garrett mckinnon porfolio

7/27/2019 Garrett McKinnon Porfolio

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Lube Tech Showdowns TPMS Opportunities TechSpec: 2012 Nissan Versa HiringGood Employees

Our 25th Year of Serving the Fast Oil Change Industry www.noln.net

The ABCs ofIntervals.

Again. 52

Best Looking LubeIs a Trip Back in Time

18

P r e s o r t e d S t a n d a r d U . S . P o s t a g e

P A I D L e b a n o n J u n c t i o n ,

K Y P e r m i t # 6 2 3

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Portfolio:

Design, Content, Marketing

Garrett McKinnon


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3/11

MDVehicl

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A D river ' s G u ide to Main ta in ing a H ea l thy C ar www.v h m. m

M x Protect your engine | HoMonyM Huddle

TAILGATING FUN

Go Long! Tips to help you save

at the fuel pump

Fa 2011

Ready, Set, Hike

Make Your Car the Star of the Tailgate Party

Squelch squeaks with the lubrication formation

Representative cover design from VehicleMD, an automotive consumer magazinewhose aim was to educate readers regarding the maintenance needs of their ve-hicles. Images were selected to convey a sense of communion between pleasant,happy people and their automobiles. This image was heavily modi ed in Photoshop,as the original photograph had the photographers shadow clearly outlined on thevehicles rear fender. In addition to designing this cover, I was also responsible forthe design of the magazines logo, tag line, and the creation of all headlines.

Get the Most fr om Your Dealer Ser vice Expe rience go. drive.

.

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.

Winter 2011

Show your car Some love thIS wInter!

Prot ct yo r rID

. why all motor ils are not qu l

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Spe i l Issue:

Published quarterly like its VehicleMD brethren, go.drive. was similar in concept, butsponsored by a particular company and distributed with an eye toward automotivedealership service facilities that used the companys products. In addition to creat-ing the overall concept for the publication, I oversaw the collaborative logo effort,created to instill a sense of motion and speed, as well as the overall design of thepublication, which focused on the use of bright colors and the relationship betweendrivers and their vehicles.


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A featurette game I authored and designed for VehicleMD. Representative full-page advertisement designed for National Oil & Lube News.

26 Vehicle MD

Can you identify these road signs from the part shown? Answers below.TimesSigns

A N S W E R S : 1 . C : S i g n a l L i g h t A h e a d ; 2 . H : R a i l r o a d C r o s s i n g ; 3 . B : C h i l d r e n P r e s e n t ; 4 . G : I n t e r s t a t e ; 5 . D : S i d e R o a d A h e a d ; 6 . J : T w o - W a y T r a ffi c ; 7 . F : T r u c k C r o s s i n g ; 8 . K : Y i e l d A h e a d ; 9 . E : W r o n g W a y ; 1 0 . L : S t o p S i g n ; 1 1 . I : R i g h t T u r n A h e a d ; 1 2 . A : M e n a t W o r k

____ A. Men at Work ____ B. Children Present____ C. Signal Light Ahead____ D. Side Road Ahead____ E. Wrong Way____ F. Truck Crossing

____ G. Interstate____ H. Railroad Crossing____ I. Right Turn Ahead____ J. Two-Way Traffic____ K. Yield Ahead____ L. Stop Sign

1

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of the


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26 NOVEMBER 2007 WWW.NOLN.NET 26 NOVEMBER 2007 WWW.NOLN.NET

B est Looking LuBe :

Liquid Lube & Wash Moneta, VirginiaPostmodern Art Deco. If you had only three words inwhich to sum the design of Liquid Lube & Wash, youmight do well to use those, which do a commendablebut hardly sufficient job of describing this sparklingfast oil change shop.

From its sweeping curves to the bright exterior light-

ing to the central skyscraperelement, this beautifullube facility is at once both commanding and invit-ing. Certainly its one of the most unique lube/washplaces weve ever seen, and our judges were suitably impressed to vote it as this years Best Looking Lube.

A very retro-looking facility, wrote one judge. I lovethe glass bricks used throughout. This place really stands out at night.

An outstanding design,raved another. Clean, airy look. The colors are very s oothing.

The building almost looks liquid. I love how thetheme and colors tie together inside and out. Thewaiting room is hip and trendy, and I love the iMacand fresh flowers,said another judge who dared tostill use the term hip.

Reminds me of a 1950s-era diner on Route 66,another judge noted, one of several judges who saidthe facility could pass for one of the Art Deco dinersthat used to dot the countrys highways and byways.

