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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 27, 1998)
Car Care Tips Ask Monique Sometimes when 1 go over humps in the road, the steering wheel turns to the left by itself One day, I was about to apply the brakes when the car started leaning toward the right. I had to fight to keep it straight. I had the shocks replaced two months ago and an alignment done. I even bought new tires two weeks ago. Mv mechanic doesn’t seem to under stand what I am talking about. Help! is designed to fit comfortably in a socket, with just enough play to provide a smooth ride. If the joint gets damaged, the ball will move loosely in the socket, and that can cause a bumpy ride. Another area to consider are brake cali pers. If only one of your calipers is work ing, that would cause your car to pull to one side when you brake. Fortunately, you can to do some check ing yourself. Roll down your car window and drive the car in a circle or turn cor ners. A clicking noise suggests possible Marcus, Headiveeble@aol.com problems with your bearings. If your car feels like its wandering when vou apply ounds like you did everything you the brakes, you may want to have your were supposed to do. Bumpy rides usu ball joints checked. ally signal the obvious — worn shocks or Again, take your Honda to a mechanic tires, or unaligned tires. This one is diffi for a closer inspection. Now, you have a cult to assess without seeing your vehicle, little more information from which to ask as there could be damage to some not-so questions. obvious areas. Vehicles that travel daily over shoddy, M cG ill is a certified technician at Antwerpn bumpy roads may experience wear and Toyota in Glarskville, Md. tear over time on the ball joints and the control arm. Both are very important to Q u e stio n s m ay be e -m a ile d to h e r a t your steering and suspension. A ball joint AAOW2@aol.com or faxed to (313) 255-1321. For the first time in history, Mercedes won Motor Trends Truck of the Year Award. For the first time in history - we entered. S have a 1993 Honda Accord with about 74,000 miles on it. Recently I’ve no ticed that it's giving me a bumpv ride. I LCTTCRS AND C-M AIl I greatly enjoyed participating in your re ce n t G olden Wheel Awards cer emony in Detroit re cently. At 89, it was a crowning moment in a long life. In the way of some history; I was the only member of the Patterson fam ily to have worked in the fa c to ry at G re e n fie ld , from 1935 to its closure and the only woman there with a mechanic's license. I remember that toward the end. we found it impossible with so little money to compete with Henry Ford. That's when we made the decision to build buses, delivery trucks and moving vans. The trucks were made for the Baby Bear Bread Company in Manchester, Ohio. The vans, which received much acclaim, were made for a company in Dayton. The buses went to the government of Haiti Kathleen Patterson Dayton. Ohio Editors ' note: Kathleen Patterson is a de scendant of C.R. Patterson, a black automaker in the early 1900s AAO W s Company o f the Year A w a rd is na m ed a fte r P atterso n- Greenfield Motor Car Co.. and Mrs. Patterson presented the award to this year's recipient. Ford. I enjoyed reading your nostalgic look back at our “Love Affair With Cars" in the Spring 1998 issue. I hadn’t thought about how the automobile served such a vital purpose for African Americans in the early days. After all, it provided us with a means of circum ve n tin g the ra cia l problem s involved with traveling then. I also wanted to g ive your rea de rs ÇSr-FNY» », some additional infor » - * mation about using “electronic keys" at the gas pump, which was highlighted in your “VOICES" segment. I have been using the Mobil Speedpass for several months now and I think it is fantastic! There are two options - a key tag that you can carry, and a car tag that goes in the rear window of your car. It does work like a credit card. Your gas purchases are autom atically charged to your Mobil card or a credit card of your choice. Currently there is no additional charge for this service. Thanks again for your obvious commitment to educating African-American consumers about the automobile industry. L. A. Clayton Centreville. Va. I really enjoyed the historical piece, “A Love Affair with Cars.” It made me realize just how much automobiles have affected the lives of African Americans. Also, I had no idea that the Ford Foundation made so many contribu tions to the development of African Americans. As a young African-American male, I can really appreciate A frican Am ericans On Wheels. Finally, we have a source about au tomobiles that we can trust in. e-mail:Damon.Redmond@mortgagesvcs.com I would like to thank you for featuring me on the cover of African Americans On Wheels' Summer 1997 issue. As an A fric a n -A m e ric a n fe m a le in motorsports. I am positive that people of color will eventually make our mark in the sport. Thanks again, Athina D. Corbett Clinton. Md. Editor’s note: Athina Corbett is a 15-year- old racer in the Junior National Hot Rod As sociation. Please send your letters to: African Americans On Wheels 2034 National Press Building Washington. D C.. 20045 e-mail:AAOW3@AOL COM Letters are subject to editing for content and style. Explore our Web site, www MBUSA.com 1998 Mercedes Benz of North America. Inc.. Montvale. N.J . Member of the Daimler Benz Group in URh \ \ WtERK WS ON WHHl.s ~ re
