Checking Your Vehicle for Tire Issues
Tire maintenance is important because your tires are the only part of your car that has direct contact with the road. Tires affect your vehicle handling, ride, braking, and safety. Our team is available to help but these are great tips to know.
Checking your tires on a regular basis is an important step in protecting your safety and your automotive investment. Ideally, tire inspections should be performed monthly. If you drive over potholes and debris in the road, live in a cold climate, or drive long distances regularly, then you should inspect your tires more often.
Things to Look For:
– Over inflation: Too much air pressure causes mostly the tire’s middle section to contact the road. This creates wear primarily in the center of the tread, with less wear at the tire’s edges.- Under inflation: Too little air pressure causes mostly the tire’s outer edges to contact the road. This creates wear primarily on both edges of the tire tread, with less wear in the center.- Tread wear on one edge of the tire: This typically occurs when the wheels are out of alignment.- Erratic tread wear: This is often called cupping, and may mean the wheel is out of balance, or that the shock absorbers or other suspension components need to be replaced.- Raised portion of the tread or sidewall: May indicate that one of the belts in the tire carcass has separated from those next to it.There are several tire maintenance procedures that automotive repair professionals should do because they require special tools and knowledge. However, understanding these procedures will help you feel more confident.
Spring Driving Tips
Springtime brings rain and the aftereffects of winter weather – potholes and uneven pavement. Keep these driving tips in mind before you travel:
Spring showers bring May flowers – and wet driving conditions: Slow down on slick roads, and increase your following distance even when mist begins to fall. Just a small amount of water can mix with oil and grease on the road to create slippery conditions.Share the road: Warm weather brings out motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians.Understand the impact of medications on driving: For many people, spring means seasonal allergies. Over-the-counter allergy drugs can have side effects or interact with other medications to diminish your driving ability.If possible, go around potholes: Deep potholes can throw your car out of alignment or worse, forcing you to buy a new wheel and a new tire. You may be able to file a claim (laws differ from city to city and state to state), but you you’ll likely have to prove negligence on the part of the city.Avoid driving through large puddles: Driving through water can impair your brakes, cloud your vision, or cause you to hydroplane.Keep your tires properly inflated: Full tires can reduce the damage caused by potholes and other road hazards.
Cadillac Surround Video in the CT6
Vehicle Cameras: Record, Explore, Protect
Car cameras or dash-cams are used more and more to protect motorists in the case of an accident, provide extra surveillance for your vehicle and can be used to capture a memorable drive. Penske Cadillac of Southbay has seen technology make such a difference to the driving experience.Car makers are embracing technology integrated into the vehicle interior for entertainment systems, the CUE or Customer User Experience includes an LCD touchscreen that is as easy to use as a smartphone or tablet. Rear-view cameras have helped drivers maneuver the vehicle for several years now and this next generation of vehicle cameras take technology to the next level. For example, the Cadillac CT6 uses four of the vehicles’ seven exterior cameras to provide recorded video of the CT6’s surroundings. The cameras are placed in the exterior- one in each door-mounted rearview mirror, one integrated into the front grill and one mounted on the rear trunk lid.When the video recording system is activated, the cameras can capture video in one of two modes: using the front and rear cameras during vehicle operation or using all four cameras in a round-robin fashion when the vehicle security system is armed. The latter mode will only record video once the CT6 has been disturbed. The same cameras are also used to provide a 360-degree display around the vehicle on the CUE screen to aid in vehicle maneuvering.
Captured footage is stored on a standard SD card in the trunk of the vehicle. Owners can choose to save certain captures indefinitely on the SD card or they can view or save the video files onto their personal computers.The Surround Vision camera system- which is standard on CT6 Luxury, Premium Luxury and Platinum models – all have the surround-vision video recording system.
Love Your Car
Love your car and it will love you back, meaning if you keep up on auto maintenance, your Cadillac will continue to run great. Below are a few quick maintenance checks to keep up-to-date on.
1. Check tire pressure
Tire pressure fluctuates with changing temperatures, which means it’s always a good practice to regularly check tire pressure.
2. Check the battery
If you notice flickering headlights, a slow starting engine or corrosion on the battery terminal cables, you’ll want to have your battery checked. It might need to be charged or replaced.
3. Check fluid levelsRegularly check and change oil and other auto fluids to keep your vehicle operating in peak condition.
My Cadillac Mobile App
For many Cadillac owners, their Cadillac is a prized possession. It’s not just a car. It’s comfort and sophistication. It’s class that some drivers might not want to leave alone. Now you don’t need to totally leave your Cadillac alone. The myCadillac mobile app allows you to monitor your vehicle from your phone. Keep reading to learn more.
What perks do you get with the myCadillac app?
Set a parking reminderSend navigation destinations through the app to carRemotely control vehicle features like engine start/stopControl through vehicle monitoring and managementRequest roadside assistance View vehicle diagnostic informationCheck for recalls
How do I download?
Download the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play StoreLog in to the app using your OnStar user ID and password
Why buy a car in December?
Besides the fact that a new car is a great Christmas gift to yourself, buying a car in December is ideal because of the extra savings you can take advantage of. We’re lowering prices on 2016 models because we’ve reached the end of the year and next year models will be coming out soon – if they aren’t out already.
