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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1968-06-13, Page 26Finding out what's wrong With your family car is no longer a C‘guess-and-bygally" business. Sophisticated testing equiPMent can get to the root of trouble As fast as Pretons, and plectrons can move. Service stations invest thousands of dollars each in such equipment 'to keep customers' cars running right. Inexpensive games can help keep children amused on long Car trips. So can various pastimes like "collecting" license plates and simple words games. The result happier driv- ers and passengers. IS WHAT WE'RE HERE FOR! SUNOCO SO GALLONS OF GAS FREE EACH WEEK PUMPS OPEN 8:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M. OPEN SUNDAYS AND HOLIDAYS 8:00 A.M. to 11:00 P.M. TOWING SERVICE 24 Hours A Day FIRST CLASS SERVICE FOR YOUR CAR HOME OF PLANET TIRE EXETER USED CARS SILVERLINER TRAILERS CUSTOM AUTO ACCESSORIES EXETER 235-1710 NO MATTER WHAT SUNOCO RON DALE Highway safety everybody's job Nationwide netwo rings parts ,swifti 'The P94114194 Plirean of Pt.istics publishes : annual , ly, 4 document with the Sobering title olVictor cle Traffic Accidents*' its over :seventy pages of statis- tics present, in neatly tab, ulated forni,. the arithmetic of the chaos on our high- ways. It doesn't take a -Statis, tician to 'get the.raessage, Reducing the findings to. their simplest form, there are more accidents, more, MOO being injured, :more dying, and total property damage is increasing, .every year. -To become a statistic, you hardly have to try. indeed, a special effort is neccessary • to stay off the score board. The place to start is in making pure that your car is in first class mechanical eondition. This is good ati, Nice from the Vehicle Safety Committee of the Oanadian Highway Safety Council which also tells us that nine per cent of all motor vehicle accidents in Canada A r e caused by mechanical fail- ure, For instance: Anuntuned car can be a gun pointed at your head particularly if it's your car, Passing and other maneuv- ering situations often call for absolute performance.. To be caught "dead" under such circumstances is just as criminal as a case of reck- less driving. Perhaps you always 'obey the rules, such as always signalling your intention to turn before changing direc- tion. Then comes that one time. You dutifully flick the turn signal lever, and make your turn. Wham! You have just been slammed broad- side by another not-so- careful driver who im- mediately complains you never signalled the turn. It's then you discover that a burned out bulb made the signal inoperative. A regu- lar check of all light would have revealed a faulty.Sigeal Then there's the case of the Ontario motorist Moving, along secondary highway #St. year.. tie felt .4 sudden looseness in his steering:-- then 'discovered he Was !Mt steering at all. He did the right thing --,took his .foot. off the gas, allowed the car to slow gradually through engine drag, and at a. very ..slow speed gently pumped his brakes until he stopped, How lucky can you .get? Or as was reported in an issue of the Canadian mo, torist: "On a recent morning, a seven-year-old girl trotted up to the safety crossing at her school. The crossing guard waited for an opening in the traffic, stepped out with his stop sign and she started. across, "A ten-year-old, car was approaching. It was sp.epd- ing, but the driver knew he, had space to stop if he braked. hard. There was a brief screech of tires and then the car ran right through the crossing. The little girl was killed, "The cause: brake fail., ure, An investigation showed that part of the car's steel brake line had become a shriveled twig of rust. One hard tramp on the brake pedal had burst it, causing complete brake failure." Making sure that one's car is mechanically safe is a moral reponsibility. Having one's car checked perio- dically may cost a few dol- lars but, as the Canadian Safety Council says ---- 4 ;what's a buck if you're not around to spend it?" At the present time, four Canadian provinces nowhave legislation providing f o r compulsory inspection of motor vehicles, but with some variations. Inspections in Nova Scotia, Manitoba and British Colum- bia, are designed to have every registered vehicle checked. While the system is hampered by a shortage of facilities and funds, en- forcement is increasing. In Ontario, compulsory in- spection is on a selective basis performed by portable stations at which vehicles are directed off the road by police and into inspec, tion lanes. The stations op- erate throughout the prov- ince between May and October. The Vehicle Safety Com- mittee of the CIISC is also participating. With the co- operation of many agencies across the country, motor- ists are urged to have their cars checked by competent mechanics before the heavy summer season of driving begins. They are right, laws alone will not do the job. The individual motorist must . accept the responsiblity for the conditon of his car. • In 190, over ninetiundred timusand motor vehicles Were Produced la Panatia. The PartS going into their manufacture nngibered in the millions. The number Of diVidual makes and models and the staggering number of options available adds up to a crazytkailt of cornbina tiens with Which the nation's service outlets must con- tend. To add to the Com- plexity of parts supply, many of the components change year by year. For the automotive Parts companieS and their chan- nels of distribution, the problem becomes momen- tous. When acar owner needs service, no matter where he may be or what make and model he is driving, parts must be readily available. goed eXample of th complexity of this parts dis- tribution problem can be seen in the exhaust system, 0 n e Canadian manufactur- er's catalog lists some 3, 6Q0 different exhaust sy ste m items. Virtually every make and model car required dif- ferent sizes and shapes of components. Most jobbers stock an average selectionof 300 mufflers, exhaust pipes and tail pipes. For a service station to carry every type would cre- ate an insurmountable in- ventory and storage prob- lem. Nevertheless, nearly any mechanic in Canada can, in a matter of an hour or two, install a muffler and tailpipe on virtually any make and model car likely to come into his shop. The motorist may assume that, when he drives, into a garage or service station, the parts his car needs will be readily available. Thanks to a sophisticated parts dis- tribution network, they prob- ably will be. The chain of events is capsuled by Mr. W. A. Raf- tery, Executive Vice Presi- dent of the Motor and Equip- nient Manufacturers Ass4 ation, whoSe organtaatio made up of leading of automotive P 4 r t sl Oh icala and service equiPm "To begin, With," he Plains, "the life blood of Manufacturer IS effiel distribution of his Produc 4 company wouldn't sta business long if there w not a Well organized sys of getting the product to consumer. 4 'At the other end Of chain, the service stati specialty shop, garage other outlets depend u the manufacturer and wa house to have parts w needed. "The whole process gins with the parts mak who sends his products the distributor and the hers, who in turn supply garages, service statio car dealers and other re service outlets. "When a service stall or garage doesn't have particular part On hand, doesn't have necessary formation about that pa he can get the informati the part and even spec tools necessary to inst the part from his jobb or warehouse. "Often, this service provided in a matter of mi utes. "This constant flow parts, equipment and info mation makes it possiblef( today's motorist to lose litt time getting his car r paired," Mr. Raftery co eluded. INDUSTRY KEEPS PACE Despite this complicat business of parts distrib tion, the industry manage to keep pace with the eve increasing demand an changes. Tnroughout th country thousands upon thou sands of trained personn• are dedicated to the job knowing what is needed fo every car produced.