Thanks.

We often run into an issue of a customer bringing in a vehicle late Friday
morning or early afternoon for an inspection and needing the vehicle for the
weekend. What a lot of people forget is that most shops can not stop an employee
that is currently on a job to do a inspection. By the time your vehicle gets in
the shop, the vehicle is inspected and then if you are called and told you need
repairs to pass inspection, there may not be enough time to get your vehicle
ready when you need it.

You really need your vehicle so what do you do?
Do you get a rejection sticker and tell the shop you will bring it back when you
get back and risk the chance of getting a ticket on the road? You could call
around trying to make other arrangements for a vehicle. To avoid this try to
not wait until a Friday when you need the vehicle for the weekend. Pink
rejection stickers on windshields stick out like sore-thumbs to the surrounding
area police departments. That is part of their job, making sure the roads are
safe.  They are not concerned if your vehicle failed because a license plate
light was out or because your brake are bad, most of the time they will write
the ticket.

END OF THE MONTH

Ok, You have avoided the Friday thing – great!  However, if you wait until
the last day or two before the end of the month you have a different problem.
You and another twenty or so people are competing for spots to get a vehicle
inspected. State Inspection rules that it is “first come first serve” when it
comes to vehicles to be inspected. A proper inspection takes 30-40 minutes which
delays how soon your vehicle comes in the door, that turns into a lot of time
not including if the shop finds something wrong with the other vehicles ahead of
you and begin repairing those vehicles. The inspection station poster from the
Virginia State Police even states at the bottom “Inspect Early – Avoid
Delays.”  The earlier you get your vehicle to a shop for inspection, the less
chance of you getting delayed. The middle of the month is historically the best
time.Be sure to call your shop and schedule with them a day you plan to bring it
in.  Again, AVOID the following: Fridays when you are in a bind to get it
back and the days closer to the end of the month.

To schedule your vehicle with Duffy’s Repair Service, call us today at 804-798-5922 or visit www.duffysrepair.com to make an appointment.

VA State Inspection Station Poster

Headlight Aimer Machine

When the machine is put in front of each headlight, the machine will suggest which way the beam needs to go to be in aim or will give you a green light if it is within specification.  The headlights on vehicles of today are mostly completely plastic.  As with temperature in Virginia changes, the likely hood of the headlight adjustment needing to be a needed repair during inspection time is not far fetched.  This doesn’t include the 100′s of pot-holes you have hit on 295 or in downtown Richmond which can easily jar your teeth loose, and even change the alignment on your headlights.  Vehicles with age also can sag a little over time allowing the headlights to also sag low in the front.

Headlight Glare

We get complaints about the system and the unfortunate thing is for us, we have to follow the rules.  The inspection program in Virginia is very strict when it comes to the stations that can perform inspections.  Any wrong doing can result in inspection suspension.  So for us, we choose to follow the rules of the Virginia Safety Inspection Program to keep the roads safe.  To read more on the Inspection Program in Virginia, please visit http://www.vsp.state.va.us/Safety.shtm and to ask us questions, please visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/duffysrepairservice

Mandated TPMS systems were phased in from 2006 to 2008, so some of these vehicles’ sensors have been in service for five years. Still older direct sensors can be found in quite a few domestic and import models introduced earlier in the decade and equipped with TPMS ahead of government deadlines.

When asked how long TPMS sensor batteries will last, industry representatives provide a broad life expectancy range - five to 12 years and up to 100,000 miles.

Direct TPMS sensors commonly use radio frequency technology to transmit measured tire pressure readings to a vehicle’s on-board electronic control unit and warn drivers of a 25% or more under-inflation level.

Mounted inside a tire assembly on valve stems or wheel rims, the sensors are usually powered by 3-volt lithium ion batteries, but some use 1.25-volt nickel metal hydride batteries. There are developments underway that promise battery-less sensors in the future, having the potential to dramatically change TPMS markets.

For now, though, the batteries – generally round and encased in a sensor’s molded plastic housing – have finite lives. Since the batteries are entomb­ed, a dead or dying one requires the replacement of its entire sensor assembly.

When asked how long the sensor batteries will last, industry representatives provide a broad life expectancy range – five to 12 years and up to 100,000 miles are mentioned when addressing estimated life spans. The follow-up qualifier is that driving conditions, such as frequent on-off cycling of a TPMS, tire pressure sampling frequency and temperature extremes, will significantly shorten battery life.

