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RAV 4

Posted by 278Wife on May 23, 2016
in Automotive

As a mom of two children, with another on the way, what I drive is so important. I need something the kids can get into quickly & easily, and be comfortable for short trips to practice and long trips for vacation. As our family grows I need lots of trunk space as well, so I can transport all of their sports equipment, buy enough groceries for the week, and load up with luggage for a trip.

I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of space the Toyota RAV 4 offered my family the week I had the opportunity to drive it. Both of my kids’ car seats fit easily in the backseat, with room between so they weren’t on top of each other. The trunk was very large and had more than enough room for our family of four.

The RAV 4 drove very smooth. I loved how it would “alert” me when I would get too close to the center line or too close to the shoulder. It was nice having another set of eyes looking after my driving. The seats were very comfortable, and the entire dashboard area was quite spacious. I felt like I had a lot of space while driving, not cramped at all. The back up camera was super helpful. My driveway is a very long downhill road, so the camera helped immensely. The RAV 4 has great gas mileage, 22 city and 29 highway. It also has impressive safety ratings. Overall it received 5 stars, which is the highest.

Overall, I really enjoyed test driving the RAV 4. It would be a great vehicle for a family of four or less. To find out even more information about the RAV 4, check out their website:

http://www.toyota.com/rav4/

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2015 Mitsubishi Outlander

Posted by 278Wife on April 30, 2015
in Automobiles, Automotive, Cars, Reviews, Uncategorized, Vehicles

I have owned quite a few vehicles in my time, but honestly they have all been Dodge or Chrysler. I was thrilled at the opportunity to test drive a 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander. Besides being safe & functional, it is very sporty looking. I definitely did not feel like a soccer mom driving around in it!

The 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander is an SUV, but it felt more like a car. It was lower to the ground and did not have nearly as many blind spots as other SUVs on the market. Inside it felt spacious, and I loved the option for the third row seating in the back. The option to have seating for up to 7 people is very helpful especially with growing families and car pooling. When not using the third row seating, it easily folded into the car for a very spacious trunk. I was surprised how much I could actually fit in the trunk. I wasn’t sure it would fit a lot of grocery bags, but I never had a problem.

My favorite feature of the 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander was how safe they made it. The SUV has 7 airbags throughout the vehicle including a knee impact airbag on the driver’s side. The car let me know when someone was getting too close to me as well as if I was crossing into another lane of traffic. The back-up camera was very helpful, especially in busy parking lots. I LOVED the adaptive cruise control. When other vehicles would slow down in front of me, the Outlander would automatically slow down so I would be the same distance from the car in front of me. Then when the car would switch lanes, the Outlander would gradually increase back up to what the cruise was set for. It was very helpful and I liked not having to keep toggling the cruise buttons.

All in all the 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander was a great vehicle. It had all of the bells and whistles I could dream of; seat warmers, rain sensing wipers, brake assist, hill start assist, rear back up camera, automatic power lift gate with FOB opening, automatic start, GPS, and more. The only thing missing for our family was a TV. I would definitely recommend the 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander. What a great experience!

http://www.mitsubishicars.com/outlander

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Keep Your Car Running with Pennzoil

Posted by html404 on February 10, 2015
in Automobiles, Automotive, Cars, Family Stuff, Shopping, Uncategorized, Vehicles

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #DropShopandOil #CollectiveBias

Our 2006 Chevy Malibu was long overdue for an oil change so we took it to Walmart’s Auto Center. We had some other shopping to do so it was so easy and convenient to drop the car off, then go about our other shopping. The Auto Center only uses Pennzoil. We asked for Conventional Motor Oil, which is a traditional oil base, with Active Cleaning Agents to continuously prevent dirt and contaminants from creating performance-robbing deposits. We usually get the oil changed when the car tells us it needs to be done. Nice little feature that saves us from having to remember when our last oil change was!

Pennzoil is known to help clean out sludge lesser oils leave behind. It is designed for protection and may enable you to drive an extra 550 miles per year vs. a dirty engine (a dirty engine is NOT good!). Regular oil changes keep your car running smoothly and prevents bad things from happening…like a clogged, dirty engine. Our car is much happier after we get the oil changed!

