Tag Archives: Woody’s Automotive Group

Getting That 1st Place!!

Car and Driver recently came out with their 2015 Editors Choices for top vehicles! Guess what?! The Jeep Grand Cherokee took 1st place for mid-sized crossovers and SUVS!! The Grand Cherokee excels at climbing mountains and social circles.

2014 Jeep Grand cherokee

It offers a variety of powertrains: a 3.6-liter V-6, a 5.7-liter Hemi V-8, a 3.0-liter turbo-diesel, and the SRT variant’s 6.4-liter Hemi V-8. There’s also the choice of three 4×4 systems plus Quadra-Lift air suspension with five height settings. Comfortable interiors are trimmed with high-quality materials and offer upscale options. Buyers can step into a four-wheel-drive, V-6 Grand Cherokee for as little as $31,790 in entry-level Laredo trim. Jeep offers the Limited and the more luxurious, Summit, trim levels as well; the $47,190 Overland sits between those two.

2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland

The $1795 Advanced Technology Group, which brings adaptive cruise control, forward-collision warning and mitigation, and blind-spot monitoring with cross-path detection! Pair that with the ample space in the Jeeps cabin, the panoramic sunroof and of course the worlds simplest yet most advanced media center, the Uconnect 8.4AN!

All of this is available at Woody’s Automotive Group! We have the Jeeps, we have the technology, we have it all!

Dodge Knows How To Sell Its Viper!

Amazing news!!! After a $15,000 discount, Dodge Viper sales are up 184% in September 2014 from the previous month. Here’s the not so good news: that takes sales from 38 units in August to 108 units last month.

2014 Dodge Viper

It seems like there are just two possibilities for the Viper’s future. The first is that at its new $86,880 price point, it will reach an equilibrium between demand and value, and continue selling around 100 units a month, which is apparently enough for Dodge to fire up the plant again. The second is that a small pool of opportunistic buyers simply pounced on a decent value, and sales will taper off once they’ve had their fill.

Either way, there’s no better time to pick up a new Viper than right now. It’s a mean, elemental thing. We love it.

2014 Dodge SRT Viper TA

Foot Activated Liftgate? No way!

The foot activated liftgate automatically opens when it detects the kicking motion under the rear bumper, allowing someone with their arms full to access the cargo area easily.

Keep in mind though that not anyone can just walk up to your vehicle and open it! It has to make sure you’re the correct person by detecting the key fob to let the liftgate know it’s is OK to accept the foot activation!

The system utilizes two sensors located between the tailpipes that form an electronic field. When broken, the field activates the liftgate. The picture belows shows the foot activated liftgate and example of why it is so handy!

escape-liftgate

The foot activated liftgate system is very picky though! You can’t just walk up to the car and wave your food around underneath it! You must do a kick motion. The sensors looks for 4 things. The shin breaking the barrier, followed by the foot, then the shin leaving followed by the foot! That motion only, activated the liftgate! Pretty fancy and secure!

The foot activated liftgate is available in select models of 2013 and newer Ford Escapes! See some at www.wowwoodys.com today!

How long do your brakes last? That’s up to you.

#TechTuesday Tip: Braking

How long will the brakes in your car last? Well, that’s really up to you, how you drive your car, and where you drive your car. Flat, easy terrain will mean longer lasting brakes. You live in the mountains? All bets are off… The way you drive your car also plays a huge role in the lifespan of your brakes. Here’s a few tips to help your brakes live a little longer

  • Stops from high speeds are your brake’s #1 enemy. Brakes sacrifice themselves by turning energy into heat. By stopping from a slower speed, a lot less brake material will be burned off. By coasting up to a known stop will significantly increase your brake’s lifespan
  • Only use your right foot to drive. Ever see cars that are driving down the road with their brake lights on? That driver is probably driving with both feet, pushing the gas pedal and (inadvertently) pushing the brake at the same time.
  • Brake fluid needs to be changed from time to time. It’s what mechanics call flushing and bleeding the system. If you have an older vehicle, renew the brake fluid. You don’t gain a thing if you’re saving the brakepads and the system is rotting from the inside out. Brake fluid naturally attracts moisture which can promote internal corrosion, and really limit the effectiveness of your brakes.

If your driving habits are sensible but your brakes are still wearing rapidly, the problem may be with the car. The Service Department at the Woody’s Automotive Group is a full service shop that works on all makes and models- Just give Matt a call today! 888-869-0963

Chrysler 200 Proves Its Worth

The 200 comes in four trim levels. The LX is the options-light entry-level package, starting at $21,700. The Limited trim clocks in at a starting price of $23,255. The S — what we drove — is Chrysler’s sports-sedan trim. At $24,495, the car comes with leather-trimmed sport seats, a tighter, sports-tuned suspension, 18-inch rims, paddle-shifters, and dark-finished interior and exterior accents. More on all that later. The top-of-the-line 200C starts at $25,995, though if you feel like treating yourself, a checklist full of options can push the car well north of $36,000.

