Taxi of Tomorrow with Accessibility Options Now on Stage at the New York International Auto Show

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Happy hump day fans!  Just a friendly reminder that there’s only a few days left to use this month’s special offer!  Make your best deal and receive $200 off, but hurry because this offer ends March, 31, 2013!

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West Covina auto dealership owner offers employment to those recently laid off

After employees of a controversial auto dealership developer were laid off last month, the owner of a neighboring car dealership says he is prepared to offer them jobs.

Joseph Sage, president and owner of the West Covina Auto Group - which consists of West Covina Nissan and West Covina Toyota - has offered to hire a handful of Ziad Alhassen's employees.

Alhassen in the last two months lost control of his companies, Hassen Imports Partnership and West Covina Motors, Inc. A judge converted the companies - which operated Chevrolet, Hummer, Ford and Chrysler dealership franchises in the West Covina Auto Plaza - from bankruptcy to liquidation cases, resulting in employee layoffs.

Sage this week said he wanted to provide opportunities for those left out in the cold.

"It appeared to me that these are people who live in the community and they would be invaluable to us, to have some local residents working for us," Sage said. "We're looking to grow our business there and would certainly like to give them an opportunity to apply. "

Mike Lateer - one of the employees who worked at the Chevrolet dealership and was escorted off the premises - said he appreciated Sage's generosity.

"That's very nice of him thinking of the people that were let go," said the Covina resident, who now commutes to Glendale where he works at another dealership.

The Toyota dealership, at 1800 E. Garvey Ave. South, has an open call for interviews every Saturday.

"We're not looking to steal other people's employees, but Saturdays are an open call for anyone in the industry," Sage said.

West Covina Motors filed for bankruptcy in December after its franchise with General Motors was terminated.

The lots for the past few years have had no new fleet of cars and have remained largely empty, but Alhassen continued to employ about 15 car maintenance employees at the dealerships.

The judge's decision to covert the cases to Chapter 7 liquidation ousted the developer and his attorneys from management and control of the real estate holding company, which owns 11 properties in Covina and West Covina, including the car dealership sites.

There is now a trustee, Howard Ehrenberg, in place to market and sell all of the real estate properties owned by the partnership, clearing the way for new developments at each site.

A second trustee will be appointed to the case involving West Covina Motors and that person will decide what to do with its remaining assets.

Despite the empty dealerships that have marred West Covina's auto corridor, Sage said the real estate holdings in the area are still vibrant and active.

"I know Mr. Alhassen's dealerships were very prominent in the neighborhood," he said. "But the city is not without auto dealerships. "

Sage said employing West Covina residents have been his priority with his local dealerships.

"When you buy a car from a dealership in that neighborhood and your employee is a person in that neighborhood, the community benefits from the tax dollars generated and we're really looking to keep things in West Covina, whether it's an employee or customers," Sage said. "It's really beneficial for everyone, and we really like to keep things local. "

Courtesy of sgvtribune.com

Alpine unveils N36 LMP2 car that will race in 24 Hours of Le Mans

This is the Alpine LMP2 competitor you'll see contesting European endurance races this year, including The 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. Parent company Renault showed off the N36 racer at its atelier in Paris, the blue and orange a switch from the yellow, black and white livery Alpine wore last time it was seen in Le Mans way back in 1978 when it won the race.

The team will be run by Signatech-Nissan and the chassis will be powered by a Nissan engine. Nelson Panciatici and Pierre Ragues will contest World Endurance Championship rounds throughout the year, they'll be joined by endurance and IndyCar veteran Tristan Gommendy for Le Mans and Paul-Loup Chatin as the team's reserve driver.

The Alpine N36 will get into its first test this week at Paul Ricard, then experience its first racing miles at the European Le Mans Series round at Silverstone on April 13. The press release below has the full scoop, the photos above have the past and present in high-res glory.

Courtesy of autoblog.com

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Dashboard Digest: Breakthrough in high tensile steel, One million visitors to Nissan gallery.

Maintenance Tip of the Week

My air conditioner isn't cooling very well. What's wrong?

