This Month’s Specials Are A Treat!
This month, our motto is “Savings!” Not only are our prices normally very reasonable and budget-friendly, but every month we feature your favorite Nissan models for much less so that you can get into the car of your dreams and stay within your budget! Check out what we have this month, and then get saving!
First up is the 2018 Nissan Sentra S, a great sedan with all the features you’ve been looking for and the reliability that you expect from a Nissan vehicle. Brand new and with the bells and whistles you want, this is the perfect choice for the young professional, the growing family, the parents, and grandparents – well. It’s perfect for everyone, is what we’re trying to say. Get behind the wheel today for only $15,387, or $107 a month!
Next is the crowd-pleaser – the 2018 Nissan Altima 2.5 S! Attractive, slick, and impeccably styled, this is the car for the person who likes to make an understated statement. And with the fantastic tech that Nissan’s been pioneering in the cockpit, you’ll be connected wherever you go! The 2018 Altima can be yours for only $18,197, or $137 a month if you lease. Get in while the gettin’s good!
Looking for a little more adventure? The 2018 Nissan Rogue Sport SV AWD and the 2018 Nissan Rogue S AWD are two beasts that can’t be tamed. Sure, they look docile and sleek on the city streets, but they shine in the great outdoors. Get into a Rogue Sport for $20,967 (or $147 a month) or the Rogue for $21,957 (or $157 a month). You won’t regret the adventure!
Need something that’s family-friendly but still exciting? How about the 2018 Nissan Murano S AWD or the 2018 Nissan Pathfinder S 4WD? Both are great SUV’s that defy expectations. Packed full of new tech and top-of-the-line safety features, these vehicles are both fantastic choices for any family – or even a single person looking for that feeling of security that comes with driving a great vehicle. The Murano can be yours for $26,847, or $187 a month and the Pathfinder’s priced at $26,967 or $187 a month. Those are some great deals that can’t be beat!
Finally, why not treat yourself to the 2018 Nissan Maxima S? With a fantastic new design featuring a floating roof and windswept headlights, you’ll look like you’re going fast even when you’re parked. And for only $27,377 or $197 a month, you’ll feel good about how much you saved!
Stop in for a test drive today and see why we’ve been voted the area’s best! Give us a call or shop online – we’re here for you!
*Specials expire 5/31/2018. See specials page for details.
Make Hydroplaning A Thing Of The Past!
With the rain picking up as we transition into the depths of spring, you’re definitely at more risk of hydroplaning and getting into an accident because of the water that can build up on the road. We do not like this, because we know that you love your vehicle and don’t want anything to happen to it, so we’ve got some tips for staying safe on the road, no matter how wet it might be. Just remember to stay calm, breathe through it, and maybe get yourself a taco or some ice cream as a “good job on driving” present to yourself.
When you start to hydroplane, the most important thing you can do is not panic. Don’t brake or accelerate quickly; because hydroplaning is a loss of traction to your front tires, braking will slow your front tires but lock your rear tires, causing you to spin out. Accelerating suddenly can pull your vehicle straight forward, which is dangerous if your vehicle has spun a little and is not pointed straight down the road.
It’s important to not use your cruise control when you are driving in the rain because this can worsen the effects of hydroplaning. The vehicle will register the buildup of water under your tires as a slowing-down and ask for more power from your engine. This will make your car shift to a lower gear (if you’re in an automatic transmission vehicle) and build up more water underneath your tires.
Avoiding hydroplaning is simple: drive slowly in the rain (slow down by about a third of your usual speed) and make sure that your tires have enough tread. A good test to make sure your tread is good is to use a penny. Place the penny into your tire tread with Lincoln’s head facing the direct center of your wheel. If you can see the top of his head, then it’s time to get new tires. The closer you are to being able to see the top of his head, the closer you are to needing new tires. Simple!
Springtime comes with increased rainfall, and we’re hopeful that you’ll drive safely and avoid hydroplaning through safe driving. Do you have questions? Give us a call!
Clean Out Your Air System Today!
The weather is warming up and that means you’ve got more time (and probably motivation) to clean out your vehicle. A great place to start, if we may say, is your air vents. There’s nothing to make your vehicle feel a little cleaner than a sweet smell blowing through the air vents! And especially if you have allergies or overheat easily or just prefer the air conditioning, you’re going to be using those vents all through the spring and summer. So, without further ado, here is our easy guide to getting your air vents clean and your entire air system smelling fresh as a daisy!
