Winter time in the Midwest is, for many who are not fans of skiing, snowmobiling and other outdoor activities of the season, a good time to be somewhere else.  Autumn, however, offers a last blush of outdoor splendor for those who wish to mingle with nature without fear of frostbite. In particular, Autumn is an excellent time to witness the outdoors in an unsurpassed panoramic multitude of colors.A

We’ve all heard the stories about accidents caused because someone was texting while driving. With modern communication devices, we’ve become accustomed to a world where we are always accessible by phone. The problem is that we need to remind ourselves that, just because our phone has beeped, whistled or played the theme song from “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly,” doesn’t mean we have to

OK, so you’ve heard of this great auto repair shop – Performance Unlimited – where friends or neighbors have told you about the high quality of service and strong reputation. You may even have heard that it’s in Ringwood. But, where in the heck is Ringwood? Not to worry.Where did you say you’re coming from? Crystal Lake? McHenry?Simple: take Route 31 north. Continue past the jog on Route

It seems they’ve got a month for almost everything – Bring Your Dog to Work Month; Eat Plenty of Hummus Month, Brush Your Teeth Month. Well, now someone has gone and named August Road Safety Month. Well, that’s the case according to CarParts.com, which has piggybacked onto the occasion to promote the sale of car parts.A Web search to find out more about the ‘holiday’ found that CarParts

So, you’ve decided to make the best of the situation: “Yes, kids, this is what it was like when I was a child and most cars didn’t have air conditioning.”Then again, maybe you’re trying to think of a game to play with your offspring while you wait for a tow truck to arrive while smoke pours out of your hood. Another scenario has the entire family loaded into the car, along with luggage and

The Performance Unlimited Team makes regular appearances at the McHenry Green Street Cruise Night in the summer. Recently, however, they were joined by a little additional star power.Bambi, the 2-year-old Pomeranian from Aldens Kennels, 6810 Barnard Mill Road, Ringwood, made a surprise appearance and posed for photographs with the Performance Unlimited Team. Bambi is renowned as a canine version of

Wild Horses were all over the place Monday night in McHenry. These ponies weren’t just Mustangs, however. There were also Cameros, Road Runners and Cutlasses, to name a few. If you’re familiar with these breeds you’re an obvious connoisseur of the muscle-car era that lives on and was richly on display at the Green Street Cruise Night event. Green Street Cruise Nights occur every Monday at 6

Now that winter is over, maybe (considering these wild fluctuations of heat and cold), and road crews are out filling potholes, you might want to consider taking a look at the suspension and steering on your vehicle. Midwestern winters are particularly rough on automobiles and, this past winter, probably more so than most.“Winters in northern Illinois can really play havoc on your car’s chassis,”

Business took me down from Woodstock to areas south of Chicago last week. For those down that way, if you’re not familiar with Woodstock, we’re just beyond the Sacred Elephant Graveyard. In other words, we’re a bit off the beaten track.While casually cruising southbound on Highway 355 in my father’s Lincoln I suddenly smelled something akin to burning rubber as I saw a sign for the Route 34

Most people in the area know Denny Norton as the owner of Performance Unlimited, the auto repair shop at 5415 Austin Court, Ringwood, that keeps their cars safely on the roads. A few years back, however, it was just as common to see Norton behind the wheel of a stock car or monster truck. Norton made a name for himself as a competitive driver in the region.April 23 and 24, Norton returned to competitive