It’s a constant quest for drivers who are “in tune” with their Cincinnati Honda’s performance. “How do I get the most from my engine?”, we hear this a lot at Superior Honda. Then that’s usually followed by, “Should I be using fuel additives?”. That’s a good question. Even though the market is full of different type of fuel additive, the general consensus is, “No”. Take a look at the video below.
It seams that the jury is still out on fuel additives. The research we’ve com across suggests that, if there is a benefit, it appears to be minute and nearly immeasurable. Of course, there is always two sides to every coin as you will note when you do your own research. There’s no doubt that the manufacturers of these performance based products will stand behind their claims, but it’s really up to you to determine their worth.
Superior Honda would never tell you to experiment with your vehicle, as you could cause some serious damage if you don’t know what you are doing. If you are looking for more efficiency or a power boost bring it to us before you decide to pour a bottle of proposed “liquid power” into your tank. There are other things we can do to your vehicle to show a real result in regards to performance.
It’s true, as you will see in the video below. Drowsy driving is just as dangerous as driving drunk. Superior Honda would like every reader of this post to watch the video below. The dangers of driving while sleepy is very real. That risk increases as a teen due to early morning, late nights and insufficient sleep. The video mentions fatigued driving is the cause of over 100,000 accidents a year. I suspect it might be more than that.
This video is a real “eye-opener”…pun intended:
Have kids? Teach them that drowsy driving is just as dangerous as driving drunk. If they feel sleepy, then they should pull over and take a break, or better yet, call you to be picked up. Trust me, any perceived “hassle” for calling parents for a ride, or taking a break is far less of an issue should they be injured in an accident.
Superior Honda wants you to arrive alive at your destination. You put yourselves at serious risk should you be sleepy and continue to drive. It takes only an instant for your life to change, remember that.
Every now and then, we all need a little refresher course on driving etiquette and that includes some of us here at Superior Honda. Unless you’ve taken a defensive driving course lately, it’s probably been awhile since you were in Driver’s Ed. It’s only natural to assume that, over time, we forget some of the things we learned. Let’s talk about the rules of the left lane for a moment.
Driver’s Ed taught us that the left lane should be used for two things: passing and faster-moving traffic. If you’re in the left lane and someone is tailgating you, you probably don’t belong there. The rule of thumb is to yield to others traveling faster than you in the left lane, regardless of how fast you, or they are going. That’s really not that hard to remember, is it?
What about the rule of using the left lane for passing? Have you ever been out on a two lane highway and been stuck behind two cars traveling at almost the exact same speed? I’m sure this has happened to most of you. Let me break it down and tell you exactly how this happens using fictional drivers named Bob and Joe. Both guys are currently in the right lane, and Joe has decided that he would like to pass Bob so he moves into the left lane. The problem with this is that Joe is attempting to pass Bob by only traveling a few miles an hour faster, whereby taking a good five minutes to complete the pass. This has now forced several drivers behind the two men to be stuck traveling at a speed less than desired. Remember: when passing someone in the left lane, you must speed up sufficiently enough to get past the other guy quickly. Again, that’s not so hard to remember, yet we constantly make these same mistakes.
Why am I getting on my high horse about this most basic of basic driving rules? Because it’s an issue that can cause a dangerous driving condition. You never know who is going to come speeding over the hill and crawl up your tailpipe. If you only take away one thing from this post: Slower traffic, keep right. Brought to you by your friends and fellow drivers atSuperior Honda.
Nothing is more infuriating than finding a rip, or hole in your leather upholstery in your Cincinnati Honda. Do you know know how to fix it? It’s actually easier than you may think. With an inexpensive repair kit, a little education and some time, you can easily repair a minor hole, or rip.
There are a lot of reason why a tear might occur, but generally it is a by product of wear. Meaning that you’ll most often find tears on the driver’s side since that is going to be the most used seat in the vehicle. As I stated above, it really isn’t a major chore to fix a minor tear. Check out the video below, even the producer of the video admits that he’s never done this type of repair before.
If you have a sizable rip, then you are probably going to have to take that one to a professional. It can get exponentially more difficult the larger the hole. If you find that you your leather car seat are in need of a repair that you don’t think you can handle, you can bring it by Superior Honda and we’ll take car of that nasty, unsightly gash for you.
