Q. With regard to the hazardous build-up of static electricity in cars while they’re being fueled, is it the same for passengers who remain in the car as it is for the driver who is pumping the gas? Wouldn’t the act of the passenger exiting and re-entering a car while gas is being pumped create a possible static electricity risk? In addition, I assume passengers who remain in the car should not be using their cellular telephone either.
J.F., Deerfield
A. Bob Renkes, spokesman for the Petroleum Equipment Institute in Tulsa, said everything you ever wanted to know about static electricity and refueling your vehicle can be found at www.pei.org/static, including that passengers exiting and re-entering run the risk of static electricity just like the driver, but that the hazard of using cellphones while gassing up the buggy is an urban myth. Renkes said the Web site is averaging about 19,000 hits per week.
Q. My family is in the market for a minivan, and we’re impressed with the Toyota Sienna but favor the 2003 Honda Odyssey, primarily based upon my wife and I owning two Honda Accords for more than 10 years and having more than 140,000 miles on each. We are a little frustrated, however, with the relatively high demand/low availability of the Odyssey as it relates to the ability to haggle price (I was told by three dealerships after repeated visits that they would go very little below MSRP). Is Honda planning on any major changes for the 2004 Odyssey, which would give us more bargaining power when purchasing an ’03 Odyssey?
T.W., Iowa City, Iowa
A. No major changes to Odyssey for ’04. The reason dealers aren’t dealing much on Odyssey is that nationwide there’s only a 10-day supply of vans; a 60-day supply is considered “normal.”
Honda hopes to ease the high-demand/low-supply problem next spring when its Alabama plant that now produces 150,000 Odysseys annually is expanded to produce an additional 150,000 vehicles a year, Honda spokesman Andy Boyd said.
However, while the Alabama plant will increase production by 150,000 units, Honda hasn’t decided how to divvy them up. While Odyssey is only at a 10-day supply, the Honda Pilot and Acura MDX sport-utility vehicles that share the same platform as Odyssey are at only an eight-day supply. So some of the added 150,000 output probably will be used to build more of those models, too.
To make the situation more complicated, Honda says rather than more Odyssey, Pilot and MDX production, it might use the Alabama plant to produce yet another new vehicle.
Q. What does the new resized, repriced Nissan Maxima (Transportation, May 18) bode for the Infiniti I35, which has always been built on the front-wheel-drive Maxima platform. With Maxima being built in the U.S. off the FWD Altima platform and with Infiniti moving toward all- or rear-wheel-drive, could this be the end of the I35?
M.Q., Naperville
A. The I35 is the only front-wheel-drive car in an Infiniti lineup moving to AWD or RWD, so don’t expect a long life. It will stay in the lineup for now, Infiniti says, because it has a following. Infiniti won’t say how long it stays, but best guess is until it doesn’t have a following.
Q. Is Kia planning on any changes for the 2004 Sedona?
J.G., Grayslake
A. Only minor changes are planned, such as a new grille, new alloy wheels, lighter interior colors and making the folding tray table between the two front seats standard on the EX and base models, on which it’s now an option.
Q. I read about the problem K.O. of Ringwood, N.J. (Transportation, June 1), was having playing burned CDs on his auto’s CD player. I had the same problem, and the fix is simple. When he burns the CDs on his computer, he should set the recorder speed to a slower speed like 4x or 8x. The problem with faster recorder speeds is that to record at high speed, you are embedding fewer bits. The slower the speed, the more bits of info are recorded. This makes it easier for slower-reading CD players to read the CD.
K.P., Polo, Ill.
A. Don’t understand a word you said, but thanks for the info.
Q. An educated guess as to when Buick will introduce a new Regal/Century (redesign)?
B.K., Westchester
Q. I’m considering a new Buick Regal or Century, but don’t want to purchase one if it’s the last year for that model and/or body design. I seem to recall you wrote that these models will be discontinued.
K.L., Schaumburg
A. As previously noted, a new Regal comes out for the ’05 model year that will take the place of the Regal and Century in the Buick lineup.
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Send questions about cars and trucks to Jim Mateja, Chicago Tribune, 616 Atrium Drive, Vernon Hills, IL 60061-1523, or send e-mail, including name and hometown, to jmateja@tribune.com.
