Jeff Colbourne
Northern News Services

NNSL (Aug 10/98) - Ford Motor Co. says it has the answer to dealing with automobile problems brought on by harsh environmental conditions synonymous with the North.

Better quality and less warranty. Give customers a car or truck they can drive no matter what the season.

"In the automobile world today the quality is going up and the warranty is going down. That's the word from the motor companies, especially from Ford," said Spencer King of Kingland Ford in Hay River.

"You spend less money on warranty and more money on quality and that'll help us in the cold weather battle right there."

Material used to build motors and transmissions are also getting better improving the durability of your investment, he said.

More automobiles also coming with standard cold-weather features to protect against the elements. All Canadian-built Ford vehicles for instance come with a block heater and 30-40 per cent of their product line come with a battery jacket.

Better grades of oils help in the fight against engine wear. Synthetic oils are recommended in winter to keep engines running smoothly even when temperatures drop to the -40 C mark.

From the factory a better synthetic rubber tire can be ordered allowing better traction on the cold weather road.

But manufacturers can only do so much to build a vehicle that can withstand the adverse arctic conditions, said King.

The automobile owner has to take on some of the responsibility and use their common sense in caring for their vehicle.

"Plug it in. Change the oil in it service it. If you do your maintenance it will do you right. A lot of people don't know how to maintain a vehicle or expect the service department to know exactly what to do with it each time it comes in. The service department doesn't drive the unit or hear the unit or start it in the morning," said King.

"If a customer doesn't change the oil or runs the poorest grade of fuel he can get, doesn't do tune-ups, waits for something to happen and brings it in. That's owner neglect."

Longer service intervals are being practiced by many car companies, including Ford. Ten years ago car companies used to try and get their customers in for servicing every 3,000 kilometres. Now it's up as high as 7,500 and 10,000 kilometres for a service.

As far as other automobile technological advancements, companies are always making improvements, even throughout the model year, said King.

"In today's world of mechanical engineering as far as advancements of transmissions, efficiency of the motors, ride quality, comfort and wind noise improvements, cold weather starting, heaters, defrosters, heating and ventilation concerns and all that stuff. I've seen cars where you buy them and you can't see out the passenger and driver side windows in the wintertime. What kind of car is that in the cold?"