Superior Honda is back with another great tip…Carpooling. It’s not a new idea, yet only a handful of us do it. Why? I know what you are saying, “Carpooling is great, but I love my car AND the freedom that comes with it, I don’t want to be responsible for drive everyone everywhere.” I’ll going to stop you right there to let you know that there are way more advantages to carpooling than disadvantages. Carpooling provides a way for commuters to lessen the burden of navigating traffic on a daily basis and share the fuel costs with others, which are terribly high at the time of this article. Let’s not forget that you can effectively take at least 3 more cars out of traffic (depending on your passenger capacity). Plus, there is no doubt that gas prices will continue to climb in the future. So, is carpooling starting to sound a little more intriguing?
ADVANTAGES
Carpools save money. When one shares a car/vehicle with other commuters he or she saves on fuel cost, parking cost and vehicle maintenance cost.
Carpools de-congest roads.
Carpools reduce pollution and carbon dioxide emissions thereby reducing global warming.
Carpools reduces driving related stress for participants who are not driving on a specific ride. The participants take turns sharing their vehicles and driving with others, whereby sharing the stresses of driving.
Higher occupancy rates also can reduce consumption of oil thereby reducing corresponding political and economic risks, emissions of greenhouse gasses, common pollution. Whereby putting pressures on oil companies to lower prices due to lowered demand.
Carpools save money in regards to gasoline, oil, tires, car depreciation, tolls, parking, and in some cases insurance.
There are designated carpool lanes on highways (usually called High-Occupancy Vehicle, or HOV, lanes), which you will be allowed to use and may make travel faster.
DISADVANTAGES
Drivers carry the additional burden of potential legal action from passengers in case of an accident.
Carpooling combines many of the disadvantages of public transportation (lack of privacy, not on-demand) with the disadvantages of the automobile (low safety, high fuel consumption).
Tends to be rather complicated to organize seriously and are difficult to keep together, due not least to changing travel patterns and needs.
Any appointments, or errands someone in the carpool has to do will make the other person/people in the carpool have to wait, or will make the schedule drastically change.
Carpooling isn’t an old idea. In fact, even Chevron understands the importance of ride sharing. Take a look. If they can do it, so can you…and they sell gas!!! You’d think that they’d want to sell as much of it as they can, right?
Of course, Superior Honda want everyone to be able to have a car of their own, but as a responsible citizen I understand that the advantages of carpooling far outweigh the disadvantages.
If you’ve been carpooling in Cincinnati, what have you found to be its good and bad points? Do you have any recommendations in regards to your own carpooling experience?
All of us here at Superior Honda love our cars. In fact, I’d say that, if you were to ask, a majority of Americans would say the same thing. In fact the band Queen wrote a song about it, aptly titled, “I’m In Love With My Car”.
Of course no one ever says, I’m in love with traffic. So, as I was perusing YouTube for a good topic to write about, I came across an old Harold Lloyd silent film from the 1928, I just had to share it. Why? Well, it’s is just a fun post to get your mind off of that daily commute this afternoon and hopefully won’t see any jokers like in the film on you way home.
Also, was it really this crazy in 1928? Notice there are no street lights, just uniformed officers not doing a very good job directing traffic.
Those “jokers” i was referring to above, are those crazy drivers out there who seem to think that the can beat the rush, by rushing themselves. That, my friends, is just plain dangerous, dumb and often fruitless. Where are you going in such a rush? How many times has someone blown by you in traffic only too be caught at the same light you leisurely pull up to?
Slow down. Don’t create a more hazardous situation than is already out there waiting for you. As much as Superior Honda would love to sell you a new car, we don’t necessarily enjoy it when because of an accident.
So, don’t be like Harold Lloyd in the film above. Remember, “Rush Hour” is an oxymoron. Take your time one the way home today.
Honda’s annual “Really Big Sales Event” is not only going on now thru April 30th, but it REALLY is BIG! If you are in the market for a new car this year, first you can’t beat the quality of a Superior Honda, second you aren’t going to beat the values you will find during this giant event. I’m talking low APRs on all models in Civics, Accords, Odysseys and more.
So, all of us here at Superior Honda were curious as to what the 2013 Honda Accord Coupe Concept would look like, and true to Honda form, they didn’t break any molds which isn’t surprising, as consistency is part of the Honda plan and has earned the company an excellent reputation. I guess when you have something right, there is no need to reinvent the wheel.
