How Do You Go “The Extra Mile”?

Today on the Christian Car Guy Show Ford Motor Company’s Steve Ling will join us live from Detroit to tell us how they got the 305hp 2011 Mustang to do it with an astonishing 31mpg highway beating their estimated 30mpg by one mile, even more amazing when you consider that a 4cyl Honda Accord is also rated at 31mpg highway.

So how do you get your car to get just one more mile per gallon, which would save you about a hundred bucks a year and perhaps six thousand in your lifetime? One hundred dollars towards your Lottie Moon offering this year that could go towards keeping a missionary in Botswana, or help out with Campus Crusade for Christ, or an offering to 40 days for life next spring.

I will get to all that in a minute, but more importantly are you going the extra mile in your life? Last week I was in Nashville for the National Religious Broadcasters Convention the NRB, and the highlight of my time there was when Mosab Hassan Yousef took the stage. He is the Author of the book Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices. Mosab was born in Ramallah, in the Palestinian West Bank in 1978. His father, Sheikh Hassan Yousef, is a founding leader of Hamas, internationally recognized as a terrorist organization and responsible for countless suicide bombings and other deadly attacks against Israel. Yousef was an integral part of the movement, for which he was imprisoned several times by the Shin Bet, the Israeli intelligence service. He withstood torture in prison only to discover Hamas was torturing its own people in a relentless search for collaborators. He began to question who his enemies were. When he took the stage at the NRB you could see the Light of God in his eyes as he spoke of how Jesus said love your enemies. Someone had handed him a New Testament in prison and he saw the real God who loved him even though he had not known Him and was trying to kill, God’s people.

What won Mosab over to Christ was Matthew 5: ⁴¹ And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. ⁴² Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor^[g] and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,^{[h] 45} that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

I wish everyone could hear Mosab’s impassioned talk on loving the Muslims and hating their god. Just like me, the Muslims are simply sinners who need a savior. Frank Wright the president of the NRB in his final admonition to us asked that we picture ourselves in heaven and God has you there at the Throne and asks to see your file. He starts to thumb through it and says, “I see you were an obedient son, uh huh and you were so passionate about serving me and loving your brother and sisters.”

At that point you’re thinking, “What! That can’t be me He has the wrong file” you then see the tab on the file and it all makes sense, the tab says Jesus. That’s the good news Jesus cleaned out my file by dying on the cross. Then by believing really believing he died to clean out my file I can spend eternity with Him.

Now when my enemy says go a mile, how can I not see that my enemy needs that same file shredder I had. It’s love that drew me to the cross; it will be love that will draw him as well. That’s how it happened for Mosab.

Now back to how to get that extra mile of gas for the kingdom.

Robby’s Top Twenty Gas Savers

1. Pray, ask God to help you to be a good steward, and mean it!!!!

2. Don’t speed!!!! For many reasons, #1 it’s what the Bible says, Romans 13

3. Check mileage and record it!!!! You can’t manage what you don’t measure!!!! Go to https://www.fueleconomy.gov/mpg/MPG.do?action=garage

4. Air Filter?

5. Is your check engine or service engine soon light on?

6. Junk in the Trunk?

7. Tire Pressure?
According to your owners manual!!!*****Very Dangerous DON”T OVERINFLATE ***********

8. Alignment?

9. Synthetic or lower viscosity oil?? Up to 1% to 3%

10. Don’t fill up, (6 pounds per gallon of gas, 7 ponds per gallon of Diesel) 10 extra gallons = 1 bag of cement in your trunk) save up to 1%

11. Easy does it!!! Try not to lose your momentum!

12. Don’t be a click click clicker when filling your tank!!!!

13. Avoid any unnecessary air resistance…sun roof open or unnecessary racks!!!!!

14. Shortest Routes with most right turns and least traffic with fewest hills!!!

15. When buying tires go as small as your owner’s manual allows!!!

16. Test different fuels and octane levels

17. Park in the shade with the easiest possible exit route!!!

18. A/C use and open windows, Over 50 it’s not thrifty, when in town keep em down!!

19. Choose the Highway, (preferably interstate) less stop and go, smoother, much safer!!!

20. Leave yourself plenty of margin, time so you don’t have to rush!!!!!

I wouldn’t have thought so a couple of days ago, but I have honestly changed both my view on this and my lifestyle. Uh, oh a reformed cell driver!

