Is Your Car Ready for a Road Trip?

If you are planning a road trip this summer, it’s important to remember that you shouldn’t just put gas in your car and go, says the non-profit Car Care Council. A pre-trip vehicle check can determine how road-ready your vehicle is so you can take steps to have any problems fixed before heading out for vacation.

Before you hit the road, the Car Care Council recommends a vehicle check to help avoid the inconvenience, potential safety hazards and unplanned expense of breaking down miles away from home.

- Check filters and fluids, including engine oil, antifreeze/coolant, windshield washer and power steering, brake and transmission fluids. Dirty air filters can waste gas and cause the engine to lose power.
- Check the hoses and belts and replace if they become cracked, brittle, frayed, loose or show signs of excessive wear. These are critical to the proper functioning of the electrical system, air conditioning, power steering and the cooling system.
- Check the brake system and make sure the battery connection is clean, tight and corrosion-free.
- Check the tires, including tire pressure and tread. Under inflated tires reduce a vehicle’s fuel economy and uneven wear indicates a need for wheel alignment. Tires should also be checked for bulges and bald spots.
- Check the engine to make sure it is delivering the best balance of power and fuel economy and produce the lowest level of emissions.
- Check that the gas cap is not damaged, loose or missing to prevent gas from spilling or evaporating.

“With summer vacation season upon us, a thorough inspection of your vehicle will give you peace of mind and help make your road journey safer,” said Rich White, executive director, Car Care Council. “Taking a few minutes to ‘be car care aware’ will make for a less stressful and more fun adventure.”

The Car Care Council is the source of information for the “Be Car Care Aware” consumer education campaign promoting the benefits of regular vehicle care, maintenance and repair to consumers. For a copy of the council’s Car Care Guide, which is now available electronically, or for more information, visit www.carcare.org.

Read more at: http://www.carcare.org/2016/06/car-ready-road-trip/

Command the Trail in the 2016 Wrangler

When you think of the all-American SUV, the Jeep Wrangler is bound to make the short list. No trail is too tough, and with so many ways to configure the exterior, you’re bound to stand out from the crowd. Better yet, with tons of exciting features, every drive is better than the next. To get your hands on the 2016 Jeep Wrangler for sale visit Dick Scott Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Plymouth or Dick Scott Motor Mall in Fowlerville.

The 2016 Jeep Wrangler is Trail Rated® tough, and that is made clear once you have a seat inside. Start the engine, and the Pentastar® V6 powertrain kicks to life as it produces best-in-class 285 horsepower, as well as 260 lb.-ft. of torque. It not only has a powerful performance, it’s efficient too with a fuel rating of 17/21 MPG city/hwy. The Wrangler can be paired with one of two 4x4 systems. Your first option is the Command-Trac® 4x4 system, perfect for four-wheel off-roading power. With equal power to all four wheels, you’ll have best-in-class winter performance, which is sure to come in handy when I-275 is coated with snow. When you choose the Rock-Trac® 4x4 system you’ll have best-in-class off-road performance with a 4:1 low-gear ratio, so you can crawl at lower speeds. And to ensure safe trail exploring, the Wrangler has Hill Descent Control and Hill Start Assist.

There’s no denying that the 2016 Jeep Wrangler is one of the most noticeable vehicles out on the road today – which is pretty impressive when you take into consideration how many ways the exterior can be configured. For instance, remove the tops and doors for a more open-air feel, and even choose from one of the four options for the top: no top, soft top, Freedom Top® hardtop, and color top. Other exciting exterior features include the full-size spare tire, fog lamps and heated power side mirrors for visibility no matter the weather, and available side steps for easy entry and exit.

Have a seat inside, and you’ll quickly realize this isn’t your average SUV. In fact, the 2016 Wrangler has the most comfortable interior in its class. Choose upholstery in premium sedosa cloth or available McKinley leather trim to support you on your daily commute, and with available heated front seats, the long winter months won’t seem so bad. When you’re loading all your camp gear inside, take advantage of the fold-and-tumble seats. Leave them in place for 12.8 cubic ft. of cargo space, or fold them flat for 56.5 cubic ft. of storage room. And if you bring a little dirt from the camp site with you on the way home, the Wrangler is standard with a durable and washable interior that features drain plugs for easy cleaning.

Depending on the trim level, the Jeep Wrangler has one of three entertainment systems. Radio 130 comes with a CD player, MP3 capability, and AM/FM radio. Upgrade to Radio 130S, and you’ll now have a 1-year subscription to SiriusXM® Satellite Radio. The top-of-the-line Radio 430N adds on a 6.5-inch touchscreen, Garmin® GPS Navigation with SiriusXM® Travel Link, and a USB port. And to experience best-in-class audio, the 9-speaker Alpine® premium all-weather sound system plays your favorite song with crystal clear clarity.

To conquer the trail, day-to-day errands, and everything in between, get behind the wheel of the 2016 Jeep Wrangler for sale in Plymouth, MI, here at Dick Scott Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram and in Fowlerville, MI, at Dick Scott Motor Mall. We are open six days a week, with convenient evening and weekend hours, so it’s always a good time to see what the Wrangler brings to the table.