Here, take a look for yourself:
According to Autoguide.com:
The Accord will be the first model to use Honda’s new powertrains, featuring direct-injection among other technologies. Both a V6 and a new 2.4-liter 4-cylinder will be offered, with a newly developed CVT transmission for the 4-cylinder and a 6-speed automatic for the V6. Honda hasn’t announced specs but says it expects the Accord to deliver class leading fuel economy.
In all reality, all of us here at Superior Honda are going to have to wait just like you, as Honda has been a little tight lipped about the new Accord. Looking like a slightly stylized version of the current Accord, the new model is smaller overall and with a lower roofline, although Honda claims it has achieved the same interior space. It’s also a lighter vehicle, although Honda isn’t getting into specifics at this point.
Nothing is fool proof. At Superior Honda. we’ve seen the results of break-ins many times. The bottom line is that if a car thief wants to get into your car, he’s going to get it. You responsibility is to make your vehicle less inviting to the opportunistic nature of the average car thief.
Watch the video below. You might feel that some of the advice is a no-brainer, like leaving your purse or wallet on the seat. Take a look at the video below for a quick reminder of what not to do and some hints on how you can make your car less attractive to a thief.
It’s not brain surgery. Take all valuables inside or put them out of sight. If you don’t have an alarm system already installed on your Cincinnati Honda, you should probably get one. The more warning you can put on your vehicle to deter thieves, the more of a chance you have at dissuading a break in.
All of us at Superior Honda, and the rest of the world for that matter, are all in agreement that a rear facing baby seat is the ONLY way install a infant, or toddler seat. Why is this? Well, I found a video that, clearly demonstrates the major difference between the two positions. After viewing the video, there will be no doubt in your mind that it is essential that your baby face the rear of your vehicle. Here’s why:
The fact of the matter is that the best place for your child to be positioned is facing the rear, in the middle of the back seat. Why the middle? To lessen any side impact of course. A direct hit or t-bone into the side of your vehicle that your baby may be on will result in catastrophic injuries.
“How soon can I turn my child to face forward?” The absolute minimum is to keep your child rear facing to AT LEAST one year of age AND 20 pounds in weight. In fact, it is recommended to keep your child rear-facing as long as possible, at least until they are 2 years old and preferably up to maximum weight/height limits of their convertible carseat.
I pulled this information from car-safety.org and it’s worth the read:
Statistics. According to Crashtest.Com, frontal and frontal offset crashes combine for about 72% of severe crashes. Side impacts are about 24%. Rear and rear offset crashes only account for about 4%. The NHTSA FARS database shows similar numbers. The odds of being in a frontal crash with a fatality or very serious injury are many times greater than being in a severe rear-end crash. Rear-enders are more common at lower speeds, though most injuries in these crashes are not as severe – typically, whiplash injuries to adults, especially passengers lacking proper head restraint.
Crash Energy. Vehicle speed is very important to the energy in a crash, even more important than vehicle weight. Frontal and frontal offset crashes are the most severe because they often happen with both vehicles traveling at high speeds in opposite directions.Rear and rear offset crashes, on the other hand, often happen at lower speeds. In many cases, one vehicle is stopped or nearly stopped, and the other hits it from behind at a relatively low speed. Other times both vehicles are traveling in the same direction at similar speeds when one is bumped from behind. Either way, the difference in the speed of the vehicles is usually much lower in rear end crashes, and so the energy in the crash will also be much lower. Lower energy means less chance of injury.
