Monday Maintenance Tip: How To Safely Jumpstart Your Car

Be kind to your battery

If you inadvertently leave your lights on and drain your battery, take the following precautions to prevent damage to the battery and the starter when jump-starting your car:

• Don’t risk causing the battery to explode. With both cars off, connect a positive cable end to the positive battery terminal of the dead battery.
• Connect the other positive cable end to the positive terminal of the source battery.
• Connect a negative cable end to the negative terminal of the source battery.
• Attach the remaining negative cable to unpainted metal on the car engine (as far from the dead battery as possible).
• Wait a few minutes and try to start the disabled car. If it doesn’t start, start the source car and then try starting the dead one again.
• When the car starts, be careful to disconnect the cables in the reverse order.
• If the car still doesn’t start, don’t keep trying to charge it or you are liable to damage the starter. Bring the battery to an automotive shop to see if it can be recharged.
• Even if you’re successful, ensure a full recharge by hooking up the battery to a charger overnight or by driving the car for 5 or 10 miles (8 to 16 km).

 

Courtesy of Reader's Digest.

Happy Friday! Go have a fantastic weekend!

Drive On: Why Buick Matters

The 1963 Buick Riviera, one of the really great designs of what will probably be viewed some day as the golden age of American cars, is 50 years old this year.

But who's counting.

Well, Buick is. The General Motors brand is in love with its heritage, so it put out bullet points on its history over 11 decades. Funny how its attention to heritage hits as it launched a new Riviera concept at the Auto Shanghai show.

So, for what it's worth, here is what you should know about the history of
Buick

--Through the end of 2012, Buick has sold more than 43 million vehicles, about the same as all vehicles sales in the U.S. in the last three years.
--The 1938 Buick Y-Job was designer Harley Earl's concept of a car of the future with such amazing features as power windows. Great car. Really bad name..
--A Buick has served as pace car of the Indianapolis 500 six times. The brand also won two NASCAR Manufacturer Championships, in 1981 and 1982.
--It took a few dacades, but the 1936 Buick became the first production car to top 100 mph. It was called the Buick Century. Get it?
--The fastest production Buick in history is today's Buick Regal GS luxury sport sedan, which has been recorded as hitting 162 miles per hour.
--Buick's quickest car was also one of the brand's rarest -- the 1987 Buick GNX that went from zero to 60 miles per hour in 4.6 seconds. Just 547 were built.
--Buick was once a leader in huge engines. The largest was a 455-cubic-inch, or 7.5-liter, V-8, that was introduced in 1970.
--The Buick Electra 225 nameplate was introduced in 1959, with the "225" referencing the model's overall length in inches. That, apparently, wasn't enough. By 1975, the Electra grew to become the longest vehicle ever produced by Buick at 233.7 inches from bumper to bumper.
--Buick's first vehicle, the 1904 Model B, was also the shortest, riding on an 83-inch wheelbase.
--Buick has made many models with seating for two, four, five or six passengers. But only twice in 110 years has the brand produced vehicles with seating for up to eight: the 2008-2013 Enclave and the 1991-1996 Roadmaster Estate.

Courtesy of USA Today.

GM Foundation, Cadillac Help Get DSO To Carnegie Hall

Motown to Manhattan: Orchestra returns to legendary venue for first time in 17 years

DETROIT, April 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – The General Motors Foundation and Cadillac will help pave the way from Motown to Manhattan for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra  this May as it prepares to perform at Carnegie Hall for the first time in 17 years.

The GM Foundation provided a $350,000 grant to the DSO for music education initiatives, including its involvement in the prestigious Spring for Music festival that showcases five symphony orchestras from across North America. The DSO is the first orchestra invited to perform two programs during the event.

In addition to funding from the GM Foundation, Cadillac will transport the musicians and a number of special guests during the week-long festival.

“We are celebrating this trip to Carnegie Hall as a symbol of Detroit’s resilience and withstanding excellence,” said Anne Parsons, DSO president and CEO. “We are thrilled that the General Motors Foundation and Cadillac will be by our side as a partner with Leonard Slatkin and the DSO under the spotlight of this important festival.”

The GM Foundation has a long-standing history of supporting the DSO and community arts programs. Over the past decade, the Foundation has donated nearly $1.5 million to the DSO to help bring world-class music to the Detroit community and support the musicians who share a passion for the city. The Foundation’s support of Detroit-based nonprofits and cultural institutions over the past decade totals nearly $21.5 million.

“Detroit’s revitalization can be seen in the strength of the DSO, which has long been a beacon and cultural pillar within the city’s arts community,” said GM North America President Mark Reuss, vice chairman of the GM Foundation. “Together with Cadillac, we look forward to the DSO’s triumphant return to Carnegie Hall.”

