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4 PAG£ 10-SUPPLEMENT TO THE McHENRY PLAINDEALER., OCT. 11, 1974 Service, Maintenance Now Seen As Most Important Phtise of Automobile Ownership By OLAF GEORGE WILLIAM FERSEN The Germans are frequently accused of loving their cars more dearly than their children. A status symbol as well as a means of individual freedom of movement, the car in Germany is valued as an important personal investment that has to be taken care of. Rising prices and increasing labor costs, the critical space problem on a partly obsolete network of roads and the latent threat of higher taxes and gas prices are a constant worry to car owners. Service and maintenance these days are definitely ranging before perform­ ance and prestige value in prospective buyer consid­ erations. The liberal use of salt / II as a means of melting ice and snow on wintry roads has taught many car own­ ers the hard, way the meaning of rust corrosion. Statistics figure out the average loss of value per car and year by corrosion to be around 200 Deutsch- marks ($155). Many car manufactur­ ers fit their products with 1 on gl if e- under sealing these days. In all cases where this is not being done, purchasers are well advised to have their new cars undersealed when new -- before costly clean­ ing and de-rusting opera­ tions become necessary. Body Protected During the last two years two other systems of protection against corro­ sion have proved their worth: spraying of all chassis and body box sec­ tion internals with a pro­ tective coating or filling them with plastic foam. Mounting labor costs have steeply increased maintenance and servic­ ing bills more recently. A new regulation requires workshops to hang out the amount charged per hour, so customers can figure out what their bill may look like. With labor cost between 30 and 45 Deutschmarks ($8 to $11) an hour many car-owners have to revert to do-it- yourself practices. The garage trade tries to coun­ ter th is wi th publ ic i ty methods. The currently threaten- •I MONARCH GHIA CONTINENTAL MARK IV ^ IGHT NOW JAMES ALLEfM LINCOLN MERCURY HAS | THAT NEW 1975 CAR YOU'VE m BEEN WAITING FOR AT ISCOUNT PRICES! COME IN.M ^ LOOK AROUND YOU'LL FEEL THE DIFFERENCE ̂ LINCOLN MERCURY'S NEW PRECISION CAR THAT COMBINES COMFORT WITH MID-SIZE ECONOMY! --* % 111 OUR PLEDGE STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP WE LISTEN & ACT BETTER This Business is Being Built on The Premise of Good Service. Should There Be a Problem, I Will Take Charge of It Personally. (jumliOUM<<_ CONTINENT TAL •COMET •CAPRI •MONARCH ' •MONTEGOl '•COUGAR r •MARQUIS •MARK IV l ing fuel-shortage, how­ ever, seems to make all SISESSSWSEI --a- , OLAF GEORGE WILLIAM FERSEN, who contributes the accompanying article on Car Care in Germany, is a former United Press Berlin correspondent, who at one time was in the repair busi­ ness and later a chief editor of the magazine Automobil- Ulustrierte. He continues to specialize in writing for mo­ toring magazines in many countries. other worries look minor. The discussion between motorists seems to center about one theme only: how to achieve improved fuel economy? The most efficient recipe seems to concern both car and driver. If carefully applied it may well mean fuel savings of up to 20%. First requirement ob­ viously always is a good mechanical condition of the car. 20% Fuel Savings To save fuel and to lengthen the life expect­ ancy of your car, two things should be kept in mind: "Rude riding meth­ ods melt your money away" and "Rust never rests" -- so you have to fight it, wherever it shows. SERVICE THE MANI­ FOLD CONTROL VALVE. The manifold heat con­ trol valve should be inspected and serviced periodically. This valve, located in the exhaust system of some vehicles, allows exhaust gases to heat the intake manifold during cold engine oper­ ation. These gases heat the area under the carbu­ retor to aid in the vapori­ zation of gasoline while the engine is cold. As the engine warms up, a tem­ perature-sensitive spring causes the valve to direct all of the exhaust gases to the exhaust pipe and away from the intake manifold. A valve stuck in the open position causes slow engine warm-up and poor cold-engine perform­ ance. A valve stuck in the closed position will cause a loss of power and hard starting with a hot engine. WHEEL ALIGNMENT. "Toe in" or "Toe out" has the effect of dragging your front tires sideways and causes premature tire wear. It takes power to carry this extra load and that takes gas from your tank. FRONT END WOBBLE -- 4 tin-go dancer. Wrong again -- it's a vibration caused by worn I ) a r t s o f t h p s t e e r i n g mechanism, wheels that are out of line from hit­ ting bumps, or worn king Pins and It should bo corrected Immediately James Alten Lincoln Mercury WHERE CUSTOMERS ARE FRIENDS & FRIENDS ARE CUSTOMERS ^ 4611 W. ROUTE 120 McHENRY 815-385-8060