41st Annual Medora Christmas Festival

The 41st Annual Medora Christmas Festival will be Saturday, December 1^st. Planned events for this year will include the Light Up the Town contest for residents of Carr Township with judging to be held the night before the festival. The festival will start off with Breakfast with Santa from 8AM to 10:30AM. There will be a Baking contest, Baby contest, Pet Pictures with Santa to benefit Red Sky Rescue and a Cake Walk. Vendors will line the streets starting at 9AM, the Crowning of the 2012 Prince and Princess will take place on stage at 12:30 and the Parade will begin at 1:00PM. There will be stage entertainment throughout the day and a Tree Lighting at 5:30 in front of Medora Public Library to conclude the day’s events.
Additional Info: For more information please call 812-966-8887 or 812 528-0142 or email sbowers85@yahoo.com.

Avoid “Turkey” of a Weekend with Pre-Trip Vehicle Check

One way to avoid a turkey of a Thanksgiving road trip is to make sure the vehicle you will be driving is running well. A 10-minute pre-trip check is small potatoes compared to a big helping of inconvenience if you break down many miles away from home, according to the Car Care Council.

“A pre-trip vehicle check provides peace of mind, helping reduce the chance of costly car trouble and providing an opportunity to have any repairs performed by one’s own trusted technician before hitting the road,” said Rich White, executive director, Car Care Council. “While no inspection can guarantee a car’s performance, it’s comforting to know proper precautions were taken to ensure a stress-free Thanksgiving road trip.”

The Car Care Council suggests the following 10-minute vehicle check to help ensure safety and reliability on the road:

• Check the tires, including tire pressure and tread. Uneven wear indicates a need for wheel alignment. Tires should also be checked for bulges and bald spots.
• Check all fluids, including engine oil, power steering and brake and transmission, as well as windshield washer solvent and antifreeze/coolant.
• Check the hoses and belts that can become cracked, brittle, frayed, loose or show signs of excessive wear. These are critical to the proper functioning of the electrical system, air conditioning, power steering and the cooling system.
• Check lighting to identify any problems with exterior and interior lighting as the chance of an accident increases if you can’t see or be seen.
• Check wipers. Wiper blades should be replaced every six months. Make sure the windshield wipers are working properly and keep the reservoir filled with solvent.

The Car Care Council also recommends that motorists restock their emergency kit. To save on fuel costs during the trip, the council suggests that motorists avoid aggressive driving, observe the speed limit and avoid excessive idling. Gas caps that are damaged, loose or missing should be replaced to prevent gas from spilling or evaporating.

Courtesy of: http://www.carcare.org/2012/11/avoid-turkey-of-a-weekend-with-pre-trip-vehicle-check/

Bird Dog Club at Bedford Ford Lincoln

At Bedford Ford Lincoln Mercury we realize that our best form of advertising is you, our satisfied body of customers! Realizing this, we have developed a program to thank you for sharing your positive experiences with others and recommending us to them. Our commitment is to treat your referrals with the same level of respect and dedication to satisfaction we gave you.

The sales staff at Bedford Ford Lincoln Mercury is excited about having you endorse or "Hunt" for us with your friends and family, and we are committed to making your "Hunting" season as fun and rewarding as you hope it will be.

Just think, successfully referring a couple of "Birds" (friends, family, co-workers) per month and you could receive $3225 or more (depending on the pay scale) per year as our way of saying, "Thank You"!   What would 4 "Birds" per month reward you? You won't believe the possibilities!

The best part of the whole “Bird Dog Club” is getting a “Bone” or a reward for successfully recommending us to your family, friends and co-workers.  Referrals, or "Birds" will be tracked on an annual basis. On January 1st of each year, everyone will start a new "Hunt". Bedford Ford Lincoln Mercury will send you referral “Bones” each time one of our Sales Consultants successfully sells a unit to a “Bird” that you refer!  What better way to advertise than to have satisfied customers like you helping us create more satisfied customers. The “Bones” we reward you with come from our advertising budget and will never be added to the price of the unit. So, here's how the "Bone Chart" works

ANNUAL PRODUCTION (Jan-Dec) 1st Bird.................................................$50 2nd Bird...................................................$75 3rd Bird.......................................................$100 4th Bird...........................................................$100 5th Bird..............................................................$125 6th Bird.................................................................$125 7th Bird....................................................................$150 8th Bird......................................................................$150 9th Bird.........................................................................$175 10th Bird..........................................................................$175 Each Additional Bird..........................................................$200

Seeking out birds (customers) is a learned behavior that can be mastered with the help of your hunter (salesperson) and a few tips listed below.

