Let’s talk about…

Cars and women are more alike than you think.

Let’s talk about commitment. That’s right. It’s February this month will be all about the ‘,’ digging deep into that L word. Many will be romanticizing the idea about falling and being in love. There will be a lot of talk failed relationships as well and many unsolicited advice about how it work, how to keep promises, how to make decisions with intention. You want to delete this? Just wait and keep reading.

Someone once said, “A happy wife means a happy life.” If your wife or the woman in your life is happy, she will certainly make your marriage and home life a happy one. If you treat her badly expect to come home to a whole lot of nagging and unreliability.

So, do with cars. Did I hear a sigh of relief? This is an automotive newsletter, we gurus. What else do you think we’d be talking about?

Cars and women are more alike than you think. If you treat it right, it will be a helluva good looking car that will give you a whole lot of good . Treat it badly, it will reward you with bad service as well.  

Treat your baby right and keep it looking as new for years by keeping these things into practice.

1 Keep it clean.

Men love their ladies clean, fresh or sweet smelling. Whatever size, it’s your preference, but preferably without any extra baggage.  It’s that way with cars. What you keep inside is what comes out. So, what you feed your car – fuel, lubricants, spare parts – should be quality so you get efficient performance of your ride. Dirty, low-grade fuel can wreak havoc to your engine, as will poor quality lubricants like engine oil and transmission fluids, cheap bearings can result to high friction, extreme heat that could result to extreme wear on your engine.

Same thing if you carry careless passengers in your car. There’s all kinds of passengers. Rough ones, smoking ones, pets, kids especially kids. It could result to torn seat covers, car doors with hanging trim, stinky cars, writing on seats and car ceiling, chewed mats, spills and stains, chewing gum, hair and pet hair, dust. The list goes on. If you have kids and pets, it’s best to clean regularly. If you need to carry passengers other than your family, remind them to be their best behavior.

Clean interiors complement clean exteriors. Grab not just suds, but that won’t strip your paint’s protective wax. Use a dedicated car wash that’s intended to wash surface dirt and grime off that won’t hurt your car’s protective coating. It’s good to know that that same dirt, soil, that creep into nooks and cranny of your car’s bodywork may hold moisture and cause rust and erode your vehicle’s metallic and iron-based parts.

2 Distance matters.

Your driving style adds on or takes away to the longevity of your car. Certain habits contribute to your vehicle’s longevity. And if you think, you are your car a favor by taking the car for short distances to do errands, you’re actually contributing more to decreasing its life.  To properly run a car, the minimum operating distance is roughly eight kilometers, or 15 minutes of the engine running.

Moving parts in your engine rub against each other at high speeds. This creates friction, which results to heat and wear to these parts. Lubricants the best way to deal with friction. the other hand, cleans away the shavings from the constant wear and dissipates heat, among other things. The car’s engine into those clearances. So, what short distances have to do with it? Short distance drives mean oil can’t circulate fully to crucial parts of the engine. Now when the car is turned off, goes off, and oil flows back. So, the next time you crank up the engine, oil has to circulate afresh, and if you stop, oil flows back and the same parts starved of oil are starved again. This repeated scenario means starved metal parts are rubbing without lubrication and is wasting your engine.

3 Be gentle.

Other bad habits like using to advantage, reduce stop and start driving, take it easy on the vehicle brake pedals that cause unnecessary wear to your car’s braking systems. No woman loves to be handled roughly. So, stop the hard stop-start are hard on the transmission, the suspension, the brakes, your passengers and, sometimes, to fellow drivers, too. 

Gently does it, and does it for your car, too.

4 Be on top –of things.

In any relationship you need to stay in the moment. Be present. This way you know what is wrong. Be sensitive. Your car will show signs if it needs tune up or cleaning. If there are repairs needed, better have it checked. Be religious and fastidious about your duties keeping your car in pristine condition.

5 Warm up.

Women like it slow. Just like cars, they need to be warmed up.

Do not rev the engine madly just after turning the key, because the oil has not circulated. First, warm up the tires and transmission fluids. Drive, but keep engine at low speed for 15 minutes.

As great Italian race car driver Fabrizio Giovanardi said, “Treat your car like a beautiful woman and then she will satisfy you. Be gentle and smooth, but drive hard.”

Check out a good portable vacuum from Sparco and Goodyear for a thorough clean. Then spray on Meguiar’s Quik Interior Detailer Cleaner which works well on any interior surfaces. Preen your babies with Mothers Polishes, Waxes, and Cleaners.

For peak performance engines, there’s Pertua and Liqui Moly—our lines of engine whisperers.

For consumables, ask your mechanic which brands are best to keep your car running peak performance, or head out to your nearest Blade Auto Center. Our friendly and knowledgeable staff will help you pick out the best car care for your lady—err car. It’s Blade! It’s Better!