When Batteries Die
A failed battery means its sensor no longer is providing protection to the vehicle driver and passengers, just like an inoperable home smoke detector can’t warn occupants of a developing hazardous fire.

A smoke detector’s single, short beep at long intervals alerts a home­owner to change a battery, but how does a car or truck’s on-board computer know that a TPMS sensor’s battery has failed?

Brian Rigney, general manager for Dill Air Controls Products, conducted an experiment to determine how one vehicle reacts to a sensor’s lost transmission.

“A car’s computer recognizes that a signal interruption has occurred, Rigney says, “but it usually waits to react.”

Automotive makes and models have many different systems, he says. Generally, sensors are design­ed to transmit data to the computer at regular intervals, usually measured in minutes. If the computer misses a few sensor transmissions, it assumes interference has occur­red and refrains from alarming the driver. However, if the computer misses several more transmissions, it illuminates the TPMS icon to alert the driver of the malfunction.

Rigney tested a Pontiac model by completely removing a sensor from a tire assembly and driving the car. “It took 45 minutes before the TPMS icon warned me the computer was not receiving a sensor signal,” he says.

“My test vehicle’s system was set up for the 45-minute delay, but other cars are programmed for longer or shorter time periods.”

Real Life
It was time to ask for his battery life estimate.

“Each manufacturer has its own warranty, some are simply two years, some are years or miles,” Rigney explains. “An OE sensor battery is expected to last at least five years, which is usually outside the warranty time period.”

He says battery life expectancy is directly related to the number of RF transmissions, which are affected by driving conditions and the sensor design. “Does the sensor have a sleep mode? Is it designed to transmit every minute, five minutes or 20 minutes in normal conditions? Gen­erally, an OE battery will last five to 12 years and the average is seven years.”

Colder conditions generally allow batteries to last longer, according to Rigney, so batteries are expected to fail quicker in warmer rather than colder climates given the same driving conditions. However, driving habits vary greatly from tire customer to customer, and by the same token, the demand placed on sensors and batteries also fluctuates widely.

Sensors usually transmit less while a vehicle is stopped, more often while it’s in motion, and a lot more as it accelerates or decelerates. A constant speed, such as highway driving, allows sensors to transmit less often.

In general, short distances with numerous starts and stops will have a greater impact than overall miles driven. “In other words,” says Rigney, “10,000 city miles will result in lower battery life compared to 10,000 highway miles.”

Battery Replacement
A depleted battery can’t be ex­changed, so the entire sensor must be replaced.

Rigney says potting material inside the sensor housing secures the electronic components and protects them from the harsh environment inside a tire. “In order to remove a battery, the potting material would need to be melted. Heating the material could damage components and allow the battery’s lithium to seep out of its housing and into the environment.”

A NHTSA ruling, says Rigney, stated that TPMS and its 71 million tiny batteries represent a 2% increase in U.S. battery usage, but a much smaller overall increase in battery volume and chemical content to landfills. Balance that against the environmental benefits of TPMS-improved proper tire inflation rates that include improved fuel economy, reduced emissions and longer tire life.

When a customer visits a tire dealer, a technician can test each TPMS sensor’s battery life, but only if his or her scan tool can display battery life and the pressure sensor is equipped to output that data. Rigney cautions that it’s difficult to interpret the scanned data, because the readout could be a battery life percentage or a one-word description. “A displayed ‘10 %’ or ‘low’ could mean six mon­ths to a year of battery life remaining,” he says.

The lack of accurate information opens the door for a conversation to discover a customer’s expectations and explain the needs.

Rigney believes the TPMS and tire service industry should adopt standards. “Standardize sensors so they output battery life information and standardize scan tools so they display battery life,” he says.

He adds that the industry also should agree that a “low” or “15%” readout is the proper time to recommend to customers that they replace all four tire sensors and recheck the spare if it is TPMS-equipped. “It’s similar to replacing both headlights at the same time, even though only one is burned out.”

