was annoying and frankly it was dangerous. Add that to the laundry list of reasons why GM are failing - you simply don't put chrome inside a car.