This is an office building meets a fast lube. Itmakes you want to wear a suit and tie to get your oilchanged,opined one judge.

Its trendy, said one young judge. It looks state of the art.

Other judges noted the attractive yet subtle landscap-ing, the lighted Quaker State clock atop the facility

and the open,clean bay area.Truly a top-notch fast lubefacility andmore thandeserving of this years BestLooking Lubehonor.

27 NOVEMBER 2007 WWW.NOLN.NET NATIONAL OIL & LUBE NEWS 27

Photo spread in National Oil & Lube News, plus cover (inset). In addition to designing this spread, I also created the concept for a contest allowing automotive service facilities to compete in a beauty contest.


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Content

Representative featurette design from go.drive. I authored the article and directedits overall design and layout. As editor of three magazines, I not only authored andassigned most of the editorial content in each publication, I also oversaw compre-hensive design and redesign projects no fewer than half a dozen times, choosingelements like fonts, photo styles, colors, motifs, etc. I also authored the majorityof headlines, photo captions, subheads, etc., and also proofread every item in eachpublication numerous times before it appeared in print, reducing printed errors to aminimum.

26 Vehicle MD

Can you match the football team mascot to the car that shares its name?

H omonymuddle1

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B

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A N S W E R S : 1 . D ( D e n v e r B r o n c o s , F o r d B r o n c o ) , 2 . A ( W a s h i n g t o n S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y C o u g a r s , M e r c u r y C o u g a r ) , 3 . H ( U n i v e r s i t y o f N e w H a m p s h i r e

W i l d c a t s , B u i c k W i l d c a t ) , 4 . E ( S a n D i e g o C h a r g e r s , D o d g e C h a r g e r ) , 5 . C ( J a c k s o n v i l l e J a g u a r s , J a g u a r X K ) , 6 . F ( S t . L o u i s R a m s , R a m 1 5 0 0 ) , 7 . G ( S o u t h e r n U t a h U n i v e r s i t y T h u n d e r b i r d s , F o r d T h u n d e r b i r d ) , 8 . B ( S o u t h e r n M e t h o d i s t U n i v e r s i t y M u s t a n g s , F o r d M u s t a n g )

I authored and directed the design of this featurette, which won an awardfrom an automotive communications group, for VehicleMD.

18

The car made famousin the Back to the Future seriesof movieswasactually a commercialop. Stylish, yes, with itsgleaming stainless-steelbodyand gullwing doors. But woefullyunderpowered for a car that aimed to be taken seriouslyasa high- performance exotic, aswith U.S. emissionsequipment installed the DMC-12 only had a 130-horsepower V6 to try and urge it down the highway.

But did you know The car was named for its original asking price: $12,000 (though dealerswere asking $25,000 by the time the cars hit the streets).

Three of theapproximately 9,000DeLoreans built wereplated in 24-karatgold.

The DeLoreanwas originallymanufactured i nIreland.

You knowit asthe GeneralLee from the Dukesof Hazzard television seriesand movie. Perhapsthe most famousmuscle car in history, the Charger helped Bo and Luke Duke stayone step ahead of Boss Hogg and Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane.

But did you know To keep the charger from ipping nose-to-tailduring many of its stunts, the trunk was routinelypacked with 1,000 pounds of sandbags and concrete (well spare you the junk-in-the-trunk jokes).

An estimated 309 Chargers were used during the TV series, with most of those destroyed in stunts.Fewer than 25 genuine Chargers used in the series are known to exist. The TV show was based on the movie Moonrunners, which featured moonshine runners whodrove a 1958 Chrysler named Traveler after General Robert E. Lees horse.

go . gure .

OBSCURE FACTS ABOUT FAMOUS CARS FROM THE BIG (AND LITTLE) SCREENUnder the Hood

You know them when you see them. There are just some moviesand some movie carsthat leave such an indelible mark that whenever you see the car while zipping through channels with your remote control late at night, you know instantly which movie it is.Here are some of our favorites:

1959 CADILLACMILLER-METEOR AMBULANCE

Darren Brode/Shutterstock.com

Itscalled the MysteryMachine in the Scooby Doo cartoon and movie seriesand for good reason. The cartoon version was unidentiable asany specicmake or model, but the movie used at least one of these British vansas the ride that ferried Scoobyand pals.