• Always remember everyone you know is a bird.
• Listen for birds who are talking about buying.
• Hunt in locations where you know lots of birds:
      - Work
      - Church
      - Social Events
      - School
      - Clubs
      - Friends
      - Relatives
      - Co-workers
• Tell the bird about your personal experience with
  Bedford Ford Lincoln Mercury
• Be ready to answer questions:
      - What is Bedford Ford Lincoln?
      - Where are they located?
      - Who should I talk to?
      - Can I just stop in at any time?
      - Do they take in trade-ins?
      - Can I go online and view their inventory?
      - What is their phone number?

Learn more: http://www.birddogclub.com/Birddog_Rules.asp

Tempered Safety Glass

With all the new technology that can go into a car today, it is easy to forget about the older, but no less important innovations that help to protect us. Laminated and tempered safety glass used for car windows makes for one less thing to worry about in a car accident.

"Laminated safety glass has two other additional benefits:

-It reduces transmission of high frequency sound.

-It blocks 97 percent of ultraviolet radiation.

Laminated safety glass is also used in:

Thermometers for taking body temperature

-Cutting boards

-Greenhouse windows

-Shower enclosures

-Office partitions

-Laminated safety glass resists falling out of its frame during an earthquake or a tornado.

Tempered safety glass is a single piece of glass that gets tempered using a process that heats, then quickly cools, the glass to harden it. The tempering process increases the strength of the glass to five to 10 times that of untempered glass. Tempered safety glass breaks differently than regular clear glass. When tempered safety glass is struck it does not break into sharp jagged pieces of shrapnel-like glass as normal window panes or mirrors do. Instead, it breaks into little pebble-like pieces, without sharp edges. It is used in the side and rear windows of automobiles. Eyewear uses tempered glass that has been tempered using a chemical process.

Courtesy of Howstuffworks.com

Tips for Driving on Snow and Ice:

It’s that time of year again, winter! Check out tips from The Weather Channel on how to drive on snow and ice.

The best advice for driving in bad winter weather is not to drive at all, if you can avoid it.

Don't go out until the snow plows and sanding trucks have had a chance to do their work, and allow yourself extra time to reach your destination.

If you must drive in snowy conditions, make sure your car is prepared (TIPS), and that you know how to handle road conditions.

It's helpful to practice winter driving techniques in a snowy, open parking lot, so you're familiar with how your car handles. Consult your owner's manual for tips specific to your vehicle.

Driving safely on icy roads

1. Decrease your speed and leave yourself plenty of room to stop. You should allow at least three times more space than usual between you and the car in front of you.
2. Brake gently to avoid skidding. If your wheels start to lock up, ease off the brake.
3. Turn on your lights to increase your visibility to other motorists.
4. Keep your lights and windshield clean.
5. Use low gears to keep traction, especially on hills.
6. Don't use cruise control or overdrive on icy roads.
7. Be especially careful on bridges, overpasses and infrequently traveled roads, which will freeze first. Even at temperatures above freezing, if the conditions are wet, you might encounter ice in shady areas or on exposed roadways like bridges.
8. Don't pass snow plows and sanding trucks. The drivers have limited visibility, and you're likely to find the road in front of them worse than the road behind.
9. Don't assume your vehicle can handle all conditions. Even four-wheel and front-wheel drive vehicles can encounter trouble on winter roads.

If your rear wheels skid...

1. Take your foot off the accelerator.
2. Steer in the direction you want the front wheels to go. If your rear wheels are sliding left, steer left. If they're sliding right, steer right.
3. If your rear wheels start sliding the other way as you recover, ease the steering wheel toward that side. You might have to steer left and right a few times to get your vehicle completely under control.
4. If you have standard brakes, pump them gently.
5. If you have anti-lock brakes (ABS), do not pump the brakes. Apply steady pressure to the brakes. You will feel the brakes pulse — this is normal.

If your front wheels skid...

1. Take your foot off the gas and shift to neutral, but don't try to steer immediately.
2. As the wheels skid sideways, they will slow the vehicle and traction will return. As it does, steer in the direction you want to go. Then put the transmission in "drive" or release the clutch, and accelerate gently.

If you get stuck...

1. Do not spin your wheels. This will only dig you in deeper.
2. Turn your wheels from side to side a few times to push snow out of the way.
3. Use a light touch on the gas, to ease your car out.
4. Use a shovel to clear snow away from the wheels and the underside of the car.
5. Pour sand, kitty litter, gravel or salt in the path of the wheels, to help get traction.
6. Try rocking the vehicle. (Check your owner's manual first — it can damage the transmission on some vehicles.) Shift from forward to reverse, and back again. Each time you're in gear, give a light touch on the gas until the vehicle gets going.

 

Read more: http://www.weather.com/activities/driving/drivingsafety/drivingsafetytips/snow.html