Last week one of the e-newsletters I get, the Lube Report, printed a report on some testing done by the Petroleum Quality Institute of America (PQIA) that found several oils claiming to meet certain new specs, really didn’t. The viscosity tested was a 5W-30, and some were out of this range when tested. Also they didn’t meet the current SM specification guidelines that is now required for new oils and vehicles by the API. Only a small sample of oils were done in this testing and there was some question as to whether some of those even were certified to meet the API specs claimed on the bottle because they didn’t appear on the APIs Web Site. This was clarified this week with the following statement:
Early editions of "Motor Oil Buyers, Beware" last week said that Pilot- and Sheetz-branded 5W-30 oils claimed to be API-licensed but were not, because they did not appear in API’s directory of licensed products. After the story was published, API’s Kevin Ferrick said, "API inadvertently left the Sheetz product off the Pinnacle Oil license, and the Pilot license expired because of some delays related to the renewal process. I expect both licensing issues to be rectified soon." Both products are now correctly listed at API’s website.
But now a week later, yet another report was released in the Lube Report, of testing done by Institute of Materials and finding 16% of the oils in their testing didn’t meet the SM Rating. They did point out some of the specs were just outside the range, but to me, the fact remains, they didn’t pass and why make oil so close to the edge of the spec range that it can fail the test at one point, yet pass another? Wouldn’t you want your oil to remain stable enough to pass every time? This test took 250 oils and put them through their paces, and found 40 of them failed.
One test mentioned above is the NOACK Volatility test, and the top end of the range is 15% before it fails. This test measures how much oil evaporates under certain conditions. 15% is a lot and the main concern of the API, and has caused the requirement for such low zinc and phosphate levels, for fear of damaging the catalytic converter. Amsoil oils come no where near this loss. You can see by the graphic below how one of Amsoil’s most common oils, their 5W-30, rated in this tested to other popular brands. This test is also a concern for Amsoil, since this oil is rated for 25,000 miles or a one year drain interval. You don’t want your oil disappearing under heat conditions and falling out of spec during these type of extended drains.
If you haven’t seen it already, we have a logo for Bumble Bee Auto Sales now. Start watching for this guy to be racing around the internet in the near future when you do searches. Hopefully he’ll stir up a bit of a “buzz.”
So why did we decide on the name Bumble Bee Auto Sales? He all have heard the usual:
Quality Used Cars
Family Auto Sales
Executive Sales
One Stop Auto Sales
One of my partners took a unique approach to her business name, One Fat Frog. She wanted something people could remember, along with a logo that would be easily recognized. She came up with one, and while she gets a laugh whenever she says her company name, she also gets lots of phone calls because they remember it later. We decided to use this same approach for our Auto Sales business. Several names were tossed around, and Bumble Bee finally stuck.
There is one other name that will probably be used soon after. We plan on having cars for the everyday driver needing transportation for work, the kid going off to school, etc. But also want to be able to address the customer more interested in something more high end. My other partner has had dealerships catering to both clientele. With that thought in mind, another name was needed to address the high end cars we also want to offer. What started as a joke of mine, ended up being the unique idea we decided to go with: Sugar Daddy Auto Sales. The plays up to the man wanting to drive something nice for attention, or the woman wanting to have that nice car and looking for her “Daddy” to get it for her. It’s a play on a silly chauvinistic term we all laugh at, but should also be memorable.
Don’t worry, ladies, the idea of something aimed towards you has also been brought up, perhaps Sugar Momma Auto Sales?
The continuation of my “Realty Blog” of getting into the car sales business. A lot has been happening in this process to get Bumble Bee Auto Sales up and running. Most I’m not sure of, since my partner is more familiar with the ins and outs and I will be learning a lot from him on how the details of the business works with in the job training. But the business is now legit and Incorporated for about a week now. So we do exist now!
For my next step, I needed to complete was the test every Dealer apparently needs to take with the DMV here in Florida. In the past, he said, this coarse required two days worth of class time to learn all the dos and don’ts of the business, but as technology has gotten better, so has the ease of the coarse, as it’s now available online. It still takes awhile. There are approximately 15 sections and at the end of each is a test you need to get 100% on in order to pass that section. Most sections take approximately 45 minutes each, with the longest is two hours. Of coarse the long one is all about taxes. The others are your legal rights, what you need to be aware of, the types of business licenses, financing options, etc. But they want to be sure you know how to pay the state their cut when you sell a car, so this is the longest section. Fortunately, if you don’t get all the questions right at the end of each section, you can keep taking the test until you do. The tests really weren’t that difficult, but I did kick myself a few times for clicking the wrong one and realizing it, and then needing to start over again once I completed the rest of the test.