The first things you need to tackle are the vents in your car, the ones that blow air onto your face and feet that you probably adjust either all the time or never let anyone touch because you’ve got the perfect angle. You’ll need cleaning solution, white vinegar, a vacuum, and some Q-tips. Give your vents a vacuum to get any loose dust out. Then you want to take a Q-tip that’s been dipped in a cleaning solution and really work it into the crevices and hard-to-reach spots. When the Q-tips you’re using come back clean, you know you’ve gotten all the grime. Then, take another Q-tip dipped in white vinegar and go over everything again to get rid of any lingering odors. The vinegar smell doesn’t last long, and when it disappears it takes gross odors with it. Give the vents one last vacuum and you’re done! Make sure you’ve gotten them ALL, including the one that’s right up next to your windshield and the ones at your feet. Don’t forget the back seat!
The next step is to take a look at your cabin air filter. Your owner’s manual should cover how to access it, and if not there’s always YouTube. The cabin air filter is your barrier against everything that’s floating through the air that you drive your car through – pollen, dust, smells, odors – and it’s often a forgotten part of the vehicle. Take a look, and if you think it needs changing then schedule an appointment with us to have our service department take care of it!
Finally, if you still smell something reminiscent of dirty socks in the car when you run the air, you might have mildew in your A/C evaporator. It’s easy to dry that up! Just drive about a mile away from home (that’s enough time to warm up your engine, you see) and then roll down all your windows and turn the air on full blast. Don’t use the A/C! Just regular old air will do. Keep it running for a minute or two, and that should be enough time to circulate air through the evaporator and dry up any residual moisture.
Don’t Be A Pothole Victim
When you’re driving down the road in the spring, how many potholes do you think you encounter on your way from Point A to Point B? They’re definitely not an uncommon occurrence, and they’re more dangerous than you might think. But where do they come from, and how can you avoid them? Better yet, how can you make them go away? Keep reading to find out!
First of all, the way potholes are formed is through water seeping into cracks in the pavement, freezing in the winter (i.e. why potholes are worse in the winter and spring) and expanding due to the power of chemistry or physics or whatever science it is that says that water expands when it freezes, and then that expansion weakening the pavement and causing holes to form under the repeated stress of thousand-pound vehicles driving over the weak spots daily.
But how do you avoid a pothole? Simple, don’t drive over one!
Just kidding. I mean, if that was your strategy then I’d be all for it, but of course, there are sometimes we have to use our judgment and sometimes when we can’t just drive past the potholes. In order to avoid a bad scrape, avoid puddles on the road. Unless you can see with your eyes from a moving vehicle that the water is just resting in a thin layer on the surface of the road (most likely when it’s just begun to rain), try to drive around the puddle. Water is very effective at hiding the true breadth and depth of a pothole and you could be in for a very nasty surprise.
If hitting the pothole is unavoidable, well, we’re all praying for you. Other than our thoughts and prayers, the thing that can actually help you in this dangerous situation is slowing down (not a sudden slam-on-the-brakes stop, a rapid yet somewhat gradual stop) and going over the pothole slower than you would have otherwise. If you really feel that it was a deep and disastrous encounter, then you might be well served by pulling over immediately afterward and making sure that your tires are all good and your vehicle is not broken or cracked anywhere. If after this encounter your steering wheel wants to go one direction or another and you have to actively counteract that as you drive, then your alignment probably got messed up. We can fix that!
The final step is to be proactive – if you come across a terrible pothole, call your local Department of Transportation or Department of Public Works and report the pothole. Never assume someone else has already done it. The more calls, the more likely it is that the problem will be fixed. Don’t succumb to the bystander effect!
Nissan Stories: Miss Fairlady
This week, our blog is dedicated to an interesting piece of history from Nissan. We all know about traditions like the Miss America pageant, “Barker’s Beauties” from The Price Is Right, and the Doublemint Twins, but did you know that there was, and still is, a similar position in Japan, working for Nissan?
This position originated in 1963 as “Miss Fairlady,” named after the Nissan Fairlady, a model of the time. These women were chosen in a manner similar to that of a pageant and were employed on the showroom floor to demonstrate and explain the various vehicle models. In addition to being beautiful and having the right image, they also had to have an extensive brand knowledge and be able to answer customers’ questions about the vehicles.