Courtesy of Daily Markets.

Manning Back For Buick Verano

Peyton Manning is back touting Buick's Verano luxury compact, this time talking up the vehicle's safety virtues with a national TV push under the "Experience Buick" platform. The TV ad will air during the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four this weekend.

As in last year's campaign, which focused on the car's IntelliLink telematics platform, this ad will use football as a metaphor, although for auto safety. And while last year's effort had Manning calling plays to IntelliLink, the new one has him comparing the virtues of the car’s blindside safety technology to how one needs teammates to help avoid a blindsided tackle. 

In the ad, Manning goes to make a lane change, when suddenly the blindside indicator lights up. Another shot shows him backing out of a driveway when a truck suddenly appears behind him. "It's like I've got the whole team protecting me," he says. 

"He's approachable and that's really synonymous with what Buick is all about," says Tony DiSalle, Buick VP marketing, in a video about the spot. 

At the New York Auto Show, the marketer told Marketing Daily that Buick also keeps its distance from GM's other luxury brand, Cadillac, by maintaining some of its brand equity as a less exclusive, more neighborly luxury brand, although that neighborhood would ideally be upper middle class. 

While Cadillac hasn't yet gotten the even more exclusive cachet it is going for, the  brand is definitely hoping to grab some of that equity with the new CTS. That car, unveiled at the show, is clearly intended to some blindsiding of its own against Mercedes' E Class and BMW's 5-Series cars.  

Early last month, Buick extended a Verano campaign, "Unexpected," around the time the car started appearing in dealerships in good volume. The lead spot focused on the car's sound-blocking qualities, which have long been a hallmark of the brand. Another ad played with the infotainment side of IntelliLink by showing a fleet of buses full of bands rolling behind the car, intended to embody what you get when you use the platform The raft of "Unexpected" ads have also been in "Celebrity Apprentice" and NCAA Mens Basketball. 

The sports alignment includes the "Human Achievement" platform, comprising a documentary series about former NCAA stars who have gone on to do good for their communities. 

Courtesy of MediaPost News.

Maintenance Monday Tip: Spark Plugs

Spark plugs do need changing!
 
The advent of electronic ignition and on-board computers has eliminated the need for regular tune-ups, but you still need to change your spark plugs. Many manufacturers recommend changing plugs every 30,000 or 40,000 miles (48,000 or 64,000 km) to ensure good fuel mileage and engine performance. Some new cars come with long-life plugs (sometimes called double platinum plugs) that can last for 100,000 miles (160,000 km). If your car isn’t so equipped, make the switch after 30,000 miles. The extra cost is only a few dollars per spark plug. While you’re at it, change your spark plug wires as well. Their typical life is 50,000 miles (80,000 km). Deteriorated wires can cause those high-tech new spark plugs to foul.

Courtesy of Reader's Digest.

Get 10% Off Service During April!

How well have you been taking care of your car? Come in and get 10% off service for the month of April!

Get the coupon here.

‘Las Vegas Cadillac Through the Years’ Returns to Town Square Las Vegas April 13 & 14

Join more than 30,000 fans for a two-day celebration of the Cadillac “standard of excellence,” while enjoying live entertainment, celebrity surprises, Fintastic Fortunes raffles, giveaways, food, fair, vendors and, of course, more than 100 classic Cadillac beauties on display. From original restorations to extreme modified, this year’s show will feature models from the 1903 inception year to the newest 2013 release.

Attendees have the chance at up to $25,000 in prizes and giveaways by purchasing “Fintastic Fortunes” raffle tickets available during the event for $2.50 each. “Fintastic Fortunes” tickets are also available for purchase now at the Service Center check-out counter inside Findlay Cadillac, Henderson. Proceeds benefit the Keep Memory Alive Foundation, a non-profit charity that supports the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas.

The dynamic “Caddy” extravaganza will feature some spectacular one-of-a-kind models with exhibitors traveling as far as New Jersey to participate. Admirers can preview a 1940 Cadillac Series 75 Fleetwood built for esteemed Hollywood billionaire Howard Hughes, a 1948 series 62 Saoutchik Cabriolet (one of only two produced) with a price tag of $3 million, a 1903 Cadillac Runabout built in the first year of Cadillac production, a 1954 Fleetwood Limousine used by Marilyn Monroe during the filming of the movie “Bus Stop” and much more.

“We have put together the show of a lifetime this year. It will be bigger and better than ever,” said Colin Christie president of Las Vegas Cadillac LaSalle Club. “This year’s show will be a Cadillac cultural experience of epic proportions to appeal to Cadillac enthusiasts of all kinds.”

This is a FREE, family friendly event from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 13 and 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Sunday, April 14.

Courtesy of Vegas News.