Does anyone remember the first GM design of a mini spare? I have a few of them around here. 13", 14" and a couple 15" They were a standard rim with a VERY elastic tire mounted on them. The sidewalls collapsed in and the tread compressed the entire unit down to a size about 1" larger than the bare rim. Included a CO2 canister that you screwed into place to inflate the tire up to standard size.
Porsche used them on a few models as well. They included a small compressor for the ones they used though.
Ah, nothing beats the Hummer H1's CTIS... Going down the highway, you can both monitor tire pressure with the dash gauge, and add air as needed. I picked up a nail in CT once, drove to NH, adding air every
15 minutes or so to keep the pressure at the level I wanted. Worked wonderfully.
Spare? Nope, the Hummer H1 doesn't have one from the factory. Does have run-flats, CTIS, and by carrying a plug kit you are all set.
I see where gas tank capacity of the Focus and the Cobalt are down to 13 gallons.
Did they save a penny by making the tank smaller ? Was shaving the weight of 2 gallons ( 16lb ) mean that much ? So, folks'll spend that much more time at the gas station.
BTW; I priced the new COBALT at EDMUNDS again....... So much that's "standard" on other cars is an extra-cost option. . A "compact car" with a $17,000 price tag ??? OUCH !!
A tow, solely due to a refusal to carry a spare tire, for someone otherwise particularly well equipped and geared for emergency responses is a juxtaposition I have trouble reconciling. However you can rest assured in the certain knowledge that I, for one, would no more begin to equate an EMT with an MD than I'd confuse a Jiffy Lube grease monkey for an MIT professor of theoretical physics or that oil change the former might perform with the Millikan oil drop experiment ;^)
I can partially agree with you. My Roadside Assistance for five years covers the change. That is, if you can reach it.
There are some places in this country that are many miles from any town, service station, cell tower, or other form of help. Or it is hours of waiting in the desert or during a heavy snow. Last time I personally changed a tire has been many years, probably 30+ ago, but I still want the spare available. My wife, OTOH, can do without as she does not drive far from home and would not know what to do with it anyway.
Every manufactures small cars have been going up in price since 2008. The reason being that their larger more expensive models sales are down and no longer providing the profits that were used to subsidize the price of their small cars.
Every manufacture needed small cars sales to support CAFE and thus they were subsidized to enable them to sell more of their higher profit models that adversely effect their CAFE figures
I needed AAA in a larger town near by one Sunday. The response was "Find a phone book and look for a garage who as a AAA logo in their advertisement..."
I let my AAA membership expire, and never bothered with them again.
A tow, solely due to a refusal to carry a spare tire, for someone otherwise particularly well equipped and geared for emergency responses is a juxtaposition I have trouble reconciling. However you can rest assured in the certain knowledge that I, for one, would no more begin to equate an EMT with an MD than I'd confuse a Jiffy Lube grease monkey for an MIT professor of theoretical physics or that oil change the former might perform with the Millikan oil drop experiment ;^) ____________________________________________________________
Reconciliation of a juxtaposition by a putative reconciler is contraindicated if the objective is to pedantically troll.
Heron McKeister wrote, "A tow, solely due to a refusal to carry a spare tire, for someone otherwise particularly well equipped and geared for emergency responses is a juxtaposition I have trouble reconciling. However you can rest assured in the certain knowledge that I, for one, would no more begin to equate an EMT with an MD than I'd confuse a Jiffy Lube grease monkey for an MIT professor of theoretical physics or that oil change the former might perform with the Millikan oil drop experiment ;^) " ****************************************** Bravo!! Well played, suh. NOT.
I hate the secret sauce. I am not wild about pickles or lettuce on a burger either. I like things my way.
All this talk about not having a spare got me thinking - I have never even checked to see if my Fusion has a spare....I am pretty sure it does. On the other hand, my F150 definitely has one since I had to use it when the truck was less than 6 months old. For by previous F150, I did not take the spare down from the rear until the truck was 13 years old, and then I was sitting in the driveway at home.
I suspect most Malibus in a dealer's stock include the spare. I can't imagine a dealer would order one for the lot without it. On the other hand, some cheap fleets or individuals might decide not to.
I always keep a cheap air compressor in all my vehicles. I'd much rather blow the tire up on the side of the road than jack it up to change the tire. Roadsides are not ideal jacking locations!
it was nice having the spare tire this past September when a road trip to Ohio resulted in a 2" slit in the inner sidewall. Fix a flat or plugs would of been useless to me in this case.. I prefer a spare.
Me too. Even that little "donut" spare will get you down the road for a replacement tire. Did it once. I should check to see if there's any air in that thing.
Probably true, this was many years ago. But regardless, it left such a bad taste in my mouth for AAA that I've never gone back. Imagine being told to "Look in the phone book" on a Sunday afternoon, with the family stranded on the side of the road.
Also, as a side issue. What eventually happened:
This was a Toyota. I was two or three blocks from the Toyota dealership. I called the police and asked if it was ok to leave the car at the side of the road. They said OK, but make sure it is well off the road. (I'd explained what the problem was, no possible tows).
I then went to the Toyota dealership. Took my keys, and wrote them a note: "My car is at XYZ, please pickup it up and fix it." Now, the Toyota was out of warranty at this stage... And the dealer didn't really know me, I'd bought it elsewhere.
I went home, and decided that I'd not worry about it again.
Monday noon time I called the dealer... "We got your car picked up first thing this morning. Was an item that Toyota has a customer service satisfaction campange on, so the repair is free. We do have to charge for tow, how much tow allowance do you get on AAA or your insurance?" I told them, and that was what I paid! Out of pocket: Nothing. Car fixed by lunch time. One very happy Toyota customer. One still ticked off AAA customer.
There is my example of absimal customer service, and outstanding customer service.
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