Auto Repair Tempe

In honor of our new Medium Duty Truck Service And Repair department, today we feature some industry news from the medium duty truck industry. After quite an absence from the medium-duty truck segment in the US, Chevrolet gave Isuzu a call and asked "Hey, could we badge-engineer your low cabs then sell them as Chevys?" The reply? "Sure thing!" Thus this fact is now an official agreement and announcement. There's an interesting aspect to this story though: the Isuzu N-Series lineup of medium-duty low cab trucks are already on sale in the United States, with GCWR ratings ranging from 18,000 lbs (8,164 kg) to 20,500 lbs (9,298 kg). One might wonder if the Isuzu N-Series and Chevrolet's trucks will cannibalize sales between each other. We certainly hope someone at GM did a feasibility study first. :) General Motors has confirmed the rebadged medium-duty trucks will bear the following designations for the 2016 model year: Chevrolet 3500, 3500 HD, 4500, 4500 HD ... read more

BMW has come up with a solar carport in which to park the new i3 and the soon to come i8 electric vehicles. BMW is unveiling this one of a kind auto accessory as part of the official launch of the i8 in Los Angeles, California. This new carport concept follows previous strategies by BMW to punch up its "i" sub-brand, which uses electric power. This new design features a framework making use of bamboo and sports glass-on-glass solar modules mounted on the roof. It's designed to work in conjunction with BMWs i Wallbox Pro. This makes is possible to charge the car directly from the solar panels. It also keeps a detailed report on how much solar power is going into the system compared to grid consumption. Any surplus power can be channeled back into the owner's home for everyday use. When fully charged the i8 hybrid has a traveling range of apps. 22 miles when in electric only mode. One thing's for sure, given how much sunshine we get here in the ... read more

This week were going deep inside the Petersen Automotive vault in the first of a two-part series to show you some of the most important cars in automotive history. Cars featured in this episode: 1885 Benz (Replica), 1912 De Dion Bouton, 1967 Ford GT40 MK III, Ford Thunderbird, 1955 Porsche (356) Continental, 1967 Dodge Coronet, 1967 Toyota 2000GT, Foose Sniper, 1925 Ford Golden Star, 1952 Ferrari 212/225 Barchetta, 1929 DuPont Model G, 1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom, 1939 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante

Once again we hear from David Rogers, The Monday Morning Mechanic, as he explains why professional oil changes are worth the money they cost. A top notch, professional oil change doesn't have to break the bank! Grab our oil change coupon and bring your car in for a little oil change TLC. It's only $29.95 for most cars

Have you been a little jealous of those cool heads-up displays in sports and luxury cars? You know, the one that let you monitor vehicle functions right in the windshield where you don't have to take your eyes off the road. Or maybe you've already been enjoying this perk in your current ride. According to an article over at Automotive News, they're now beginning to hit the mass market. Also, according to Edmunds.com, this year there are 38 US car models offer standard or optional heads-up displays. That's up from 13 models just five years ago. These displays project light onto the windshield, creating an image that appears just above the hood about five to eight feet beyond the windshield. They're quite useful for showing navigation routes, audio channels and other vehicle data. Some of the new displays can overlay a turn arrow on a street ahead, sho ... read more

The average price of conventional gasoline at the pump is currently between $3.60 and $3.70 a gallon. With persistently increasing prices, alternative fuels are increasing in popularity. Popular alternative fuels can produce the same results as standard gasoline, but at a fraction of the price. Because of the amount of energy needed in a car, the fuel must be in fairly portable form, i.e. a liquid or solid. Internal combustion engines need clean burning fuels in order to maintain optimal efficiency, and the cleanest burning fuels are either gases or liquids. Hence, both conventional fuels and alternative fuels are--almost without exception--liquids. Biofuels are among the foremost of the alternative fuels. Included in this group are options such as biodiesel, green diesel, and vegetable oil. Biodiesel is advantageous because, just as sugar is biodegradable, so is biodiesel. It's one-tenth as lethal as salt, and possesses a very low t ... read more

  Thank you, crazy car people! exclaimed Jerry Seinfeld as he walked on stage at todays Gooding & Company auction. Next to Sundays Amelia Island Concours, the Seinfeld show was the weekends most eagerly anticipated event. The Show was a lot of 18 cars mostly Porsches that the comedian was selling from his collection. By 1 p.m. on Friday, the large Gooding tent held a standing-room-only crowd. The portable air conditioners were incapable of overcoming the human heat load, so people stood there, fanning themselves and waiting for the celebrity. Seinfeld did not disappoint. His opening line drew applause as did the follow up explanation. I wanted to be with here with you, he said, with the people who enjoy these cars. I want to see joy on the faces of the winning bidders. If it could have, the crowd would have hugged him and then kissed him when he said, Im not a collector to make money. Auctioneer Charlie Ross, a sharp-witted Brit who knows how to work a crowd, pounced on Sein ... read more

Ever wondered how many explosions occur inside the engine of your car per minute? Well, A 4-cylinder engine car produces 4,000 controlled explosions per minute inside its engine; as it cruises along the highway at 50 mph the spark plugs ignite a fuel-air mixture in each of the cylinders in order to propel the car down the road. Huge amounts of heat will obviously be produced in the process, which if not controlled, can destroy the engine in minutes. The purpose of the cooling system is to regulate these temperatures. Modern cooling systems have not changed much compared to the traditional systems. Although they've definitely become more efficient and reliable, the cooling system basically consists of a liquid coolant circulating through the engine. This coolant is then taken to a radiator, which cools it using air streams entering from the front grill of the car. The cooling systems of today are designed to maintain a constant temperature ... read more

Over at Autonews we picked up this little auto tech tidbit... While the Ford F-150 is shedding pounds to improve fuel economy, the 2014 Ram 1500 used a new diesel engine to achieve a highway rating of 28 mpg, the highest for any pickup on sale in the United States! The rating was posted last week on the EPA's fueleconomy.gov. The Ram pickup now has the two highest fuel economy ratings among full-sized pickups. The Ram 1500 HFE with a 3.6-liter V-6 gasoline engine is rated at 18 city/25 highway/21 combined. The Ram 1500 EcoDiesel starts at $30,465, including delivery. The price is $2,850 higher than a similarly equipped Ram 1500 with a 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 engine, the company said. Read more >

Your power brake system helps you provide braking power, so you don't have to do all the work with your brake pedal. So what's involved in the power brake system? The actual brakes are applied at the wheel, using hydraulic pressure. When you step on the brake pedal, it creates pressure in the power booster that's multiplied by vacuum from the engine, and the resulting pressure pushes brake fluid through the master cylinder, into tubes and hoses that run to the brake at each wheel. Where do the problems with the power brakes usually arise? It's usually a fluid leak somewhere along the line. It could be at a fitting or a hose or even an internal leak in the master cylinder. A leak gives the pressurized fluid somewhere to go, other than to the brakes, so stopping power is diminished. If you lose enough fluid and you won't be able to stop at all! Need I say, that would be extremely dangerous! If you notice any decrease in stopping power or if your brake pedal seems mushy, you could h ... read more