He adds that if a vehicle owner is buying new tires and one sensor battery is dead or low, the technician should explain it’s the best time to replace the sensors because:

• The tires already are off the wheels, so buying now means avoiding a future visit to the dealer and additional charges for a second balancing service.
• It could avoid the TPMS warning light appearing while on a trip or in traffic.
• It would eliminate the worry of dealing with a failed sensor.
• Replacement sensors, such as those made by Dill, can last seven to 12 years, which normally means never purchasing another set of sensors. So buy them now, instead of later.
• Some states require TPMS icons to be off in order to pass vehicle inspections.
• Replacing all sensors, before or when one fails, helps avoid a last-minute issue while preparing for inspection.

The Above Story is from Tire Review and written by Skip Scherer – Post

The Oregon Department of Transportation announced Wednesday that AeroVironment has been chosen to build eight level-3 DC fast-charging stations between Eugene and the California border under a $700,000 federal stimulus grant. The Monrovia, Calif.-based company manufactures unmanned aircraft and industrial charging stations for electric forklifts and aircraft tenders.

AeroVironment Vice President Kristen Helsel said the company hopes to start building by the end of summer and have the charging stations up and running before the end of December.

Though fewer than 50 electric cars are driving around Oregon, the installation of fast-charging stations will build acceptance for electric vehicles by making it possible for people to take trips beyond the typical range of 100 miles, said John MacArthur, a project manager at Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium in Portland.

“It’s pretty exciting,” he said. “We’re in this kind of leading edge of electrification.”

The AeroVironment fast-charging stations are separate from the EV Project, a partnership between the federal government and ECOtality of San Francisco, which is working on installing 14,000 charging stations in six states and the District of Columbia, including Oregon, Washington and California.

Level 1 car chargers use 110 volts, like a regular home outlet, and will charge a vehicle overnight. Level 2 uses 240 volts, like a home dryer or range, and will charge a car in three or four hours. Level 3 uses 480 volts and can take a Nissan Leaf’s 45 kilowatt battery from a 20 percent charge to 80 percent in less than 30 minutes, the company said.

It uses a universal connection on a cable that plugs into the car. The cost of using one of the chargers has not been set yet, said Helsel.

The fast-charging stations will be spaced 30 miles apart and located within a quarter mile of the interstate in places such as convenience stores and gas stations, still to be chosen, where a driver can find a rest room and other amenities, said project director Art James of ODOT.

The governors of Oregon, Washington and California signed an agreement last year to create a Green Highway corridor so people with electric cars could eventually drive from Vancouver, British Columbia, to San Diego, James said.

The nation’s first publicly accessible level 3 fast-charging station is in Oregon, said MacArthur. Installed by Portland General Electric, it is located in the basement of the World Trade Center in Portland.

The EV Project is installing about 1,000 level 2 charges chargers and a few fast-chargers in the Willamette Valley between Eugene and Portland, said MacArthur. By 2012, fast-chargers should start showing up on the Oregon Coast, in the Cascades and along Interstate 84, he said.

The above article is from Bloomberg Businessweek and written by Jeff Barnard

courtesy of MotorTrend

Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/features/consumer/1105_4wd_vs_awd/index.html#ixzz1NH8MK83G

Google’s self-driving cars may soon hit the road in Nevada if a pair of bills get through the state legislature.

The bills would make Nevada the first state to legalize self-driving cars on public roads, the New York Times reports. One bill would amend electric vehicle laws to allow registration and licensing of autonomous automobiles. The other is an exemption to the state’s ban on texting while driving, allowing cell phone use from the driver’s seat while the car drives itself.

Google, which revealed last year that it’s been testing self-driving cars, is quietly lobbying for the bills, which are likely to get a vote before the legislative session ends in June. Last month, Google lobbyist David Goldwater argued to Nevada lawmakers that self-driving cars are safer and more fuel-efficient, while promoting economic development. It’s not
clear why the search giant has targeted Nevada, but my guess is that Google likes the state’s vast stretches of open road and its proximity to California, where Google is based.

Although self-driving cars aren’t yet street legal in the United States, Google already took the liberty of testing its six-car fleet in California, with a backup driver behind the wheel and another Google employee monitoring the system in the passenger seat. The cars use roof-mounted video cameras, radar and a laser range finder to detect surrounding traffic, and they’ve covered 140,000 miles without incident, except for one case where Google’s car got bumped from
behind. Google claims that self-driving cars could cut automobile accidents in half.

Even if Nevada lawmakers approve of both bills, don’t expect to safely fall asleep at the wheel anytime soon. A Google spokesman told the Times that the project is still very much in its testing phases.

