Summer 2008

Change The Way You Drive…

Ideas That Will Keep More Change in Your Pocket!

You’ll find a theme in this edition of the Brennan Family Newsletter.  A lot of the articles can help you stretch your gas dollar.

And the place to start is by looking at your driving habits.  Studies say drivers apply their brakes between 10 and 25 per cent

more time than they need to!  It really comes down to leaving enough room between you and the car in front of you.   If you

add a little space that would give you more time to coast before putting on the brakes.  There’s some physics here.  You use

gas to create motion.  Braking turns motion into heat through the friction of the brakes as you slow your car.  Excessive

braking wastes gas by turning it into friction as opposed to motion.   Aggressive driving will cost you mileage too. Instead

of competing with other drivers try thinking of driving as competing with your gas gauge.

How many miles per gallon do you get when you’re stopped at a red light?  You’ve got it!   ZERO!  The idea is to minimize

the time you spend fully stopped with your engine idling.  The instant you see brake lights in front if you or a stop light go

yellow or red take your foot off the gas or tap the cancel button on your cruise control and coast as close as you can to the

stop.  That way you’ll spend less time at that zero mpg place!

Then there’s speed. While each vehicle reaches optimal fuel economy at different speeds, gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph.  It has been estimated that each 1 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $.05 per gallon for gas.   And don’t use the clock for a speeding excuse!   If you make a 5 mile drive at 70 mph it will take you 4 ½ minutes.  If you slow down to 60 it will take just 30 seconds longer.  Plus it will save you gas and make the trip safer for you, your passenger(s),  and others on the road.

Next is your cruise control.  Learn to use your cruise control’s acel and decel/set or coast buttons.  Using these buttons

allows you to accelerate in very small, defined increments, like 1 mile per hour per click.  And that slower acceleration

will save a lot of gas.  The decel/set or coast button will decrease your speed by those same small increments and

very well might be all you need instead of wasting energy by braking.  Using the cruise control once you’re at your

desired speed will do a better job of maintaining that speed than trying to do it manually and, in most cases, will save you gas.

Loose some of the junk in your trunk!   Avoid keeping heavy items that you don’t really need in your vehicle.  An

extra 100 pounds could reduce your MPG by up to 2%.  That translates to $.04 to $.07 per gallon.

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Does the Color of Your Car Say Anything About You?

Every now and then there are fun studies done on what kinds of personalities drive what color car.  A recent study took

a slightly different twist and asked 1900 Americans about their attitudes toward their own lives at several points over

the course of a year.  And they asked each respondent the color of the car they drive most often.  See if the study has you right.

People who drive emerald green cars have the most positive attitude about the course of their own lives.  Dark Blue and silver are the other colors chosen by upbeat people.  Yellows, orange and bright blue are slightly below average.  And black cars come in last.

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Low Mileage Fun!

Everyone in the Brennan Family is concerned about gas prices these days and there are many fun events this

summer that are right here in our backyard.  Here are a few that caught our eye.

7/27 Art in the Park…48th annual fine art/craft fair at Appleton’s City Park.

7/28-8/3 EAA AirVenture, Oshkosh

7/31 German Night…Live German music, beer garden and food in Plymouth, WI

8/7 Taste on Broadway…Food from area restaurants and live music on Broadway in west Green Bay

8/9 Family Overnight…Spend an evening aboard the USS Cobia at the Maritime Museum in Manitowoc

8/13-8/17 Brown County Fair, De Pere

The Wisconsin Department of Tourism has a great web site that offers hundreds of things to do, places to go

and festivals this summer…all within a short drive of home.  Go to http://www.travelwisconsin.com/ for more information.

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Brennan Family Update

There are a couple of new members of the Brennan Family that we’d like to introduce.  Dick Schaut has joined the new car sales team.  He and Deidre have been married for 43 years and 3 children and 7 grandchildren.  His favorite travels include going back to England where he served for 4 years in the U.S. Air Force.  Dick’s hobbies include golf, fishing, deer hunting, and following the Packers.

Our new customer business manager is Ron Voorhees.  Ron comes to Brennan with 15 years of automotive industry experience.  In his spare time he enjoys traveling, movies, and motorcycling. Like a lot of other Brennan Family members…he’s an avid Green Bay Packers fan.

We’d also like to mention a couple of remarkable anniversaries coming up this summer!  Brennan Family

members William & JoAnn Miller celebrate their golden wedding anniversary on August 23rd

On August 21st it will be 60 years of marriage for Lester and Nathalie Salzaieder.

Congratulations to all!

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Ask Bob Williams Brennan Buick Service Manager Q.  Are there any service tips that will help me get better mileage?

A.  Two things that are a good idea to check are you tire inflation and your air cleaner.  The EPA studies say you

can increase your gas mileage up to 10% just by changing your air filter.  It’s a piece of thick corrugated paper that

collects all of that dust and smoke you drive though which prevents your engine from getting enough clean air.

Now for tires.  Another EPA estimate is that for every 1 psi of under inflation, fuel economy drops by 0.4%.  I know

that doesn’t sound like much but do the math.  If your four tires are a total of 8 pound under inflated that’s a 3.2%

drop in mileage.  Whenever you come to Brennan for any kind of service we always check your air filter and your tires.

If you’ve every got a service question please feel free to send an email to Bob@BrennanBuick.com

or call me at 436-4940

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Summer 2008 Brennan Family Birthdays

Summer 2008 Brennan Family Anniversaries

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