It could be any of a number of things:

Low refrigerant. An A/C system requires a certain amount of refrigerant to cool properly. If low, it works less efficiently and does not cool well.

Dirty condenser -- The condenser is the heat exchanger mounted in front of the radiator. It cools the high pressure refrigerant vapor after it exits the compressor so it can condense into a liquid. If the condenser is full of leaves, bugs and road debris, air flow through the unit may be blocked to the point where little cooling occurs. Cleaning the condenser should cure the problem.

Inoperative condenser cooling fan. The condenser often has its own separate electric cooling fan. This fan should come on and remain on when the A/C system is operating. If the fan motor, motor relay or wiring is defective, the fan may not be working.

Air or moisture contamination -- For the refrigerant inside the system to do its job properly, it must not be contaminated with air or moisture. Air reduces the cooling efficiency of the system while moisture can freeze and form ice that causes blockages in orifice tubes and metering valves. Air and moisture contamination may be the result of unrepaired leaks in the system, or failing to vacuum purge the system prior to recharging it with refrigerant.

Blockages -- Debris, rust or debris in the system may plug up the orifice tube or metering valve that admits refrigerant into the evaporator. If this vital point becomes obstructed, the flow of refrigerant may be restricted or blocked causing a loss of cooling -- and possible compressor damage as well in systems that rely on oil circulating with the refrigerant for lubrication.

Mechanical problem -- These include things like metering valve failures, compressor wear, a compressor clutch that fails to engage, bad pressure switches, etc. Pinpointing the problem will require the skills of a competent A/C technician

Courtesy of autos.yahoo.com

Nissan Attains Excellent Performance in J.D. Power and Associates Customer Satisfaction Index Study

Nissan today continued its march up the rankings in the 2013 J.D. Power and Associates Customer Service Index (CSI) Study^SM. In the 2013 study, Nissan improved 23 points and earned an index score of 797 out of a possible 1,000 points, finishing sixth among 19 nameplates in the mass market brands segment.

Leon Dorssers, chief customer officer and vice president, Customer Quality and Dealer Network Development – Nissan Americas said: "Nissan's performance in the latest CSI study demonstrates that our dealers are fully committed to the Nissan Customer Promise: to work tirelessly to exceed our customers' expectations. Our improvement is a reflection of the dedication that Nissan dealers have shown to providing an outstanding ownership experience to every customer."

The J.D. Power and Associates CSI study ranks customer satisfaction with dealer service departments during the first three years of ownership. The 2013 U.S. CSI Study^SM surveyed owners and lessees of 2008 to 2012 model-year vehicles. Nissan improved significantly in all five CSI study factors - service advisor, vehicle pick-up, service facility, service quality and service initiation.

Over the last two years, Nissan has jumped 66 points and 14 places in the mass market brands segment rankings. During that time, Nissan and its dealers instituted a number of new initiatives aimed at achieving excellence in the customer experience through improvements to training, facilities and processes. These new efforts include:

• The Nissan Customer Promise: a set of commitments from Nissan and its dealers to provide a fair, honest and customer-friendly environment for purchasing and owning a Nissan vehicle.
• Nissan Express Service: an affordable, hassle-free service visit that includes a 27-point safety and maintenance inspection, as well as an oil and filter change in under 30 minutes. Most Nissan dealers are also offering extended service hours in evenings and on weekends for customer convenience.
• Nissan One to One Service Scheduling: customers can conveniently schedule service online at any time through the Nissan owner's portal, a mobile app or the dealer's own website.
• Focus on quick dealer notification of hot customer issues with Nissan follow-up to ensure resolution.

Courtesy of nissannews.com

Service Specials

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Nissan Looks Back at Developing Highways, Fueling Stations and Similarities to Today

Wallpaper Wednesday

Hey fans, it’s Wallpaper Wednesday!  We hope you like this week’s pick – the Nissan 370z GT edition.  Enjoy!

2011 and 2012 Leaf buyers get $1,000 loyalty cash to buy another Nissan

Own a Leaf? Nissan would like to keep buyers of its all-electric car it in the proverbial family by offering a $1,000 loyalty discount towards other Nissan vehicles, even those dirty, nasty gas-powered ones.

