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Motor Bella comes roaring back after rainy start

By Betty C. Morrow 4 months ago

Pontiac — Car enthusiasts came out in droves on a sunny Sunday morning at Motor Bella, a clear departure from the rainy start of the auto event last week at the M1 Concourse in Pontiac. 

Folks wandered around the sprawling display, lining up to test drive the newest models and stopping to admire restored vintage cars at the Detroit Auto Dealers Association’s mostly outdoors replacement of its twice-cancelled North American International Auto Show. 

“It’s kind of a mom and son thing,” said Keymari Eddings, 26, who attended with his mother, Karen Eddings-Howell, 49. “We’ve been doing this ever since I was a kid, every year except for the last year.”

Eddings-Howell, a nurse assistant, said her dream car was the Lincoln Aviator she and Eddings were circling. They both love cars, she said, and for them, Motor Bella is a chance to potentially shop but also to just take in

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Kids and cars: Today’s teens in no rush to start driving

By Betty C. Morrow 6 months ago

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This August 2020 photo shows Cole Kleis standing next to a 1932 Ford Coup in front of a garage of old cars he’s been restoring with his family in Napa, Calif. Automakers are facing a challenge with the newest generation of drivers — teens of today aren’t in a hurry to get their first car let alone a drivers license. There are exceptions to the theory that teens don’t care about cars, including 20-year-old Cole Kleis of Napa, California. Kleis attends Colorado State University at Pueblo, majoring in automotive industry management. He took his first job in a dealership at age 12 cleaning cars, sweeping floors and helping in the parts department. (AP Photo/Jenna Fryer)


Jenna Fruer

AP

DETROIT

Michael Andretti has a 21-year-old son with zero interest in obtaining a driver’s license. Rideshare apps get him where he wants to go.

In New Jersey, the 16-year-old daughter of a

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California Will Start Testing for ECU Tunes During Smog Checks Starting Next Week

By Betty C. Morrow 6 months ago
Photo credit: Ford - YouTube

Photo credit: Ford – YouTube

If you live in California and run an aftermarket tune on your car, you might want to think about flashing your ECU back to stock before heading out for your biennial Smog Check. Starting July 19, 2021, testing stations will begin to check whether cars are running OEM or California Air Resources Board (CARB)-approved tunes. If your car isn’t, it’ll fail the test.

The new policy, first highlighted by Car Bibles on Tuesday, is outlined in the California Bureau of Automotive Repair’s Frequently Asked Questions section. From the webpage:

Beginning July 19, 2021, vehicles with software not provided by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or approved through a California Air Resources Board (CARB) Executive Order (EO) will fail Smog Check.

Before your vehicle will pass a Smog Check, you must have the vehicle’s software restored to the OEM software version. Once the software

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In cold weather, how often should I start my car?

By Betty C. Morrow 11 months ago

Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this story misstated what happens when liquids are frozen. Water expands when frozen, while most other liquids do not.  

An intense cold snap is threatening to smash record lows across much of the nation through Thursday. 

With temperatures sliding and winter fast approaching, many car owners are asking: How often should I start my car to warm it up?

Turns out, the answer doesn’t lie in frequency.

Experts at AAA, a federation of motor clubs, say it’s not a good idea to warm your car up to keep it from freezing. 

“Ninety-five percent of the cars on the road today don’t use carburetors, so you no longer need to warm them up on cold days,” said Mike Calkins, manager of technical services at AAA.

Instead of repeatedly starting up your car to keep it warm, drivers who are concerned about their engines

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