What changed my life was tomorrow’s guest on The Christian Car Guy show, Jenifer Smith president and founding board member of FocusDriven advocates for cell free driving. In September 2008 she lost her mother to a young man who ran a red light while talking on his cell phone and The Lord has since used her to Focus thousands on this growing tragedy.  Her information about the dangers and consequences of ignoring this problem has changed my mind and now my life, (it does reduce your amount of multitasking time), but it may save both lives and minutes on my bill.

January 12, 2010. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and National Safety Council President Janet Froetscher announced the creation of FocusDriven, the first national nonprofit organization devoted specifically to raising awareness about the dangers of distracted driving.

This process may seem simple enough, however, ask any Body Shop and they will tell you horror stories of many a well meaning car wash victim.

Number one, have you ever seen a Classic or Antique car going through an automatic car wash? I doubt you ever will. Even the brushless ones use clothes that get the grime and sand from the last three hundred cars they washed and then leave little tiny scratches all through your clear coat. Or high pressure water that loves to get into places it shouldn’t, this causes all kinds of damage that you may not see for months.

Besides, there is nothing like going over your cars paint surfaces with a clean towel that helps you, “feel the love” necessary for a long, long  happy relationship. This, by the way could save you up to $500,000 over 47 years as did Rachel with her car Chariot.

First get your gear together, hose, bucket, clean wash mitt (a clean wash rag will do), liquid dish washing soap (like Lux, or dawn), a tire brush (Brillo pads will do ONLY FOR THE TIRES NOT THE WHEELS OR ANYTHING ELSE).  A good vinyl cleaner like Armor All or McGuiars, glass cleaner, News Paper works great for windows or just paper towels. If you live down south in the summer you may want to get a good bug remover like McGuiars, and a shop Vac or some kind of vacuum, Tire dressing.

Next try to get your car in the shade on a sunny day, (water spots). Go ahead and vacuum the car out first and clean the interior vinyl surfaces.

Then starting at the top of the roof, rinse down the entire car. Always start on top and work your way down, gravity will work for you with the heavier gritty dirt on the lower part of the car. Rinse the complete outside of the car including the wheels and tires.

Now add a small amount of your dish washing soap to the bucket and fill it with soapy water. Again, starting at the very top of your car, soap up you mitt and start washing in circular motion. Never get the mitt grimy from the bottom of the car and then go back to the upper surfaces or if you drop it in the dirt get that one clean or go get another. Keeping your circular motion move down to the hood and deck lid, then to the sides and lastly the rocker panels (the panels below the doors) until you have soaped down the entire car. Now rinse thoroughly.

Go ahead now and use your tire brush on those tires, scrub, scrup hard, then wash the wheels and rinse.

Now using a clean dry towel or shammy dry off the car, again starting at the top and working down dry the all the paint surfaces and dress the tires. Lastly clean the windows.

Finally park your car on the grass somewhere and stand back and admire. AHHHHH

Today on the Christian Car Guy Attorney with Draper and Wagoner Adam Draper discusses concerns about Gap Insurance

by Adam Draper

1.     GAP insurance covers people who are upside down on their car loans and the car is totaled in an accident - that is they owe more for the car than it is worth and the insurance company covering the loss is only paying the fair market value of the car.  

2.  GAP policies are probably not necessary if you have enough down payment on the car and you are paying it of in three years or less.

3.  GAP policies are a good idea if you are having to finance a car for a long time, BUT you have to pay attention to the fine print.  The GAP policies usually say that they only cover the difference between the amount financed and the Fair Market Value (FMV) or Actual Cash Value (ACV).  The problem comes when the insurance company paying off the accident claim and the GAP insurance company disagree on the FMV or ACV.  For instance, let’s say the loan payoff is $15,000.00 and the liability insurance company will only pay $13,500.00 for the FMV or ACV.  The GAP insurance carrier should pay the remaining $1,500.00, but they say that the FMV or ACV is $14,500.00, so they are only willing to pay $500.00 towards the remaining debt on the loan.  That means car owner ends up still owing $1000.00 to pay off the loan.

