Performance Unlimited Blog

They call it the 'Rustbelt' for a reason - because, in the McHenry area, rust eats away at your car, truck or SUV. What can you do about it? What can you do to fight back? Ahhhhh, it’s a new year. A fresh start. Another chance to achieve your goals. Unfortunately, as McHenry is this far into the Northern Hemisphere, it’s also a chance for rust to take a bigger and bigger bite out of your car, truck or SUV. The battle with rust is inevitable. Rust is iron oxide caused by a chemical reaction when water, oxygen and iron (and other metals). That chemical reaction is transformative; it transforms iron and metals from their solid form into a crusty, flaky, dusty brownish-reddish substance that is unstable – unstable in that it is easily broken apart. The chemical reaction described above IS attacking your vehicle. And the reason that the location of McHenry in the Northern Hemisphere is critical because the conditions that promote that chemical reaction are never more prevalent than ...

This is not the kind of detour you want to take on the way home New Years Eve. Whether that's you or a loved one, this is not the way to start 2024. You and your spouse are dressed to the nines and out for a good time celebrating the arrival of another new year here in McHenry. You slide behind the wheel and head out for that party at a club or a friend’s house. You make a conscious effort to not drink too much but … Scenario #1: A little after 2 a.m., while driving home, you see red and blue lights flashing in your rear window. You have a sinking feeling in your gut as you pull over to the side of the road. You lower the window and pull out your wallet to retrieve your driver’s license. At the same time, you try to work out the calculations of exactly how many drinks you actually had at the party. You’re hoping it’s something minor. Maybe you have a taillight out. Maybe you missed a stop sign. But no. Next thing you know, you’re out of the car and attempting to walk, heal-to-toe,...

Imagine if  Santa  didn't maintain his sleigh. How would he deliver all those toys and gifts to girls and boys in McHenry or anywhere else in the world? Maintenance is as important to  Santa 's sleigh as it is for your car. Children all over McHenry are counting on Santa to come down the chimney Christmas Eve. And he will. Ever dependable,  Santa  will check all the names on his list and check them twice. He and the elves will have all presents ready and wrapped in time for loading in the back of his sleigh. And speaking of his sleigh, his attention to detail includes preparing for the late-night ride. The sleigh is a critical part of what  Santa  needs to do his job. Like any vehicle, it requires timely maintenance, especially after the wear and tear of extensive use. You may say that, “Yeah, but  Santa ’s sleigh only gets a workout one night out of the year.” That may be true, but when was the last time you drove your car to every child’s me ar...

No doubt, you have a lot of errands to run with Christmas  fast approaching. It might be worthwhile to have your car, truck or SUV checked out to make sure it won't leave you in the lurch with all that driving you have to do. To Do List … Drive kids to school and pick them up after last day before Christmas Break Bring kids to church to practice for Christmas Play Make list and go to grocery store for Christmas Party Go to liquor store for drinks for Christmas Party Go to stores for Christmas shopping Go out with family to buy the Christmas tree Go to other Christmas Party at work Go sledding with family Bring the baby to see Santa Take family to church for Christmas Play Go back to stores for those things I forgot on other trips These are just some of the places you may need to go this year as you prepare for the approach of Christmas. You may have even more trips than are included in this list. You may find you have unexpected stops to make that couldn’t possibly find their way o...

82nd Anniversary of Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, bringing American into WWII, offers a reminder of the incredible levels of manufacturing in America to meet the  emergency . In 1942, Chevrolet produced the most automobiles in the United States with 254,885 vehicles manufactured. Ford built 160,432 that year. But these numbers were down drastically from the year before. In 1941, Chevrolet built 1,008,976 autos. Ford built 691,455. Plymouth built 522,080, Buick 374,196, Pontiac 330,061, Oldsmobile 270,040, Dodge 215,575 and Chrysler 161,704. But, if the 1942 numbers were down, they were nothing compared to the numbers of vehicles built by American auto manufacturers in the years 1943, 1944 and 1945. For those three years the only data is for war production; there were no automobiles built those years. To understand why, we need to look back to the tail end of 1941. In particular, we need to look to Dec. 7, 1941 and an event that took place that day that changed everything. That e...