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April is National Car Care month, and in effort to help you ensure you’re taking the best care of your car possible, we’ve created a brief checklist of all the things that may get neglected throughout the year, especially during the busy winter months: Check Vehicle Registration Expiration Date – Now that we’re in a new month, and 4 months into the new year, double check your Registration on your vehicle to ensure the expiration date has not passed. Verify Your Automobile Insurance Coverage – Request a copy of your Insurance Declaration Page to ensure your coverage limits are where you want them to be, and that your premium is paid up-to-date. Check All Lights on Exterior of Vehicle – Ask a friend to help you ensure all your lights are working properly. Be sure to check your headlights and tail lights, brake lights, tag lights, and turning signals. If you’re in need of a replacement bulb, contact our Parts Department, and leave the searching to us! Check Brakes and Tires on Vehicle – Take the coin test to your tires. Be sure that you have the proper amount of tire tread on all four of your tires, and that all your tires are wearing properly. Schedule an appointment with our Service Department to ensure that your brakes are in tip-top shape, or if you’re in need of new tires or even just a rotation or balance. Our team of experts are waiting for your call. Check Fluids and Battery on Vehicle – Schedule an appointment with our Service Department to ensure all your fluid levels are where they should be, and that your battery is in proper working condition. Clean Windows, Inside and Outside – The winter months can be especially brutal on your vehicle, between the salt, dirt and grime that gets splattered onto your vehicle, all winter long, this is a great time to ensure your windows are clean, inside and out! At any point in time, our fantastic teams in our Service Department and Parts Department are available to help. Visit us online, or contact us today to schedule your appointment, and make sure your car is spring-time ready!

Spring cleaning isn't only for your home or office anymore. Make sure your vehicle is looking, smelling, and running its best. Use this helpful checklist below to help guide you during the cleaning process. Take the time this year to make sure you properly clean your car, and get it looking it's best for spring and summer, with these few tips: Organize the glove box, and consoles. Sort through all of the paperwork in your glove box, and remove old insurance cards, vehicle registrations, and any other objects that you no longer need to cart around every day. Create a folder for your current vehicle registration and insurance card, and neatly place the important documents back inside of your glove box, to ensure that everything is there and easy to find when you need it! Clean the windows—inside and out. Wintertime driving can be pretty trying on the exterior of your car. Clean the windows extra, both inside and outside, with a clean towel, to ensure your visibility is never compromised. Remove clutter from your trunk. Sort through all of the clutter in your trunk, and take out anything you might not need this summer (snow brushes, ice melt, gloves, etc.) and store them away for next year. While your trunk is clean, verify that your spare tire is in perfect, working order, just in case! Scrub the exterior. Winter time can leave salt and road grime all over the exterior of your vehicle. Be sure to scrub off the salt, especially on the lower half of your vehicle, and make sure your paint stays looking brand new! If you're in need of service for your vehicle, to ensure it's running its best before you venture out for your spring and adventures, contact our Service Department, today!

From surprising efficiency to road commanding performance, the Dodge Charger makes for one unforgettable ride. The Charger is available in a range of trim levels including SE, SXT, R/T, Daytona, R/T Scat Pack, and the Daytona 392, SRT 392 and SRT that carries on the Hellcat lineage. With an MSRP starting at $27,995, explore the legendary Dodge Charger that offers the muscle car features you love in a family-friendly package. A Four-Door Sedan Who would have imagined that this brawny sports car was a family-friendly four-door sedan? The Charger is spacious enough to seat five and has real backseats that are inviting and comfortable, even for adults. Discover enough cargo space to haul sports equipment, sleepover bags, and a month's worth of Costco boxes with 16.1 cubic feet of opportunity. For the little ones still in car seats, the Charger conveniently features three full sets of easy-to-find LATCH connectors, and there are tons of small-item storage cubbies throughout the cabin so that each member of the family has their own space. Standard split-folding rear seats add enough space to haul larger items, like that glorious BMX birthday bike. Technology and Entertainment As part of the 2017 model's updates, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are now standard options. The easy-to-use Uconnect system is built to meet your family's safety, information, and lifestyle needs. The 8.4-inch touchscreen saw an upgrade this year with large buttons, faster startups and overall processing, and a slightly higher resolution. For the most discerning and sophisticated family of music lovers, an optional Harman Kardon audio system delivers premium quality sound. Maximum Muscle Chargers are bred for performance with their available first-class supercharged 707-horsepower 6.2-liter V8 HEMI SRT Hellcat engine. Get ready to hold on, kids! This beast cranks out enough power to get any job done, whether you're tearing down the highway to the office or heading to soccer practice. Feel the rumble of the engine while the Charger grips tight to the road. You'll never want to stand still with this kind of heart-wrenching power. For those Charger lovers that just want to zip the family around town, a perfectly respectable and more economical V6 is available that still features that bold Charger stance. Passenger Protection With a mountain of muscle under the hood and the kids in the back seat, you need to be able to stop this bad boy efficiently. Dodge added a host of braking power from antilock brakes to advanced brake assist, so you can stay in control no matter what the road throws your way. To protect your family, Dodge gave the Charger a forward collision warning system. If a frontal impact is heading your way, the Charger's brakes pre-fill, and both audible and visual proximity warnings will alert. If need, the system will apply the brakes to help avoid an impact. You want a car that looks cool and makes a thunderous statement while still serving the family well. Look for Charger models at your local Dodge dealership today. Image via dodge.com

