You see that car sitting on the side of the road on a cold winter night. There’s a good chance, whatever caused that car to pull over it wasn’t something the driver planned for. No one plans for their car to breakdown, especially not in the middle of winter. But, if it happens, the trick is to have a plan. If you have a plan for such an occasion, you’ll know what to do. You’ll be prepared.

Tic, tic, tic, tic, tic – no, that’s not the sound of a clock; that’s the sound of someone trying to start a car with an almost-dead battery. Instead of turning the engine over and initiating the chain reaction known as internal combustion, a nearly dead battery falls short and, when this happens, all you’ll often hear is a discouraging tic, tic, tic sound. Imagine you were out doing holiday

Winter can reach bitterly cold temperatures here in McHenry County. With wind chills, winter carries potentially fatal consequences across the barren landscape. Traveling on such days is a challenge – a challenge to safe and warm even in your car. But, when you turn on the heat in your car the heated air pours out of the vents and warms you to the bone, right? It all depends on whether your car’s

In the summer, it’s not a big deal if fueling the car is an afterthought, as long as you don’t run out of gas. Here in Northern Illinois, however, it’s not such a good idea to let the gas tank run low in the winter time. Gasoline won’t freeze until it hits 97-degrees below zero. However, that big cavity above the gasoline in a near-empty tank is an invitation to humidity laden air. Water freezes

Have you ever seen someone trying to drive while looking through a small patch of window they’ve scraped clean of snow and frost? You watch them cautiously trying to drive by touch and you shake your head at the insanity. You want to shake them and tell them to just take the time and clear their windows properly. Not only can they receive a ticket driving that way, they also are at risk of having

This WWII B-17 landing at Chicago Executive Airport has four air-cooled engines. The cars on the road below, however, must have quality coolant and cooling systems. Some piston-engine aircraft are air cooled. The engines have oil to reduce friction within but no coolant. That’s not a problem for the aircraft as aircraft don’t get caught in stop-and-go traffic while flying. The air is constantly