Read more: http://techland.time.com/2011/05/11/google-to-nevada-let-our-cars-drive-themselves/#ixzz1MEwRcPiH

$50 Promotion from BFGoodrich & Duffy's Repair

Starting May 12th, you can get up to a $50 MasterCard Prepaid Card through a mail-in rebate when you purchase any set of four (4) BFGoodrich brand passenger or light truck tires.  This offer is valid until June 8th.  BFGoodrich is making their call to “Upgrade Your Drive” with the help of Shawn White (professional snowboarder) as he learns to drive.  BFGoodrich is the “fun” tire of the Michelin family brands (obviously by the picture to the left with a Dodge Viper).

Two exciting new tire launches that BFGoodrich is also providing during this promotion is the BFGoodrich Advantage T/A T-speed rated tire and the BFGoodrich Rugged Terrain T/A tire.  The Advantage T/A is a passenger tire that turns the everyday ride into anything but, thanks to exceptional all-weather handling and long tread life.  The Rugged Terrain T/A tire is the great new truck tire that is all work and all play with its aggressive looking (and performing) tread design, quiet highway ride and outstanding wet grip.  What is great about these tires is that you can get them during this promotion and get a $50 prepaid card. 

Call Duffy’s Repair Service today to get a quote on a new set of tires to Upgrade Your Drive 804-798-5922

The auto maker, the first of the Big Three to report earnings, also said it doesn’t expect the parts disruptions caused by the Japanese earthquake to materially impact its North America and European operations for the year. Most if the output curtailment has been contained to the Asian and Pacific operations where the company has so far lost production of 12,000 to 14,000 new vehicles because of parts shortages stemming from Japan.

“We are still getting components and the Japanese suppliers are making a fantastic effort to get up and running,” Ford Chief Financial Officer

In fact, Ford boosted its second quarter global production forecast saying it now expects to build 1.5 million new cars and trucks, up by about 12,000 vehicles from the year earlier period.

“We expect our annual volumes to continue to grow substantially, driven primarily by our growing product strength, a gradually strengthening global
economy and an unrelenting focus on improving the competitiveness of all of our operations,” Chief Executive Alan Mulally said in a statement.

Ford did warn that commodity costs and structural costs are expected to increase by about $2 billion during the year compared with 2010. The auto
maker’s structural costs increased $400 million compared with the first quarter a year earlier, while commodity costs jumped by $300 million.

For the quarter, the company reported net income of $2.6 billion, or 61 cents a share compared with $2.09 billion or 50 cents a share during the same time
period a year earlier. Excluding some one-time charges, the company earned 62 cents a share, exceeding analyst expectations of 50 cents a share, according to
a Thomson Reuters survey. Revenue rose to $33.1 billion.

• More photos and
  interactive graphics

The auto maker capitalized on shifting purchase patterns catching consumers as they both bought the more profitable pickup trucks in January and then
transitioned into smaller cars as gasoline prices climbed toward $4 a gallon by the end of the quarter.

That Ford was a able to continue making money amid high gas prices illustrates how much the auto maker and its Detroit rivals have changed. In
2008, when the Detroit three relied on trucks for most of their profits and had few fuel-efficient cars to offer, Ford ran up huge losses when gas prices
soared.

“I expected volume and pricing improvements to offset headwinds such as higher commodity and structural costs and that story played out in every
geographic segment,” Morningstar Inc. automotive analyst David Whiston said Tuesday.

Ford, unlike competitor General Motors Co., also held the line or reduced its vehicle incentives which also boosted vehicle
prices. The average transaction price, what consumers paid per car, rose by about $250 per vehicle, according to Edmunds.com. Consumers also outfitted their
vehicles with more features.

The auto maker’s North America operations reported a pre-tax profit of $1.8 billion, an increase of $591 million from the first quarter of 2010. The
European operations also reported a pre-tax profit of $293 million.

The company also reduced its automotive debt by $2.5 billion to $16.6 billion. It ended the three months with automotive cash of $21.3 billion an
increase of $800 million from the end of December.

Ford Motor Credit, the auto maker’s lending arm, saw its net income drop by $77 million to $451 million compared with the same period a year earlier. CFO
Booth said the company had warned Wall Street that earnings would be lower with fewer vehicles coming off lease. The division still expects to be profitable but
at a lower level than in 2010.

The above story is from Jeff Bennett of WSJ — website