Vehicles with four-wheel drive transfer the power from your engine to four wheels instead of two wheels. Some vehicles have it part of the time or all of the time (often called all-wheel drive), depending on the model and what options it has. Here are just five of the benefits of having four-wheel drive when driving around in the winter months. Additional Traction The main purpose of four-wheel drive is to provide you with additional traction. In the winter months, traction is important as you drive over icy conditions and through the snow. Better traction can help keep you and your passengers safer in varying road conditions. Whether you plan to travel to a different climate or stay home, this added traction is helpful. Travel Anywhere With four-wheel drive, you can travel almost anywhere. This includes on mountain paths, through forests, and in the snow. During the winter months, many families travel more than usual to visit family and to enjoy winter break. Having a vehicle with available four-wheel drive means that you can travel to places where someone with a simple two-wheel-drive sedan would not dare to venture. High or Low Depending on the model, you might have access to Four-High and Four-Low settings that you can switch between based on driving conditions. You should rely on Four-High when you're on a highway and the roads are wet, icy, or covered in snow. You can also use it when you're driving on gravel or mud. It is a great way to get additional traction when you need it during regular use. During the winter when roads are more likely to be icy, Four-High can help prevent slips or accidents. The Four-Low setting can help you in less common situations, such as getting caught in deep snow, going up steep inclines, or driving through water. You'll need to drive slowly to benefit from this feature, as Four-Low uses more torque to substantially increase your traction. In the winter, it is perfect when you go out to your car only to realize it's been covered in snow. You can dig out the top of your car and then use the Four-Low setting to help get out of deeper snow. Best of Both There are some drivers that would fully benefit from having all-wheel drive, especially if they spend a lot of time driving in less than ideal conditions. However, having a vehicle with four-wheel drive gives you the best of both types of vehicles. You'll be able to turn on the power of four-wheel drive only when you need it and turn it off when you don't. When it comes to the winter season, there are a few things that make driving safer and more enjoyable. This includes features such as four-wheel drive, a great pair of all-terrain tires, and heated seats. If you're looking to purchase a new vehicle, consider how you want to spend your winter months driving around. " Kindness is like snow, it beautifies everything it covers " by PokemonaDeChroma is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

We're almost two weeks into the New Year, and almost everyone has a plan in place to improve their life, whether with fitness, organization, or even managing finances. But what about bettering your automobile? It’s not too late to set a resolution to keep your vehicle at it’s best this 2018. Your vehicle is most likely one of your most valued and relied on possessions, so, why not take every measure to ensure you're keeping it in tip-top shape throughout the year? Here are a few ideas for New Year's Resolutions, specifically for your automobile: Keep up with your routine maintenance. Your vehicle's routine maintenance is one of the easiest things to overlook—whether it's not having the time to have maintenance addressed, or the money. Although it's easy to neglect, it's also one of the most important aspects of your vehicle's longevity and can help you save money and time, in the long run. Schedule an appointment with our Service Department to have your routine maintenance addressed. Keep your vehicle's interior and exterior clean. Although it's tough to maintain the cleanliness of your vehicle, especially in the colder months, you may feel better if you do. Having a clean vehicle may help reduce stress, especially if your vehicle tends to get cluttered easily. Keep up with your neglected maintenance. Have a rattling noise that's been driving you crazy for a while, but haven't had it looked at yet? Bring your car in for Service, and let our experts help you pin-point the problem, before it becomes a bigger problem. Schedule regular check-ups. Just like your physical health, it's important to keep tabs on your vehicle's health. Schedule regular appointments to have your car checked, to ensure everything is in working order.