Today I finally finished the entire coarse doing a section or two each day for the past few days as time permitted. I now have the certificate, it just needs to be filed along with my fingerprints and I’ll be in the system and officially ready to go.
Getting fingerprints was pretty easy, just need to be sure you are available during the few hours the various sites that do them are open. What I find sort of interesting is the entire thought of fingerprints. When you watch TV, seems everyone has fingerprints in the system, and every agency in the world seems to have access to them to be able to cross reference prints lifted from a crime scene to the owner. Wouldn’t this mean that once you have prints on file somewhere, EVERYONE has access to them? Or is that only in Hollywood? I’ve had prints for a permit done in the past, I’ve had them filed twice with the Department of Defense for clearances I have needed, yet I still need them on file to be a car dealer? Somehow, you would think if the DoD thought you were good enough and had your info, any other applications needing them would be a cinch by just looking up that record…like on TV. It’s not an issue getting them, other than the time, but it is one of those things that makes you wonder.
So my part, I think, is now done, handed the paperwork over to one of my partners today who will be adding some other info to the batch and filing it all. If I understand the process correctly, it should be about two weeks, and we are ready to buy/sell.
One step closer for the appearance of Bumble Bee Auto Sales here in Orlando, Florida!
Where has Mike been for a while? Well, he’s been busy. Not all of it has been business related, some has been personal drama (we’ll leave that out here), and some of it is the contract work I’ve been doing for the past year and meeting deadlines. I have been working my Amsoil business as time has permitted, but unfortunately haven’t been able to prospect as before, but I have tried to keep up with current accounts and customers, and respond to what new business has found me. What’s great about the Amsoiol business is once you have a foundation set, it tends to keep going on it’s own. Granted, it works better when you can be more of an active participant, but it’s nice to know that should something pull your attention away, hopefully next time it’s that month long vacation in the Caribbean or Europe, it will still operate and be profitable without being actively involved.
But as I love the Amsoil business and flexibility, along with some of the other products I have added to my product line, I have gone on yet another new, more mainstream business venture that is related: Bumble Bee Auto Sales! Recently I was approached by a friend and her new business partner and boyfriend with a proposition. He has been in the auto sales industry for many years and operated several successful local auto businesses, while she has a successful business of her own (One Fat Frog Restaurant Equipment). Together they talked about the idea of combining their experience and starting a new auto sales business and my name came up having helped her in the past with her business as well.
We met for dinner, talked it over, traded some ideas, and started plans moving. With his prior experience within that industry, mine with the automotive aftermarket, Amsoil, and internet marketing, and hers skills with pushing her business to the top in Search Engine rankings, we think we have a good chance of jump starting Bumble Bee and growing it into something big and a dealership to contend with both locally, and out on the internet.
Stay tuned as I make more posts on our progress, the steps I’ve been needing to take to become a Dealer, ideas we have, and of coarse the official announcement that we are open for business. If you are thinking of getting a car in the near future, start thinking about what you want, and I’ll see how we can help out.
I’m sad to say that Mustang Eyewear Sunglasses will no longer be available. While being excellent quality and I’ve had a pretty good following as more people found out that I sold them, the actual overall demand I guess never caught on as well as the main company had hoped and what they had experienced with their other two lines, Dive Shades and Corvette Eyewear. It would appear the Corvette audience loves their cars, but also the nice accessories that go with them, and this line of sunglasses has been very popular with them. On the other hand, Mustang owners seem more interested in taking that money and investing it into their vehicle with a new modification, either for show or go. Being a Mustang owner, I can understand that appeal. But with that said, the company sold the rights and inventory off. Whether this new owner decides to run with it and market them under new ownership, different styles, or just sell what inventory was left, I have no idea at the moment.
Because of this, what inventory I do have will be all I have left until they are gone. If you are looking for a pair, contact me. Also, since the Official Ford License has expired, my Web Site, Official Mustang Eyewear, was contacted by Ford letting me now that I can no longer sell them as such, or even keep the Web Site due to the legalities of using “Mustang” in the name. I’m going to try and keep it up as long as possible until my inventory is gone, but it probably won’t be for too much longer.
