Oil changes
-
There was a time, not so long ago, when car owners were expected to carry out basic maintenance and regular servicing on their car using a handful of wrenches and common automotive tools. Nowadays, most of the maintenance is carried out by professional garage mechanics and dealers. but there are some things -- like checking the tire pressure, condition and washer fluid -- that the driver is still expected to do regularly. Checking your car’s engine oil is also on the list, but do you know how to do it? According to a recent study by ExxonMobil, a shocking 50 percent of drivers in the...
-
Driving Green Means Not Changing Your Oil Until You Need To
When was the last time state tax dollars went toward telling you not to do something? Ads against drunk driving, certainly. Perhaps ads against smoking cigarettes. But now, California is embarking on a campaign to persuade its citizens not to change their oil so much. More modern motor oils, better...
John Voelcker -
Recycling Used Oil Into Fresh, Clean Oil: Enterprise Signs On
Over the years, the norms around what to do with used oil have changed. Used to be you tossed it down the nearest drain. Then came recycling. As energy prices soared, using old oil as heating fuel in special-purpose space heaters arrived. Now, the loop has closed, and used oil can be considered...
John Voelcker -
What You Need To Know About Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt Servicing
A few months ago we asked the question, what exactly do you have to service on a 2011 Nissan LEAF? After all, the LEAF doesn't even contain many of the items that require regular attention on a regular car, such as oil changes, spark plugs, filters, transmission fluid and muffler parts. Brakes...
Antony Ingram -
Chevrolet Volt To Cut Down On Oil Changes
Change is definitely eminent in the automotive industry; in fact, some would tell you that the industry is changing fast now than it has in the last couple of decades. It isn’t just the powertrains or the safety equipment—it is everything down to how often you might have to do an oil...
Jonathan McGrew -
Automakers Boosting Fuel Economy By Switching Engine Oils
Tightening fuel efficiency and emissions regulations all around the world are pushing automakers to find ways they can improve their respective fleet's figures, with almost no element of the car being left untouched. Concepts that have worked quite successfully in the past include reducing weight...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Sometimes a "new" green idea is actually just the way we used to do things, before disposability and convenience became primary consumer values. Consider the "cartridge filter" that GM touts on the Ecotec engines fitted to its new 2011 Chevrolet Cruze. Instead of a one-piece metal cannister that's removed and tossed out every time the oil is changed, Chevrolet has built the filter housing into the engine block itself. This allows just the pleated paper element to be replaced, which is undeniably less wasteful: no metal tossed in the garbage can, just oily paper (and some rubber). GM has used...