San Diego Auto Repair

Apparently almost 2 million Southern Californians are hitting the road between today and Monday, and most of them are headed to San Diego. Time to reinforce your homes!!! Kidding. But there will be a lot more people in America's Finest City this weekend than there have been probably all summer long. And who can blame them? Crazy beautiful beaches, warm (but not unbearable) weather, incredible hiking and other outdoor activities, and a real love for what makes life enjoyable beckon all. If you're planning on staying put this weekend, here's a short list of some events around the county you might want to check out. We've included activities that don't require a car because our roadways might be a bit congested... No matter how you choose to celebrate, enjoy your Labor Day weekend (and remember we'll be closed on Monday)! Festival of Sail ... read more

Last week we attacked some of the most popular myths about American cars and totally BUSTED them. We rounded up the 10 most widely believed myths about American-made cars that car buyers still believe and present the evidence that proves they're all talk. This week, we have the second half of our car myths ready for busting! Adam and Jamie would be proud. Myth 6: All three companies would have gone under completely without Government aid—This may have been so in the case of Chrysler and GM (and even they paid off their aid in record time) but Ford took no Government aid, borrowing instead against everything the company owned - including its own logo. This paid off and now Ford is running a huge profit on it ... read more

For decades, many in the car-buying public looked upon the vehicles built by “The Big Three” (also known as Chrysler, Ford and GM) as inferior pieces of engineering work and inferior when it came to quality. Sadly, there were a few years way back when that this preconceived notion about American automobiles was wholeheartedly true; they simply were not as good as the European or Japanese competition. However, it has now been years since quality surveys showed any difference in vehicle quality due to where the manufacturer is based. If you look around nowadays, carmakers like Honda, BMW and Kia are just as likely to announce a recall on one of their vehicles for a safety or quality problem. Cars, trucks, SUVs, crossovers and even minivans are still mainly assembled by and are the creations of human beings and, sadly, humans are fallible and sometimes make mistakes. So perhaps it’s time you reconsider some of your pre-held n ... read more

Newsflash: it's already August. Parents are thinking about back to school, vacations are wrapping up, and the summer heat is just getting started. Just because the end of summer is near doesn't mean squat to the sun; August and September are San Diego's hot weather months. And when temperatures start to climb so high that you’d do almost anything to escape the heat (including go to the mall), then you know it’s time to take a drive in your convertible to a cooler locale, preferably near an ocean or other body of water. This long enjoyed ritual of taking a top-down convertible drive to nowhere in particular (although we do have a collection of the top summer driving routes) means it’s just as important what car you drive to get there. We've taken five highly varied convertible options that all serve different budgets, tastes and numbers of passengers to bring you the top 5 convertibles for an end of summer drive. A convertible is best enjoyed during the summer months with just a driver ... read more

Detroit was once a haven for prosperity and American-grown innovation thanks to its booming auto industry. But in 2008, this image changed as the “Big Three” auto manufacturers – General Motors, Chrysler and Ford – began to face catastrophic losses, known as the Detroit Auto Crisis. The Big Three, looking to earn high profit margins on their cars, focused their attention on SUVs and pickup trucks, cars with low fuel efficiency, which became unpopular as gas prices soared. Once gas prices tipped above $4 a gallon, gas-guzzling cars became totally undesirable, and the Big Three saw historic losses. High gas prices coupled with the stock market crash in September 2008 all but crippled the Big Three, particularly General Motors. In November 2008, General Motors’ Chief Executive pled before Congress for support. In December, the company was granted a $13.4 loan. Sales continued to plummet for the Big ... read more

Continuing with our made-in-the-USA theme, this list of the top 10 American made cars seems fitting right after the 4th of July. Buying American is still a point of pride for many consumers, and even though some American auto makes ended up with a relatively negative reputation, there's no doubt they're seeing surging positivity now. But what's American made? It would be very easy to confuse matters here as we live in a fully global economy where Hondas are built in Ohio and Chrysler is owned by Fiat—an Italian company. But the concept of a car being “Made in the U.S.A.” even if it was built, designed and engineered somewhere else still goes a long way with many Americans. So for this list we will be sticking to the very best from Ford, GM, Chrysler and all of their many subsidiary brands. Besides, your next new car may not be 100% “American Made” but that no lo ... read more

Back in 1984 when Bruce Springsteen scored one of his biggest hits with “Born in the U.S.A” things were a bit different in the auto industry. Most all Japanese and European cars were just that — built in Japan and in Europe. The Big Three built most of its cars at the time in the U.S.A with some sites in Canada and Mexico proving exceptions but not the rule. Being made in the USA was a source of pride. But then, with the weakening of the value of the U.S. dollar and currency fluctuations around the globe it became prudent business sense for Japanese and European automakers to start building cars on U.S. soil. Honda, which opened its first U.S. Accord plant in Marysville, Ohio in 1985 just last year built 81% of its cars in the United States and Canada with a similar percentage of U.S. sourced parts content. What all of this has meant are more jobs for U.S. workers as the mark ... read more

We came across this great San Diego infographic that basically says why our city is the best city in the country! (Not that we need a lot of convincing, but it does make some good points.) We know there are plenty of other wonderful cities in America that have some or more of the things that makes San Diego the happiest city, but the stats certainly do not lie. Plus, we can think of a thousand reasons why San Diegans tend to be happy that didn't make this list: the amazing events San Diego has every year (Comic Con is coming up!), miles of wide freeways and twisted mountain roads, the small town feel in a massive city, the crazy diversity of people and lifestyles, we could go on! If you have any of your own, we'd love to hear about them in the comments. ... read more

The summer solstice is one week away and temperatures outside just keep getting warmer. We decided that we should compile a top ten list of warm weather driving tips for any conscientious and safe driver (and that's you, right?). As summer is a time when many families embark on road trips in their car, truck, SUV or minivan we figured that the notion of staying safe on the road would be paramount. We know that when all our loved ones are in the car the last thing we want is a total mechanical breakdown with no functioning air conditioning. (Mainly we worry about the air conditioning, we won’t lie.) Keep Your Eye on Your Engine Temperature Gauge: When the temperatures rise outside the likelihood of the temperature rising in your engine compartment rises, too, and with that comes danger of a hefty repair ... read more

It’s finally starting to warm up all across this great country of ours meaning it is finally time to start thinking about summer road trip season. And since we have already explored some of the top summer road trip cars, now let’s look at some of the best road trip routes this summer. Some you may have heard of and some may be new to you, but we promise that none of these roads will disappoint. You may even get lucky and avoid cries of "are we there yet?" from the back seat. Tail of the Dragon—Located to the East in the Smoky Mountains along a stretch of US 129, this is considered the most challenging driving road in the United States thanks to 318 curves over the course of just 11 miles. Now, take this road at full speed and your passengers may get nauseous (and you may hit a tree...) so we recommend you try a few passes along ... read more