The Miss Fairlady position was modeled on the “Datsun Demonstrator” position of the 1930s, where women were employed in much the same way. Initially, there were only five women chosen for the Miss Fairlady job, but that number has steadily increased since the 1960s to 27 women. Initially, the position was created to market the Datsun Fairlady 1500, but due to the success of the program they branched out and now represent the full spectrum of Nissan vehicles.
Not only do the women of the program go on to have great careers, their daughters are often encouraged to apply for the position as well. However, the training to be a Miss Fairlady is incredibly rigorous, including daily training, attendance at important special events such as the Tokyo Motor Show, and even shareholder meetings.
The position is now officially referred to as the Nissan PR Specialist, but it still continues to be known as “Miss Fairlady.” Women who are graduates of the program often go on to successful careers, and the women currently in the program are enthusiastic about the work they do and the fact that it is important professional experience for their futures.
Miss Fairlady has been around for over 50 years, but the name and the customer-facing aspect of the position are pretty much the only things that have stayed the same. Women are now trained as true professionals in not only their knowledge of the Nissan lineup but their presentation and communication skills are honed and their entrepreneurial abilities are explored. We’re excited to learn about this position as it moves into the future alongside Nissan!
Miss Fairladys and the Datsun Fairlady 1500
Yuko Aoshima, Chief Miss Fairlady in the Tokyo and Yokohama District
Lock Allergies Out Of The Car
Spring is here! In my house, we have a totally different name for this time of year, and it’s “Allergy Season.” I have really terrible allergies all year round, but when the warmer weather hits I have to add a couple Benadryl a night and a Flonase spritz in the morning to my allergy medicine routine just to stay alive during the day. So, based on this, you can probably assume that I like to try and keep allergens down in the spaces I occupy on a daily basis. This includes my car! If you’re like me and suffer terribly from the pollen in the air in the spring, I’m sharing my tips for making your car a haven of clean air and very little pollen contamination so that you can breathe easy on your way to wherever you’re headed!
The first tip is to vacuum your vehicle frequently. This is the best way to get allergens out of the air! Get all the soft surfaces and air vents really good, and then just go over everything else thoroughly while you’re at it.
Wipe down all the hard surfaces in your vehicle with a damp microfiber cloth or automotive dusting wipes to get any accumulated dust and pollen outta there.
A good idea is to keep a bottle of allergen-reducing spray in the car. Not only will it keep any particles from floating around as much, but it’ll also make your vehicle smell nice and fresh!
Finally, you should take a look at your cabin air filter. Your owner’s manual will have instructions on how to access this, and at any rate we can do it for you! This is important for filtering out dust and pollen that come into your vehicle, and if it hasn’t been changed in a while then it’s probably not doing its best work.
Of course, some allergens will always slip through the cracks so keep some tissues handy and some Benadryl in the glove box! Good luck!
2019 Nissan Altima Features Announced
For those of you who are less familiar with the automotive world than we are (which, we are a car dealership, we’re kind of obligated to be overly familiar) the 2018 New York Auto Show is this week and car manufacturers around the world are sharing their new vehicles, redesigns, and concepts by the dozens every day, or so it seems. Nissan is no different, and we’re very excited to share with you some of the news about the 2019 Altima, which is a fantastic redesign and evolution of the Altima we all know and love. Let’s take a look!
First of all, we’ll discuss changes under the hood. While your Altima might have a V6 under the hood, the 2019 Altima features a turbocharged inline-four that puts out a serious amount of power. Another first-time is the availability of all-wheel drive, which isn’t something Nissan has ever offered on the Altima or the Maxima. The suspension has also been redesigned and the power steering is more sensitive and adaptive than ever.
Inside, the color palette has been switched up and the styling is totally new. An airier cabin, thinner instrument panel, and lots of horizontal lines. In terms of tech, the 2019 Altima has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto standard, and Siri Eyes Free and Google Assistant are both available as well. ProPilot Assist is part of the package, and Nissan’s amazing suite of safety features are all there to make sure you stay safe and sound behind the wheel.
This is not a sedan you’ve ever seen before – so keep your eyes peeled for more news coming out! We’ll let you know when the 2019 Nissan Altima is on our floor so you can stop in for a test drive and experience this vehicle for yourself.
Smell Guide: Engine Edition
If you, like me, have a big family and a lot of sports equipment to tote around, the arrival of spring and inevitable coming of summer mean that whatever gear you’ve been toting around is about to multiply and start to smell. Really, really smell. But there’s a definite art in separating out the smell of whatever’s supposed to be in your vehicle and what might be indicating that you have a problem under the hood. How do you know? Well, first you have to know what the different smells mean. Check it out!