But did you know Used as commercial vans in Britain,Bedfords were famously used as icecream vans, postal vans and, ironically,as prisoner transports. The Bedford was built in some form orfashion nonstop from 1969 to 1988.

The Bedford was also sold i n Australia,not coincidentally where the rst ScoobyDoo movie was lmed.

1972 BEDFORD CF

Patrick Hard/Shutterstock.com

Helen Shorey/Shutterstock.com

What started life asa touring car turned into a colossallyoverloaded pickup in the TVseriesand movie,The BeverlyHillbillies. Famed car customizer George Barris(who also built the rst Batmobile and the Munster Koach) combined the Oldsmobile touring car bodywith the frame of a atbed truckto make the vehicle.

But did you know In an interview Max Baer Jr.(who portrayed Jethro Bodine inthe TV series) said the truck was

awful to drive and wobbled horribly.

In one episode, Jethro decides to convert the car to electricpower, but abandons the idea when he cant nd a 3,000-mileextension cord.

The last surviving car from the TV series is on display at theRalph Foster Museum at the College of the Ozarks in PointLookout, Missouri. g d

1969 DODGE CHARGER

1981 DELOREAN DMC-121921 OLDSMOBILEMODEL46 ROADSTER

Named Ecto-1, thisoutrageouscar ferried DoctorsPeter Venkman and Raymond Stantz(played byBillMurray and Dan Ak-

royd, respectively) through the streetsof NewYorkin the 1984 classic, Ghost Busters.

But did you know Ascene deleted from the movie

had a police ofcer placing a ticket onEcto-1, only to have it burst into ames.

(Dont know why they cut that; wouldve been hysterical! )

The Cadillac Miller-Meteor was also sold, apropos enough, as a hearse.

Stantz paid $4,800 (in 1984!) for a 25-year-old car that needed some suspension work andshocks. Brakes, brake pads, lining, steering box, transmission, rear-endalso new rings, muf-ers, a little wiring.


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8 www.noln.net

R.I.P. 3,000 Miles?by Garrett McKinnon

EDITORIAL MUSINGSviewpoint

STEVE [email protected]

GARRETT MCKINNONEditor_______________________________x204garrett.mckinnon@noln.net

ELISEO TORRESSales&Marketing [email protected]

SHEILABEAMAdvertisingDirector [email protected]

MISTY DOLANProduction Director [email protected]

TAMMY NEALSta Writer/Production Assistant [email protected]

MAILEECirculation Manager [email protected]

KARABISHOPSta Writer/Production Assistant [email protected]

BETHANY HURTSta Assistant [email protected]

JESSIKABAILEYOfceAssistant _______________________x201 [email protected]

August 2011 Volume26,No.8ISSN1071-1260

Published twelvetimes a year (alongwith an additional IndustrySourceBook) by SHRECCommunications,Inc.,44 1874th St.,Ste.66,Lubbock,TX 79424-2336. PostagePaid at Shepherdsville,KY.Postmaster:Send address changes to National Oil & LubeNews,441874th St.,Ste.66, Lubbock,TX79424-2 336.Editorial in orma-tion:in [email protected] Annual subscription rateto U.S.destinationsis $39.Subscriptions to Canada and Mexico are$70.All other or-

eign destinations are$130 or postage.Prepayment is requiredon all oreign orders,paid in U.S. unds. Copyright National Oil &LubeNews 2011.Reproduction is allowed only with permission o theassociatepublisher.Views expressed by columnists and guestwriters do not imply National Oil & LubeNews endorsement.Every attempt is madeto provideaccurateand reliablein orma-tion.NOLNwill not assume liability or any products or servicesdescribed or o ered herein,nor can NOLNveri y accuracy o ad-vertisingclaims madeherein. Thepurpose o NOLN is to openan activelineo communication between lubeshopowners andmanagers and to providea link between shops, manu acturersand suppliers throughout thecountry.Authors We welcomeeditorial proposals and submissions.Contact Garrett McKinnon or morein ormation.Advertisers Advertising rates areavailableupon request.Pleasecontact Sheila Beam or display advertisingdeadlines andother in ormation.Contact Eliseo Torres or in ormation on Inter-net advertising.Contact Bethany Hurt or classi ied advertisingin ormation.All correspondenceand inquiries should be directed to our busi-ness o ices:

441874th St. ,Ste.66Lubbock,TX79424-2336

Phone:1.800.796.2577 or 806.762.4464Fax:806.762.4023

E-mail:in [email protected]

IL LUBE NEWSNATIONAL

O

Te mainstream media loved it. When Ji y Lube launched its Oil Change Schedule pro-gram in June, the media widely portrayed it asthe company dismissing once and or all the3,000-mile oil change interval. (Te truth is alittle less black and white, as you will see in thearticle on page 54.)

