Will your car have the luck of the Irish as we approach another St. Patrick’s Day in McHenry? Or will the Blarney Stone hit and crack your windshield? Will four-leaf clovers grow inside your fuel injectors clogging them so your car won’t run? Will Leprechauns turn your tires to corned beef and cabbage?

Fortunately, few of these hazards are concerns you really need to consider. The Blarney Stone, a block of Carboniferous limestone remains in the walls of Blarney Castle near Cork, Ireland, and far from McHenry, IL.

Four-leaf clovers do far better growing in potting soil and not so well in fuel injectors. It’s also unclear why Leprechauns would turn your tires into anything but the rubber they’re already made of. Still, the idea that your vehicle may have a good or bad year remains to be seen.

You may choose to wish on a four-leaf clover that your car runs well the rest of 2023. Maybe that will work for you. Then again, maybe the good fortune you hope to gain from a shamrock depends on what you do to ensure a good year for your car with timely auto maintenance and repairs.

The record of wishing on a plant to ensure safe and quality operation of a vehicle is sketchy at best though, if some get enough green beer in them, they may swear to the power of the shamrock. 

A better bet is to kiss your sweetheart while you give him or her a Patty’s Day greeting card, and commit yourself to doing what it takes to keep your car safely on the road.

Change the oil on schedule throughout the year and your engine is likely to enjoy another St. Patrick’s Day in 2024 while operating at the top of its performance. Maintain proper air pressure and balance of your tires and they’ll fare well through another season as long as their tread holds out.

Have your coolant, hoses and belts checked, along with your water pump and thermostat and you’ll have a vehicle that will get you to the store to buy more corned beef and cabbage, or whatever groceries you want, every time you head to the store.

You can even imagine Leprechauns are responsible for testing your battery and charging system to ensure it’s in tip-top condition. 

The point is that, if you take care of your vehicle, from this McHenry St. Patty’s Day to the next, you will have considerably greater reason to trust it to keep you safely on the road.