A look at Ford's most advanced assembly plant that operates in rural Brazil

I know it is for the reduced construction and labor costs, but you have to take look at this plant. Tell us what you think about the plant on our mailing list!

Aged Tires And Tire Safety

Tires, like any other rubber product, have a limited service life regardless of tread depth and use. The dangers of "aged" tires is a little known problem outside of the industry and one that is likely the cause of a significant number of tread separation problems. "Aged" tires are often unsuspectingly put into service after having served as a spare, stored in garages or warehouses, or simply used on a vehicle that is infrequently driven. In many instances these tires show no visible sign of deterioration, and absent any visible indicators, tires with adequate tread depth are likely to be put into service regardless of age. Tire date codes have been mentioned before on this blog. A video on this was done a while back. Pretty impressive if you have not seen it. Use the link below to see what ABC news did on the subject.

http//abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897

The Five functions of Motor oil

Do you know there are five (5) basic functions that motor oil performs in your engine? Can you name them and tell a little bit about each one?















1) Lubricate and Prevent Wear & Reduce Friction


Oil must prevent the metal-to-metal contact that will result in wear to the moving parts. Moving surfaces are continuously separated by a film of oil.




2)Protect Against Rust and Corrosion

Acids formed by the normal oxidation of oil, are a potential for rust and formation of corrosive engine deposits.Corrosion inhibitors which are part of the additive package help to protect non-ferrous metals by coating them.




3) A detergent- to Keep Engine Parts Clean

Partially burned fuel will escape past the rings into the crankcase Detergents are part of the additive package to clean-up existing deposits in the engine, as well as disperse insoluble matter into the oil.

4) Cool Engine Parts

The cooling system performs about 60% of the cooling job of the engine. It cools the upper part of the engine including the cylinder heads, cylinder walls, and valves. The crankshaft, the main and connecting rod bearings, the timing gears, the pistons and other components in the lower engine are cooled from the oil flows around the parts.

5) Seals- Combustion Pressures

The surfaces of the piston rings, ring grooves, and cylinder walls are not completely smooth. Motor oil fills in the hills and valleys and greatly improves the seal. They also help with seal swelling, keeping oil from leaking out of the engine pasted seals. Stops blowby!

Recalls Via Email

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has unveiled a new initiative to notify vehicle owners electronically when their car is recalled. The recall alerts can be received via e-mail or RSS-feeds on personal computers, cell phones or PDA devices-automatically and free-of-charge. However, consumers must sign up to receive the notices. Do so at ..



http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/subscriptions/index.cfm