There is plenty to celebrate as we bid 2017 adieu and welcome in 2018. What are your plans for New Year’s Eve? What a great night to join some friends and party. Just think of the letdown, however, if the night ends in handcuffs or on an ambulance gurney. Why should you wind up in handcuffs or on an ambulance gurney? A little too much party, mixed with an unwise decision to drive is a roll of the

All Virginia wanted to do was get home. After all, who really wants to work Christmas Eve. With two young children at home, she had struggled to keep her mind on her work all day. Now, with the sun setting over the McHenry horizon, she rushed out to the car driven by the anticipation of the joyful greeting she would receive when she came in the door back at home. That hour of Christmas Eve the

There is a good reason you can count on your car to start throughout the Wonder Lake winter that is swiftly approaching. You have an integrated charging/starting system under your hood with parts and mechanisms that work together to ensure your car will start when you want it to. There is one primary reason that system might fail you sometime this winter. The system generally fails because someone

The coolant/antifreeze that flows through the veins and arteries of your car’s engine and radiator are essential to the vitality, endurance and efficient operation of your car. As a coolant, it carries away heat caused by friction between moving engine parts. As antifreeze, it avoids the risk of freezing so it can’t flow when you start the car. It’s amazing that something as vital as coolant/antifreeze

They can also make your car more comfortable In recent weeks, this blog has focused on coolant/antifreeze, freeze plugs and radiator hoses – all integral parts of a car’s cooling system. There is another part of the cooling system that plays a vital role in its efficient operation that we have not discussed – the thermostat. In your home, you have a thermostat on the wall that you can adjust

You probably don’t think about them. You may never have heard of them. But, you can better your car’s warranty its engine has freeze plugs. Freeze plugs are one of those things you hope never to use since you’ll only use them in a desperate situation. In particular, a freeze plug is used when the antifreeze does what it’s designed not to do – it freezes. And it all comes down to the power

What are your plans Saturday night? If you have the chance, you might want to put the Shop With A Cop Fundraiser on your calendar. From 6 p.m. to Midnight, at the McHenry VFW (3002 IL-Rte 120, McHenry - just a little east of the Fox River) the house will be rockin' as a couple hundred partygoers prove that you can have a wonderful time while doing something selfless to help deserving children. This

But, there's no need to worry if you're careful You purchased your hybrid car for the fuel efficiency. You purchased to reduce the emissions that your driving added to the atmosphere. You purchased your hybrid car because you felt it was a wise and economical decision. There’s a good chance that it was but there is also a warning you need to hear and take seriously about your hybrid car. If you

Oil change is engine insurance OK, the title has kind of let the topic out of the bag, hasn’t it? You have auto insurance – the kind of insurance you need if you have an accident or someone steals your car, truck or SUV. You have homeowners insurance or renters insurance. You may have insurance for your business. But, do you have insurance for your engine. Yes, there are companies out there

Imagine you’re a Blackhawks fan and you’ve scored a couple tickets to a Hawk’s game this coming January. As it happens, this day in January is bitterly cold – so cold you contemplate not going to the game. But, your love of the Blackhawks is enough that you and your spouse brave the elements to drive from McHenry down to the United Center. It’s a great game where the Hawks pull out a victory