Heat Stroke Death Risk to Children in Hot Cars

With warm weather, sadly, comes tragic cases of children being left in hot cars and dying from heat stroke. Already this year, there have been incidents in Alabama and Kentucky, and there is the reminder of past incidents with ongoing television coverage of the Ross Harris trial. But hot cars needn't be a danger to kids, if parents can keep their cool.

On average, 37 children die of heat stroke each year after being left in a hot car, according to KidsAndCars.org. While it may be hard to imagine, many deaths have occurred when over-stressed parents forgot that their children were in the backseat.

These hot-car tragedies often occur when there is a change in driver's routine, stress, or a sleeping baby in the back and a parent or caregiver forgets that a child is in the car. Some knowingly leave children "just for a minute" not realizing how quickly the temperature in a car can rise to dangerous levels. Even if it is only 70 degrees outside, a car can quickly heat to more than 120 degrees. Jennifer Stockburger, Consumer Reports' Director of Operations at our Auto Test Center, says that researchers are working on devices such as weight sensors or heartbeat monitors to detect the presence of a child in the backseat, but nothing currently exists to warn the driver that a child has been left behind. Currently, some child seat manufacturers are also working to incorporate technologies into the child seat itself.

Tips to Prevent Hot-Car Tragedies

- Simple rule: Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle, not even for a minute. In addition to being dangerous, it is against the law in many states.
- Set up cell-phone reminders for yourself to be sure you’ve gotten the children safely to their destination.
- Check the car to make sure that all occupants leave the vehicle or are carried out when unloading. If you lock the door with a key, rather than with a remote, it would force that one last look in the car before leaving it.
- Always lock your car and keep keys and remotes away from children.
- To serve as a reminder, keep a stuffed animal on the front passenger seat when carrying a child in the backseat.
- Place something in the backseat that you would need, such as a purse, briefcase or cell phone.
- Have a plan that your childcare provider will call you if your child does not show up.
- If you see a child alone in a car, especially if they seem hot, call 911 immediately to help get them out.
Read more at: http://www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/heat-stroke-death-risk-to-children-in-hot-cars/

2017 Ram Power Wagon Laramie caught

Brian Williams caught this 2017 2500 Ram Power Wagon Laramie while it was being tested in high altitudes in the Rockies. He wrote that it’s only missing the legacy “Macho Power Wagon” graphics and blacked out bits.

The brawny, off-road-oriented Power Wagon, revamped for 2017, will gain a more luxurious version for those who need the muscle but also want the pampering of the wood and leather-lined high-end trim offered on other Ram pick-ups.

The Laramie will get more brightwork as befitting of this top-spec Ram, with a new take on the Power Wagon’s Rebel-derived grille – a sort-of chromed mesh insert replaces black plastic. Chromed wheels are now wrapped in the chunky off-road tires, too.

Inside, the Power Wagon should get the typical Laramie treatment, which means upgraded leather with thick stitching and wood-like trim.

Expect to see the Laramie Power Wagon later this year.

Read more at: http://www.allpar.com/news/2016/06/2017-ram-power-wagon-laramie-caught-31987

Mopar ’16 Ram Rebel

The first Mopar truck has just been launched, and there will be just five hundred of them.

The Mopar ’16 Ram Rebel starts with the Ram 1500 4x4 Rebel Crew Cab, built at the Warren Truck Assembly Plant near Detroit. Buyers can get either flame red with black, or just plain black. Mopar and Ram created the new pickup by using Mopar Custom Shop options.

The Mopar ’16 includes an aluminum, dual-bezel hood with a matte-black hood graphic, off-road wheel flares, and a Mopar-blue-and-black graphic stripe on both sides and the tailgate. The normal billet-silver front bumper skid plate was swapped out for a black one, and 17” satin black wheels were added to tie in with the blacked-out front. Inside, buyers get a serialized Mopar ’16 glove box badge and stainless-steel door sill guards; the front guards are embossed with the Ram logo.

Functionally, an extra skid plate was added for the power steering box.

The Ram Rebels chosen by Mopar have the 5.7-liter HEMI® engine with an eight-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission, a 4x4 transfer case, front suspension skid plates, black tubular side steps, a spray-on bedliner, and a tri-fold Ram-logo tonneau cover.

As with previous Mopar vehicles, the Mopar ’16 Ram Rebel has an owner’s kit with Mopar ’16 merchandise, a brochure, and a metal birth certificate that highlights truck specifications, date of manufacture, and the proprietary number. The kit is in a case, packaged in a Ram-branded tool bag.

The Mopar ’16 Ram Rebel will be sold in both the U.S. and Canada, with a list price in the US starting at $52,460. Buyers can find numerous Mopar options for it at dealerships, including a cold air intake and cat-back exhaust system. It is due to show up in dealerships this summer.

Past Mopar cars were the ’10 Dodge Challenger, ’11 Charger, ’12 Chrysler 300, ’13 Dart, ’14 Challenger, and ’15 Charger R/T.

Read more at: http://www.allpar.com/trucks/ram/mopar-rebel.html