Born Phillip Toll Hill, Jr. on April 20th, 1927 in Miami, FL. Phill Hill was raised in Santa Monica, CA where he would reside his entire life. As the sole US-born race driver ever to win the coveted Formula One World Championship, Hill was able to achieve the ultimate success in a sport [...]
The time value of money (i.e. that a dollar today is worth more than the promise of the same dollar at some point in the future) is one of the most important and fundamental principles of economics. As a society, however, North America has recently been re-introduced to TVM’s kissing [...]
By any measure, animals and roadways have never had a particularly good relationship. Aside from breaking up their natural habitats and delivering hordes of gun-toting hunters directly to their doorstep, the highway has become an outright death-trap to many a critter, both literally and figuratively.
While good records do not seem [...]
Volkswagen has recently announced that they will begin offering a free scheduled service program starting with their upcoming Tiguan model. The program is not limited to just their new pint-sized SUV however, and will apply to all of the 2009 models and beyond.
Sure we have seen this before from [...]
For anyone who has experienced it, the new boarding process at Southwest airlines seems more like a bizarre study in sociology than the time-saving seat selection protocol it was no-doubt designed to be. What was likely perceived as a clever way to use an alphanumeric system to facilitate a quick [...]
This de facto motto that Harley-Davidson had adopted is more than just a tag line. In all likelihood, there is probably as much truth and substance to it as there was to that temporary campaign they once used specifically to target women, which simply stated, "it vibrates." Like it or [...]
This de facto motto that Harley-Davidson had adopted is more than just a tag line. In all likelihood, there is probably as much truth and substance to it as there was to that temporary campaign they once used specifically to target women, which simply stated, "it vibrates." Like it or [...]
All of us have at one time or another slid on a pair of our favorite jeans only to find an errant sock or pair of underwear balled up in a pant leg completely throwing off an otherwise comfy fit and possibly sending us into a brief tizzy where we [...]
If you traveled at all this past holiday season, it is an unfortunate certainty that you likely ran into some delays or other transportation-related problems somewhere along the way. To be fair, the holidays are an extreme and will burden even the most well-prepared infrastructure, but alas, our current system [...]
Every so often you come across a product that is a real game-changer. These are the items that are executed so well that competitors can actually thrive just by emulating them and offering an inferior copy.
It seems that just about every industry has one. It may not be [...]
Well, the holiday season is officially upon us. This is the time of year when people are thinking about travel plans, trendy gifts and dropping temperatures. One thing noticeably off that list is the purchase of a new (or used) vehicle, even with all of the fanfare for end of [...]
By now most people have seen the videos of various electric (or other non-combustion) cars taking to task representative rides from the likes of Ferrari and Porsche around some deserted parking lot or drag strip. Make no mistake about it, the delivery of power via electric motors, [...]
We all see these notes, well, that is if we look hard enough and didn't Tivo through the commercials in the first place. The legal fine print of the auto industry is attached to every jaunt through the deserted downtown, high-speed drift across the Bonneville salt flats, and ridiculous truck [...]
OK, so as a species we are a bit more advanced than mice, well arguably anyway, but when you consider just how dependent we are on petroleum in our everyday lives, to suggest that we simply change direction and find a new propulsion (or heaven forbid a new energy source) [...]
A particularly progressive service manager at a suburban Detroit BMW dealership once told me that it was the job of the sales staff to sell a customer their first BMW, but that it was the job of the service department to sell them their 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. For someone with such an interest [...]
Last week I spent a few days at the 3rd annual Digital Dealer conference in Las Vegas, which is a assembly of a growing group of ISMs (Internet Sales Managers), dealership principles, and sales staff sprinkled by a group of speakers, industry vendors and other visitors. It has been [...]
Colossol industry changes in the form of globalization, mergers and acquisitions, and management shake-ups over the last 5-6 years have allowed the turnover effect to spread to all corners of the automotive hierarchy, including that office reserved for CEO.
Turnover was once a phenomenon limited to the single most entry-level position [...]
The Wall Street Journal published an article recently about the virtues of the Ford – Microsoft collaboration designed to seamlessly integrate the automotive and electronics worlds.
Dubbed “Sync,” this system basically provides a platform for many Bluetooth and USB-enabled devices to connect (with and without wires) to a vehicle mainframe [...]
The Automotive News over the past week or so includes some vaguely interesting stories. First there is the rumor that VW will finally leave its headquarters outside Detroit and head to greener pastures in NC or DC. Now, these rumors have been going for nearly two years now, but now [...]
OK, not terribly surprisingly the past week wasn't able to hold a candle to the previous week or so in terms of shear significant automotive news, however, it did include a couple of nice little tidbits that certainly merit mention.
A couple of the stories were born (in some shape or [...]
I generally try to stay away from the everyday automotive news and reviews, which are regularly covered by the many mainstream auto blogs out there while preferring to focus on more colorful topics such as the role of modern oxygen sensor or how many models still come equipped with a [...]
To borrow a famous line from Mr. Eric Clapton, "It's in the way that you use it."
The same way not all automotive brands and models are created equal, the same can certainly be said about their drivers. While many people and publications go to great lengths to judge and [...]
Here at Servassist we are all about fixing and repairing vehicles with the goal of wringing out the most possible mileage and ultimately, best bang for your buck. There comes a point, however, when it simply makes sense to let that cherished car go, for all the love, lube and [...]
Once upon a time, the automotive bumper acted as a one of the defining features in automotive design, adorning your front and rear end as proudly as a hood emblem or brand badge. From the first day man started driving, he also started running into things necessitating some sort of [...]
