Interview with a Volkswagen Diesel Expert

Diesel engines are coming on strong now in passenger cars. Why? Listen to the interview!


Exclusive Interview with Volkswagen's Diesel Expert from Auto Channel on Vimeo.

"The Real McCoy"

Trivia this week! Is it true that Elijah McCoy was one of the first employees of the US patent office, hence the saying,“It’s the real McCoy”.

No, McCoy patented the steam engine lubricating system back in 1872. The McCoy system lubricators were expensive, but worked extremely well. Elijah was an oil man and responsible for ensuring that the train was well lubricated. After a few miles, a train would be forced to stop and an oil man would have to walk alongside the train applying oil to the axles and bearings.

In an effort to improve efficiency and eliminate the frequent stopping necessary for lubrication of the train, McCoy set out to create a method of automating the task. In 1872 he developed a "lubricating cup" that could automatically drip oil when and where needed. He received a patent for the device later that year. The "lubricating cup" met with enormous success and orders for it came in from railroad companies all over the country. Other inventors attempted to sell their own versions of the device but most companies wanted the authentic device, requesting "the Real McCoy."

Is there a way to tell whether my timing belt is good?

My mechanic tells me that there is no way to tell whether my timing belt is good and will not fail in the near future. Is this so?

Yes, there is no way to tell if a timing belt is good. You can only tell if they are bad. The part of the belt that fails is covered by a cosmetic layer of rubber.


The inside of the belt is made of fabric that gives the belt its strength. The fabric can't be seen so you can not tell if it is good by looking at the cosmetic rubber covering. The normal rule is the mileage or four years whichever comes first, but do check with your specifics from the manufacturer because in recent years timing belt change intervals have increased.

New Consumer information site on autos

To better provide lifesaving information directly to consumers, NHTSA now offers a service that provides recall notification for tires and safety seats.
Consumers can visit http://www.safercar.gov/ and click on the “E-mail” or “RSS” option to register for the new notification service. Lots of information that used to be found only at http://www.nhtsa.gov/ can now be found at the new site http://www.safercar.gov/.


check it out!

Installing only two snow tires

I have heard that when only two snow tires are being installed, you should put them on the vehicles rear wheels, regardless whether it is a front or rear wheel drive vehicle. Is this so?

Well, conventional wisdom says that when installing snow tires on a front drive vehicle they should be on the front, but that can cause disastrous rear wheel spin which is much more difficult to correct, especially in bad weather conditions. So it is true, that snow tires should be put on the rear wheels. While snow tires on the rear will give better results, snow tires should be put on all four wheels for the best results. But if you can only afford two snow tires, regardless of whether it is a front or rear wheel drive vehicle, put them on the back!

* From Mr. Know -It-All- Motorwatch Journal