Winter Driving Tips | Prescott Brothers Mendota IL

Severe weather can be both frightening and dangerous for automobile travel. Motorists should know the safety rules for dealing with winter road emergencies. We want to remind motorists to be cautious while driving in adverse weather. 

We recommend the following winter driving tips:

• Avoid driving while you’re fatigued. Getting the proper amount of rest before taking on winter weather tasks reduces driving risks.
• Never warm up a vehicle in an enclosed area, such as a garage.
• Make certain your tires are properly inflated.
• Never mix radial tires with other tire types.
• Keep your gas tank at least half full to avoid gas line freeze-up.
• If possible, avoid using your parking brake in cold, rainy and snowy weather.
• Do not use cruise control when driving on any slippery surface (wet, ice, sand).
• Always look and steer where you want to go.
• Use your seat belt every time you get into your vehicle.

Tips for long-distance winter trips:

• Watch weather reports prior to a long-distance drive or before driving in isolated areas. Delay trips when especially bad weather is expected. If you must leave, let others know your route, destination and estimated time of arrival.
• Always make sure your vehicle is in peak operating condition.
• Keep at least half a tank of gasoline in your vehicle at all times.
• Pack a cellular telephone plus blankets, gloves, hats, food, water and any needed medication in your vehicle.
• If you become snow-bound, stay with your vehicle. It provides temporary shelter and makes it easier for rescuers to locate you. Don’t try to walk in a severe storm. It’s easy to lose sight of your vehicle in blowing snow and become lost.
• Don’t over exert yourself if you try to push or dig your vehicle out of the snow.
• Tie a brightly colored cloth to the antenna or place a cloth at the top of a rolled up window to signal distress. At night, keep the dome light on if possible. It only uses a small amount of electricity and will make it easier for rescuers to find you.
• Make sure the exhaust pipe isn’t clogged with snow, ice or mud. A blocked exhaust could cause deadly carbon monoxide gas to leak into the passenger compartment with the engine running.
• Use whatever is available to insulate your body from the cold. This could include floor mats, newspapers or paper maps.
• If possible run the engine and heater just long enough to remove the chill and to conserve gasoline.

Tips for driving in the snow:

• Accelerate and decelerate slowly. Applying the gas slowly to accelerate is the best method for regaining traction and avoiding skids. Don’t try to get moving in a hurry. And take time to slow down for a stoplight. Remember: It takes longer to slow down on icy roads.
• Drive slowly. Everything takes longer on snow-covered roads. Accelerating, stopping, turning – nothing happens as quickly as on dry pavement. Give yourself time to maneuver by driving slowly.
• The normal dry pavement following distance of three to four seconds should be increased to eight to ten seconds. This increased margin of safety will provide the longer distance needed if you have to stop.
• Know your brakes. Whether you have antilock brakes or not, the best way to stop is threshold breaking. Keep the heel of your foot on the floor and use the ball of your foot to apply firm, steady pressure on the brake pedal.
• Don’t stop if you can avoid it. There’s a big difference in the amount of inertia it takes to start moving from a full stop versus how much it takes to get moving while still rolling. If you can slow down enough to keep rolling until a traffic light changes, do it.
• Don’t power up hills. Applying extra gas on snow-covered roads just starts your wheels spinning. Try to get a little inertia going before you reach the hill and let that inertia carry you to the top. As you reach the crest of the hill, reduce your speed and proceed downhill as slowly as possible.
• Don’t stop going up a hill. There’s nothing worse than trying to get moving up a hill on an icy road. Get some inertia going on a flat roadway before you take on the hill.
• Stay home. If you really don’t have to go out, don’t. Even if you can drive well in the snow, not everyone else can. Don’t tempt fate: If you don’t have somewhere you have to be, watch the snow from indoors.

Original post can be viewed here.

The 2014 Dodge Dart GT Brings Big Luxury Technology to a Sporty, Powerful Package | Prescott Brothers Mendota IL

By Patrick Rall G+

While the modern Dodge Dart sedan was introduced with an obvious focus on fuel economy with a side of technology, the new Dart GT package focuses more on performance with a double side of technology – making for one impressively loaded compact sedan that is fun to drive, very comfortable and still fairly fuel efficient when driven reasonably.

At one point, driving an affordable and efficient compact Dodge sedan meant that you had to sacrifice on power and amenities – but the 2014 Dodge Dart GT proves that is no longer the case. The Dart GT also makes it very clear why more models get the 2.4L TigerShark engine as started for 2015.

My 2014 Dodge Dart GT test car carried a base price of $20,995 and when you add in the $1,250 for the automatic transmission, $495 for the advanced navigation system and the $995 destination fee, you get a price as tested of $23,735.

The Exterior
There really aren’t all that many differences in the exterior design across the various 2014 Dodge Dart trimlines, but the Dart GT does have some features that give it a little sportier look than the other models.

Up front, the Dodge Dart GT gets a gloss black treatment to the grille, the grille surround, the headlights, the body trim between the headlights and the grille, the middle portion of the front fascia and around the projection fog lights. Like all new Dart sedans, the GT model has a naturally aggressive, almost angry look just from its basic design, but the blacked out front end really bolsters that sporty theme of the package.

Along the sides, the 2014 Dodge Dart GT wears package specific 18 inch wheels wrapped in performance tires and out back, the subtle chrome GT badge is joined by a blacked lower fascia that wraps around the dual bright polished exhaust tips. The back end also has the beautiful racetrack taillight design that I absolutely love.

The GT package doesn’t bring a long list of exterior features that differentiate it from the rest of the Dodge Dart lineup, but it has enough unique features to give this compact sedan the sporty look and feel that is becoming so popular in this segment.

 The Interior

While the Dodge Dart GT is designed to be a performance model of sorts, it is also a top of the line model with the most features within the model line. This includes gadgets like projection lights and the racetrack taillight on the outside, but the inside is where the GT really shines – even when it is sitting still. 

When you open the driver’s door of the 2014 Dart GT, you are greeted by a driver’s seat that is wrapped in soft black leather with a red accents on the bolsters and in the stitching. The black from the seats extends through the entire cabin, from the carpet to the dash to the door panels to the headliner with more red stitching on the center console and more red trim on the front door grab handles and around the large gloss black information panel on the dash. The front seats look great, but they also feel great with just enough mix of support and cushion for your back and bottom while the cabin of the Dart provides tons of space in every direction. The same is true of the front passenger seat and while the rear seats offer a little less leg room and knee room than the front seats, there is still a remarkable amount of space for everyone seated in the new Dart.

The 2014 Dodge Dart GT is the most powerful option in the lineup and with a sport tuned suspension mated to 18 inch all season performance tires, the GT package is also the best handling of the 2014 Dart lineup. This suspension setup is stiffer and noticeably so, but that slight reduction in ride smoothness relative to other Dart models is negligible in comparison to the improved in handling feel. Mind you, there is still room for improvement (you know, like an SRT4 model) with far more aggressive tuning that would yield far greater handling and a far more aggressive stance, but with a far stiffer ride. For those folks who want a gentle mix of ride quality and sport suspension stiffness, the GT package hits that nail squarely on the head. Whether you are zipping around curvy secluded roads or soaring along a gradually twisting highway, the Dart GT handles as well as any non-high performance model in the compact sedan segment. When you add in the power of the 2.4L engine, the Dart GT is very easily the best driver’s car in the Dodge compact lineup.