All good things must come to an end, or so “they” say. At the close of business today the Oil Change/Tire Rotation and Durastop Brake Pad rebates end, but we will still have the best prices in town on these service items.

But when one good thing goes away, often another takes its place!

While I can’t officially announce anything yet, if you need tires tomorrow is the day to call your Service Advisor. Look for an announcement this evening, or first thing in the morning.

Thank you,

Team Thompson

We’ve heard them all…  Mix this “miracle chemical” into your gas and you’ll increase your fuel economy by 20%, fill up before daylight while the gas is cooler and you’ll get more gas for your dollar, etc, etc.  We will address gas saving myths next, but what about some gas saving tips?  We do have a few, but we’ll start with 5.

1. Properly inflate your tires.  This seems simple, but is one of the most overlooked vehicle maintenance items.  If your tires are under-inflated it can cause your vehicle’s fuel usage to increase by 10% or more.  But too much of a good thing is not, well, a good thing.  If you over inflate your tires they will wear out prematurely.  Get a tire gauge and check the tire pressure every other time you fill up.  The manufacturer recommended tire pressures are on the stick in your driver’s side door jamb.  If you have questions see Ashley Eatmon, our Quick Lube supervisor, he’ll be glad to show you.  Of course we not only rotate your tires with every Certified Service oil change, we check and regulate the pressure too.
2. Change your air filter.  Many studies have shown that today’s computer controlled engines get nearly the same fuel economy in steady state driving with a dirty air filter as they do with a moderately clean air filter.  Why bother then?  Because a dirty air filter will cause your vehicle to accelerate much more slowly, which in turn will cause you to push the accelerator pedal down further in an attempt to accelerate normally.  This will cause you to accelerate longer and burn more fuel while getting up to highway speed.
3. Drive Carefully.  Again, this seems simple but accelerating slowly and coasting to a stop can pay off with big fuel savings.  Some studies have shown savings of up to 15% in city driving.
4. Remove any extra weight.  There is a good reason that most large vehicles get much worse gas mileage than compact vehicles, they weigh much more.  If you have a lot of items that you are carrying around with you it could be costing you up to 1 mpg for every 100 pounds you are carrying.
5. Use your cruise control and keep your speed down.  The difference in driving 55 mph instead of 70 mph can be as much as 22%.  This does not seem like a great deal, but if you normally get 400 miles from a tank of gas simply setting the cruise control to 55 can get you as much as 88 extra miles.

We hope this helps.  Be sure to ask your service advisor for some gas saving tips and maintenance specials next time you are in to see us.

Thank you,

Team Thompson

We had a customer ask a great question the other day about our A/C Tune Up. 

His question had to do with the frequency needed for this tune up and why a customer would need this done.  There is a simple answer, only when needed.  We do not recommend, nor do you need, annual air conditioning tune ups.  If you feel your A/C system is a little weak we will be glad to evacuate and recharge the system, add a pound of refrigerant if needed and do a general A/C inspection for $99.95.  But our Service Advisors will tell you not to have it done as part of routine maintenance.  If you have any further questions please feel free to contact us.  Thanks, Team Thompson.  919-834-0311

www.thompsoncars.net

We have just went live with our new virtual tour of Thompson Buick GMC Cadillac.  You can walk all over the dealership, view the inventory on the showrooms, get an idea where everything is before you come down, or just have a little fun playing around if you want.  Check it out and let us know what you think.

Thanks, Team Thompson.

 Truly one of the most important questions you’ll ever ask.  You can put a price on milk, eggs, a magazine, even supplies for your home printer.  But safety?  Is a million dollars enough to leave your families safety to chance?  Hardly.

Please look at the photos below of a 2011 CTS sedan that was purchased here at Thompson Buick GMC Cadillac, see the damage done to this vehicle in an offset frontal collision.  This is the worst collison angle possible, yet this vehicle protected its driver extremely well, not well but extremely well.

The vehicle is a total loss.  The engine is pushed under the vehicle, the front subframe is bent down onto the ground, the wheel is pushed so hard into the fender well that it is bent.  Yet the door opens and closes better than some vehicles do when new and the windshield is not even cracked.

When looking at your next vehicle and considering the mind numbing array of makes, models and options available remember this vehicle that protected its driver so well we could not find a drop of blood in the vehicle.  Why share this with you?  Because we care about you and your family.  GM vehicles are built to the highest standards in the world, don’t trust your family to anthing less.

Thank you,

The Thompson Team

The vehicle was impactedso hard the engine is pushed down and under the vehicle.

Our new Google Places Street view now includes a virtual tour of the dealership.  I’ll post instructions tomorrow, but check it out if you get a chance.

For the first time since their introduction an XTS sedan has made it through a full business day without being delivered to a customer.  This means you can still see this beauty, but don’t wait too long!

www.thompsoncars.com