You Smell: Rotten eggs
What It Is: Your catalytic converter is having some issues and is putting hydrogen sulfide into your exhaust. It could either be a fuel injection problem, or your cat is failing. This is, unfortunately, a pretty expensive repair. But if you smell the rotten eggs when your car is not running, you should probably check for something inside the car.
You Smell: Sulfur
What It Is: When you smell sulfur in your car all the time, you can assume that it’s gear lubricant leaking from the manual transmission, transfer case, or differential housing. There are sulfur compounds in the oil that serve as extreme-pressure lubricants for the gears in these parts, and after being in use for a few years this substance can get kind of gross. Look for puddles of oily, viscous stuff under your car. If you see this, you should take your vehicle to our service department.
You Smell: Maple syrup
What It Is: Coolant has ethylene glycol in it, which smells sweet but is definitely toxic. If you’re smelling it, that means there’s a leak somewhere in your system. You should take your vehicle in to get looked at, though this is a pretty easy fix.
You Smell: A gas station
What It Is: Unless you’re at a gas station, you shouldn’t smell this. It’s straight up gasoline, which should be inside your car and not outside of it. If your car is older (i.e. before 1980) then you might smell this when you turn your car off, but if your car is newer than that, the smell of gas means that you’ve got an issue. This could be a leak from a fuel injection line or a fuel tank vent hose in your engine.
You Smell: Hot oil
What It Is: The easiest to diagnose, this is hot oil. But the oil is getting hot because it’s leaking onto the exhaust manifold, which is hot when your engine is running. It’s not a pleasant smell by any stretch of the imagination, so take a look around your engine and keep an eye out for smoke. If you can find the leak, try to stem it, then bring your car into our shop, and fast.
Save More On A New Nissan Now!
Folks, it’s that time of the month again – specials on your favorite new Nissan models are here! We have exclusive offers on new 2017 and 2018 Nissan models. Save today before they’re gone!
First, we have the 2018 Nissan Maxima S*. This is a fantastic sedan that’s perfect for the whole family… or for the professional on the go! Wherever you’re headed, you know you’ll enjoy getting there behind the wheel of the Maxima S. With a lease point of $197 a month, you won’t want to miss out on this snazzy new 2018 Maxima!
Next up is the 2018 Nissan Sentra S*, another fantastic sedan that will get you where you’re going in style. Whether you’re cruising through the city, enjoying that fantastic Pennsylvania skyline or just stopping at the corner deli for lunch, this car will turn heads no matter where you’re going. And it’s easier than ever to be the center of attention – with a lease price point of $107 a month for 36 months! Don’t wait, this 2018 Nissan Sentra won’t last long.
If you’re more of the SUV type, you’ll want to check out the new 2018 Nissan Rogue S AWD*. You can lease the 2018 Rogue S AWD for as low as $157 a month for 36 months! The new 2018 Rogue S AWD offers enough room for your passengers and cargo, leaving no one squished in the back.
If any of these great new vehicles appeal to you, head down to Loughead Nissan today and take a test drive! Hurry in, these specials won’t last long!
*All specials expire on 3/31/2018. See specials page for details.
Handy Folks, Step Back From These Repairs!
Some of us are what we’d call “handy,” which means that we are good at fixing things and not having to seek out the help of professionals. However, when it comes to cars, no matter how handy you are there are still some repairs that you should always leave to the pros. Sure, it’s an expense, but I for one would rather pay and know that the job is being done right than leave it up to chance and risk a seized engine.
First of all, don’t touch the transmission. Don’t even change the fluid. If you mess up the transmission you’re in for a much more expensive repair than you had on your hands before you decided to try and repair it.
Windshields are another thing that you just need to bring to glass professionals. Even those store bought kits that say they fix cracks are lying to you. Just get a pro in there and you’ll be set.
Anything to do with wiring has been off-limits for me for a while, but I need to remind us all that trying to tinker with anything in the car that has a lot of delicate electronics is a bad idea. So no putting in a new sound system on your own! Do you know how bad electrical fires are? Stay away!
Don’t think about touching the fuel pump, either. This is not only a very precise part, but it requires precise installation and even the smallest mixup can total your engine from the inside out.
The final thing on my list is engine diagnostics. This should be a no-brainer. The little code reader you can get that turns off the check engine light doesn’t actually fix anything, so why waste money that you could spend on getting what’s making the light come on repaired?
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