What is a bit more black and white is just whatautomakers are doing with oil change intervals.Six years ago this month, we published an ar-ticle discussing current oil change intervals or2005-model vehicles. On a lark, I recently took that article and tossed some numbers into aspreadsheet (and or a journalist, working withnumbers is a tough days work indeed!).

What I discovered is that back in 2005 theaverage recommended oil change interval orwhat the majority o automakers were still call-ing normal driving was 6,955-odd miles. Temore urban, stop-and-go severe driving hada recommended oil change interval o 3,411miles. Back then, 3,000-mile severe-serviceintervals were still recommended by no ewerthan eight automotive makes. (For an apples-to-apples comparison, I omitted brands that areno longer being manu actured.)

Te most interesting part o this process wasconsidering that these vehicles, now six yearsold, represent what the typical lube operatorsees in his or her shop. Afer all, we know thetypical ast lube customer drives a car thatsbetween three and nine years old, so these six-year-old varieties represent the sweet spot orcurrent oil change recommendations.

Tat task done, I began looking up recom-mended oil change intervals or 2011 models,which was a little daunting. For starters, back in 2005 General Motors was the only company that was widely using oil change monitoringsystems to recommend oil change intervals.oday, GM (and its surviving brands) is joinedby Ford/Lincoln, Honda/Acura and Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge as companies/brands that use oilchange monitors. (Tough in Chryslers casethe monitors have a maximum 8,000-miles/six-month interval recommendation.)

Next up, most automakers (with the excep-

tion o Hyundai and Mitsubishi) have largely abandoned the terms normal and severe.oday, most automakers re er to normal driv-ing as the airly typical urban-cycle stop-and-godriving most o us do. What automakers havedone instead is to adopt recommendations orwhat many re er to as special operating condi-tions, a stringent set o criteria that varies by manu acturer, but essentially includes: Driving in dirty, dusty or o -road conditions. Towing, using a car-top carrier or hauling aheavy load. Repeated trips of less than ve miles in very cold (below 32 F) or very hot (above 100 F)weather. Extensive idling and/or low-speed drivingsuch as a police, taxi or delivery vehicle. Extensive use of E85 ethanol.

aking that into account, the current averagerecommended oil change interval or normaldriving (which was not the norm ve years ago;con using, isnt it) is 8,048 miles, an increaseo nearly 1,100 miles (or 16 percent) versus sixyears ago. Te current average recommendedoil change interval or special operating condi-tions is 4,167 miles, an increase o 756 miles

(or 22 percent) since 2005. Plus, the only men-tion we could nd of a 3,000-mile oil change in-terval was or Mitsubishi (which recommends a3,000-mile oil change or turbocharged motorsin severe service) and or Subaru (which rec-ommends an initial 3,000-mile break-in oilchange or all its vehicles).

Clearly, automakers are hell-bent on extend-ing oil change intervals, and while Ji y Lubeswell-publicized (and much-lauded) decision toadopt the Oil Change Schedule doesnt neces-sarily mean the lube industry will be abandon-ing that old standby any time soon, the tealeaves are showing us that things are changing.Heres betting that somehow, someway the tal-ented pro essionals that comprise this industry will nd a way to survive, and even thrive, inspite o those changes. S

GARRETT MCKINNONis editor of National Oil & Lube News and isbetter at math than helets on. Questions, comments,concerns?Emailhim: [email protected]

Editorial sample from National Oil & Lube News.

Design sample from National Oil & Lube News; advertisements were sold atop pages onwell-read features, hence the ad. In addition to designing the layout, I also supervisedthe collection and analysis of the statistics presented and authored the accompanyingarticle, a project that represented the only major study of the industry.

