Quality Plus Automotive - July 2021

Quality Plus Automotive - July 2021

July 2021

What About the 5th of July? Every year in early July, millions of Americans get together to celebrate the greatest day in the world. But one day later, there’s another holiday, and I don’t think many people know about it. I’m speaking of National Workaholics Day on July 5. It’s a silly idea for a holiday but one that also strikes a chord. Workaholic? That’s me for sure. I’ve spent more than a few holidays — including the Fourth of July — working instead of celebrating. Then again, I think that working on the Fourth isn’t such a bad way to celebrate the day. If you think that’s crazy, I’ll explain in a second. But first I’m going to explain why it is that I’ve worked so hard for so long. Growing up, even the poorest of our neighbors considered my family to be poor. Our tobacco farm was on a dirt road, and the cows, pigs, and chickens outnumbered the people. We raised, caught, shot, grew, or traded for everything we ate. Most folks can’t imagine living without running water or indoor plumbing, but that was the way I lived until I was 15 years old. It wasn’t all doom and gloom, but when I left home, I knew I was never going to be poor again in my life. And I haven’t been, even when life threw me curveballs like getting married and having a child while my wife and I were still teenagers (we’ve been together 47 years now).

mostly doing farm labor. I’d worked hard at home and knew how to do a lot of things, so it wasn’t hard to find people to bring me on. But in order to achieve my goal of never being poor, I knew I had to own my own business. I spent my 20s working and learning, and 35 years ago, Quality Plus Automotive was born. I was always a hard worker, but there’s something about owning your own shop that helps you put in those long hours at night and on weekends. That was my life for years. I was first in and last out. I worked on the holidays. I provided a life for my children that was far, far different than mine had been. It wasn’t all turning wrenches and balancing books; I had to read some books, too. I was too busy to spend much time with my nose in a book as a kid or younger adult, but when I was in my early 40s, I began to read business books, just trying to learn and make the shop a better business for customers and employees. With two locations and 17 employees, I feel good about our growth and the people we’re serving. My own son runs the other shop, and those 17 people feel like family. At the same time, I discovered that I like to read. I also enjoy golf, and I love my family very much. Those books helped me dial back my involvement a bit and gave me more time doing those things instead. Looking back, I know my parents worked their butts off. But they didn’t make much money at it. I have a knack for that, and setting out to learn about business at my own speed allowed me to turn that knack into a profitable business. These days, I’m still the first guy here. When I go home, I find myself cutting grass or maintaining lawn equipment until it gets dark. That’s how I am, to a point. But past that point, it’s a choice these days: I don’t have to be the workaholic I was as a younger business owner. And that’s where this ties back into the Fourth of July, because we live in America and there is no place like it. A person can be born here or come here from another country with nothing and make a good living for themselves and their family through sheer hard work. That’s what I did, and I’m not special. I just live in a special place, and I know how to work hard.

The secret was simple: I worked. Hard .

It started in high school. Classes ended at 2 p.m., and I went to work until 11 that night. On weekends, I would work for whoever needed a pair of hands,

Wake Forest • 919.453.0345 — Raleigh • 919.231.6164 -Randy Bunn

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Published by Newsletter Pro • www.NewsletterPro.com

Stay Cool This Summer

The Hot Car Che Cars can overheat for a number of reasons, and in the hot summer months, it becomes much more common. There are a few things you can try to prevent this from happening if the engine temp dial is headed into the red. Keep in mind that these are not fixes, long or short term— just things to get you safely off the road. Do not drive your car if the temperature gauge goes into the red. 1. Roll down the windows and turn on the heater. This will pull heat away from the engine and vent it into the cab. The windows are so you don’t broil — a hot car in summer is no joke. 2. Pull over and turn off the engine. If you need to drive a few blocks to find a safe spot, that’s okay, but don’t push it any further than that. 3. Wait 15 minutes. That’s how long it takes for the engine to safely cool down before you can open the hood and check for coolant. This is a great time to call a towing company. Why risk further damage to your engine when you can get the car to the shop without turning it back on? 4. Check for coolant. If you’re comfortable, open the hood (stand back, it’ll be like opening an oven) and see if your coolant reservoir is low. If so, add coolant. Do not touch or add coolant to the radiator unless you know what you’re doing. Do not open the radiator cap— you could possibly get burned from hot fluid.

When thinking about extreme and deadly weather, most people conjure up images of massive tornadoes in the Midwest or hurricanes and flooding in the Southeast. But you might be surprised to learn that the deadliest extreme weather event is excessive heat. In fact, according to a study

from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), heat causes more deaths each year than floods, lightning,

tornadoes, and hurricanes combined . Since 2020 was the second warmest year on record and all the other years in the top 10 have occurred since 2005, it’s time to wise up about heat-related illnesses.

