20 - Friday, September 22, 1989 - North Shore News

AUT OM OTIVE S

Automobile theft can be prevented

LAST YEAR, North Vancouver’s ICBC claim
centre reported that a total of $1,126,931 worth
of goods were stolen from cars in 2,464 separate
thefts. Two hundred ninety five cars, with a total
value of $700,462, were stolen outright.

Typical items stolen from
cars inchide radios, tape
decks, CBs, cellular phones,
speakers, hubcaps, mag
wheels, and valuables left in
the car.

Luxury cars and collec-
tor’s cars are targets for
theft of rare and expensive
parts, such as engine parts,
grilles, badges, body panels
and headiamp assemblies.

Thieves like to get in and
out of a vehicle quickly to
avoid being seen and/or
caught. Items stolen are
usually easily removable and
portable.

There are a number of
methods and devices you can
use to discourage and pre-
vent theft.

The simplest form of theft
prevention is to Jock all the
doors and roll up the win-
dows when leaving the car
unattended. Even if you’re
just dropping into the corner
grocery for a litre of milk,
lock the car up.

Don’t forget to lock the
hatchback, as entrance to
the car can be gained

through here. It takes only a
couple of minutes for a thief
to pry cut a radio.

You can also deter thieves
by engraving your driver’s
licence number on visible

areas of car accessories, such
as on the front of your
radio. You can have this
done free of charge at one of
the North Vancouver
RCMP’s Automark engrsv-
ing programs, conducted on
a regular basis at local malls.

Many car radios now
feature electronic code pro-
tection to deter thieves. Once
the radio is pulled from the
car and detached from its
power source, it cannot be

reused unless the proper
code is programmed into it.

. Many luxury cars are now
equipped with alarms in-
Stalled at the factory. When
a would-be thief reaches in
through an open (or unopen)
window and pulls up the
door lock, the horn will start
to honk and cannot be turn-
ed off until the proper key is
inserted in the door Jock and

turned..

Other new cars, such as
the Lincoln Continental,
have a numeric pad on the
driver’s door, similar to
many house-entry systems.
The driver must press the
proper sequence of numbers
to open the door.

The main flaw with these
types of systems is that a
thief can still gain entry to
the car by smashing the
window and climbing

through it, or by disabling
the alarm system before
entering through the door.

The most popular type of
after-market alarm system is
a motion detection device.
When a door is opened, or
the window shattered, or the
car is jacked up, a piercing
siren sounds.

Some of the cheaper mo-
tion detection devices are too
sensitive and tend to go off
“by themselves’. There is
nothing quite so irritating as
a car alarm going off un-
necessarily.

Grahem Barr, Manager of
Viectronics in Vancouver,
blames errant alarms on un-
sophisticated equipment and
poor adjustment.

‘In many cases, they’ll go
off because someone has
bumped into the car when
parking, or a semi-trailer has
passed by rocking the car
with a blast of air. Some of
the cheaper systems wan’t
even allow a car to be park-
ed on a steep grade without
setting off the alarm.’”

“Generally, though, the
better systems can be ad-
justed to avoid embarrassing
moments.”’

How much does this type
of system cost? A relfiable
electronic system, such as

Take measures to make
your car energy-efficient

TO SAVE energy and to
keep yourself and your car
in the best physical condition
possible, use your
automobile only when it is
absolutely necessary. If you
aren’t going far, take the
bus, ride your bicycle, or

*An engine that runs
‘slowly wastes fuel; in fact,
an engine running slowly for
one minute burns more gas
than it burns when it starts
up. If you are waiting in
your car, turn the engine
off.

walk. The Winter Car: An Energy
Some Economic Driving ter
Habits In cold weather, engines

If you drive, try to save
energy in the following
ways:

® Drive slowly. A_ car
tunning at 100 km/h con-
sumes 10 per cent more gas
than a car running at 90
km/h.

