Our happy customers have wonderful things to say. Thank you all for the rave reviews!

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"Rancho Motor Company has a great Service Dept with very competitive prices! The Writers are very knowledgeable and friendly!! The techs are well trained and normally get the job done right the first time!! They are the only ones I trust with my '07 Silverado!!!" - Robert

"I bought a 2011 impala from rancho motors and it was the best car buying experiance ever." - Brandon

"Have been a customer at Rancho for years... would recommend.." - Leo

"Rancho Motor Company service department is second to none! Thanks for the hassle free estimate for major service. I got the work done here and was very satisfied with the work done. It was done right and on time. Even got a car wash, I'll be back for sure, Thanks!"

 

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Your Monday Maintenance Tip: Tire Inflation and Safety

Fix3

Checking tires is quick and easy - and vital to safety

Tires are one of the most important -- and oft-overlooked -- components of our cars. Tires are the only thing that attach our cars to the road, and tire problems affect your car's ride comfort, handling and safety. Here are some simple tire safety tips to help keep you and your car's occupants safe.

Check your tire pressure regularly.

Tires tend to lose air over time. Buy a digital tire gauge and check your tires once a month and before a long trip. Proper inflation pressures can be found in your owner's manual or on a sticker on the car (usually on the driver's doorjamb or fuel-filler lid -- see photo.) Remember to check tire pressure only after the car has been sitting for several hours in order to ensure that the tires are cold -- the friction of driving heats the tires and increases pressure, which can hide an under-inflated tire.

Address under-inflated tires immediately.

An under-inflated tire has more rolling resistance, which increases fuel consumption. It also creates more heat, which can lead to tire failure.

Don't forget the spare.

Getting a flat tire and discovering that your spare is also flat is a miserable experience. Inspect your spare as you would your other tires. If you have a compact spare, the inflation pressure will usually be written on the tire. If your car comes with a compressor and/or flat repair kit in lieu of a spare, check their operation regularly.

Check for tread depth.

Check tread depth by placing the edge of a penny upside-down into the grooves of the tire's tread. If you can see all of Lincoln's head, it's time for a new set of tires. Never buy a single tire -- it's best to replace all four tires at once, but at the very least they should be bought as axle pairs (both fronts or both rears). Rotating your tires every 5,000 to 7,000 miles will help ensure that all four tires wear at the same rate.

Check for even wear.

When you check tread depth, check both the inside and outside edge of the tires. Uneven tire wear is usually a sign that your car is out of alignment. Proper alignment optimizes handling and helps prevent premature tire wear.

Look for tire damage.

When you check pressure, inspect the sides of the tires for nicks, bulges, cracks and cuts. Such damage often cannot be repaired and will require replacement of the tire.

Stay balanced.

If your car develops a shimmy (a back-and-forth vibration, usually felt through the steering wheel) at a certain speed, it's possible that one of your tires has lost its balance weight. Having your tires re-balanced is a fairly inexpensive job.

Buy the right tire for the job.

Most cars come with all-season tires, the tire equivalent of a jack-of-all-trades. If you live in the rust belt, consider a set of dedicated snow tires for the winter; they do wonders for safety. If you live where it's always warm and dry, "summer" performance tires can vastly improve your car's handling.

And most importantly:

Never hesitate to replace a worn or damaged tire.

Tires are not cheap, but they are vital to the safety of you and your car's occupants. Remember, the tires are the only things that connect your car to the road. Advanced safety features such as antilock brakes and electronic stability control can't do their life-saving jobs without four good tires. Take care of your tires -- because whether you know it or not, you're counting on them to take care of you.

 

Courtesy of About.com Cars

Jay Leno Camaro finally finds its way home

Leno
Back in 2009, General Motors whipped up a special-edition Chevrolet Camaro for Jay Leno. With a twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter V6 engine, unique aerodynamic and cooling work, Brembo brakes on all four corners and a Pedders coil-over suspension kit, the vehicle was designed to be a modern interpretation of the old Z28. Small aesthetic tweaks abound as well, from a revised front fascia to functional brake duct inlets on the rear quarters and unique exhaust outlets. GM even slathered the vehicle in the same paint as the original Camaro Concept. Very sexy.

Why do we bring up the 420 horsepower special edition now? Because Leno just took delivery of it. The latest episode of Jay Leno's Garage pours over every last detail of the car before hitting the road.

We like the idea of a better-handling, more track-focused Camaro, and while the Camaro ZL1 has scratched that itch for plenty of people, Leno's V6 bruiser is very cool.

Courtesy of Auto Blog

This Day in History: February 22nd, 1959 - Lee Petty wins first Daytona 500

Lee

On this day in 1959, Lee Petty defeats Johnny Beauchamp in a photo finish at the just-opened Daytona International Speedway in Florida to win the first-ever Daytona 500. The race was so close that Beauchamp was initially named the winner by William France, the owner of the track and head of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). However, Petty, who was driving a hardtop Oldsmobile 88, challenged the results and three days later, with the assistance of news photographs, he was officially named the champ. There was speculation that France declared Beauchamp the winner in order to intentionally stir up controversy and generate publicity for his new race track.

