You know what they say about the weather in the Chicago area; if you don’t like it, wait a while, it will change. After a ruggedly cold winter, with more than frequent snowfalls, we’ve had a few nice spring days lately. This week, however, the Chicago area seems to have reverted to that cold and wet trend. Next week, who knows? One thing is for certain though; it will get hot at some point this

A car weighs close to two tons. When a two-ton object travels at speeds as high as 65 mph, bringing that object quickly to a stop is a significant undertaking. Most of the time, when stopping your car, you anticipate the stop well in advance. You apply the brakes with gradually increasing pressure until your car comes to a stop at an intended spot in the road. But, let’s imagine your west bound

You turn south on Route 47 and soon you’re headed out of Woodstock. Once through Huntley, you’ll pick up the expressway and soon you’ll be miles from Woodstock in downtown Chicago. If you make the trip there or back to Woodstock during rush hour, you may find yourself in moving slowly in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Heavy traffic is aggravating and takes up your time. But, as long as your car

In an automotive research lab somewhere far from Johnsburg, they have a machine that bounces the suspension of a test car. Each corner of the machine acts independently to simulate the bumps and potholes you might experience driving down the road in Johnsburg. In fact, considering the winter just past, these are bumps and potholes you’re sure to feel. Using this test, the engineers can determine

The roads in McHenry County are best described as stretches of lunar landscape. Whether from Richmond to Ringwood, Woodstock to Wonder Lake or McHenry to Johnsburg: winters are rough on roads here in the Midwest but this winter more than most.  The bitter cold forces the concrete and asphalt to contract. Then, the ice and snow moves in to pry the broken surface further apart. Holes and cracks

You’re driving east bound on McCullom Lake Road in Wonder Lake. As you pass by Busy Bee and approach Wonder Lake Road, the driver waiting there apparently doesn’t see you and pulls in front of your car. This is a moment when your tires need to grab the road; this is a moment when the car’s brakes had better work and work to their maximum ability. Hopefully, your brakes are up to the task. If

You know that curve on Route 12 east of Richmond? Does it seem as though the car is leaning more as you hold your car between the white and yellow lines? That’s one indication that your shocks or struts are suffering. And, with the winter that hit Richmond this year, there’s a good chance your shocks and struts are not quite in as good of shape as they were last fall before the snow flew. Some

A qualified auto tech will also check other fluids while changing your oil. Allowed to go long enough without an oil change, engine oil will fill with dirt and particles that, over time, will turn the oil into sludge.  In the process, detergent additives in the oil will breakdown and the oil’s ability to reduce heat, friction and damage between moving parts will dissipate. Long before that

It’s beginning to feel as though this winter is here to stay forever? The cold just keeps on coming, wave after wave of arctic blasts that make the simplest outdoor tasks monumentally challenging: snow that follows the waves of cold and keeps folks almost perpetually with shovel in hand or lining up behind their snow blowers. As bad as this winter has been so far, and though there’s no guarantee

There are aspects of winter that can be fun – snowmobiling, skiing, skating, snowball fights, building snowmen. Other aspects are less so.  So far, this is a tough winter in Northern Illinois.  Temperatures have dropped lower than is customary. Though the area hasn’t experienced one big blizzard yet, the accumulation of snow is still significant. And winter is still less than halfway