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12 Bonehead Basics of Car Maintenance
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You know, That Guy who thinks that the best way to keep a car from overheating is to roll down the window. That Guy who hires the neighborhood kid to wash his car 'cause he’s allergic to “going outside and doing things.” There are lots of ways to be That Guy, but only one way not

to be: by regaining your self-sufficiency and learning the basics about car care. Using STP® is a good first step. And while we can’t do the rest for you, we'll give you a few pointers. Check out the tutorials. Take a look at the videos. And get under your hood. Good luck, and Don't Be That Guy.

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  • Mar
    09
    1 Comment

    HER AND HER

    Posted in: Car Culture
    rosie2

    Women and cars, chief: the two greatest topics known to man. And today this blog is dedicated to both. You’re welcome.

    International Women’s Day was yesterday, which strikes me as odd seeing as how women make up more than half the population and get only one lousy day. You’d think they’d get just over half the year — like spring, summer, and one week of fall. I know my lady takes up more than half our bedroom with all her stuff. But that’s neither here nor there.

    Decades before women took over for men at the factories during World War II, they were taxi drivers, assembly workers, auto mechanics (even the Girl Scouts had an auto mechanics’ badge by 1916), and, best of all — racers.

    Alice Huyler Ramsey founded and became president of the first Women’s Motoring Club in 1909. One of the first things the club did was set up the first all-women auto race — from New York to Pennsylvania and back again. Later that same year, Ms. Ramsey became the first woman in history to cross the U.S. — from New York to San Francisco — in a car by herself. She helped pave the way for such women racers as Elizabeth Junek, Brenda Stewart, and Denise McCluggage. McCluggage was a racing pioneer in her own right, helping the world see women as serious competitors.

    Speaking of serious competitors, Shirley Muldowney was the first woman drag racer to exceed 250 MPH and was also the first woman to be named to the 10-member all-American auto racing team. She was also the first PERSON ever to win the Winston World Championship three times. Moviemakers attempted to capture her awesomeness on film in the movie Heart Like A Wheel.

    Speaking of awesomeness, Lyn St. James, a former piano teacher from Ohio, was the first woman to finish at the Indy 500, in 11th place. She was also the only woman to be named Rookie of the Year.

    And I beg your pardon, but women’s contributions to driving aren’t limited to racing. They have also made significant contributions to the automobile itself.

    Take Mary Anderson. In 1902 she invented the first windshield wiper. Makes you wonder just what the hell people were doing before then. Guess drivers would just pull over to the side of the road and take a nap whenever it started raining — that is, if they had forgotten to smear onions and carrots on their windshield before they left the house that morning. (Yes, that really is what they did to repel water back in those days.)

    The film actress and greatly named Florence Lawrence invented both the first turn signal and the first footbrake-activated full-stop signal. Before she came along, drivers would just yell out, “I’m goin’ for it!” every time they made a turn and would hope for the best.

    In 1943, in Detroit, General Motors hired Helene Rother to join their interior styling staff, making her the first woman to work as an automotive designer. She specialized in designs for automotive interiors when she opened her own design studio four years later. She helped pave the way for the many other women automotive designers who continue to design sleeker and more efficient cars today.

    So today and every other day, celebrate women. It will always be a good idea.

    STV, STP® Blogger

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  • Amanda Fisher
    02.14.12

    Very inspirational! I am 26 and I love to work on my car. I come from a family where my uncle and grandpa were always in the shop and I was always watching. I broke out the correct book and looked up the specs for my moms car, I forget the year and model…..it was old and a “boat”,  because the spark plug wires were all a messed up, when I was 12. I fixed it in under 20 minutes. My grandpa was proud! Since then I have learned how to change wires and plugs, EGR valves, filters, change my oil, fix the timeing, replace up stream and down stream o2’s,  and a lot more. I am farely good @ identifying issues by sound and symptoms. I am confident when having conversations with men and have won many arguements on the topic. I do listen and learn. I use many STP products. STP was always around my grandfathers garage and I’ve never had nor heard a complaint about the product. I highly recomend all STP automative products.

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