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Auto Q & A
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Posted by editor Mon Dec 4, 2006 19:55:26 PST
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0 responses 0 comments Dear Q & A: I read your column all the time and especially enjoy some of your historical auto information. In regards to your answer you gave a reader in the Nov. 22 issue regarding belt drive on Harleys, the belts on Harleys last 80,000 to 100,000 miles (it does not have to be replaced at 4,500 miles). Replacing a belt on a Harley is not quick and cheap routine maintenance, as you said. A belt costs $175 and figure 4 hours labor at $75 per hour. I would not want someone misled by faulty information. Maybe you should stick with automobiles?                       — R.G.
Dear RG: Maybe more careful proofreading wouldn’t hurt. In any case, corrections from readers with better information are always welcome. The line in last week’s column, the Harley’s belt “has to be replaced every 4,500 miles or so” should have read “has to be checked and adjusted every 4,500 or so,” which is cheap, quick (and important) routine maintenance. Thanks.

Dear Q & A: My car, a 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis, was front end damaged before I got it, which is why I was able to buy it for hundreds less than retail price. The repairs look great, just like original. The problem is, it runs hot and overheats easily. I think the reason is that the radiator was damaged in the accident. It doesn’t leak, so what’s the problem?   
— C.W.
Dear CW: A damaged radiator that doesn’t leak may have had some of its core tubes soldered shut where the collision ruptured them. It’s a cheap way to fix a damaged radiator, but it reduces its cooling capacity. To regain proper cooling, better take it to a radiator shop to see if it can be repaired properly or needs to be replaced. With global warming, you’ll be needing that cooling capacity more than ever.

Dear Q & A: I’m thinking of buying a Suzuki Samurai. But I’ve heard it’s “unsafe at any speed,” as Ralph Nader once wrote about the Chevy Corvair, which helped to kill it as a brand. Is it?                 
— Jeremy
Dear Jeremy: Despite the lingering public perception that the Samurai and other small Suzukis are just plain unsafe to drive, the facts are somewhat different. In 1988, Consumer Reports magazine carelessly reported the results of a particular, limited, and unusual maneuver on the Samurai in such as way as to lead readers to come to that conclusion. Suzuki sued the magazine and after years of litigation, CR settled in 2004 and agreed to state thereafter in all of its mentions of Suzuki vehicles that they are no less safe in ordinary driving than other similar vehicles.
The Corvair, too, got a bum rap in Nader’s scare book. Most cars have areas of less-than-perfect handling characteristics and can be made to react in unusual ways to certain violent steering and/or braking demands. Nader (on most issues an honorable whistleblower) apparently gained notoriety and followers after his Corvair “expose,” GM having been caught in the act of harassing and intimidating him.

Dear Q & A: When did the gearshift move from the floor to the steering column, and which American make first had this feature?             
— Bear V. Jas.
Dear BVJ: Among major auto brands, Cadillac offered steering-column-mounted gearshift in its 1938 models. But Cord had already been sporting gearshift levers in a dashboard-mounted push-pull version as early as 1932.

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