Another reason for all the savings is because of all the holiday cheer and sale competition. From Thanksgiving to New Years, just about every business is running some kind of special, so we are competing not just against other dealers for your attention, but also other big item retailers like appliance stores.
So what do we have on sale?
We have specials on the ATS Sedan, the Buick Regal and more. You’ll find both lease and financing deals.
Just how much can you save?
Savings range from Cash Back incentives to low APR rates. For example, some vehicles are eligible for 0% APR for 72 months.
For more information regarding sale prices, reach out to Penske Cadillac Buick GMC of South Bay or browse our inventory online.
Ghostbuster Cadillac Upgrade?
No more is the iconic 1959 Cadillac ambulance, known as the Ecto-1 in the original Ghostbuster film. While it still exists, sitting as an ornament on the Sony lot, it looks like it will no longer be acting in Ghostbuster films.
Instead of using the 1959 Cadillac prop, the new 2016 Ghostbusters film calls upon a remodeled 80s Cadillac Hearse Wagon. The 80s wagon brings its own class and comedy to the big screen with a ghost hood ornament, oversized emergency light and ghostbuster roof-power features.
One could argue the symbolism behind the hearse and ambulance are similar, though slightly separate. While the hearse represents burying the deceased, the ambulance reflects fixing or repairing the sick. So in terms of the Ghostbusters films, I suppose one could question if the 2016 version is about burying the ghosts of history while the films from the 80s were about repairing/saving New York City from evil ghosts.
Do we know for a fact our theory is true? No. We’re just glad to see the new Ghostbuster car is a Cadillac again.
Should you buy or lease?
The reality to this question is it depends on you. Both buying and leasing have benefits; they exist to cater to different types of automotive consumers. Whether you buy or lease depends on your budget, the type of vehicle you want and your car-owner habits. We break the benefits down for both financing and leasing below. Should you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Penske Cadillac Buick GMC of Southbay directly.
Financing Benefits
The real difference between financing and leasing is the fact that financing gives you ownership. When you finance, you don’t have limits on what you can do, where you can go or how you treat your vehicle. Also, dependent upon how well you take care of your vehicle, you might gain some equity in your vehicle dependent on your interest rate, how fast you pay off the vehicle and how much of a demand your vehicle has in the market.
Leasing Benefits
Leasing does not demand ownership commitment. You can trade up for newer models every couple of years, so essentially you are getting long-term commitment freedom. Traditionally speaking, you will also find cheaper monthly payments for higher-end vehicles, which makes higher-end models accessible to larger number of income groups. However, with these benefits, your lease contract will limit you on mileage put on the car, where you take the car, and wear-and-tear.
Green Driving Tips
There are many ways to go green when driving, ranging from chemical-free car cleaners to carpooling when driving to work. For June, we’re going to focus on how to get the most miles per gallon out of your vehicle, which will reduce the number of times you have to stop at a gas station, ultimately decreasing the total amount you spend on gas and lowering the total amount of emissions your vehicle outputs each year.
#1 Too Fast Burns Extra Gas
For most cars, the speed threshold where they begin to consume more gas is around 55 to 60 mph. So if you can avoid going over those speeds, your vehicle will burn less gas.
#2 Cut Drag
We love bikes and road trip vacations just like everyone else, but considerable drag is created when you haul stuff on top of your vehicle. Instead of heaving gear up to your vehicle’s roof, get a hitch for the back and attach a bike rack or luggage rack to it. Keep in mind, the more weight your vehicle has to carry, the more gas it will consume. So packing as light as possible will help too.
#3 Regular Maintenance
Regular maintenance will keep your vehicle running at optimal conditions. Regular maintenance includes a range of things: oil changes, changing out bad O2 sensors, and regular A/C checks. Most importantly, you’ll want to stay up to date with rotating tires, maintaining proper air pressure in your vehicle’s tires, and paying attention to wheel balance and alignment issues. You’d be surprised how underinflated tires or a bad alignment affects gas mileage.
The Evolution of Cadillac
Most stories begin with some kind of event that creates an opportunity. That opportunity then has to be taken advantage of or the story won’t exist. Cadillac began exactly that way. The opportunity was when Henry M. Leland was called into appraise the former plant of the Henry Ford Company after a dispute between Henry Ford and his investors. Instead of completing the appraisal, Henry Leland convinced Henry Ford’s old investors to allow him to continue car production using his single-cylinder engine design. The Cadillac Automobile Company was established soon after on August 22, 1902.
From its inception, Cadillac differentiated itself from the competition with precision engineering and stylish luxury finishes, even in the early horseless carriage designs. The first horseless carriage models shown at the 1903 New York Auto Show drew thousands of orders because of that precision focus.
In 1909, GM purchased the Cadillac brand in order to build a large luxury vehicle line. Early on, Cadillac also became the commercial vehicle brand for limousines, ambulances, hearses and so on. As time passed, Cadillac continued to focus on technological advancements to separate its brand.
In 1915, Cadillac introduced the 90-degree flathead V8 engine and in 1930 Cadillac experimented with the first V-16 engine. The years continued on; Cadillac survived the depression, World War 2 and managed to continue to innovate without compromising its luxury integrity.
Today, Cadillac continues to build cars with precision engineering and luxury finishes. It is that mindset that continues to evolve the brand and allow Cadillac to compete with the top luxury cars on the market.
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