24 www.noln.net

LT30 LT30 LT30 LT30 LT30 MT30

Length of employmentfor managers 5.4 yrs 5.5 yrs 6.2 yrs 6.7 yrs 7 .0 yrs 5. 5 y rsLength of employmentfortechnicians 2.3 yrs 2.3 yrs 2.5 yrs 2.9 yrs 3 .1 yrs 2. 3 y rs

Startingrate paidto lubetechs n/a n/a $7.89 $8.15 $8.26 $7.76Hourly ratepaid to lubetechs $8.59 $8.70 $9.22 $9.30 $9.47 $8.76Annual salary paidto managers $36,699 $39,020 $39,587 $37,925 $39,456 $41,242Annual salary paidto owners(if full-timeemployee) $53,685 $52,976 $55,155 $58,719 $62,676 *Averagenumber of employeesper store 5.8 6.0 5.9 5.5 6.2 6.4Operatorstesting employeesfordrugs 52% 47% 40% 59% 63% 91%Hoursof formal trainingemployeesreceive peryear 28 28 35 30 32 42Operationsthat usesurveillance cameras 28% 42% 57% 47% 63% 98%Ownerswho work: On site n/a 64% 69% 73% 72% * From remotelocation n/a 36% 31% 27% 28% *

Yearly salesper store: $522,792 $551,377 $535,803 $558,395 $575,422 $624,452Portion of grosssales usedfor: Payroll1 27.9% 27.0% 28.3% 27.9% 26.5% 28.7% Lease/Mortgage 11.5% 11.5% 12.2% 11.5% 11.6% 10.8% COGS2 30.0% 29.8% 30.5% 29.4% 28.3% 24.1% NetProfit 11.5% 13.0% 10.0% 12.5% 13.3% 14.0% Operations3 15.6% 15.6% 15.8% 15.8% 17.2% 18.1% Other4 3.5% 3.1% 3.3% 2.9% 3.1% 4.3% 1 Includesall payroll (taxesincluded),salary of owner(if hands-onemployee),unemploymenttaxes,WorkersCompensation,health insurance,bonuses, etc.

2 Includesmaterialsand suppliesnecessary to perform services.3 Includesutilities, maintenance,company insurance,advertising,franchisefees, uniforms,freight,postage,administrative costs,office supplies,non-incometaxes,training,company vehicle,etc.used to operatebusinesson a

day-to-day basis.4 Dues,subscriptions,warranties, travel/entertainment,etc.

EMPLOYEES

SALES

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

* insufficient data to calculate n/a: questionnot asked

www.mystiklubes.comTHE BRAND FOR ALL SEASONS.

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10

20

30

40

50

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70

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Bene ts Ofered(Percentageo LT30 operatorswhoofer the ollowing

Operations 17.2%Other 3.1%

Payroll 26.5%

Lease/Mortgage11.6%

COGS 28.3%

Net Pro t13.3%

Operations 18.1%Other 4.3%

Payroll 28.7%

Lease/Mortgage10.8%

COGS 24.1%

Net Pro t14.0%

Sales Breakdown(Percentageo gross salesdedi-

cated tocosts or LT30operators)

Sales Breakdown(Percentageo gross salesdedi-

cated tocosts or MT30operators)


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18 Vehicle MD

Driving a Million Miles

hit the three million-mile (!) mark early next year. Gordonwho put1,500 miles on the car the rst two days he had ithas driven the caran average of 65,000 miles per year, even shipping the car across the

Atlantic to tour Europe on occasion.So how have these drivers achieved such extreme lifespans with their

cars, especially when a typical vehicles lifespan is around 145,000 miles?By following these seven strategies.

1. Drive. A lot.It goes without saying that in order to hit seven gures onyour odometer (if, in fact, your cars odometer goes thathigh) you have to put in some serious seat time. But not all miles are

created equal. As these drivers could attest, though highway miles are amassed faster, they are typically easier on your car than miles driven in city trafc. Constantly starting, stopping, accelerat-ing, idling, cranking, etc. puts a lot of stresson your car. In contrast, a vehicle, like any machine, operates at peak efciency when it isin a steady-state rhythm like that experienced

while driving at a steady speed on the highway.But dont worry. Even if you commute (like

Gordon did for decades in his Volvo before retiring), there are someother strategies you can use to maximize your vehicles lifespan.

2. Change is good. All three of these driversas well as many others who haveracked up very high mileage totals on their vehicleshavesomething in common: they are all big believers in regular oil changes.

Think about it. Your cars engine is like any other industrial machine.

Can a Car Really Lasta Million Miles

By Garrett McKinnon VehicleMD Staff Writer ?

One million miles. Itslike driving 10,000miles a yearfora century. Its like driving around the earthsequator40 times. Its like taking a round tripto the moontwice. (Before the astronomers

write in, we know its technically only 955,428miles in two round trips to the moon, but werounded!) Its so far, in fact, that it takes light a little more than 5.3 seconds to cross one mil-lion miles.

