January 26, 2025
Bet you didn't know:
Some of the earliest rearview mirrors were marketed as "Cop Spotters" so drivers would know when police were following them. Who wants a ticket, anyway? According to eBay Motors, Elmer Berger first patented a rearview mirror that was mounted on the front fenders, on the spare tire secured to the side of the car of at the top of the driver's door frame.
About 80 percent of your vehicle is recyclable. So says The Balance. That means four-fifths of most vehicles can be recycled. Much of that recycling is done by automotive aftermarket recyclers. Between the U.S and Canada, they reclaim enough steel to produce 13 million new vehicles.
The man who invented the first modern cruise control couldn't even drive a car because he was blind! His name, says Smithsonian.com, was Ralph Teetor. Blinded at a young age by a knife accident, Teetor was inspired to create a speed control by a couple of things. One, the U.S. imposed a mandatory 35 mph/55 kph during World War II to conserve fuel and tire rubber, and Teetor wanted drivers to go a safe and steady speed. Plus, a chauffeur who drove him around used to randomly slow down and speed up which irritated Teetor. So he invented a speed control to encourage drivers to drive at a more constant and safer speed.
The first grooved tires were invented in 1904 by Continental. But that was a big improvement over the very first "tires" which were actually metal hoops that made riding in the first cars a pretty rough experience. The first rubber tires were solid rubber, not inflatable like today's tires. Things have come a long way. Modern tires are made with sophisticated rubber compounds that can deal with heat and cold. Plus their tread patterns help drivers get better traction on wet roads when it storms. Still, it's important to make sure yours have enough tread and are properly inflated for maximum safety and performance.
Quite frankly, there's a lot we don't understand about the vehicles we drive. They're much more complicated than the old horse and buggy that preceded them. Leave your vehicle's maintenance and service to highly trained technicians who DO understand how to maintain, diagnose and repair today's modern, sophisticated vehicles.
Tuffy Tire & Auto Service Glendale Heights
1153 Bloomingdale Rd.
Glendale Heights, Illinois 60139
630-588-8846
April 20, 2025
If you hear a squealing noise when you turn your vehicle, it's trying to tell you something is wrong. After all, it never made that noise before, right? The sound you hear may becoming from a few sources. Let's take a look (or a listen) to some of the possibilities. First, you almost certainl... More
April 13, 2025
You may be fanatical about keeping the outside of your vehicle clean. But what about what's under the hood? Have you ever thought about how dirt and grime may be affecting your engine's components? One of the most important parts under your hood to keep clean is your vehicle's battery. With a d... More
April 6, 2025
When the weather gets colder, sometimes the noises your vehicle makes will change. For example, you may notice a whining sound when you get going in the morning. It may go away when the vehicle warms up, but it's best not to ignore that sound because it could be a warning of worse things to com... More