April 24, 2022
Bet you didn't know:
Some of the earliest rearview mirrors were marketed as "Cop Spotters" so drivers would know when police were following them. Who wants a ticket, anyway? According to eBay Motors, Elmer Berger first patented a rearview mirror that was mounted on the front fenders, on the spare tire secured to the side of the car of at the top of the driver's door frame.
About 80 percent of your vehicle is recyclable. So says The Balance. That means four-fifths of most vehicles can be recycled. Much of that recycling is done by automotive aftermarket recyclers. Between the U.S and Canada, they reclaim enough steel to produce 13 million new vehicles.
The man who invented the first modern cruise control couldn't even drive a car because he was blind! His name, says Smithsonian.com, was Ralph Teetor. Blinded at a young age by a knife accident, Teetor was inspired to create a speed control by a couple of things. One, the U.S. imposed a mandatory 35 mph/55 kph during World War II to conserve fuel and tire rubber, and Teetor wanted drivers to go a safe and steady speed. Plus, a chauffeur who drove him around used to randomly slow down and speed up which irritated Teetor. So he invented a speed control to encourage drivers to drive at a more constant and safer speed.
The first grooved tires were invented in 1904 by Continental. But that was a big improvement over the very first "tires" which were actually metal hoops that made riding in the first cars a pretty rough experience. The first rubber tires were solid rubber, not inflatable like today's tires. Things have come a long way. Modern tires are made with sophisticated rubber compounds that can deal with heat and cold. Plus their tread patterns help drivers get better traction on wet roads when it storms. Still, it's important to make sure yours have enough tread and are properly inflated for maximum safety and performance.
Quite frankly, there's a lot we don't understand about the vehicles we drive. They're much more complicated than the old horse and buggy that preceded them. Leave your vehicle's maintenance and service to highly trained technicians who DO understand how to maintain, diagnose and repair today's modern, sophisticated vehicles.
Tuffy Fort Wayne - Dupont Rd.
1910 W. Dupont Rd.
Fort Wayne, IN 46818
260.489.4800
January 26, 2025
In warm weather, you want to be in a cool vehicle. When we're talking cool, we don't mean stylish or trendy, but cool as in not sweltering inside. And if your vehicle's air conditioner stops working correctly, it seems to always break at the worst timeduring a heat wave. Automotive air conditio... More
January 19, 2025
Winter is one of the hardest times to keep your vehicle clean. But did you know neglecting to wash your vehicle in winter could cost you a significant amount of money in the long run? Here's why. Many areas deal with snow and ice in the winter, and the salt and sand that are used to keep the road... More
January 12, 2025
We all want to breathe clean air and keep our planet green. One of the ways to do that is by requiring all vehicles with internal combustion engines to pass an emissions test. Thats because these vehicles can be big polluters. Everyone wants their car to pass the test so they can continue the... More