Heat-Related Illnesses and Risk Factors According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heat-related illnesses are caused by “exposure to extreme heat where the body becomes unable to properly cool, resulting in a rapid rise in body temperature.” There are several kinds of heat-related illnesses. The least severe are heat rashes, sunburn, and heat cramps, and the most serious are heat exhaustion and heat stroke. While anyone can experience these illnesses if they overexert themselves in hot weather, some groups are more at risk than others, including: • Children under the age of 4 and adults over the age of 65 • People with preexisting medical conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease • People who are overweight • People taking certain kinds of medication • Individuals who are intoxicated or drink excessively Symptoms toWatch Out For Both heat exhaustion and heat stroke have many of the same symptoms, including headaches, dizziness, nausea or vomiting, and passing out. But other symptoms help differentiate the two. Heat stroke victims will have hot, red skin that may be dry or damp, and they’ll likely have a fast, strong pulse. By contrast, victims of heat exhaustion will have cold, pale, and clammy skin and a fast but weak pulse. Heat stroke is a medical emergency requiring professional medical attention immediately. You should also seek medical help for anyone exhibiting the above symptoms who is also throwing up or whose symptoms are getting worse or last longer than one hour. For a complete list of symptoms and treatment for all heat-related illnesses, visit CDC.gov/disasters/ extremeheat/warning.html . Stay cool this summer and prevent heat-related illnesses by seeking shade or staying indoors on hot days, avoiding exerting yourself in the heat, and drinking plenty of water!

STAFF BIRTHDAYS

Kaye Moore Marketing Director - July 7 Scott Burgess Service Manager at the Wake Forest location - July 16 Jacob Poole Assistant Service Manager at the Wake Forest location - July 19

2 QualityPlusAutomotive.com

What Happened to Self-Driving Cars?

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5. All clear is not all clear. If there’s coolant in the reservoir and the engine has been off for 15 minutes, many drivers will try to drive again. Don’t be one of them. 6. Watch for smoke, sniff for burning. Whether driving or pulled over, if at any point you see smoke appear from under the hood, pull over and move away from the car. Like hot cars in the summer, engine fires are no joke. 7. Get to the shop. Instead of trying to fix things yourself, ignore the problem or limp the car home. Get it taken to a shop you trust instead. If at any time your vehicle does overheat, pull over to the side of the road and call a tow truck to avoid potential engine damage and expensive repairs.

For Autonomous Autos, No News Is Good News

Back in 2015 and 2016, it seemed like self-driving cars were the thing of the future. Every month, you’d find a new magazine cover talking about the technology. Public opinion showed that people expected self-driving cars to be parked in their own driveway in the next 10 years or so.

Halfway through that 10-year period, though, those kinds of vehicles seem to have dropped off the map. What changed?

As far as we can tell, the biggest factor was that the rubber hit the road — literally and figuratively. Before the 2010s, self- driving technology wasn’t available to many consumers, whether they could afford it or not. But after about 2015, companies like Tesla finally began to put the technology in the

hands of consumers. As it turns out, cars are just a bit more complicated than Silicon Valley thought.

Headlines began to fill up with Teslas and other autonomous vehicles causing wrecks large

and small, many resulting in severe injuries and even fatalities. States started to limit use to “testing” when it became apparent that the kinks hadn’t been worked out yet — and that the cost of doing so would be paid in human lives. At the same time, consumers began to realize that they’d be held liable for the actions of their uncontrolled automobile, whether that was a scrape in a parking lot or a pileup on the interstate. They weren’t exactly eager to risk their own lives, either. Does that mean the tech is dead? Not exactly. Many major auto manufacturers, including those in Germany and Japan, have been quietly testing their own driverless tech for years now. They started before 2015, and they’ll keep going until it works. But until that day, don’t expect to see much bragging in the headlines. And whether they’ll be ready in another five years to meet original expectations is truly anybody’s guess. 3

Wake Forest 919.453.0345 Raleigh 919.231.6164

QualityPlusAutomotive.com 1601 Heritage Commerce Ct. Wake Forest, NC 27587

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INSIDE This Issue

1

What About the 5th of July?

2

What Are Heat-Related Illnesses?

Engine Overheating? Try These Tips!

What Happened to Self-Driving Cars?

3

Fourth of July Fun Facts to Share With the Kids

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Fun Facts About the Fourth of July YOU CAN SHARE WITH YOUR KIDS

What do your kids know about the Fourth of July? Do they know it’s a day when you have a barbecue, spend time with friends and neighbors, and watch a fireworks show? These hallmarks of the holiday certainly do make it fun and memorable, but they don’t really exemplify why we celebrate the Fourth of July, the anniversary of when the United States declared its independence from Britain. So, along with the sparklers and hot dogs, here are a few fun facts about Independence Day you can share with your kids to help them understand the significance of the holiday. The Fourth of July marks our country’s independence because it’s when the Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence. This fact might seem like a no-brainer, but it contextualizes the holiday for kids. It’s a great jumping-off point to talk about why the United States wanted to be its own country, what the Continental Congress was, what the Declaration of Independence said, and what it means to “ratify” something.

later, on July 4, 1826. This fact is an interesting coincidence sure to fascinate both kids and adults. It’s also a great way to introduce kids to some of the Founding Fathers and share how they helped shape the United States today. I n 1776, the year the United States was founded, only 2.5 million people lived here. Today, the U.S. population is 331 million. Lots of people have been born in the United States since it was founded, and millions more came here from other places, hoping to find a better life. Many succeeded, too. Many people want to call this country home! On the Fourth of July, around 155 million hot dogs are eaten in the United States. Okay, so this fact might not have anything to do with American history, but it’s still pretty funny! If anything, the fact that we have so many hot dogs to eat on that day is evidence of the prosperity so many people enjoy in the United States of America.

Two future presidents signed the Declaration of Independence: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. They both died exactly 50 years

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