Auto Q & A
Auto Q & A
By: Dr. Wheels
Topics:
Posted by editor Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
Viewed 846 times
0 responses 0 comments Q & A: Please settle a friendly difference of opinion. Was there ever a four-door, hard top station wagon made in America? That is, one that did not have a pillar between the door windows like the four-door hardtop coupes and sedans of the 1950s.
— Curtis
Dear Curtis: The 1959 Mercury Colony Park station wagon was a true hardtop of the kind you mention. At $3,932, it was one of the luxury-priced cars of its day. Great visibility for those long cross-country cruises. But at two tons plus, with only six delicate-looking posts holding up its roof, this was one car you did not want to roll in an accident.
Dear Q & A: On Thursday, April 27, on a 40-minute trip to Bakersfield, we counted 227 motorcycles heading east. My wife didn’t even start counting until we had seen a dozen or more of them. What was going on? That’s the most two-wheelers I’ve ever seen in one day.
— R. T.
Dear RT: What you saw was a very small number of the thousands of bikers who were convening in Laughlin, Nev. for its 24th annual motorcycle rally, which was held from April 26 to the 30. Called the River Run, the gathering is the biggest such party in the West, attracting an estimated 75,000 celebrants this year. It’s becoming a tamer bash, to the satisfaction of law enforcement and possibly the disappointment of Hells Angels, Mongols and other motorcycle gangs. Arrests, bike thefts and other crime have been diminishing at the event in recent years. This was the biggest ever, despite (or perhaps because of wannabees?) the fights and murder that earned the 2004 rally some notoriety.
Dear Q & A: My car has yellowish lights — I think they’re called “running lights”— in front that are always on whenever the motor is running. They look like parking lights, although the actual parking lights are separate. Am I eventually going to get a traffic ticket because of the state law prohibiting driving in the daytime with my “parking lights” on.
— S.T.
Dear ST: Probably not, but you can’t be sure. If pulled over for this “offense,” try to get the officer to watch while you show him or her the difference between the amber running lights and the amber parking lights. Best to carry the owner’s handbook in your glove box to help you explain.
Dear Q & A: My boyfriend says to improve my gas mileage I should soften my tires by letting some of the air out, to decrease what he calls the “rolling resistance.” Is this a good idea? He read it somewhere.
— Deb
Dear Deb: He didn’t read it here. Nope, the more air you let out of your tires and the softer they become, the more you increase your rolling resistance. When there’s no air left and your tires are absolutely flat, you will have reached the maximum rolling resistance and your worst fuel mileage. To improve miles per gallon, it doesn’t hurt to increase your tire pressures slightly above the recommended pounds per square inch, because it’s normal to lose a little bit of pressure between your monthly rechecks. If you inflate only to the recommended PSI, most of the time you’ll be running slightly soft.
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