In other words, one million miles is, in thehuman scale of things, a loooooong way. Yet

more and more vehicles these days are turning up with that magic number on their odom-eters. And Im not talking about over-the-roadtrucks, either, since those big-rigs are built toendure such long distances. Im talking aboutthe very same passenger vehicles most of usdrive every single day.

For instance, you might have read about JoeLoCicero, the insurance adjuster from Maine

who just hit the million-mile mark in his 1990Honda Accord. Bought the car used in 1996

when it had 74,000 miles on it and averagesabout 4,700 miles per month.

Or how about Wisconsin travelling sales-man Peter Gilbert, who retired his 1989 Saab900 to a museum in 2006 after wracking up1,001,285 miles.

Finally, theres New Yorks Irv Gordon, a retired schoolteacher who purchased his 1966Volvo P1800S brand new and is preparing to

Seven Figures

Joe LoCicero and hismillion-mile 1990Honda Accord.

Representative feature article from VehicleMD. I both authored the article and designed the layout.

www .vehiclemd. com 19

It works hard, with metal parts sliding back and forth against each other hundreds of timeseach minute. For vehicles that accumulate themiles, that means the engine is experiencing millions, even billions, of revolutions. Thatkind of mechanical pressure takes its toll on themotor oil that lubricates engine parts, making periodic oil changes a safe bet if you want tokeep your car running.

Gordon, for instance, changes his oil every few thousand miles, and didnt have to havethe Volvos engine overhauled for the rst timeuntil nearly 675,000 miles showed on theodometer. Plus, as motor oil quality has im-proved in recent decades, those overhauls havegotten further and further apart!

3. Follow the schedule.Motor oil isnt the only uidthat needs attention in a vehicle.Thats why LoCicero credits religiouslyfollowing his cars recommended uid main-tenance schedule for helping his car achieveits incredible lifespan. In fact, the only majorcomponents LoCicero has ever replaced on hiscar are the fuel pump, cooling fans and the ra-diator (twice). That none of those repairs weredirectly related to uid maintenance speaks tothe effectiveness of such a strategy.

4. Try the synthetic route.Gilbert purchased his Saabbrand-new and knew he wantedto give it the ultimate in protection. Thats why he opted to use synthetic motor oil from thevery rst oil change, a strategy that paid off big time. Even after a million miles, the Saabsengine had never been overhauled or neededa repair. In fact, Gilbert bragged that the only major repair hed ever had to pay for (besidescollision repair; more on that later) was a trans-mission rebuild at 200,000 miles.

5. Invest in repairs.If you truly want to keep your carrunning for an extended period,you have to come to grips with the fact that

things will break. Like all machines and mechanical devices, the compo-nents on cars will eventually wear outthough hopefully not all at once!

During his frequent travels, Gilbert encountered several wayward deerand had to pay for collision repairs on several different occasions. And

while it can seem like a waste to spend money repairing an older vehicle,if you do the math youll nd that even a major repair job (spread outover time) is less expensive than replacing your current vehicle. Like the

wise man once said, the cheapest car youll ever own is the one youredriving now!

6. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Your cars insides arent the only parts that will need atten-tion if you want to drive it for a long time. Road grime,dirt, mud and anti-icing salts and chemicals like those found in north-ern and snow-bound states can play havoc with suspension, exhaustand other components beneath your car. Plus, theyre murder on your

cars nish. (For more on that subject, see thearticle on page 24.)

Gordon notes that he spends as much ormore time cleaning his car on the outside thanhe does maintaining it on the inside. Not only does running your car through the carwashkeep it clean and sparkly, it also removes thedirt/grime/salt that can over time contribute to

wear and damage.Not to mention the fact that youre almost

certain to take more pride in a car that you spend time and money keep-ing in good shape. After all, none of the cars weve run across that hit themagical million-mile mark were beaters!

7. Take care.Okay. You have the motor oil and other uids changedregularly. You pay extra for the very best products. You haveyour baby washed and detailed often. So whats the nal step in driving

your car for a very long time? Well, that involves visiting your neighbor-

hood auto service center. You see, the tech-nicians that service your vehicle arent justchanging the motor oil and lter. Theyre alsogiving your car a thorough once over, looking for little problems that you can x before they become bigand expensiveones.

Thus our nal piece of advice is to partner with a trusted technician or mechanic and

listen to his (or her) advice when it comes to needed maintenance andrepairs. Because if you really want to drive a million miles, chances areyoull need some help.