Ride-Down Time. Child passenger safety advocates often stress the importance of “ride-down time.” This term simply refers to the time it takes for a person to come to a complete stop in a crash. This is important because the total force on the passenger increases with both the weight of the person and with the speed they were traveling before the crash. On the other hand, the total force on the passenger decreasessignificantly as the time it takes to stop increases. While we have often have no control of the speeds involved in a crash, we can do some things to help increase the time it takes for a passenger to come to a stop. As mentioned earlier, in a frontal crash the vehicles are often traveling in opposite directions at high speeds. When they crash, both vehicles stop very suddenly, in a small fraction of a second. Even a slight increase in this stopping time can reduce the risk of injury considerably. This is perhaps the most fundamental concept in keeping passengers alive in a crash.Take the case of a child in a carseat. Ideally, you want the child coupled as tightly as possible to the harness system and carseat, and the carseat coupled as tightly as possible to the vehicle with the seatbelt or LATCH system. When you do this, the child gains all the benefit of “ride-down time” provided by the crushing frame of the vehicle in a crash. With a loose installation of any kind, the child gets less ride-down time and suffers a more severe crash into the harness system. The analogy is that a tight installation is like catching an egg when you “give” backward with your hand to prevent it from breaking. A loose installation will be more like holding your arm and hand rigid when you catch the egg. The egg will splatter in your hand if you don’t give, much like what happens to the internal organs of a person when they are flung into a loose seatbelt or harness. By giving with your arm, you cause the egg to slow down gradually, increasing its ride-down time. Vehicle frames, advanced seatbelts and airbags are all designed to help passengers slow down more gradually. Carseats themselves are not designed provide much ride-down time; their main functions are to prevent ejection and to allow the child to be coupled tightly to the vehicle so the frame can provide the necessary ride-down time.Fortunately, rear-end crashes allow for a lot more ride-down time than frontal crashes. We already mentioned that the potential energy in a rear-end crash is usually lower than a frontal crash because the speeds involved are slower. In addition, the two vehicles are not usually moving toward each other like they would be in a frontal crash. That often means one vehicle is allowed to “give,” and the overall ride-down times for both vehicles are much greater, meaning lower forces on the passengers.
Forces and Area.We know that frontal and frontal offset crashes are more frequent, more severe and usually have less ride-down time than rear-end crashes. In such a frontal crash, it is easy to see why a rear-facing carseat is a better choice. The entire shell of the carseat cradles the child’s back, neck and head. Some seats even have foam protection in the shell to cushion the child even more. The crash forces are spread throughout the large area of the child’s back and head, reducing the pressure during the crash, and keeping the head from snapping backward with respect to the body. Unlike this rear-facing carseat, a child’s legs and head are not restrained at all if they are turned front-facing. In a serious frontal crash with a front-facing carseat, the head and legs of the child are thrown forward like a rag doll, and serious forces are put on the child’s spinal cord. In a front-facing carseat, only the harness couples the energy to the child’s body. The smaller area of the harness means more pressure on the child. In the egg analogy, the egg is much less likely to break if it is caught using the whole padded area of your hand rather than with just a couple bony fingers.Similarly, for the uncommon rear-end crash, a front-facing carseat may be safer than a rear-facing model. Still, rear-end crashes are much less common and much less severe than frontal crashes, and it is for that reason we choose to maximize the protection for a frontal crash instead. In addition, rear-facing carseats can also provide an added degree of safety in side-impacts. Rear-facing seats will usually protect the head from being thrown outside the shell of the carseat much better than a front-facing carseat in a frontal offset or side impact. Even a minor rear-end crash can be serious for front-facing adults without proper head restraints, but this is usually not an issue for children in properly fitted carseats and boosters.
Physiology. For the reasons listed, rear-facing not only turns out to be safer for infants, but for people of all ages. In fact, we would all be safer rear-facing in cars, airplanes, trains and elsewhere. Of course, this would not be acceptable to most adults. Fortunately, adults are somewhat better able to withstand the forces on the head and neck in a severe crash when they are front-facing. Babies have very immature bones and connective tissue, and this is especially the case when they are younger than 1 year or under 20 pounds. For that reason, front-facing babies face a particularly serious risk of spinal cord injury in a frontal crash.
If you have any questions or need a demonstration on how to properly install your car seat, don’t hesitate to see Superior Honda. We’ll show you the proper way to install the seat.
Hi, I am Chris Heck and I am the General Manager at Superior Honda in Cincinnati OH. I am a husband, father, automotive enthusiast and an all around fun guy. I wanted to start this blog for a few different reasons. 1. So that you will have the latest Honda news at your fingertips, 2. so that you can learn more about your vehicle whether it's a Honda or not and 3. It just sounded like fun!
If you have any comments about this blog or would like to send some suggestions on a topic you are interested in feel free to send me an email at superior_honda@yahoo.com.
It’s a constant quest for drivers who are “in tune” with their Cincinnati Honda’s performance. “How do I get the most from my engine?”, we hear this a lot at Superior Honda. Then that’s usually followed by, “Should I be using fuel additives?”. That’s a good question. Even though the market is full of different type of fuel additive, the general consensus is, “No”. Take a look at the video below.
By Chris Heck
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