A Tired Old Routine
Posted by Jade Alexander in Uncategorized, tags: automobiles, cars, other, transportation, Uncategorized, vehiclesThe new regulations form the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency has automakers in a tizzy. The basics boil down to the fact that cars must get 34 mpg by 2016 and 54 mpg by 2025. What people haven’t fully considered is what this means for your car.
AAA says that due to the new fuel economy rules spare tires may be a thing in the past. The problem is that car makers will be challenged to come up with creative ways to reach these new standards. One of the easiest was to do so it to reduce the weight of the car, which means taking stuff out.
Remember back in the day, how if you had a flat, you often had another, heavy full sized tire waiting to replace it? Yes, it was heavy and awkward but it worked well and you could drive as much as you wanted to on it. In order to lower weight and help the mpg, they switched out that tire with a “donut,” an embarrassingly small tire that is not meant to be traveled on very far, but it does spare you some weight. Additionally, car jacks have become smaller and lighter as well. It used to be they had large, easy to use jacks, now they most cars have a small, practical jack if they have one at all.
The trend now is that automakers are selling cars with no spare tire or jack at all. In fact if you are purchasing a new car, you should make sure it comes with one, or else look into getting an upgrade to one. The last thing you want is to get into forsaken desert highway, have a flat, and find out you lack a spare.
Another thing car makers are doing is putting run-flat tires on their cars. These tires are designed so that you can keep driving on them, for a little while even if they go flat. However, you can’t go far, and it doesn’t count much for a blow-out. Other dealers are putting a can of Fix-a-Flat in the trunk, but like run-flat tires, this can of wonder can only do so much.
Of course, like George Clooney at the Oscar’s, this is still all up in the air. However, if you are looking for a new, or even used car, then you should make sure it has a spare tire in it. Make sure it is well inflated and that you have a jack and tire iron as well. After all, it is better to be safe than sorry.
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