Mopar-Modified-2015-Chrysler-200

All 200s come standard with a 184-horsepower 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine and Chrysler’s nine-speed automatic transmission. The 200S and 200C are available with Chrysler’s award-winning 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6, which pumps out 295 horsepower. All-wheel drive is available in the 200S and 200C, albeit for an extra $4,200.

The styling of the 200 makes it an attractive car. Some have complained that it looks too much like something else; but if that something else is an Audi or Hyundai Genesis and not the old 200, it seems as if Chrysler’s doing something right.

200video

And the 200 actually can be fun to drive. The V-6 has power-a-plenty and it works quite well with the nine-speed. So well, in fact, that the paddle shifters seem kind of pointless. Keep your expectations realistic, but putting the car in sport mode adds to the fun by changing up the throttle response andshift points and tightening the steering. The V-6 also sounds good, especially at higher revs.2015-Chrysler-200S-EXT-GIF-HEADER1

So now the 200 can stop pretending. It is in fact a highly competitive vehicle in the mid-sized sedan class!

My blinker doesn’t blink! Arrrgh!

fix a burned out blinker

So you turned on your blinker, but the turn signal light on your dashboard isn’t blinking. It’s just on. It’s solid. Just staring at you… Now what? The bulb for your blinker just might be burned out. The solid light is your car’s way of telling you that either the front or the rear blinker isn’t working anymore. Relax, this is an easy fix! First, determine whether the front blinker or the rear blinker is burned out. When your car is on (and in park of course), just turn on the blinker so you can get out and check the front and the back of the car. Once you’ve determined which bulb it is, the next step is to figure out how to access it. Older cars may still have screws on the plastic lens cover that you can unscrew from the outside, but most newer vehicles will allow you to access the socket from the backside. Usually the back lights are easier to access, because the assemblies can be accessed from inside the trunk. In some vehicles, there is a protective plastic cover that might be held in place with plastic screws or fasteners. Once these are out of the way, you should be able to see the socket assembly and remove it. If you’re dealing with the front blinkers, you may have to do some reaching from underneath. Once you get the bulb out, replace it with the correct replacement. If you don’t know what type you need, you may need to remove it and take it to the auto parts store or big box store and buy one just like it. When your new bulb is installed, just put everything back together and test everything out. This is easy to do if you have a friend to watch the lights for you. It’s just as easy to test the lights by yourself- by backing up to the garage door and turning on the blinkers and pressing the brake pedal- you can easily see the lights shining back at you from the flat, smooth garage door. If you have LED tail lights and blinkers, you’ll probably never need to worry about this. What if both your blinkers or tail lights went out at the same time? You may have blown a fuse, but that’s a story for another day…

The Service Department at the Woody’s Automotive Group works on nearly every make and model. If your car needs a little extra attention, contact the service professionals today! |http://www.wowwoodys.com/service-center

2015 Jeep Renegade Is Coming!

See the family resemblance? From the iconic seven-slot grille to the strong stance, the All-New Renegade is definitely a Jeep® brand vehicle. Whether you’re exploring new trails or heading out on the town, the All-New 2015 Jeep Renegade is ready, willing and able.

With room for up to five to ride comfortably, a generous cargo area in the back and lots of ingenious storage spaces, the All-New 2015 Jeep® Renegade has everything you need to amplify your adventures.

The All-New 2015 Jeep® Renegade Trailhawk offers Trail Rated capability with the standard Jeep Active Drive Low 4×4 system with 20:1 crawl ratio, a 0.8-inch factory lift, distinctive front and rear fascias, skid plates, 17-inch off-road aluminum wheels, aggressive tires and red tow hooks.

A headlight is just a headlight, right? Not anymore!

Woody's Automotive Group Headlight Service

A headlight is just a headlight, right? At one time this may have been true, but today there are three main options for manufacturers and auto buyers to choose from. Headlamp technology has evolved over the years, but does newer always mean better? I guess it depends on what you’re looking for in a headlight.

The first up is the trusty, time-tested halogen headlamp. Most vehicles on the road today are using halogen lights. This is the oldest of the three options found on new vehicles, but it’s still widely used today because it’s primary advantage is longevity and cost. Under normal conditions, a halogen bulb will last about 1,000 hours and the replacement lamps are usually inexpensive to replace. So why not use them in everything? Halogen isn’t exactly the best example of efficiency. Lots of the energy used by a halogen lamp is turned into heat and is just wasted. If you’re driving an electric car or a hybrid, you can’t afford to be wasting your power in the form of throw-away heat. One thing to remember when changing a halogen bulb is to not touch the glass with your fingers. By wearing gloves, you can keep the salt from the moisture in your skin away from the glass. These salts can compromise the way the glass will resist the high temperatures created by the filament.

