Get ready for summer with our extensive resources designed to enhance your travel and driving experiences. We offer expert tips for safe summer driving, detailed guides on how to keep your vehicle looking its best, and practical DIY car care advice.
Stay informed with the latest updates on electronic vehicle battery technology and explore our new study revealing consumer concerns about self-driving cars. Our resources are here to help you enjoy a smooth and enjoyable summer on the road.
Take advantage of exclusive discounts on road trip essentials and activities, including rental cars, hotels, electronics, and home protection, allowing you to maximize your savings without compromising on quality. Plus, equip yourself with invaluable airport TSA tips to breeze through security checkpoints seamlessly.
Here are some summer driving safety tips to stay alert and safe behind the wheel.
There’s a basic car wash, and then there’s an ultra-thorough car detail. The former usually entails a soapy scrub of the exterior and quick vacuum of the interior, whereas a detail requires all that and much more—think carpet shampooing, crevice cleaning, and waxing. Spoiler alert: The extra work requires more of your time and effort, but when it’s done, you’ll have a looks-like-new ride to show for it.
But detailing your car isn’t just for looks. Regular details can also rid your car’s interior of icky pathogens and help maintain the quality of the exterior, potentially boosting its resale value.
Instead of the driveway, consider a nearby self-serve car wash, which reuse water several times before diverting run-off to a sewer system for proper treatment. For a proper hand-wash, here’s what to do:
While your car is wet, run your hand along the body. Does it feel rough? If so, pollutants such as dirt particles, brake dust, and industrial fallout have accumulated, which can degrade the surface. To remove the grit without leaving a scratch, buy a clay bar kit for $20 to $25. Cover the area you plan to tackle first with a lubricating spray (sometimes included in the kit) and rub the bar along the body, including glass and chrome parts, to remove stuck-on debris. Follow your kit’s instructions for best results. Rinse and use a chamois to dry.
Grab a cloth and wipe down the dashboard, console, door panels, and other surfaces. Avoid products with petroleum and silicones that can dry out the interior surfaces, warns Devon Davidson of MARS of Billings, a detailing provider that also teaches people to care for their vehicles. Also, skip anything that contains ammonia, which can bleach plastic.
Next, vacuum carpets, upholstery, and floor mats. Use the crevice attachment to get those hard-to-reach places. Then, spray carpets and seats with a foaming carpet and upholstery cleaner, which can be vacuumed after drying. Don’t shy from testing out various vacuum attachments to get the best suction.
Finally, open your car doors to wash the jambs with soapy water, using a brush to remove tough stains. Clean the insides of the windows with a glass cleaner.
Some services require the attention and tools of a highly skilled technician. But SOME tasks are easy enough that you can do it yourself, even if you’re a newbie! Keeping the vehicle clean on the outside is just as important as keeping it clean under the hood. You can do a few things regularly that will help how well your car works during the time between maintenance. Learning easy car care maintenance is simple and we’ve even broken into easy steps with videos so this phase of “adulting” doesn’t seem so hard.
There is no denying that electric vehicles are now a part of modern transportation. It wasn’t long ago that an electric car on the road was somewhat of an anomaly or a curiosity. Now sitting at a red light, you are likely to have an electric city bus, a Tesla and a couple of hybrid vehicles surrounding you. Part of the increased adoption of electric propulsion has come from EV car battery technology breakthroughs. Electric car battery technology has evolved rapidly in the past several years. Let’s discuss advances in EV battery technology, and look at the roadmap for where emerging tech and EV battery power is taking the industry.
Early fully-electric vehicles, such as the RAV4 EV, and hybrids, such as the Toyota Prius and Ford Escape, used NiMH (nickel–metal hydride) batteries. NiMH can handle a lot of charge/discharge cycles before they start to degrade. They offer excellent power output, but have a tendency to lose charge as time passes when not in use. NiMH batteries also don’t like extreme temperatures. NiMH is still popular for hybrid vehicles, but pure electric vehicles have mostly moved on to newer battery technology.
Unfortunately, lithium-ion batteries don’t like extreme temperatures. Extreme cold slows down charging time, while extreme heat degrades the battery itself. Vehicles like the Nissan LEAF had dense battery packs with no ability to regulate temperatures, while Tesla vehicles use a liquid temperature-controlled battery pack. By using liquid to cool or warm a battery pack, it can remain at the optimum operating temperature. This is why you might notice an electric vehicle with a radiator in the parking lot, which cools the battery the same way it does an internal combustion engine.
Another problem with lithium-ion batteries is what to do with them once they are no longer able to hold a charge. Recycling is difficult at this time, but not impossible. Materials inside the battery also have a nasty tendency to catch fire when exposed to water, making disassembly a touchy procedure. Traditionally, recycled lead-acid batteries are shredded to separate their components, but lithium-ion batteries require a gentler touch to reclaim their ingredients. One potential recycling method uses a shredder submerged in a special liquid that prevents the possibility of fire.
With that kind of potential, it is no wonder automakers are throwing resources at solid-state battery development. Recently, Hyundai filed a patent for a solid-state battery design that applies constant pressure to each battery cell. Volkswagen is also chasing a solid-state battery solution with several partners in the battery technology space. Additionally, Toyota is working on a solid-state battery design with hopes for bringing solid-state EV batteries to their fleet by 2027.
Right now, replacing an EV battery can cost more than the vehicle is worth, much in the same way a blown engine can make it cost prohibitive to repair a car. But there are companies remanufacturing hybrid battery packs, so it isn’t too far-fetched. In fact, you can order a remanufactured hybrid battery pack from your local NAPA Auto Parts store or NAPAonline.
However, interest in semi-autonomous technologies such as Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB), Reverse Automatic Emergency Braking, Lane Keeping Assistance and Adaptive Cruise Control remains high.
“Consumers continue to be wary of autonomous vehicles. Given the numerous and well-publicized incidents involving current vehicle technologies, it’s not surprising that people have concerns about the safety of these technologies,” says Marie Dodds, public affairs director for AAA Oregon/Idaho.