4.  Other problems with GAP policies is that they will define you out of coverage.  Like any other insurance coverage, you have to know what you are insuring.  For instance, I know of a case in which a person bought GAP insurance on a commercial cargo van, and when it was wrecked the GAP insurance carrier refused to pay anything because the policy they sold excluded commercial vehicles.  Somebody is going to get sued over that one.

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This Saturday on The Christian Car Guy. Live From Detroit: Gene Martindale, Development Engineer of the Mustang GT 500.

DEARBORN — Ford’s Special Vehicle Team (SVT) engineers are taking high performance to a new level with the 2011 Ford Shelby GT500, resulting in a car that has an all-new aluminum-block engine, even better driving dynamics and handling, improved fuel economy and more horsepower than ever.

“The SVT team continues to push the performance standards of the Shelby to even higher levels and better refinement,” said Jost Capito, director of global performance vehicles and motorsports business development. “All the changes we made reflect a desire for even better handling and outstanding driving dynamics – from weight savings to improved balance.”

Weight savings, new technology headline all-new aluminum engine
The 2011 Shelby GT500 is powered by an all-new aluminum-block 5.4-liter supercharged V-8 engine, which produces 550 horsepower and 510 ft.-lb. of torque, a 10 horsepower increase versus the 2010 model. The engine also is 102 pounds lighter than its predecessor, delivering a better power-to-weight ratio, improved fuel economy, acceleration, handling and steering precision.

“Cutting weight to improve performance is a tradition among hot rodders,” said Carroll Shelby, founder of Shelby American. “It might not be as sexy as adding more horsepower or bigger brakes, but shaving pounds off of a car is the single smartest move you can make.”

The new engine uses state-of-the-art Plasma Transferred Wire Arc (PTWA) liner coating, a process that applies a 150-micron composite coating that contains nanoparticles on the internal surfaces of engine cylinder bores, replacing cast-iron liners typically used in aluminum engine blocks. The Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation honored the inventors of the Ford-patented PTWA technology with the 2009 National Inventor of the Year Award.

This is the first Ford application of the technology, and it offers improved overall performance and durability, along with functional benefits of reduced friction between piston rings and cylinder bores, improved heat transfer due to increased surface contact area and a weight savings of 8.5 pounds compared to a typical steel-sleeved aluminum block. A mechanical roughening process provides higher material adhesion for the spray coating.

The PTWA process uses air and electricity to create a plasma jet of 35,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which melts a steel wire that is fed into a rotating spray gun. Using atomized air, the melted steel wire is blown into a specially machined surface of the aluminum-block engine cylinder bore. In the process of melting and applying the metal to the surface, the steel wire oxidizes, creating a composite coating consisting of both iron and iron oxide.

“Ford’s Global Research and Advanced Engineering looks to all industries for advanced technologies – and this comes from aerospace. It’s the same technology you would find on aircraft engines,” said Glenn Jorgensen, SVT powertrain team leader. “We’ve invented a coating as a replacement for cast iron that delivers improvements in power and performance and fuel economy.”

The new engine also has its roots in the iconic Ford GT. The new 5.4-liter engine is an evolution of the GT engine, with improved block structure through the use of a unique bulkhead chilled process and six-bolt billet main bearing caps. This new advanced engine will exceed Ford GT performance with its traditional supercharger technology.

“The Ford GT has solidified itself as one of the world’s most coveted supercars. To make improvements to the engine from this supercar and make it available in a Mustang is impressive,” said Kerry Baldori, SVT global performance vehicle chief functional engineer. “The aluminum-block engine is robust and strong enough to produce the performance numbers and durability our customers demand.”

Increased power and increased fuel economy
The 2011 Shelby GT500 combines power and fuel economy into one impressive package. This 2011 Shelby GT500 will be the first modern Shelby without the gas guzzler tax, thanks to the EPA-projected 23 mpg highway and 15 mpg city it will deliver. This is up from 22 mpg highway and 14 mpg city for the 2010 model. 

