The Mountain Eagle
WHITESBURG WEATHER

Rethink this engagement

Car Talk


Dear Tom and Ray:

I have an issue. OK, not so much an issue, more of an argument between me and my fiance. I just bought a 2008 Dodge Caliber. My new toy has everything I love, including cruise control. I do a lot of highway traveling, and I love my cruise control. My fiance says it’s no good that I use cruise control all the time, and that it’s bad for the engine or transmission. Is he right? Is using my cruise control too often bad for my car — will I break my cruise control if I use it too much? If so, why, and when should one use cruise control? Love you guys! — Sara

RAY: If you think of the engagement period as a sort of test drive, Sara, your fiance just backed into a tree.

TOM: Yeah. He doesn’t have half a leg to stand on here. Using the cruise control won’t wear anything out. In fact, because it helps you maintain a constant speed, it actually prevents a certain amount of wear and tear that comes from accelerating and decelerating more frequently.

RAY: The engine and transmission couldn’t care less whether the electronic inputs are coming from your right foot or the cruise control system. And neither should your fiance. So, tell him if he doesn’t offer more fact-based advice in the future, he’s going to lose his male automotivepontificating privileges for the duration of the marriage.

TOM: Plus, highway driving is exactly the time you DO want to use cruise control — when you’re maintaining a constant speed for a long period of time, when traffic is thin and moving predictably, and when there are few unexpected obstacles that get in your way (like pedestrians, bicyclists, crossing traffic or aggressive squeegee guys).

RAY: The time you don’t want to use cruise control is in dense traffic, or in stopand go traffic, where you could be expected to have to slow down or stop frequently or unexpectedly. But even that’s a safety issue, not a wear-and-tear issue.

TOM: Right. In the old days, the cruise control used a separate cable that physically moved the throttle. So there were a few small parts that could wear out over time back then. But cars don’t have throttle cables anymore. Everything’s done electronically, through the computer. So there’s nothing to wear out, Sara.

RAY: So, suggest that the future hubby concede defeat on this one. And if he tries to argue that he’s still right because you’re going to use up your lifetime allotment of electrons, run.



Leave a Reply