A funny thing happened to me while we were shopping. When my husband went to get a cart I waited in the front entry way (for some reason hubby did not grab a cart at the Auto Center and we walked all the way around to the front entrance!?). Well, I started walking along side him only to discover the man I was walking with was NOT my husband! Can you say embarrassing? When I looked over at the man I said a quiet, “Oh!” I don’t think he realized what I did because he simply said, “Excuse me” and went on his merry way. Meanwhile, I look back at my husband and asked, “Did you see that?” He said he did and then spreads his arms and goes, “What are you doing walking with another man?” And proceeded to tease me. Probably will not live this one down!

After that embarrassing moment, we were able to get a few groceries and items for our upcoming trip. It was nice to have another the oil change and shopping checked off our to-do list.

If you change your own oil, here is a Pennzoil coupon to use on your next purchase, which is available for a limited time.

How often do you get your car’s oil changed?

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AAOS + AA Distracted Driving

Posted by html404 on May 12, 2014
in Automotive, Family Stuff, News Worthy, Parenting, Safety, Uncategorized

If we are honest, we all can probably say we have been distracted at one time or another while driving. Driving with a newborn crying with hunger? Driving with a toddler who wants to get out of his or her car seat? Driving by a car pulled over by 2-3 police cars leaving you curious as to why? What about cell phone users? Texting? We have a teenager on the verge of learning how to drive (she’s studying her driver’s handbook now) and it scares me to think of her out on the road. It isn’t that I think she’ll be a terrible driver, it’s the distractions, it’s the other drivers and their distractions.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the Auto Alliance want to increase awareness about the risks of distracted driving.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), of the nearly 33,000 roadway fatalities in 2012, there were 3,328 fatalities and approximately 421,000 injuries in distracted driving-related crashes. Orthopaedic surgeons—the specialists who put bones and limbs back together after road crashes and traumas—along with our partners, the automakers, would rather help all drivers “decide to drive” each time they get in the car and to keep bones and limbs intact.

We all want to see accidents reduced so remember, the most advanced safety feature of any vehicle is the driver. The AAOS and the Auto Alliance urges all drivers to keep their most sophisticated safety features engaged at all times: eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.

Decide to Drive Campaign

The Decide to Drive program aims to empower drivers and passengers to speak up about distracted driving, continue the conversation at home, work and play, and reduce distracted behaviors behind the wheel.

Do you have the best slogan or catch phrase to make the Decide to Drive campaign pop? Enter the Decide to Drive Catch Phrase Contest between May 28 – June 13. Your words could be chosen as the official Decide to Drive campaign catch phrase, and you could win one of two $500 runner-up prizes or the $1,000 grand prize! Can’t wait to see what you come up with! Enter here: http://clvr.li/1nwa6CV

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

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Changing a Flat Tire

Posted by html404 on March 3, 2014
in Automotive, Family Stuff, Parenting, Uncategorized

Changing a Flat Tire

On Friday my daughter and I were doing the paper routes and got a flat tire. At four o’clock in the morning. That’s right, AM. I have never changed a flat tire in my life. I’ve watched flat tires be changed and know the basics but we still had my hubby call AAA since I wanted to keep my cell line open for the warehouse manager to call me back. We ended up needing his and his son’s assistance in getting the papers delivered because we had to wait 3.5 hours for AAA to get someone out to fix the tire. There was no way I would get them delivered in time.

My daughter and I watched a YouTube video of how to fix a flat tire. It was informative but we still laughed at the common sense tips the man provided. Things like don’t let the lug nuts roll in the grass – to which we responded, what about rolling away in the snow or melting in the snow? We were being silly at this point due to the long wait, boredom and lack of sleep. Another tip he gave was not to put your tire in the road….seriously? Anyhoo….we had no worries over that happening as we got our flat at the front door of the funeral home. Yep. We deliver to the funeral home and that’s where we discovered our flat, though I suspected at the previous stop as we were coming out the driveway.

We tried to change the flat tire. We had the car jacked up but after all that we could not get the lug nuts off, even with the little X-bar thingy. Don’t you love my automotive vocabulary?! Hubby is not here to give me the correct terminology right now. My dad would roll over in his grave. He was Mr. Car Man himself.

That was our excitement for the weekend because after that rough start on Friday all I wanted to do was sleep. Not really, I just need more sleep. I do have plans for my husband to teach our older children and I how to change a flat tire, to change the oil, how to check the air in the tire with a tire gauge etc. I think it’s important we all learn these basic automotive tasks.

Hubby got the tire fixed, but the tires still need to be aligned and a tie rod replaced. Goodyear just didn’t have time to do it on Friday.

Have you ever changed a flat tire? Will you teach your daughters (and or sons)?