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Local Senator Backs
Massachusetts Vehicle Owners
Good news! We are pleased to announce that State Senator
Mark Montigny has signed on-board to draft the much-needed legislation
to protect all vehicle owners of the Commonwealth.Since 2002, many
states have been pushing to have Federal “Right-To-Repair” legislation
drafted to protect automotive consumers from being forced to take their
vehicles to the new car franchise dealership for certain repairs. This
potential legislation has been stalled for several years. Now some
states like Massachusetts are taking on the legislation process on
themselves. Independent Automotive Technicians have been literally
“locked out” of repairing certain electronic systems on today’s newer
high-tech vehicles. Many of today’s vehicles require specialized tools
or diagnostic information that is currently only available to the new
car franchise dealer and not to local Independent Repair Facilities and
Technicians.
Independent Automotive Technicians, National Automotive and Tire Chain
Stores, Aftermarket Parts Manufacturers and even consumer advocates
have been warning the Federal Government about this growing concern. If
allowed to continue, this monopoly will continue to force more and more
vehicle owners to have to take their vehicles to the dealership.
Many motorists prefer their small local Independent Service Facilities
for their superior customer service, repair warranties as well as
competitive labor pricing. With today’s very complex vehicles, the
Independent Service Facilities are finding that they are being forced
to turn away more and more customers due to this lack of technical
repair information and specialized tooling. In addition, many
Aftermarket Parts Suppliers are also in the dark on design information
preventing them from making quality aftermarket parts that are more
competitively priced as opposed to factory parts. This parts lockout
also monopolizes the industry in forcing more owners to purchase only
factory parts from the new car dealership.
This year, Senators Mark Montigny, Martin Walsh and Vincent Pedone have
all signed on to a current Bill, (2007 House No. 296), to assist in
this important endeavor. The passage of this bill would be a win for
consumers, Independent Repair Facilities and Aftermarket Parts
Manufacturers. We will keep you posted here in Giammalvo Quarterly on
its status. Drop a note to your Senator’s on this issue. For more
information on the Internet go to: www.righttorepair.org or
www.aftermarket.org
SRPEDD Announces Most Dangerous
Intersections In
Southeastern Massachusetts
In
a published study conducted by the Southeastern Regional Planning and
Economic Development District, (SRPEDD), more than a quarter of the 100
most dangerous intersections in Southeastern Massachusetts were found
to be in New Bedford. SRPEDD is the regional planning agency for the
Southeastern Massachusetts Metropolitan Organization, (MPO), serving 27
cities and towns in Southeastern Massachusetts. Some of the dangerous
intersections noted were:
Intersection
Total Crashes
2002-2004
Issue/Needs
Kempton St . / Route 140 Brownell
Ave
73
Congestion/widen Brownell Ave.
Ashlly Blvd. / Coggeshall
St.
50
Congestion/widen Coggeshall St.
Rt. 18 / Union
St.
42
Improvements planned 2008
Rt. 18 / Elm
St.
41
Improvements planned 2008
Ashley Blvd. / Wood
St.
40
Improvements made in 2004
Rockdale Ave. / Dartmouth
St.
38
Improvements in design
County St. / Mill
St.
35
Needs signal upgrade
Hathaway Rd. / Shawmut
Ave.
33
Conflicting turning movements
Rockdale Ave. / Court
St.
30
Conflicting turning movements
Church St. / Park
Ave.
29
Needs sign and marking upgrades
Ashley Blvd. / Tarkiln Hill
Rd
28
Red light offenders south Ashley Blv.
Acushnet Ave. / Wood
St.
27
Improvements made in 2005
Honda Owner Suffers Sticker Shock
Over Estimate To Replace Tires
Special tires? Sort of, this customer’s Honda came from the factory
equipped with new technology, run-flat tires. Run-flat tires have a
very stiff sidewall and are designed to run flat, (for a limited time),
without air should the tire develop a leak. Obvious advantages of this
design are, lack of the need of a spare tire, jacking tools and storage
space for such. No more getting dirty in the rain changing a tire while
you are in your tux headed to your relative’s wedding. The issue with
run-flat tires is that many car dealers and tire dealers, even the new
car dealer in this case, does not have the specialized expensive tire
mounting/dismounting machines that are required. Standard tire mounting
machines do not have the force required to collapse these tire’s stiff
sidewalls in order to get them off the wheels. In addition, run-flat
wheels have large mounting lips and wireless transmitting sensors
inside the rims that send a signal to a computer in the vehicle to warn
the driver if a tire is low on air. If the proper tire machine and
procedures are not used, these $200.00 each pressure sensors can be
ruined too.
