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With shorter daylight hours coming quickly, here’s a great thing Automotive Service Association of Washington (ASA) is doing this Saturday:
The ASA-WA “Lights-On” program is in its thirty-seventh year and was developed by ASA-WA to improve fall and winter vehicle driving safety.
In support of “National Car Care Month” annual event promoting vehicle maintenance, the Automotive Service Association of Washington (ASA-WA) will be conducting a FREE inspection and replacing FREE of charge faulty exterior vehicle bulbs and headlamps, with the exception of unusual or exotic installations. This will be happening at locations in Washington by ASA-WA members, their technicians, and automotive technology students from many state vocational/technical training facilities.
Read more here to find the locations near you…
Walmart Parking Lot – Lakewood, Washington
7001 Bridgeport Way W.
Lakewood, WA
9:00am – 2:00pm

I finally had to take the flashing message,”Thank you for visiting, Mr. Sun. Please stay awhile” off my outdoor reader board at the shop. Summer’s officially over without the usually(mostly) guaranteed beautiful September I’ve come to expect in fair trade for the unpredicatable rains. We have the Puyallup Fair for one more weekend. The Fremont Oktoberfest and Burien Octoberfest are going on this weekend(they spell it different).
Our last family fling will be Friday to the drive-in movies at Auburn, watching from the back of the Ford Pickup backed in(think we can make it through the double-feature?). I’ll report on that later. Then off to Alki Beach for a sunny 75 degree Saturday(“they” say), with lunch at Spud’s.
The daylight is getting less, and the rains are looming, so make sure to check your lights, wipers, and tires for safety’s sake. Stop by the shop and we’d be happy to inspect them for you at no cost. And enjoy the week ahead!

September can still give us some great weather, and hopefully this will be another weekend to get out and about, or…just stay home and enjoy. If you’ve never been to an exotic, elegant car show and you love cars (or just beautiful art, for that matter), I would recommend attending one of these events. The design and sophistication of these vehicles is incredible, especially for their age. The owners presenting the cars are usually pretty interesting people by their own right. The Kirkland Councours d’Elegance is in it’s eighth presentation this year. They are donating half of the “wine tasting” proceeds to benefit care for children at Evergreen Hospital and Seattle Children’s hospital. For more info, go to www.kirklandconcours.com .
In most of our “reality” world, if you’re thinking about replacing or adding a vehicle to your stable, please call and ask Paul or Mark any questions you may have about the reliability history, maintenance needs or anything else. We can also perform a pre-purchase inspection before you buy a pre-owned vehicle.
Have a great weekend and week ahead!

Yes, unfortunately it’s that last sort of official week of summer, although we usually have some awesome weather in September around here(along with some colder evenings). Bumbershoot, which bills itself as North America’s largest urban arts festival, celebrates it’s 40th anniversary this 3-day weekend. They have some more attractive options with ticket pricing this year, also. Just no rain, pleeeze (you do know what bumbershoot means, don’t you?)! There’s also the Evergreen state fair in Monroe through this weekend, and of course, the big Puyallup fair coming up next week.
If you’re planning a driving trip, remember to check those fluid levels & tire pressures. And as the darker, wetter & colder months ahead loom, you may be due for some scheduled maintenance, or seasonal fluid changes. Please feel free to give us a call if you have any questions or just need your wipers, lights, or fluids checked.

How’s your air conditioning working? If it doesn’t blow as cold as you once remember, it may need some help. It could be low on refrigerant, usually due to a leak(refrigerant is also called freon, the stuff that makes it cold, or technically, “removes heat”). If that’s the case, the goal is to find the leak and fix it, before putting more in. Otherwise, you’ll be supporting the refrigerant maker’s pocket book on a much too-regular basis. Please give us a call if you have any questions or need it looked at. We know all about it and have certified air conditioning technicians here. And don’t forget to check the rest of those other vital fluids under the hood and tires for safe and dependable driving. And stay cool!

All of us at Southend Auto Care are excited and gratified to have been named a AAA” Top Shop”.  We thank you, our customers for grading us in the highest percentiles for our service to you. In addition to top levels of customer satisfaction, there are over 20 strict guidelines established by the AAA auto club to be part of the recommended auto repair network, including advanced technician certification, cleanliness of facility, professionalism, and best business practices. We believe this recognition is a true reflection of our dedication to provide you with the best auto care provider service anywhere. We look forward to serving an even greater part of the community with the same dedication.  Again, thank you!

