Click & Clack Talk Cars
By Tom and Ray Magliozzi
Dear Tom and Ray:
I’m writing to you from
hot and sunny Phoenix. My wife and I currently
own a 2004 Subaru Forester. We bought an
all-wheel-drive vehicle because we hope to be
living someplace where it snows within the next
few years. We love the car, but the gas mileage
isn’t spectacular because of the AWD.
However, the owner’s manual talks about a
way to make the car work in front-wheel drive
only: by inserting a spare fuse into the fuse box
when you need to drive on a spare tire, so that
the AWD system doesn’t get ruined. Our
question: If we pout in this extra fuse and
deactivate the AWD and therefore get better gas
mileage, are we running the risk of damaging the
AWD system over time. - David
TOM: Well, having lived in the
great frozen North for all of our miserable lives
so far, we can’t imagine why you’d want
to move to where it snows. Unless you make your
living selling Bronko Nagurski Long Underwear.
RAY: You’ve actually
identified a problem that many people aren’t
aware of, David: All-wheel-drive vehicles are
more expensive to own.
TOM: When you have all-wheel
drive, you add an additional set of drive-train
components. Those components add weight to the
car, which decreases your mileage. They also can
add to your repair costs, because there are more
things to break.
RAY: So if you live in Florida
or Southern California, you do your commuting on
paved roads and you don’t work for Mutual of
Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, you probably want to
skip the all-wheel drive. Now, as you’ve
discovered, David, Subaru does provide a way to
deactivate the rear drive shaft. But
unfortunately, it really won’t help your
mileage. Even though you can disconnect the rear
drive-train components from the transmission,
those parts are still turning (it’s just
that the rear wheels are pushing them, rather
than vice versa). And you’re still carrying
all of those parts around with you.
TOM: So I’m afraid
you’re out of luck, David. What CAN you do?
Make sure your tires are properly inflated, be
sure your engine is tuned and running well, and
take that 1,000-pound snowmobile out of the back
of the car until you actually make your move
north.
Natural
Nutrition
By Mari An Willis
Sponsored by Oak Street Health & Herbs
This is the beginning of the
season we often celebrate by gathering with
relatives and friends and eating lots of foods.
Some healthy and most not! We combine a variety
of foods and beverages within a short span of
time and ask our stomachs to remain calm,
unbloated and quiet. Not the case. Indigestion is
the complaint of choice during the
"overeat" season. Thank goodness nature
has provided us with many herbs to see us through
these days.
Sage makes a nice flavoring in
the dressing, but also serves as a calmative to
the stomach. It is know to help produce digestive
juices. This herb should be used very sparingly
by mothers who may be breast-feeding as it will
dry up the milk flow. One may make a cup of sage
tea by pouring boiling water over 1 tablespoon of
fresh herb or 1/2 dry herb, steep and enjoy with
a little honey. Sage leaves, when chewed, are
said to ease the pain of a sore throat.
Fennel is another fine choice
for it has the ability to calm the stomach,
relieve gas, and is a mild diuretic if one is
retaining fluid from overconsumption of salt. It
is quite nice when it is sweetened with a bit of
honey and some lemon juice. The seeds are boiled
for a few minutes to bring out the full flavor of
this aromatic plant. If boiled with barley (or
even by itself) it aids lactation.
OLD SAYING: "Better to
burp and bare the shame, than bury the burp and
bare the pain."
This article is meant for
informational purposes only and is not intended
as a substitute for medical advice. References
available by request. These statements have not
been evaluated by the FDA.
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