All the run-flat news is not bad however. Tom and Ray advised the owner
to call around and find a tire store that had a run-flat mount machine
They stated that such a store will be able to remove the tires from the
wheels and then install new run-flat tires on the same wheels. In this
situation, the customer will not have to purchase new wheels, just the
tires, like on most cars. The only added expense is that the machine is
costly and the job is difficult for the tire technician. Expect to pay
100.00 per tire for mounting as opposed to 15.00 each, (a typical price
to mount a conventional tire). Still, it’s a savings as opposed to
purchasing new wheels too.
2007
Vehicle Recalls
Chrysler
2006- Ram - Poorly greased front wheel bearing causes
bearing degradation, and results in hub assembly separation causing a loss of
vehicle control.
Ford
2002-2003 E550; 2003 Excursion, Lincoln Blackwood, F-150 to
F550 Super Duty - Under hood speed control deactivation switch overheats and
causes an Under hood electrical fire. Dealers will install a fused wiring
harness.
General Motors
2007 GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook - Failure of the airbag
sensing and diagnostic module prevents airbag deployment in a frontal crash.
Note: the air bag warning lamp on the instrument panel may also fail.
2005-2006 Cobalt - Vehicles not equipped with the optional
roof-mounted side impact air bags fail to provide adequate head impact
protection meeting DOT standards. Dealers will install energy absorbing plastic
to the headliner trim to reduce the severity of head impacts in a crash.
Honda
2006 Civic Hybrid - Parts of the Integrated Motor Assist
system located under a metal cover behind the rear seat-back may contact the
metal cover due to the weight of rear seat passengers The rubber cap covering
an electrical terminal may get pinched, exposing the electrical terminal
resulting in an electrical short that blows the IMA fuse causing the engine to
stall. Dealers will install a plastic cover attached to a metal bracket over
the rubber cap.
2003-2006 Accord - Aftermarket TYC brand headlamp assemblies
do not meet DOT standards for photometric alignment, which can diminish frontal
lighting. Repurchase offers are being sent out.
2004-2005 Accord - Over tightened wiring harness (attached
to the driver’s seat frame) for the Seat Position Sensor breaks causing air bag
warning light to be illuminated and the air bag system to default to full
inflation pressure, regardless of the seat position increasing the risk of
injury for smaller drivers.
Mazda
2007 Mazda3 Speed - Optional accessory all weather floor
mats have insufficient clearance for the accelerator pedal which can get stuck
and cause unintended acceleration.
Subaru
2006 Forester and Impreza - Front passenger seat air bag
occupant detection system wiring harness shorts out at the floor cross member
and seat mounting bracket causing potential for an electrical fire or disable
the passenger’s airbag.
Toyota
2006-2007 Scion XA and XB - Rostra aftermarket speed
controls installed by Southeast Toyota or Gulf States Toyota processing centers
have faulty modules which don’t turn off until the “ON/OFF” switch is pressed
twice.
2004-2007 Sequoia; 2004-2006 Tundra- Premature ball joint
wear causes front suspension noise, increased steering effort, failure of the
steering wheel to return to center, and ultimately separation of the ball joint
from the steering knuckle which causes loss of steering control.
Volkswagen
1999-2006 GTI, Golf; 2001-2005 Jetta; 2001-2007 New
Beetle; 2004 R32- Faulty brake light switch causes inoperative brake lights or
keeps them turned on.
In Passing.
(Obituaries Courtesy The Standard Times)
Note: Due to recent requests, we will be adding family survivors to our customer’s obituaries as space allows.