@ Whenever possible, play
your stops. Sudden starts

and stops wear out your tires |

and brakes and increase your
fuel consumption.

@ Keep an cye on your
tires. Buy an air pressure
gauge and check your tire
pressure at least twice a
month. Rotate your tires
when they start to wear.

If your car has radial tires,
replace the back tires with
the front ones on the same
side. If you have bias-ply
tires, change the back tires
to the front on the same
side.

Switch each front tire with
its diagonally-opposite back
tire.

® Air conditioning can in-
crease fuel consumption by
20 per cent. Try keeping the
windows closed and using
the air circulation system.

can increase their energy
consumption by 30 per cent.
At -12°C, your engine heats
up only after your car has
travelled 15 kilometers.
Driving short distances
therefore wastes energy and
money and should be avoid-

Although winter tires give
better traction, replace them
with summer tires as soon as
the ice melts; winter tires
running on dry surfaces in-
crease fuel consumption by 4
per cent. Consider buying
radial tires which provide a 5
per cent higher fuel economy
than bias-ply tires.

In the winter, do not let
the engine run for more than
30 seconds before driving.
However, drive slowly for
the first few kilometers to
allow the engine to heat up
slowly.

Have your car serviced
each fall.

If you follow these tips,
you will save energy and at
the same time prolong the
life of your car.

For more information

write to: Communications

RECYCLE
THIS

Branch, Energy, Mines and
Resources Canada, 580

Booth Street, Ottawa, On-
tario KIA 0E4,

A new, better way
to sell your car

for your call.

° Private party ads only.

eve put our auto advertising into high gear
to give you the best advertising mileage in
town. You already get top mileage for your
: auto advertising with the North Shore News
Classifieds. We reach up to 70% more potential North
Shore car buyers than the other newspapers. Now,
weve added high octane to our performance, with our
new fall rates and new free FOR SALE sigr

Buy 3, get 3 free and we'll provide you
with a sign for your car in the bargain. *

No matter what type of auto youre selling, make
the driving force behind your advertising the North
Shore News Classifieds. Our Ad-visors are waiting

the Ungo Box, starts at
about $325, installed.

Thirty seconds after the
last door is closed and lock-
ed, the system arms itself
automatically. When you get
back in the car, you have
fifteen seconds to turn the
ignition on and press a secret
switch to prevent the alarm
from going off.

For about $450, you can
buy the same type of system
with a remote transmitter
that arms and disarms the
system from outside the car.

Some advanced alarm
systems use ultra sonic

detection devices that ‘hear’
sharp sounds like doors
opening or windows shatter-
ing. Even more advanced in-
fra-red systems detect
movement inside the car
when an infra-red light beam
is broken by the intruder.

Whether or not you need
an alarm system depends on
what type of car you have,
what features you have in
the car, and where you park
it. If your car is valuable to
you, then $500 is not a bad
investment to keep your car,
and your peace of mind.

ASK THE
EXPERT

EO YOU have any questions concerning your vehicle?

Chances are we can have them answered by an ex-
pert. Send us any automotive-related questions and
we'll do our best to provide you with helpful and in-
formative answers. You could even win one of five
pairs of CN IMAX theatre tickets for your efforts.

Write or drop off your questions to ‘“‘Ask The Ex-
pert,’’ North Shore News, 1139 Lonsdale Avenue,
North Vanceuver, B.C. V7M 2H4.

OPENING on

FREE
SERVICE CLINIC

AT OUR NEW LOCATION

Summit Motors and Mazda Canada
invites you and your Mazda to visit our
FREE SERVICE CLINIC and GRAND

Wed., Thurs. and Fri.
September 26, 27 and 23

2:00pm -
A Mazda representative will be available
to discuss your automotive needs. Free

refreshments, special gifts and a 12 point
inspection are al! part of this special offer.

Please phone ahead for
an appointment.

254-7144

(Direct to Service Dept.)

7:30pm

: WE'SURROUND You.
_WIEH SATISFACTION ©

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