Q–I purchased a new 2001 Toyota Avalon and took the car on the same trip I’ve taken three times a month for the last 10 years in the three Toyota Camrys I owned during that time. The trip is exactly 120 miles and always registered exactly 120 miles on the odometer of each of my Camrys. However, the same trip taken three times in the Avalon registered exactly 117.6 miles. In other words, my reading is 2.4 miles too low or off by 2 percent. After I complained to my Toyota dealer, he checked and found that my car odometer registers 9.8 miles on a 10-mile trip. His maintenance manual says nothing about odometer specification tolerances, but for speedometers, the manual specifies a tolerance of from 2 m.p.h. below actual speed to 10 percent above. The fact that the Avalon odometer differs from all three Camry odometers seems almost statistically impossible. L.T., Northbrook
A–What you need to do, L.T., is get a life. If you keep driving those same 120 miles three times a month for 120,000 miles, your odometer will be off by 2400 miles–in your favor. So when you trade the car in, rather than it reading 120,000 miles, it will read 117,600 miles. Think of what that will mean in extra dollars in your pocket! Can’t promise but would have to suspect that if you have a mechanic tear open the instrument panel to tinker with the odometer, you are going to have more headaches than worrying about losing 0.2 of a mile every time you travel 10.
Q–I think the automakers missed the boat by not raising new-car prices by $10,000 last fall. They only would have sold a few vehicles, but think of the big rebates they could be offering now. C.P., Ottawa
A–Hmm. And if prices were raised by $20,000, imagine the size of those rebates!
Q–For a long time, I have been trying to get an explanation of the importance of the C of E in cars. Either people I write to don’t know or won’t reply. Perhaps you will be kind enough to answer my question: If two identical size, weight and powered cars drive at 60 m.p.h. and one has a C of E of 0.40 and the other has a C of E of 0.30, what will it mean in terms of gas saved in miles per gallon and how much farther and/or faster will the lower C of E car go? E.L., Boca Raton, Fla.
A–You don’t mention variables, such as which car has an odometer off by 0.2 miles? To be blunt, E.L., there is good reason you’ve been waiting a long time to get an explanation. And you are going to be waiting even longer since we haven’t the foggiest what a C of E is. If any reader has the answer to the puzzle and the institution allows sharp instruments with which to write, drop us a note and we’d be glad to pass it along to E.L.
Q–Please help settle a dispute between sisters. One of us wants to trade in a convertible for a sport-utility vehicle. Which situation would provide the best price and trade-in value–purchase the SUV and trade the convertible in the winter or purchase the SUV and trade the convertible in the spring? D.W., Waukegan
A–Purchase the sport-ute in the spring when demand for a 4WD vehicle is much softer than when a foot of snow rests on the ground and trade the convertible in at that time when the sun is shining and folks want to travel with the top down. Or, buy the SUV in the winter when you need it, and then sell the convertible in the spring when top-down motorists want it. Of course, it’s difficult to answer your question because you failed to mention the C of E of either vehicle.
Q–Drunken driving is probably one of the worst problems in society today. We are unable or unwilling to make the changes necessary to end it. An alcohol alarm in the car, like a smoke detector in the home, could be used to decrease drunken driving because the drunken driver would not want to draw attention to himself. It would only have to make noise or flash so it could be made fairly cheap. The alarm would be only in the front seat so a designated driver could do his duty. An added benefit would be no more excessive use of alcohol-based perfumes or colognes. J.R., Chicago
A–Would your alarm go off after one drink, two drinks, three drinks or more? Are all people drunk after one drink, two drinks, three drinks or more? Would your alarm sound after a shot and a beer or after simply eating a rum cake? Also, who would buy that car after someone not using cologne or perfume drove it for 50,000 miles? And, like smoke detectors, would the alarm sound when the batteries ran low, thus forcing a sober driver to travel for miles with buzzers buzzing and flashers flashing while he or she drove to the store for fresh batteries?
Q–Regarding the stubborn efforts of General Motors in ignoring the senior affluent population, is there no one at GM who cares or speaks for the elderly? R.H., Oak Park
A–Certainly. Address your correspondence to Olds Division, Lansing, Mich., but you better write soon.
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Send questions about cars and trucks to Jim Mateja, Chicago Tribune, 700 N. Milwaukee Ave., Suite 135, Vernon Hills, IL 60061-1523, or send e-mail, including name and hometown, to jmateja@tribune.com.
