Where Does My Toll Money Go?

When you pay a fee at a toll booth, you might wonder where your money is going. If you do, you are not alone. Although the assessment and use of tolls varies among cities and states, toll money does a lot to help motorists like you and your community. Read on to learn more from our team at Sheehy Nissan of Mechanicsville.

Road and Bridge Maintenance

Highways and bridges cost a lot to build, and toll funds can help alleviate these costs. However, motorists longing for a toll-free commute after construction will ultimately be disappointed. The expenses of operating highway infrastructure continue even after the receipt of sufficient funds to pay for them.

Salaries

Toll roads and bridges require many hands to stay safe, clean, and beautiful. These hands, however, usually come with the body of a skilled person who also needs to earn a living. Therefore, every time you hand over your hard-earned dollars at a toll booth, you can take pride in the fact that you are helping to support your 

friends, neighbors, and fellow citizens.

Debt

States often lack the financial resources to pay for major highway projects, so they allow toll authorities to issue debt in the form of bonds. Experts analyze the amount of debt, the amount of traffic, and payment due dates to determine the amount of a toll. If traffic volumes meet projections, the tolls pay for the projects. If not, states often must use tax money to compensate for the shortfalls.

Bureaucracy

People at every level of government involve themselves with roads and bridges and help decide how to spend toll revenue. Connecticut is one state where a longtime controversy over tolls continues to rage. Toll proponents say the state needs extra revenue to keep gasoline taxes low and to fund important highway improvements in the state. Opponents say people do not like tolls and that tolls could cause economic losses.

Top Secrets from Professional Car Detailers

When it comes to ensuring your car looks great and retains its value, regular detailing is a must. Detailing ensures that both the interior and exterior of your car are kept in superb condition, which will make it far easier for you to sell the vehicle at some point in the future. Professional car detailing is not particularly cheap, however, and even if you want to keep your car in tip-top condition, you may not be able to afford to do it regularly. The good news is that the professionals have some great secrets that they are occasionally willing to share with consumers. Here are five of those secrets from our team at Sheehy Nissan of Mechanicsville.

Always use two buckets to wash. A bucket and cloth may seem like a very old-fashioned way to wash your car, but in most cases it is still the best way to get a great finish. Most commonly, however, people clean their cars with one bucket of water at a time. Use two buckets – one for the clean water and one for the clean suds. Before dipping your cloth or mitt into the clean suds, you can rinse it in the clean water and wring it dry. This prevents you from moving dirt off the car and simply wiping it back on again.

Detail the trim first. Car owners increasingly use a different range of products to get the best results. One popular product is a trim protector, which restores and protects the trim. Many drivers apply the trim protector then wax their car's paint work afterwards. This is because if not applied first, the trim protector can’t prevent wax and other cleaning products used on the paint work from staining the trim.

Invest in a clay bar. A clay bar is a simple, but very effective way to remove contaminants from your paint work without damaging the surface. Get a good spray lubricant, an 80-100 gram clay bar and a towel. Wash and dry the car, then rub the clay bar onto the surface to remove unwanted particles. The smoother the paint surface after being treated with the clay bar, the more effective any subsequent polish and or wax will be.

Check the paint work with a plastic bag. Before you apply any surface wax on your car's paint work, it is important to ensure that you have removed as many contaminants as possible. One way to do this is to use a thin plastic grocery bag. Place your hand inside the bag and then slowly run it over the surface of the car. The bag will exaggerate the feel of any bumps and imperfections, making it easier for you to prepare the surface further.

Dry the glass in two directions. When you clean and dry your car windows, you will probably detect streaks on the glass, and it can be difficult to work out whether they are on the inside or the outside. Dry your interior glass with horizontal wipes and your exterior glass with vertical wipes, and you will always know which side the streak is on.

Why and How Often Should I Use a Car Cover?

Car covers are available in a variety of different materials and are intended to protect both the exterior and the interior of your car from external pollutants and damage. Car paintwork is surprisingly vulnerable, and a car cover can protect the paintwork from the elements and from minor damage like grit or salt on the road. Read on to discover why we at Sheehy Nissan of Mechanicsville suggest you consider using a car cover this season.

Protecting the condition of your car will protect its re-sale value and will ensure that it remains in attractive condition as long as possible. Buyers of pre-owned cars often desire for the vehicle’s bodywork to be in very good condition, but even if you don’t want to sell the car in the future, the cost of repair work can be significant and is worth avoiding.

Unfortunately, car covers can be frustratingly difficult and time-consuming to fit onto your car, leading many drivers to question just how important it is to have one and how often it needs to be used. Ideally, the cover should be in place whenever the car is not in use because this will maximize the benefits of its protective capabilities. However, it’s worth acknowledging that this is not practical for all car drivers. There are a number of considerations when deciding whether to use a car cover or not.

The location of your car when not in use is very important. If you are in an area where there are lots of birds (for example, on the coast) or where your car is stored under a tree, then you should use the cover as often as possible. Bird poop, sap, and other material from trees can seriously damage your paintwork, and a car cover will offer good protection against this. If your car is parked on a very busy road, then a cover could protect the paintwork from damage caused by grit or stones flicked up from the road surface.

If your car is often left in direct sunlight for any period of time, then a cover will prevent fading of the paintwork and damage to the interior. Leather and plastic upholstery can fade and crack under direct sunlight, and a cover will prevent direct light from causing this kind of damage. It will also help keep the interior of the car cooler, which may subsequently make it more comfortable to drive.