Peter Gilbert donatedhis 1989 Saab 900 toa museum once it hit amillion miles.

Irv Gordon expects tohit the three million-mile mark on his 1966

Volvo P1800S some-time during the next

few months.


9/11

54 www.noln.net

T he headline in USA Today read:Ji y Lube Changes 3,000-MileRule or Oil Changes. Te subse-

quent article explained that, Ji y Lube is ditching the long-held one-size-fts-all mantra that oil should bechanged every 3,000 miles. So whatwas all the hoopla about?

Ji y Lube did, in act, launch a new program in June, the Oil ChangeSchedule that allows customers toset their own oil change intervalsbased on vehicle manu acturer rec-ommendations with a healthy bit

o Ji y Lubes own advice thrown in.Stu Crum, president o Ji y Lube

International, shared how the pro-gram works:

At Ji y Lube, customers have theoption o selecting the oil changeschedule they eel best meets themaintenance needs o their vehicle,he said. When customers visit a Ji y Lube service center, they can chooseto ollow their vehicle manu acturersrecommendation or either normalor severe driving conditions, or selectan oil change schedule o their ownchoosing. During the visit, a Ji y Lube customer service advisor will

provide them with their vehicle man-u acturers recommendation, walk them through the oil change sched-

ule options and, ultimately, help edu-cate them on how to decide when tocome back or their next service ap-pointment.

While the mainstream media wide-ly reported that the move spelled thedeath knell or 3,000-mile oil chang-es, the truth is a little bit more com-plicated.

Ji y Lubes website has a sectiondedicated to this new program, andone page is titled Normal vs. SevereDriving. An interactive quiz letsdrivers choose their driving condi-tion, and responses are: I drive in stop-and-go tra c. I drive in extremely hot or coldtemperatures. I drive at prolonged higher enginespeeds. I take short trips averaging 5-10minutes in length. I have multiple cold start-ups eachday. I experience extensive engineidling. I tow and/or haul heavy loads. I drive in dusty or muddy condi-tions. I drive in mountainous terrain. None of these apply to me.

Not surprisingly, choosing any o the answers other than the fnal onebrings up a quiz result that suggeststhe driver is driving in severe con-ditions. In act, Ji y Lube cites a 2007Harris Interactive study that suggestsmore than 92 percent o motoristsdrive in what vehicle manu acturersconsider severe conditions, and a2007 R.L. Polk study that estimates63 percent o vehicles on the roadhave a vehicle manu acturer recom-

mendation o 3,000 mile oil changesor severe driving conditions.

Far rom killing the 3,000-mile oil

change interval, Ji y Lubes new OilChange Schedule is essentially rein-orcing it, just in a highly educationalashion.

Changing a vehicles oil every 3,000 miles has been a widely accept-ed approach among ast lube opera-tors or a very long time. As a mattero act, nearly 50 percent o vehiclestoday driven under severe conditionshave a vehicle manu acturer recom-mendation o changing the motor oilevery 3,000 miles, Crum said. OilChange Schedule is about the Ji y Lube commitment to educate cus-tomers to help them make the bestchoices or their individual preven-tive maintenance needs lettingthem choose when to return or theirnext oil change based on their vehiclemanu acturers recommendation ornormal or severe driving conditions,or based on a schedule o their ownchoosing.

Crum said that during the initialrollout, 47 percent o customers atparticipating service centers selectedtheir vehicle manu acturers recom-mendation or severe driving condi-tions, and that the average severe service interval or those vehicles was3,502 miles.

Tis does not mean Ji y Lube haschanged its recommendation roma 3,000-mile oil change interval toa 3,500-mile interval, Crum said.Rather, it means that or 47 percento customers who have experiencedthe new program and consider them-selves as driving under severe con-ditions, their vehicle manu acturerrecommends an average interval o approximately 3,502 miles.

Jiffy Lube AdoptsCustomer-Selected

Service Intervalsby GarrettMcKinnonNOLNStaffWriter [email protected]

A Ji y Lubeman-ager shows the

companys new OilChangeScheduleselection process

to a customer. Theprogram at-

tempts to educatecustomers aboutdriving conditiondefnitions,then

allows them toselect a service

interval based onwhat they believetheir drivingcon-

ditions are.

Feature article from National Oil & Lube News.