Guess what my father’s day request was? Hint: I love cars, and I love movies. With a 1969 Ford Torino in the garage, you can guess how we get there. Yes..me, my wife and 6-year old son all sitting in front on the bench seat with the sound playing through the AM radio at the drive-in movie theater.
Drive in theaters:  Many of us can remember going with our parents to drive-in theaters(remember pajamas with feet?), getting there early, eating the food you brought, playing, throwing footballs and frisbees, just hanging out.  About 4000 theaters were operating at one time in the US, although most of them closed in the 1970-1990′s time period. Many of the remaining ones have fallen into disrepair. The largest reason of this demise resulted from high real estate values and the advent of cable TV and VCR’s. Well guess what? They’re coming back with a bang, especially in the Midwest and South.  A lot of the popularity is due to the nostalgic feel and economics. It’s a sort of anything goes feel..bring your own food, dog (on a leash), lawn chairs, etc..yeah…freedom! In Washington state, we had a high of 71 theaters in 1972, down to 7 presently. I feel blessed we have one of the remaining and probably the largest(6 screens) theaters in my home town of Auburn.
Do-it yourself outdoor movies: Check this out:   mobmov.org     This is a club of several local chapters, who project movies on outdoor vacant warehouse walls with high-powered projectors. They communicate movie times and titles by e-mail.
If you haven’t been to an outdoor theater, or haven’t been in a long time, try it. It’s a blast and a return to simplicity.

 And, please Mr. Sun, come back and visit a little more often..we really do miss you.

     Well, we might actually hit 75 degrees for the first time this year in the Seattle area this week; can you believe it!? Even us “seasoned” veterans of this area are grumbling. It seems to me about one in 5 years is like this, pining for just a measly few days of sunshine to tide us over. Thank you in advance!
    Fuel prices are expected to remain relatively stable through the summer. Fuel prices are dictated largely by supply and demand, with recent times higher prices due to increased global demand as well as instability in several oil producing countries. Did you know the United States alone consumes approximately 25% of the world’s energy produced(crude oil and natural gas included)? China, who previously exported crude oil, now has doubled it’s import of crude oil in the last 4 years.
Overall taxes and fees on gasoline at the pump varies state to state, most falling within about 31 to 61 cents per gallon, with Washington at about 56 cents.
    Remember, several things affect the fuel mileage your cars gets, such as tire pressure, extra weight in the vehicle, and driving habits(such as quick accelerations and one of the largest consumers of fuel:driving above 60 miles per hour). Combined, these make a noticable difference.
Also, keeping your car’s maintenance up, with clean filters, correct type of engine oil installed at oil change services, fuel system servicing, and normal scheduled maintenance items performed on a timely basis improves fuel mileage. Don’t forget about the interior cabin air/pollen filter in many vehicles, while you’re at it.
Have fun getting out, driving, and enjoying all the great activities our region has to offer this summer. I’ve got cabin fever myself!

So I was sitting idle in my car in the cold rain on the freeway, not moving for 30 minutes, due to an accident, after a long day at work. I decided to call my good friend to catch up on life, since I hadn’t talked to him in a while, on my hand-held cell phone. This made me think about the subject in my header line.
Cell phone talking while driving: I thought,”I’m not REALLY driving; I’m just sitting here, so it’s okay(I think)”. A study I read this week stated that whether driving with a hands-free (Bluetooth)cell phone or using a conventional phone, an equal amount of attention and focus are lost to conversation, instead of on the road. Apparently, cell phone users are four times as likely to get into crashes. The only difference in using a hands-free phone, is one might look right and left more readily since it’s easier to do, and have an “extra” hand to use things like turn signals, wipers, lights, etc(my feeling is there might also be a lack of the additional stress of “being caught” talking on a hand-held phone, by a friendly law-enforcement officer). Some would say the law against using hand-held cell phones while driving taking effect June 10, 2010, is a “feel-good” law, as in “we’re trying to do SOMETHING to address the problem”.
*I think this latest gimmick tops everything: a mount for your i-pad on the steering wheel or dash(guaranteed not block your vision, of course!)so you can check e-mail, surf the web or watch movies while driving. Uh-huh…
I realized recently that whether riding my bicycle, motorcycle, or car, I subconsciously look immediately at drivers of other vehicles around me to see what they’re doing, using that to size up their attention span. That’s a sad change.
My goal? Minimum or zero cell phone time while driving, hands-free or not. I’m getting closer every week. I’m actually feeling kind of good about saying, “I didn’t answer because I was driving”.