You May Be Ruining Your Car Without Even Knowing It

(NUI) - You probably think you already know the right way to take care of your car. But Tom and Ray Magliozzi - "Click and Clack, The Tappet Brothers" from National Public Radio - would like to set the record straight.

"Millions of dollars are spent needlessly every year," they say, "because people don't know they're inadvertently ruining their cars."

Stop being so hard on your car, they say. Treat your vehicle gently and it will last longer.

Here are a few of Click and Clack's tips for lengthening your car's life, as featured on the cars.com Web site:

* Avoid jack-rabbit starts: What's wrong with sudden rapid acceleration? "When you slam your foot on the gas pedal, you start a chain reaction in which every piece of your drive train then gets slammed. You're wrecking your car."

* Start out right: Did you realize that 50 percent of all engine wear occurs in the first few seconds after you start the car? Don't rev the engine when you start up. Drive gently for the first five minutes until the car gets warmed up. "And believe it or not, it takes more time to warm up the engine when it's sitting idle. ... Just drive."

Click and Clack offer many more tips such as these in their car pamphlet. To read more fun car care tips, find answers to car repair questions or kill a few hours on the Internet, visit the Car Talk area of cars.com.

"There are some ways in which cars are like people," Tom Magliozzi observed. To which, brother Ray could not resist adding: "Right. Old and falling apart, like my brother."

Cars.com is quickly becoming the premier resource for automotive information, including an inventory of new and used vehicles. Other interactive features let users read reviews from leading auto writers, explore financing options and calculate payment schedules.

For continuously updated and trusted automotive information, visit the cars.com Web site, located at www.cars.com.





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