Today, the 200-lap, 500-mile Daytona 500 is one of auto racing's premiere events and the first race of the NASCAR season. France, a gas station owner and racing promoter, officially co-founded NASCAR in Daytona Beach in 1948. The following year, Lee Petty, a mechanic from North Carolina, began his racing career at the age of 35. He went on to win more than 50 races on NASCAR's Grand National circuit (subsequently known as the Winston Cup from 1971 to 2003, the NEXTEL Cup from 2004 to 2007 and the Sprint Cup from 2008 onward) and three championships before being seriously injured in a crash during a qualifying event at Daytona in 1961. Following the crash, Petty drove in a handful of races before retiring from competition in 1964. He went on to found Petty Enterprises, which became NASCAR's oldest and most successful racing team. In January 2009, Petty Enterprises merged with Gillett Evernham Motorsports and became Richard Petty Motorsports.

Petty's son, Richard (1937- ) became one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history, winning the Daytona 500 a record seven times between 1964 and 1981. Richard Petty's sixth victory at Daytona, in 1979, also marked the first time the race was shown live, flag-to-flag, on television. Due to a snowstorm on the East Coast, a larger-than-anticipated TV audience tuned in to the race, which included a memorable fistfight between drivers Cale Yarborough and brothers Donnie and Bobby Allison, and the broadcast was a key moment in NASCAR's rise to become one of America's most popular spectator sports.

The Petty racing dynasty also includes Richard's son, Kyle Petty, and Adam Petty, Kyle's son, who died at the age of 19 in a crash at the New Hampshire International Speedway on May 12, 2000. Adam's great-grandfather, Lee Petty, had died less than a month earlier, on April 5, at the age of 86.

Courtesy of History.com

Introducing the 2013 Corvette 427 Convertible | Corvette 427 Convertible | Corvette

Introducing the most capable Corvette convertible ever created: the 2013 Corvette 427 Convertible. You don't have to take our word for it, though. Tommy Milner, 2011 24-Hours of Le Mans Class Winner, shows off just what it means to be the car that really has it all.

To connect with the Corvette community, visit http://www.facebook.com/corvette. To learn more about the 2013 Corvette 427 Convertible and other Corvette models, visit http://www.chevrolet.com/corvette.

This Day in History: February 15th, 1998 - Victory at last for Earnhardt at Daytona

Dale

On February 15, 1998, after 20 years of trying, racing great Dale Earnhardt Sr. finally wins his first Daytona 500, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) season opener and an event dubbed the "Super Bowl of stock car racing." Driving his black No. 3 Chevrolet, Earnhardt recorded an average speed of 172.712 mph and took home a then-record more than $1 million in prize money. Following his victory, crews from competing teams lined the pit road at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, to congratulate Earnhardt, who drove his car onto the grass and did several celebratory doughnuts, or circles.

Earnhardt, whose tough, aggressive driving style earned him the nickname "The Intimidator," was born on April 29, 1951, in Kannapolis, North Carolina. The son of a racecar driver, the younger Earnhardt dropped out of high school to follow in his father's footsteps. He went on to become one of NASCAR's most successful and respected drivers, with 76 career victories, including seven Winston Cup (now known as the Sprint Cup) Series championships, a record he shares with Richard Petty. Despite his success as a driver, victory at the Daytona 500--a 200-lap, 500-mile event first held in 1959--eluded Earnhardt for years. At the 1997 Daytona 500, Earnhardt's car flipped upside down on the backstretch; however, he managed to escape serious injury.

His win in February 1998 represented Earnhardt's sole Daytona victory. Tragically, on February 18, 2001, Earnhardt died at the age of 49 during a crash at that year's 43rd Daytona 500. After being cut from his car, he was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead of head injuries. As it happened, the race which cost Earnhardt his life was won by Michael Waltrip, who was driving for the Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI) racing team. Earnhardt's son, Dale Jr., also a DEI driver at the time, took second place. Three years later, on February 15, 2004, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won his first Daytona 500, with an average speed of 156.341 mph.

Courtesy of History.com

Bruce Springsteen's 1960 Chevrolet Corvette Takes Center Stage at New Exhibit

Chevy
Just the Facts:

  • Bruce Springsteen's 1960 Chevrolet Corvette will be one of the key pieces at a new exhibit celebrating the American songwriter that kicks off on Friday at the National Constitution Center.
  • Springsteen bought the Corvette in 1975, after the success of Born To Run.
  • The classic Corvette is one of more than 150 artifacts from the musician's career.

PHILADELPHIA — Bruce Springsteen's 1960 Chevrolet Corvette will be one of the key pieces at a new exhibit celebrating the American songwriter that kicks off on Friday at the National Constitution Center.

Springsteen, the working-class guy from New Jersey who has chronicled the American dream in songs ranging from Born to Run to Promised Land, bought the vintage Corvette in 1975, after the success of Born To Run.

The classic Corvette is one of more than 150 artifacts from the musician's career. Springsteen wrote many of his songs about his experiences in and around his hometown of Freehold, New Jersey. The National Constitution Center, which is devoted to the U.S. Constitution, describes Springsteen as an artist who has "pushed the boundaries of the First Amendment."

"Bruce Springsteen's music is all about achieving the American dream," said David Eisner, the museum's president and CEO in a video on its Web site.

<p>Introducing "From Asbury Park to the Promised Land: The Life and Music of Bruce Springsteen" from National Constitution Center on Vimeo.</p>

The exhibit, which was created by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, also includes Springsteen's Fender Esquire from the cover of Born to Run, along with family photos and his 1993 Academy Award for Best Original Song for Streets of Philadelphia.

The exhibit runs until September 3.

Courtesy of Inside Line