Question:
My husband has changed three punctured tires in the last few months. There's no mystery about the flats. We live five miles in on a dirt road and there are several houses under construction. I'm sure debris bounces out of the trucks and we drive over nails or screws. I worry. My husband is 70 and I don't like him crawling around and pumping up a jack. Is there a power pump or at least one that requires less work on the part of the jack handler?
Answer:
Great question. I never thought to look into this before, although the concept of a power jack makes perfect sense.
There are, in fact, such things. A few auto stores have them or you can locate them online by using key words "power jack" or "automatic jack."
Place the jack under one of your car's lift points - learn where those are from your owner's manual - and the car's off the ground in no time. They run about $70 to $85.
Question:
We went to test the Hyundai Accent (one of the cars we're considering as a graduation gift) and I was surprised by how peppy and nice it is for only $17,000. The gas mileage is excellent: 40 mpg on the highway. When I asked why so good, since it's better than other subcompacts, the salesman talked about direct injection, which he said is a start-of-the-art engine technology. Really?
Answer:
The car is getting a lot of attention for this breakthrough. Here's how it works. Gas engines combine fuel and air before they enter the cylinder. This new technology flows the fuel directly into the cylinder in precisely the amount and at precisely the time the engine needs it. This, it's said, makes it more efficient because it's much more precise.
The Accent is also lighter weight than some, and its sleek design cuts wind resistance - both mpg boosters.