Edwin D. Polchlopek, 76, of New Bedford, died Sunday,
Jan 28, 2007 at St. Lukes Hospital after a brief illness. He was the husband of
Linda T. (Thompson) Polchlopek, married 20 years. He was the son of the late
Joseph and Katherine (Ogara) Polchlopek and stepson of the late Lillian (Viera)
Polchlopek. He was born in New Bedford and was a lifelong resident. He was an
Army veteran and served during the Korean War. He was formerly employed as a
warehouse manager at The Standard Times for 41 and one half years until his
retirement. He then worked part time for five years for Mid City Auto Parts. Ed
enjoyed traveling and being a Good Samaritan, helping people and doing things
for others. Survivors include his wife; two daughters, Sr. Marcia Mary
Polchlopek of Enfield, Conn. And Kathleen Vertefeuille of New Bedford; a son
John Polchlopek; two grandchildren’ a sister, Cynthia LeRoux of New Bedford; a
brother Gene Polchlopek of Acushnet; and several nieces and nephews.
Cecil W. Sampson Jr. 65, of New Bedford died Thursday
February 1, 2007 at Beth Israel Hospital unexpectedly. He was the loving
husband of Christine (Jardin) Sampson of New Bedford and son of the late Cecil
W. Sampson and Dolly (Easter) Sampson of West Virginia. He was born in Nellis,
West Virginia, one of thirteen siblings, and attended Nellis public Schools. He
served in the U.S Navy and was based in Newport, R.I. prior to making New
Bedford his home for the last 45 years.
He was employed for many years as machine operator at Alden Corrugated
until it’s closing. He was then employed at Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation
in Mansfield. After retirement he worked part time for Sam Giammalvo’s Auto
Sales. He was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting and fishing and cheering
on the New England Patriots. Mr. And Mrs. Sampson was married 43 years at the
time of his death and for the past year had untiring and tenderly dedicated his
time to his wife’s cancer recovery. He had great pride and derived great joy in
spending time with his six grandchildren. He is affectionately remembered as a
mentor and coach to the many teenagers from his neighborhood, of whom he cared
for deeply, and who are now successful men. Survivors include 1 daughter, Anne
Elizabeth Louro and her husband Jeffrey of New Bedford; 2 sons, Robert Lee
Sampson and his wife Doreen of Fall River, and Stephan Sampson of New Bedford;
4 sisters Emma Lou Edwards and June Kay Bowling both of West Virginia, Greta
Jane Sampson of Kentucky and Dreama Farris of Detroit; and 6 grandchildren.
Walter S. Loveridge, 94, died peacefully in his sleep
at Sacred Heart Nursing Home in New Bedford, Sunday, February 4, 2007. Born
October 4, 1913, a son of the late James and Clara (Daily) Loveridge, Mr.
Loveridge was a lifelong resident of New Bedford, graduating from Holy Family
High School. He was employed as a sales representative with the New Bedford Gas
Company until his retirement in 1965. He was the husband of Bernadette A.
Lavallee, to whom he was married sixty-eight years. Mr. Loveridge served in the
U. S. Coast Guard during WWII and was an active member of the Third Order of
the Franciscans. In addition to walking and bowling, activities he enjoyed in
common with his wife, he also loved reading and baseball.
Arlette (Spirlet) LaPalme, 93, of Acushnet, died
Thursday, February 22,2007, at Alden Court Nursing Center, after a long illness.
She was the widow of Elzear “Pete” LaPalme and daughter of the late Joseph and
Marie (Bernique) Spirlet. She was born in New Bedford and was a lifelong
resident of Acushnet. She was a high school graduate. She was a communicant of
St. Francis Xavier Church and she volunteered much of her time working at
bingo. She was a homemaker and enjoyed ceramics and bowling. Survivors include
her three sons, Ronald LaPalme and his wife Gail and Roland LaPalme both of
Acushnet and Raymond LaPalme and his wife, Simone of Nokomis, Florida; three
grandchildren, Kevin, Joseph and Michelle LaPalme-Oliver; two great
grandchildren, Sydney and Ayden; and many nieces and nephews. She was the
mother of the late Roger LaPalme and sister of the late Paulette LaPalme,
Evelyn St. Jean and Norman and Valmore Spirlet.
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