Sutherland
Distracted driving laws unnescessary in old cars
Posted by Jim Sutherland - Red Deer Advocate • May, 09 2012 9:16 AM • Red Deer Advocate
Today’s cars and trucks are veritable home entertainment centers and mobile offices. You can watch a movie, hold a teleconference, search for porn and sometimes steer the vehicle. Incidentally,
Google is even working on the steering angle with robo-drivers.
Distracted driving is a big problem on the road.
Too many people believe that they can “multi-task”; a shallow and tired buzz word designed to let people that are mediocre at their main task off the hook.
Five good reasons to buy a vintage car or truck this summer
Posted by Jim Sutherland - Red Deer Advocate • April, 23 2012 11:29 AM • Red Deer Advocate
Most car guys have no trouble finding reasons to buy the old iron.
For many car guys, it is the reason that they get up in the morning and still want to breathe-well maybe not that dramatic-but many car guys love their rides in that warm and fuzzy unconditional kind of way.
They have the perfect loving relationship, except that it is with their classic car or truck. I can't help but remember the Scottsdale Barrett Jackson auction that showed a heartbroken owner who was weeping openly because his car got caught in a monsoon for the first time in its entire pampered life with him.
Most of us felt the guy's intense pain until we realized that he was at an auction to sell his car to a new owner.
When the inevitable question comes up
Posted by Jim Sutherland - Red Deer Advocate • April, 16 2012 9:28 AM • Red Deer Advocate
The time comes in every relationship when commitment issues become the angry and unpredictable 800lb gorilla in the room.
That is the critical point where the involved parties have to fish or cut bait, so to speak.
It becomes a question of a long term plan or a time to kiss and say goodbye.
Relationships with old cars are no exception because owners eventually have to make a commitment to save the ride or set it free to become the car it could be with the right owner. Now I'm no Dr. Phil when it comes to human relationships, and don't think I don't count my blessings everyday for that little factoid, but I believe that I can talk about relationships with old cars with some degree of confidence.
Four-wheeled ways to get people to notice you
Posted by Jim Sutherland - Red Deer Advocate • April, 02 2012 8:26 AM • Red Deer Advocate
Attention is a tricky concept.
I am an identical twin so I get all the attention I need or want when I hang out with Jerry at car shows.
But there are cars that will immediately push Jerry and me to the sidelines whenever they appear at car shows-and we are very OK with that plan on many levels.
I am well aware that all old cars are vastly more interesting than either one of us on our best day in the public eye; however these five rides are show-stealers even amongst their four-wheeled peers.
Don't kill the tradesman
Posted by Jim Sutherland - Red Deer Advocate • March, 16 2012 8:58 AM • Red Deer Advocate
One of the toughest parts of the job for any mechanical repair business is an estimate for an internal problem.
The situation is similar to exploratory surgery on people because you do not know what is wrong until you open up both patients.
But human nature forces us to seek the solid ground of a diagnosis before exploratory surgery on a car or person-we just gotta know what is happening below the surface before we get below the surface.
Most repair shops will give a ballpark figure based upon a reasonable expectation of worst case scenario, but sometimes worst case scenario is still an optimistic forecast when parts are removed from a powertrain or body.
