The Mail-Journal, Volume 7, Number 37, Milford, Kosciusko County, 14 October 1970 — Page 25

People Who Don’t T ake Care, Make W ork for Us

So Say the Men Who Man the Rigs That Tow Autos Out of Trouble, Adding Some Timely Advice (Editor’ g Notes. Lest year the AAA answered dose to 80 million rood service cells. Os that total almost 35 million were for u em’t starts,*’ the bulk of which were in winter cold or mHv spring rain. The writer accompanied one of the AAA road service drivers on his rounds m a major dir. This is his report. By CHARLES L. BARUCH The temperature outside was 5* above zero but the greeting we received from the motorist was even icier. “I've been waiting three hours for you. I missed my plane and will probably lose out on a $50,000 order,” he snapped. It was amazing to me that Paul, the emergency road

service truck operator, went about his business of starting the man's car without retorting more than, "I’m sorry, sir. There were eight calls ahead of you. We’re doing all we can.” It was the third day of a cold wave that stunned the city with temperatures ranging between 10° above and 10° below zero. Paul had been working between 12 and 16 hours a day on the AAA road service truck. He’d already lost count of the number of calls for starting help he serviced. He had ruined one clutch on a truck, found sleep next

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to impossible and the stead; diet of hastily gulped coffei and cold hamburgers hao soured his stomach. His sympathy for the stranded drivers had long since vanished. While accompanying Paul on his rounds, I had a chance to talk to him about the reasons this seemingly endless -ush of calls for starting lelp occurred. “Sure Il’s Cold” He said, wearily, “Sure it’s cold. But even in this weather most people don’t have starting trouble. It’s the people who don’t take care of their cars. It’s the people

I;. ; | ; jf x. .. x‘,V Vt FV v! Ulz ■ 4AJSHU.I ' llJtr B-w \f : - * Even more aggravating than starting trouble in your own driveway is a can’t start away from home. Even though a road service man may be able to start your car, you have no assurance that trouble may not happen the next time you try to start. That is unless you get at and correct the source of your difficulty.

who come into the station in September and who you ask ’How about a tune-up?’ and they answer, ‘Maybe later.’ They have the trouble. “They’ll spend more time waiting for a road service truck than it would take to do a thorough tune-up in the first place. Some of them lose more money in missed wages than a tune-up would cost. But the ironic thing is they’ll end up getting the tune-up after they’ve had trouble.” I asked Paul. "You talk about tune-up but most of them complain about a rundown battery.” He smiled and answered, “Anybody’s going to run down his battery trying to start an engine that’s in lousy shape. Sure a strong battery is important. But the

other parts Os the engine have to be in top shape to start in this weather.” Three Hours Late We stopped at the next house. A young housewife and her two children were shivering in the garage, waiting for us. “What’s the matter, ma’am?” Paul asked. “My car won’t start. My battery is dead. And the kids are three hours late for school,” she said. The kids did not look as anguished as their mother. Paul connected the jumper cables from his truck to the engine. After a few sputters the car started. “Bring it in for a tune-up when the weather breaks.” Paul shouted to her.

She was already half way down the driveway and she didn't hear him. “They seldom do,” said Paul, glumly, as he' prepared to answer his next call. Like to Know ... How Much Cash to Run Your Car? How much does it cost you to operate your car? It depends on where you live and how much mileage you accumulate during the year. One of the nation's top management consulting firms, Runzheimer and Co., Inc. of Rochester, Wisconsin, figured out costs in 10 North American localities, especially for this paper* Os the areas included in the study, motorists in El Paso spend the least or 7.11 cents per mile to run their cars. Conversely car owners in Halifax, Nova Scotia spend the most or 8.26 cents per mile. Here’s how Runzheimer rates the 10 geographically diverse areas. COST Fixtii Running Busing Point Per Day Per Mile San Francisco, Calif $3-93 •LISe Denver, Colo 3.14 4.40 El Paso, Texas .... 3.11 4.00 Duluth, Minn. .... 3.35 4.30 Louisville, Ky 3.13 4.20 Pittsburgh, Pa. .... 333 4.30 Chelsea, Mass. .... 337 3.90 Miami, Fla 3.39 3.90 Calgary, Alberta.. 2.92 4.85 Halifax, Nova Scotia .... 3.16 5.10 Costs cited above are based on the 1970 Ford, Chevrolet, Plymouth. fullsize. 8 cylinder top line, 4 door hardtops equipped with standard accessories, radio, automatic transmission and power steering. Per day costs include depreciation. license fees and taxes, sales and use taxes, and insurance premiums on comprehensive fire and theft. SIOO deductible collision. 5100/300M bodily injury and S2SM property damage. Per mile costs include gasoline, oil. normal preventive and repair maintenance, washing, greasing and tires. Add a further depreciation allowance of one and one-half cents (1.5 t per mile — but only on mileage over 1,500 monthly HOW TO HANDLE A BLOWOUT If you experience a blowout, keep a firm grip on the steering wheel and avoid slamming on the brakes or you risk losing control of the car. A smooth pumping of the brakes is recommended. Then pull off the road at the nearest safe spot.