Car covers can also reduce the risk of theft, as they can prevent a would-be thief from quickly accessing the vehicle. A car cover can be a good deterrent if you own an expensive, luxury car, or if you need to leave the vehicle in a secluded location. The age or model of your vehicle may also be a consideration. If you have a classic car, for example, then it is often much more expensive to repair the bodywork, so it’s best to opt for covering it.

It also is worth using a cover whenever your car is not going to be used for a period of time. The cover will prevent dust from building up on the car and blowing into the moving parts. The cover can protect from damp and rainfall in a similar manner and will offer some protection against extreme temperatures.

While car covers may be unwieldy to fit and difficult to store, they are an extremely useful aid in protecting your car and maintaining its condition. Use them as often as possible, particularly when the circumstances put your car at greater risk for damage.

Life With a Sports Car: Are Two Seats a Disadvantage?

Let’s face it. Owning a sports car means making more than a few compromises. More than likely, the most dedicated auto enthusiasts are the people who own a sports car in the first place, so we pretty much know what we’re getting ourselves into. Although limiting the number of seats to two is often the rite of passage to being a ‘true’ sports car, it’s not a necessity. Sure, there’s the lighter weight and higher performance by not lugging around a whole bunch of extra seats. But let’s stop and think about the glaring omission of practicality. Is it really such a bad thing? We at Sheehy Nissan of Mechanicsville have a few things for you to consider.

If you have children, then a two-seater might not be the wisest of choice for your only car. You likely spend more time shuttling your offspring and their belongings than could ever be practical for any car with less than two rows of seating and masses of cargo-carrying capability. Plus, dealing with a car full of screaming infants kind of takes away some of the pleasure of nailing that heel-toe downshift before the next hairpin.

But if you don’t have multiple children to cart around, do you really need more than two seats? If you and your significant other are going to the opera for a date night, it’s probably just going to be the two of you. And wouldn’t you rather show up in a sensual little sports car than the typical family sedan?

Then there’s the day-to-day stuff. How often do you drive down the road, and see other cars only occupied by their drivers? That’s a waste of seats. If you have a sports car at home, just sitting in the garage waiting for the weekend while you drive a sedan or minivan as a commuter vehicle, that’s also a waste of fun. Sure, there are times when you need more than one other seat, but those times are much less often than you’d think.

If nothing else, the lack of seating arrangements means that you, the driver, have more choice of who will accompany you on life’s adventures. It’s a more intimate, cozier environment that allows you to connect with your sole passenger without becoming distracted. Drivers have become so accustomed to driving vehicles as comfortable and as large as their living rooms that they have lost the sense of driving. Having a vehicle that conforms to you and wraps around you the way a sports car does makes you feel as if you are part of the car. It’s almost as if the lack of space creates a whole new sense of focus. You’re no longer just transporting yourself to a destination; the journey is just as important as the destination.

So what if you can’t haul six other people. Is it really that enjoyable in the first place? Having a two-seater puts the emphasis back on you, the driver. It isn’t about being practical and following the crowd. It’s about having fun with life. Sure, there are disadvantages to only having two seats. There are disadvantages to any car. But the advantage of having fun every time you get behind the wheel almost always outweighs any negatives associated with practicality.

Unique Ideas for Decorating Easter Eggs

You don’t need to spend major money on special kits in order to create beautiful Easter eggs that will wow your guests. Just check out these unique ideas from our team at Sheehy Nissan of Mechanicsville for decorating Easter eggs and start revving up your creative engine.

An ombré effect

The ombré effect has gained popularity in recent hair, makeup, and fingernail trends, and now you can take the trend to your Easter table. The effect describes a color that moves gradually from light to dark shades—a gradient. To get the look with your Easter eggs, you’ll need standard dye and a wire egg dipper (usually the dye packs come with wire dippers).

Bend the handle of the wire egg dipper over the lip of your dye cup so that the bottom quarter of the egg is submerged in the dye. Set a kitchen timer for five minutes. When the timer is up, adjust the wire dipper so the next quarter of the egg is submerged, and repeat until the entire egg has been colored. If desired, you can leave a tiny ring of white at the top of your egg.

Add embellishment

Adding embellishment to Easter eggs is a super simple Easter craft that yields dazzling results. With nothing more than a hot glue gun and a few beads and ribbons, you can make it look like you’re an Easter-egg-Einstein. Attach anything from fabric pieces to plastic stones to your eggs with a hot glue gun. If you’re going to use your eggs as a centerpiece for your holiday dinner, use embellishments in the same color family for a look that’s both beautiful and pulled-together.

Adding embellishment to white eggs can create stark and beautiful designs, but if you still prefer the look of dyed eggs, be sure to let them dry completely before you add any embellishments.

Dots, stripes, and more

A bucket of crayons is all you need to create artistic eggs with dots, stripes, and more. The wax in the 

crayons repels dye, so color your name or a pattern on an egg before you dye it for an adorable look that’s easy to achieve. Using white crayon can look especially sharp, since it gives the effect that the background of the egg is somehow shining through the dye.

Going pro

Though fancy kits aren’t necessary to make unique Easter eggs, a little specialty paint can go a long way. If you want to take your eggs to the next level, look for kits that offer paint instead of dye.

Using paint usually gives the eggs more vibrant colors, and brushes also give you more control over the designs you create. Sometimes you can even find paint kits with specialty glitter or metallic shades for Easter egg crafts that make it seem like you got your eggs from a golden goose.