In fact, Nissan is making the loyalty case offer available to anyone who lives in the household of a 2011 or 2012 Leaf owner (we're wondering how folks will stretch the definition of "household" to work that system). Nissan must be aware that some families like to hedge their bets and complement their EV with a gas-powered car; will $1,000 be enough to make it more likely they will choose a Nissan?

The loyalty program will be offered through the end of next year, and Nissan will be contacting Leaf owners starting next month as a reminder that there is a loyalty discount.

In January, Nissan cut the price of its 2013 Leaf by $6,400 to a base of $28,800. Through February, Nissan's US vehicle sales were down three percent, compared to last year, down to 180,555 units. Leaf sales, though, were up 13 percent in 2013 compared to the same time in 2012.

Courtesy of  autoblog.com

Manager's Pre-Owned Specials

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Special APR financing on 2013 Nissan Altima

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NYC Taxi of Tomorrow Takes to Manhattan Streets for Milestone Evaluation

Maintenance Tip of the Week

As strange as this question sounds, this is a common and long-standing practice among many motorists who consider an occasional tank of premium a special treatment that will help their engines last longer.

The basis for this assumption is that a tank of higher octane gasoline, maybe because it costs more, will somehow reduce engine wear. The assumption is fundamentally incorrect, though an occasional tank of premium may help an engine in other ways.

An engine's design, which includes such factors as its combustion ratio and its operating temperature, is related to something called an octane rating. Usually, we think of an octane rating as something that applies only to gasoline, but the engine itself has such a rating that represents the minimum octane level that the engine requires for proper operation.

An engine needs a minimum level of octane to avoid ping, which is caused by uncontrolled combustion of fuel inside the cylinders. Excessive ping can severely damage the engine. The octane rating on the gasoline is a measure of its anti-knock or anti-ping properties.

If your car does not ping on regular, then there is no reason to seek a higher-octane gasoline. The anti-knock level of the regular in this case is adequate for the engine.

But as a car gets older, depending on how the car has been driven and cared for, it may need a higher-octane gasoline anytime between four and six years. That's because carbon deposits inside the cylinders raise the combustion ratio, which in turn raises the engine's octane rating. You may notice that your car operated fine on regular fuel when it was new, but pings on regular as it gets older. So, the higher-octane fuel is not something to pamper a new car with but rather help keep an older car running properly.

In addition, premium gasoline has some other selling points. Most premium gasolines have a higher-quality additive package put in at the refinery. The actual additives in a particular brand of gasoline are generally not disclosed by refiners. But usually they include detergents and other solvents that keep the carburetor and rest of the fuel system clean.

Courtesy of affinityfcu.org

Self-driving Nissan Leaf controlled from iPad

"Siri, drive me home."

Okay, so it's not quite that simple (yet) but Oxford University is testing out a driverless version of the Nissan Leaf electric car using technology controlled from an Apple iPad on the dashboard. The car is guided by a low-cost navigation system that gauges its surroundings through small cameras and lasers discreetly built into the body of the car and does not rely on GPS. The iPad flashes up a prompt offering the driver the option of taking over a portion of the route. Touching the screen can switch back to "auto drive" where the robot system takes over.

The system is currently being tested at Begbroke Science Park, near Oxford. The next stage of the research will work on enabling the new robotic system to understand complex traffic flows and to make decisions on the best routes to take, said Dr. Ingmar Posner, who is co-leading the project.

It's estimated that the current prototype navigation systems costs around 5,000 pounds (about $7,625 US) but, "Long-term, our goal is to produce a system costing around 100 (pounds) [$151 US]," said Professor Paul Newman, the other co-leader.

Speaking of driverless Nissan Leafs, you can view another video showing a prototype of a self-parking Leaf here. A right-hand Nissan backs itself at a 90-degree angle into a striped parking car so it can be wirelessly recharged. Drivers might soon be able to do quite a lot from the driver's seat of the Leaf without ever having to steer.

Courtesy of autoblog.com

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