Thanks for everyone’s interest and past purchases.
At some point those of us who have been interested in our vehicles and watched late night infomercials about oil additives have seen the unbelievable claims some companies have tried to promote. In some cases they show an engine running forever with no oil in it. It runs and runs, never showing any sign of letting up, which I have seen at several car shows I’ve been too. How is this possible? Well, as it was explained to me, the particular engine being used (I’d have to check which one exactly) can do this forever as long as there is no load on it. If it were in a real vehicle and not free standing as soon as any sort of real world load were applied, it would strain and seize.
Another example I remember years ago seeing late one night was for another additive (Prolong, I believe) that showed a Viper racing around the track supposedly not modified in any way other than adding the oil treatment, letting it “bond,” and then draining the oil and off to the circle track it went with no problems. Question…how is this possible with hydraulic lifters that engine has?
Yet another test that always seems to pop up, and early on before I knew any better I was suckered by, is using the Falex test method, nicknamed the “One Arm Bandit,” to show how oils seize up at different applied pressures, but then adding the additive being promoted and suddenly shows how much more pressure can be applied before the unit freezes, if it does at all. Well, for this last case, Amsoil went to their lab and made a video showing exactly how this test works and why the results from it are misleading. Unless you believe shampoo can outperform your oil:
Amsoil is at it again, improving upon an older product making it better and more versatile. This time they took a look at their Engine Flush and improved upon it by making it a multi-use formula. Now this new Engine and Transmission Flush does just that, cleans your engine from deposits left by older oil, as well as varnish and those deposits found within your Automatic Transmission.
Using the Amsoil Engine and Transmission Flush prior to your next oil or ATF change will help regain fuel economy you may have lost over the years and remove sludge and deposits that are causing your vehicle to operate at a higher temperature than it needs to.
Automatic transmission clutch plates pre-cleanup. Varnish and glazing is heavy on some of the plates.
Automatic transmission clutch plates after cleanup with AMSOIL Engine and Transmission Flush reveal lighter glazing and varnish.
Cylinder head pre-cleanup. Note the sludge deposits on and around the valve springs and push rod openings.
Cylinder head after cleanup with AMSOIL Engine and Transmission Flush. The valve springs and push rod openings are noticeably cleaner, with fewer sludge deposits. The manufacturer’s stamping is more easily seen.
For those of you with small engines and powersports equipment, you know the hazards of poor quality fuel and what it can do to an engine: carbon build up, rough idling, poor response, etc. And now with ethanol in the fuel, and maybe more being added over the years, this poses additional problems by having the tendency to absorb water which gets into your system.
Enter Amsoil Quickshot SE. Like Amsoil’s previous P.i. Performance Improver for automotive engines, this formula is designed to clean the systems within your small engines. Amsoil Quickshot SE was tested with fuel containing 10 percent ethanol, what most gas stations advertise on their pumps now, and showed a 70 percent flow improvement and oxidation stability improved by 44 percent over fuel that wasn’t treated.
Amsoil Quickshot SE helps prevent water damage just from the normal condensation that takes place from equipment sitting, as well as helping to clean out varnish, gumming, and deposits within the combustion chamber.
It can be used in two-stroke and four-stroke engines such as motorcycles, snowmobiles, boats, ATVs, mowers, chainsaws, generators, and more.
Amsoil is pushing more into the truck market with yet two more greases, Amsoil Synthetic Polymeric Truck, Chassis and Equipment Grease. These are available in NLGI #1 and NLGI #2. Both offer extreme-pressure performance and and wear protection, as well as the extended intervals Amsoil is famous for, to address the needs of medium and heavy duty trucks that are exposed to severe service conditions.
Over the road trucks are exposed to extreme conditions. These greases provide maximum pound-out resistance while protecting while featuring rust and corrosion protection against water, snow, ice, sale, and other chemicals that might be encountered and are known to shorten the life of the vehicle and other greases.
Because of their versatility, they make an excellent choice for fleets with a variety of different types of vehicles, where under many situations several greases are needed. The Amsoil Synthetic Polymeric Truck, Chassis and Equipment Grease may the the only greases now needed, saving money!
Read more about each grease and their technical properties at the following links:
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![mustangTransLowRes[1]](http://technilube.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/mustangTransLowRes1.jpg "mustangTransLowRes[1]")
![flsh[1]](http://technilube.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/flsh1.jpg "flsh[1]")