Halogen Advantages: – Long life – Bright illumination – Inexpensive replacements

Halogen Disadvantages: – Energy wasting – Extra care when handling

Next up is the Xenon headlight, or the HID (High Intensity Discharge) headlamp. These are generally regarded as a more efficient solution because they generate more light and have a better color temperature (to the naked eye, they appear to have a blue tint). These lamps can generate more than twice the light of a traditional halogen lamp. More light is a good thing, right? If you’re driving with HID lamps, yes. If you’re the oncoming traffic, not so much. For all the light they generate, an HID lamp should last about 2000 hours under normal conditions. These lamps do cost a little more to produce, install, and replace. Another thing to consider is that some of the Xenon lamps may contain toxic substances like mercury.

HID Advantages: – A longer lifetime than halogen lamps – More efficient than halogen lamps – Better visibility for the driver

HID Disadvantages: – Lots of glare for other drivers – All around higher costs than halogen – Harmful materials MAY be found in the lamps

The third major type of headlight used today is the LED, or Light Emitting Diode. These lamps are certainly a leap forward in technology, but they still have a ways to go. Don’t get me wrong- this type of light still has plenty of advantages and it could take over the headlamp world in a few years. These lamps need very low power to work, which is why they are the lamp of choice in electric and hybrid vehicles where electricity is a premium commodity. Also, an LED lamp is usually pretty small compared to a traditional headlamp, allowing manufacturers to produce all kinds of shapes and configurations that wouldn’t have been possible with the older headlights. Although these don’t create the heat that the other lamps do, there is still a certain amount of heat created at the base of the emitter. This hot-spot does create a potential risk for nearby assemblies and cables. This is the primary reason that these lamps aren’t used more frequently. Currently, production costs are pretty high for LED’s, and they mostly offered as options.

LED Advantages: – Very low energy consumption – Small size allowing for different configurations

LED Disadvantages: – High production costs – Not the brightest – Could cause heat damage to nearby assemblies

So how well does your car see in the dark? Come see the experts at the Woody’s Automotive Group today!

What a chunk of change!

The first production 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat sold for $825,000 during the Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas 2014 auction Saturday.

“The VIN0001 muscle car was not only one of the hottest cars that rolled through the Barrett-Jackson auction lanes, it is also the ultimate collectible 2015 Dodge Challenger as Dodge is ensuring there will never be another one like it,” said Tim Kuniskis, Dodge and SRT brands president and CEO, in a statement.

hellcat-stryker-red

The auctioned Challenger Hellcat included a special 6.2-liter supercharger engine cover and a “Hemi Orange” painted presentation containing an iPad with a video documentary that shows the step-by-step building of the car.

Money raised from the Challenger Hellcat auction benefited Opportunity Village, a not-for-profit organization that serves people with significant intellectual disabilities in the Las Vegas area. The Engelstad Family Foundation of Las Vegas matched the auction price, bringing the grand total raised for Opportunity Village to $1.65 million.

Fiat! A Fun Filled Ride!

You live your life with efficient ease. Drive your car the same way. With fuel efficiency ratings of 31 city / 40 highway mpg, your FIAT 500c Lounge is anything but complicated.

fiat 500c

Protected by seven airbags, including advanced multistage driver and front-passenger airbags, a driver’s knee airbag, full-length side-curtain airbags and seat-mounted pelvic-thorax airbags, you can rest assured that you and your passengers stay secure.

Your EVIC keeps you conveniently in touch with your vehicle’s information at a glance. This digital display presents speed, rpm, fuel level, engine coolant temperature and much more, as well as time, date, ambient temperature and mileage.

fiat 500c 2

Speak easy and listen to music hands-free while you’re on the move with BLUE&ME. Stream your favorites wirelessly with Bluetooth Streaming Audio. You’ll be amazed at what you can do with this voice-activated “must-have” convenience.

Added touches bring an extra level of luxury. Immerse yourself in the simple beauty of the FIAT®500c Lounge with details such as leather trim on the shift knob and steering wheel. The available Luxury Leather Package includes heated leather-trimmed front seats, an auto-dimming rearview mirror and the rear park assist system.

fiat 500c 4

Enjoy the freedom and flexibility of your power retractable soft top with four preset positions, as well as a full cycle of stopping points, from fully opened to fully closed. This dual-layer cloth top can be retracted at speeds of up to 60 mph!

fiat 500c 3