The 5.4-liter V-8 achieves 80 percent of its torque between 1,750 and 6,250 rpm, giving the car a higher level of performance feel. A larger two-row intercooler for the supercharger system has 40 percent more cooling capacity, helping to make power more consistent in higher ambient conditions.

Fuel economy gains come from the new 102-pound-lighter aluminum-block engine, EPAS and detailed aerodynamic changes to the underside of the vehicle.

Dramatic performance upgrades
New for 2011 is an SVT Performance Package for enthusiasts who want even more performance out of their Shelby GT500 for racetrack-ready driving dynamics. Complete with all-new Goodyear Eagle® F1 SuperCar G: 2 tires that SVT engineers worked directly with Goodyear to develop, the car is ready to race. The tires offer superb dry traction and precise handling, complete with a race-inspired high-performance tread compound.

The optional package also offers unique styling, lighter wheels, a higher rear axle ratio and stiffer springs, and it is available on both the convertible and coupe. Data show the 2011 coupe with the SVT Performance Package is 3.0 seconds faster per lap than the 2010 Shelby GT500 on a 2.3-mile test track.

Carried over from 2010, the 2011 Shelby GT500 features AdvanceTrac®, Ford’s stability control system with several options for performance. Calibration of the system for the 2011 Shelby has been uniquely tailored to each vehicle configuration (base or optional) to optimize the performance.

SVT has worked very hard to make EPAS better than the outgoing hydraulic steering system. The addition of EPAS makes for a dramatic contribution to Shelby GT500 driving dynamics, with improved torque build-up and road feel that delivers quicker and more precise steering, increased effort on the racetrack or winding roads, and reduced effort in low-speed parking maneuvers.

Slotted brake dust shields were added to improve brake cooling and handling, and a new pedal box improves clutch and pedal efforts even more. A lowered ride height of 11 millimeters in front and 8 millimeters at the rear provides a sportier attitude and improved handling.

More engine sound, less road noise
For 2011, Shelby GT500 also benefits from NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) improvements. Overall road noise is reduced by 20 percent versus the 2010 Shelby. Actions undertaken to achieve this improvement include additional sound-deadening material on either side of the instrument panel, additional sound absorption behind interior trim panels, and a rear wheel arch liner to reduce noise on gravel or wet surfaces – all resulting in the driver hearing more exhaust and engine sound and less road and air noise.

The Shelby GT500 convertible model features enhanced structural rigidity, with lateral stiffness improved by 12 percent versus the 2010 model. The V-brace has been stiffened by adding gussets. The secondary crossmember also has been stiffened, while a front Z-brace has been added, connecting primary and secondary crossmembers. A-pillar stiffening foam has been added to increase rigidity.

The structural improvements to the convertible gave SVT the opportunity to be more sport-oriented in the chassis tuning, without trading comfort. Along with the chassis and structural improvements, the 2011 model also will get standard 19-inch aluminum wheels.

“One of the biggest changes for this Shelby is that the convertible acts and feels like a coupe,” said Jamal Hameedi, SVT chief nameplate engineer. “Before, they had a very different character, and the convertible is taking a big step in the sportiness and handling precision area, without degrading the ride.”

GT500 gets a new exhaust for 2011, roaring with an even more aggressive sound than the 2010 model. The 2.75-inch exhaust with all-new tuning helped to deliver the additional 10 horsepower.

Added convenience content
New for 2011 is an optional glass roof, providing customers with a less expensive option than a convertible and without compromising the coupe’s versatility, headroom or climate-controlled environment.

The specially formulated glass also protects interior fabric material from solar radiation deterioration and discoloration by reducing solar light transmittance. To help improve acoustics and interior quietness, the glass features a layer of vinyl that reduces noise, vibration and harshness.

Other new convenience technologies include:
• Standard HID (high-intensity discharge) headlamps
• MyKey™ programmable vehicle key
• Integrated spotter mirror
• Fold-down rear headrests

“Whether you’re looking to take the GT500 out on the streets or have some fun at the track,” Capito says, “this car will satisfy the most discriminating performance driving enthusiasts.”