Spring Wheels April 23, 2021 Upswing in Sales Auto sales reports show an 11% increase in the first quarter of 2021. Test Driving Technology With all the new gadgets available in new cars, you’ll need more than the traditional 15 minutes to try out these features. Selling Safely During a Pandemic Selling your car to a private party during a pandemic can be risky, but there are ways to get a fair price while minimizing contact with others. a special section of The Derrick. / The News- Herald 16408 Conneaut Lake Rd., Meadville, PA 16335 (814) 350-2715 - CommunityChevrolet.com Are You Ready For Spring? Community Chevrolet is your one stop shop for ALL of your vehicle service needs! Get yourself ready for the road this year with coupons to keep your vehicleehicle iinn mmintint ccondition,ondition, yyearear rround!ound! 2 – THE DERRICK. / The News-Herald Friday, April 23, 2021 Test driving auto technology Take your time to check out new gadgets that add convenience, connectivity and safety By REX TOKESHI-TORRES two types of USB cable in Edmunds order to connect your smart- phone: a standard USB and a New vehicles are brimming USB-C since some newer ve- with technology that can en- hicles only have a USB-C hance convenience, connec- connector. tivity and driver safety. But the tech can also be unfamil- Evaluate the cockpit iar to car shoppers, especially When you first get inside those who haven’t purchased the vehicle you’re interested a vehicle in the past five years in, familiarize yourself with or more. This poses a problem your surroundings and con- when it comes to the tradi- trols. You may have to turn on tional test drive. the car to activate all the It’s one thing to evaluate screens and controls. Where familiar vehicle attributes are the audio controls? Where such as acceleration or seat are the climate controls? Can comfort. But how can you you reach them easily or are evaluate these new gadgets in they hidden in a menu? Poke the typical 15- to 20-minute around the menu system and test drive if you don’t quite play with the various non- know what they do or what to driving controls. look for? Use the USB cable you People who haven’t purchased a new car in the last five years will need to learn how to use the technol- With this in mind, Ed- brought to test the connection ogy features in newer vehicles. A traditional 15-minute test drive probably won’t be enough time. munds experts share some of for Android Auto or Apple their car technology evalua- CarPlay. These systems inte- menu system is logically laid are they located? (Some might action? Are they easy to press Edmunds says: There’s a tion techniques and show you grate your phone and display out. Now it’s time to test out be on the steering wheel.) or hard? Are they responsive? learning curve with any new and operate many of your the controls and the way you Does the touchpad have dif- piece of technology, but some how to safely learn and test On-the-road test these features during your test phone’s apps in the vehicle. interact with them. Here are ferent areas that you have to automakers make it easier drive. Some vehicles may also have the basic types, along with a touch to interact with differ- Repeat a few basic tasks than others. A vehicle might wireless connectivity for these few questions to consider dur- ent items on the menu screen? while driving to see if it’s dis- not be the right car for you if Ask for more time two systems. ing testing. Is it quick to react to your tracting to do so. you find yourself over- During a dealership test Touchscreens: Is it easy to touch or is there a lag? Unintuitive controls or or- whelmed. Remember to take drive, you’re usually ushered Testing the infotainment understand the icons or func- Rotary knobs: Do you dinary tasks taking too long your time to interact with fea- along to get things done system tions? Is it easy to switch be- like this system? Can you eas- could cause you to take valu- tures and technology when quickly. A typical drive might These days, you will often tween functions such as the ily understand how to get to able attention away from the parked and on the road during be 20 minutes or a drive hear the word “infotainment.” audio system and navigation? specific functions, like push- road. the purchasing phase to see if around a few blocks, so the Simply put, it is a combina- Are the controls distracting or ing or pulling a knob to one If the vehicle makes chimes you’re able to perform differ- pressure is on. But here is tion of the words information hard to find when driving? Is side or another? Are there or flashes icons during your ent functions easily and re- where you can deviate from and entertainment since the the screen responsive to your shortcut buttons for the differ- drive, it’s likely for advanced peatedly. the normal procedure. Let the central screen that now domi- touch or is there a delay? Do ent functions? How quickly driver aid alerts such as blind- salesperson know you need nates the dashboard controls you get any glare from the sun can you go from one function spot monitoring or collision (This story was provided additional time to get famil- both of these items, and you that could be an issue? to another? warning. to The Associated Press by iarized with the car before will be interacting with it Touchpads: Are the con- Buttons: Are they physical Ask about those features as the automotive website Ed- heading out on the road. quite often. When looking at trols intuitive or would you or virtual buttons? Do they well during the drive to famil- munds. Rex Tokeshi-Torres is It’s best to come prepared the screen, the first thing to prefer a touchscreen? How provide you feedback when iarize yourself with their a vehicle testing technician for your test drive so bring think about is whether the many pads are there? Where you push them to confirm an sound and meaning. at Edmunds.) Auto sales up in March, rise 11% in first quarter DETROIT (AP) — U.S. auto sales rose ing the greater economy from that point on,” more than 11% in the first quarter, as strong he said. March sales far outpaced last year when coro- The combination of a $1.9 trillion govern- navirus pandemic began. ment stimulus program and people looking for Automakers sold more than 3.9 million transportation to keep themselves isolated vehicles during the first three months of the from others due to the virus should keep sales year, with several major companies reporting strong, he said. March sales that nearly doubled from the same But a shortage of computer chips is forcing month a year earlier, according to figures com- automakers to cut production, and that could piled by Edmunds.com. affect sales later in the year. Plus dealer sup- Sales at Honda were up 93% in March, plies are tight and a lack of selection could while Toyota sales rose 87%. Hyundai-Kia make people delay purchases, Roberts said. posted a 78% gain, while Nissan was up Many others, though may want to buy imme- 65%. General Motors reported a 46% in- diately to drive rather than come in contact crease, while Fiat Chrysler (now Stellantis) with others while traveling, he said. was up 45% and Ford reported a 26% in- Industry analysts and executives say the crease. chip shortage is likely to continue until at least Kevin Roberts, director of industry insights the third quarter of the year. for Cargurus.com, said retail sales to individu- al buyers were strong, but overall sales remain Automakers sold more than 3.9 lower than pre-pandemic levels because of million vehicles in the first three reduced fleet purchases. When the pandemic started, he said, buyers months of 2021, signaling that pulled back and retail sales fell for about a buyers may be starting to shrug month. off the effects of the COVID-19 “I would say autos have been outperform- pandemic on the auto industry. Drivers don’t want to overlook some simple auto maintenance tasks Savvy drivers recognize that mainte- nance is essential to keeping their vehi- cles running strong for years on end. Such maintenance ensures vehicles are safe to take out on the road, and basic upkeep also protects drivers’ financial investments in their cars and trucks. Drivers who are not mechanically in- clined tend to put their vehicles in the hands of a trusted mechanic to perform routine maintenance like oil changes. But there’s a host of simpler vehicle maintenance tasks that drivers don’t want to overlook, some of which can be per- formed without visiting the auto body shop. Brake inspections: Brake inspec- tions are best left to the professionals, who can check the thickness of brake pads and look for other indicators of ex- cessive wear. The automotive resource Cars.com recommends having brakes inspected during routine tire rotations, which many automotive professionals Vehicle maintenance is not exclusive to tending to what’s under suggest should be done every six the hood. Keeping a car running smoothly for years involves rou- months. tine tasks that many drivers can perform without professional Car wash: Car washes might not be the first task drivers associate with assistance.