Maryland's winter can be hard on vehicles and stressful for drivers. Unpredictable road conditions can make longer trips difficult, while city streets can be plagued by ice patches and layers of salt. We've come up with four ways to prepare your car for the Maryland winter so you stay safe on the road. Wax Ahead of Time Snowy conditions can wreak havoc on your paint job. There's lots of debris that can get caught under your vehicle and along the sides. Left untreated, it can eat away at the paint and cause rust and other damage. In addition, the salt on the road can destroy the exterior of your vehicle. To prevent damage, get your car professionally waxed before the cold sets in and maintain it throughout the season. The wax will create a barrier between your car's paint and the outside world. Try to hose your vehicle off after driving through salt or dirty snow to help prevent a build-up of corrosives that can, over time, cause serious body issues. Don't forget to spray under your vehicle as well. Change Out Fluids During the wintertime, fluids in your vehicle can pose problems. If you don't have the correct type, you may find yourself with a broken down vehicle. To prevent this problem, make sure that both your oil and wiper fluids are freeze-proof. Frozen oil can cause major problems with your engine, while frozen wiper fluid decreases visibility and can damage the associated hose. Check Your Tires Whether you have front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, skidding on ice presents a serious issue. There are a number of ways to help avoid slipping on ice patches, including driving slowly and carefully, with a healthy distance between your vehicle and the one in front.   However, sometimes even the most careful drivers find themselves in danger of skidding. To help prevent these situations, make sure your tires have healthy treads. Treads help grip the road, and a solid tread will keep you more firmly planted. There are specific snow tires available, but often — especially for city drivers — a well-maintained tread should be enough. Create Emergency Kit A winter emergency kit can spare you a lot of stress and misery. While no driver wants to think they'll get stranded, it's a common enough occurrence during the winter, especially if the weather deteriorates quickly with very little warning. Emergency kits should include items like warm blankets, ice scrapers, and kitty litter or sand for traction in case your vehicle gets stuck. Snacks may also be a good addition, as well as gloves and thick socks. Your top priority is warmth and safety, so your kit should address those needs. These are just a few ways to get your car prepped for the Maryland winter. Remember that driving carefully in these conditions, no matter how confident of a driver you are, can mean the difference between staying safe and a potentially dangerous situation. Image via pixabay.com

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, along with the busiest travel holiday of the year! If you’ve traveled on this holiday in the past, you know that planning is key to a seamless, relaxing trip, and we’ve got just the list to keep you organized this year! Stay Connected – Download the latest travel apps for your phone before you hit the road—Spotify is a great channel for music, Waze will help with traffic, and Citymapper will be your best-bet for navigation! Travel Late or Early – Instead of sitting in a huge mess of traffic this year, leave in the middle of the night, or early in the morning to avoid traffic jams—you’ll get to where you’re going much faster, and your passengers will thank you… especially if you have kids! Pack Wisely – Make sure to bring temperature-appropriate clothing, shoes, and coats, especially if you’re heading north or to the mountains! Have Your Car Serviced – Make sure that all of your fluid levels are topped off, your brakes, lights work properly, and that your car is up to date on all routine maintenance including oil changes and tires. Contact our Service Department to set up an appointment to have your car prepared for your road trip! Have Travel Documents on Hand – Be sure to carry your Insurance Card, Roadside Assistance information, and any other vital information, in case of emergency. Make All Stops at Once – If you have children, it might be challenging trying to travel with the constant stopping for bathroom breaks, food, and drinks, but, if you stop in a place where you can use the restroom, grab a sandwich and a bottle of water, all in one place, you’re guaranteed to save time instead of loading and unloading everyone into and out of the car at each place. Visit us online to schedule your appointment with our Service Department, to ensure your vehicle is up-to-par for your Thanksgiving travel. Buckle up, and enjoy the ride!