One sign of the arrival of Spring is the advent of baseball season. This is an especially pleasant time of year for Cubs, Sox and Brewers fans in the area since baseball generally means warmer weather and the end of winter weather. But this is also the season of the pothole here in McHenry.Potholes are the product of winter weather but don’t put all the blame on the season; you and your car, truck

You’re in a hurry. You grab your coat, purse and keys and rush out to the car. There, you fumble to get the key in the ignition. You fire up the car and you’re off. How many times have you done this? What’s missing? When’s the last time you’ve looked your car over to see if everything is good to go, whether you’re in a hurry or not? Do you have a tire that’s low on air? Are your lights

And unsafe tires are against the law, too If you were driving in McHenry County Wednesday, you may have noticed that the roads were a tad icy. In fact, it was hard to miss. There were accidents and cars in the ditch. For those drivers who avoided those unsavory outcomes, traction accelerating, and decelerating were impaired. This was not the day for bald tires. On this blog, we have previously pointed

... or your locks from freezing This Wonder Lake winter hasn’t been so terribly cold yet. Of course, ‘yet’ is the operative word. Who would like to lay a wager that we won’t see sub-zero weather this winter? Few would even consider such a bet as it’s all but inevitable that the temperatures will fall below that mark – not below freezing (we’ve already done that plenty) but below zero. When

Rub your hands together. Faster. Press them together as you rub. Feel the heat? Now put some olive oil (it’s healthier than vegetable oil) and rub your hands together the same way. Feel the difference? That’s the principle of oil in your engine. The difference is that instead of the soft, supple skin of your hands, your engine has metal-on-metal rubbing together. Additionally, unless you’re

It’s cold in Wonder Lake today – really cold. The temperature at 1 p.m. was -15-degrees Fahrenheit. Now that’s cold even without considering the windchill factor (-40 degrees). This means that frostbite is a real concern when you’re outside and your skin is exposed for even one minute. Bundle up. And even then, the cold will penetrate your gloves, hat, boots, coat, etc. The best bet is probably

McHenry was on the receiving end of a snow storm last weekend. All this snow has made driving a more treacherous adventure than usual. It helps, of course, if you know how to deal with driving on icy, snowy, slippery roads. Slippery roads create the biggest problem when you have to stop. Your car is liable to slide on the ice or snow rather than stop as quickly as you intended. One way to avoid this

Undercarriage wash helps to preserve vehicle’s chassis In the winter, you’ll often find that, on bright, sunny days, there’s a line of cars, trucks and SUVs at the carwash. Folks want to wash away the salt and road grime. They want their car, truck or SUV to look all shiny and new again. They want to lean over the car scraping the frost off the window without getting their clothes all dirty.

The price of gasoline in McHenry has fallen recently with a precipitous decline in the price of crude oil on the stock market. Paying less for gasoline, you may feel inspired to drive more. Or, maybe you just don’t give it a second thought when reason or opportunity suggests climbing behind the wheel. The result is that you’re liable to put more miles on your car, truck or SUV than you did this

A limousine or a tow truck can get you off the road Another McHenry New Year’s Eve is almost upon us. For many, the New Year’s Eve party is the highlight of the year. Even those who are generally more socially inhibited are liable to let their hair down on New Year’s Eve. It’s important to ensure that your free-wheeling approach to the holiday doesn’t end in an undesirable fashion. How