On The Road

Dynamic stability traction control (DSTC) and other traction control systems may be the most important features on your car to have working properly in the winter months.

Last month we had a new customer bring in her 2012 Volvo XC60 3.2L because she said her DSTC warning light went on and her electric emergency brake was not working correctly. She said that ever since the DSTC light came on, she wasn’t able to release or operate the emergency brake properly while the car was running. If she turned the car off, the emergency brake worked.

Last month I wrote about some of my worst encounters with motor vehicles and other cyclists on the road.

My intent was to remind drivers and riders that they may not always be right, and even if they are, they should think twice about using a car or bike as a means of intimidation. Intentionally scaring a cyclist or a pedestrian might provide a moment’s satisfaction, but it also can cause a serious accident you will have to live with.

Mike Hagerty/Special to the Town Crier
The 2019 Land Rover Discovery comes with an eight-speed automatic transmission.

The idea of “rugged luxury” seems like a contradiction in terms – but it’s not.

Proof positive of that is the 2019 Land Rover Discovery HSE Luxury. It’s a rugged, extremely capable SUV that can go pretty much anywhere you don’t need an airplane or boat to get to, but it’s quiet, refined and exceptionally well built.

Mike Hagerty/Special to the Town Crier
The Ford F-150 4X4 SuperCrew Limited offers power and luxury for more than $70,000.

My wife and I were driving down the street the other day, came to a corner and, as I stopped, I saw something that seemed, well, weird.

It was a newer pickup truck, but one with only two doors, in one color, with black trim and steel wheels. Now, back in the day, that was a pickup truck. Today, they’re called “work trucks,” but not too long ago, they were all work trucks. You could make them a little fancier with colored vinyl seats or a two-tone paint job, but a truck was a truck.

Mike Hagerty/Special to the Town Crier
The Chevrolet Blazer is the company’s sixth SUV. It comes with a 3.6-liter V6 engine that boasts 308 horsepower.

The slicing and dicing of the crossover/sport utility vehicle market is a wondrous thing to watch. The 2019 Chevrolet Blazer is Chevy’s sixth SUV. That’s right – sixth.

The bowtie boys and girls (check the Chevy logo if that reference escapes you) have found a space of daylight between the compact Equinox and the midsize Traverse, and thus we have the Blazer.

A reader recently asked me for real-life examples of sharing the road or sharing the lane with cars. So, here goes.

Left-turn lanes

Most adult, experienced cyclists choose to turn left from the left lane, especially if there is a dedicated left-turn lane.