56 www.noln.net

o date, an additional 43 percent o customers have selected an oil changeinterval o their choosing, accordingto Crum, with the average intervalbeing 4,100 miles. Tat means nineout o 10 Ji y Lube customers whohave participated in the Oil ChangeSchedule program have opted oran oil change interval o 4,100 milesor less. It might not be 3,000 milesacross the board, but 4,100 milesbetween oil changes still ranks as

less than the industry average mile-age that customers drive between oilchanges.

Elsewhere on Ji y Lubes websiteand in sales presentations to custom-ers, the company attempts to explainthe disparity between manu acturer-recommended oil change intervalsor normal driving and or severedriving. For example, they list a 2003Honda Accord 2.4L as having a nor-mal service interval o 12 months or10,000 miles and a severe serviceinterval o six months or 5,000 miles.Likewise, a 2005 Ford F-150 5.4L islisted as having a 5,000-mile nor-mal service interval and a 3,000-mile severe service interval.

Crum said the program gives Ji y Lube an opportunity to discuss driv-ing habits and conditions with cus-tomers, giving customers more o acontributing role in their cars main-tenance.

In act, Crum cited an internalsurvey that ound 81 percent o Ji y Lube customers in the pilot programliked being involved in the decision-making process, and 90 percent o customers thought understandingsevere driving conditions was help-ul.

As the leader in the ast lube in-dustry, Ji y Lube has a commitmentto giving customers the in ormationthey need to make the best choices

or their vehicles preventive mainte-nance needs, Crum said. Tis new approach enables Ji y Lube to helpconsumers navigate the preventivemaintenance process, understandtheir driving habits and take controlo their oil change schedule. Te re-sult is a more personal customer ex-perience.

O ering customers the choice asto when theyll return to Ji y Lubeor their next oil change is the rightdecision or everyone. We dont ex-ist without our customers, and ourpilot program fndings showed thatinvolving them in the decision-mak-ing process increases loyalty and ourcredibility with them.

According to Crum, a pilot pro-gram was launched in August 2009to test the recommendation system,a test that lasted until October o lastyear. As o early July, more than 94percent o all Ji y Lubes had adoptedthe system, and Crum said he expectsimplementation at all Ji y Lube service centers by the end o the year.

Overall, our ranchisees have beenextremely pleased with the results o the new approach. Were fnding thatcustomers are choosing oil changeintervals that indicate they will re-turn regularly, and ranchisees reporttheir customers enjoy being involvedin the decision-making process, hesaid.

One interesting point is Ji y Lubescontinued use o the severe versusnormal nomenclature, especially given that most manu acturers havemoved away rom such terminology during the last ew years.

While terminology among manu-

acturers is evolving, the average ageo a vehicle on the road (nine-plusyears) continues to rise according tothe Bureau o ransportation Statis-tics, and many older vehicles still usethose terms, Crum said. Regardless,the criteria or what constitutes nor-mal or severe remains consistent.We fnd that the concept o normalor severe is one that customers caneasily grasp, especially when talkedthrough the guidelines provided by

their manu acturer in conjunctionwith their individual driving habitsand conditions.

Ji y Lube does take into consider-ation the growing number o vehicleson the road that implement oil li emonitoring systems o one ashion oranother.

I a vehicle eatures an oil changesensor and the vehicle manu ac-turer does not recommend a spe-cifc interval or oil changes, driversshould bring their vehicle into a Ji y Lube service center when the sen-sor says it is time or an oil change,Crum said. Ji y Lube is currently developing technology that will auto-matically display the mileage recom-mendations and the service intervalindicator maintenance packages or vehicles with oil change sensors.However, until then, drivers with oilchange sensors can choose their owninterval.

In addition to oodles o ree (andmostly positive) publicity and allow-ing customers to eel like they are parto the process, Ji y Lubes Oil ChangeSchedule program has allowed thecompany to di erentiate itsel romthe competition, Crum said.

Ji y Lube pioneered the ast lubecategory more than 30 years ago,changing the way millions o driversservice their vehicles. Were continu-ally working to innovate and providecustomers with the best possible service and in ormation or their preventive maintenance needs, he said.Oil Change Schedule is another steptoward innovating the category, help-ing educate drivers and improvingthe customer experience. S

As part o its new OilChangeScheduleprogram,Jify Lubewill print reminderstickers likethisone.The returninterval will bebased on customerpre erenceratherthan on automakerrecommendations,though Jify Lubeis attemptingtoeducatecustomersabout thediferencebetween severeand normaldrivingconditions as listedin owners manualsin recent years.


10/11


11/11

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