2010-01-11

quote of the moment

"the most common turbocharger failure is bearing failure related to
repeated hot shutdowns with in adequate 'cool down' periods. a sudden
engine shut down after prolonged operation will result in the transfer
of heat from the turbine section of the turbocharger to the bearing
housing. this causes the oil to overheat and break down, which causes
bearing and shaft damage the next time the vehicle is started."

-- 2008 PT cruiser service manual, volume 3, page 11-23

quote of the moment

"increasing the turbocharger boost WILL NOT increase engine power."

-- 2008 PT cruiser service manual, volume 3, page 11-22

2009-12-22

ta da

six hours after the post office showed my letter being delivered to chrysler, i got a phone call from a detroit area code ... it is, in fact, a rep. calling from the CEO's office ... this in itself is interesting, not only because the response is so fast, but also because i never put a phone number on my letter -- it means that they've gone through their owners' logs and pulled it out.

the conversation is long, winding and strange (as conversations with me tend to be on the phone -- the robot has suggested that i start publishing all my phone conversations), but i can summarize it succinctly: if i follow what's in the owner's manual, i'm covered for warranty's sake.

some interesting pieces of side trivia:

* chrysler has a record of all my visits to all my dealerships, but they do not have a record of what the results of individual inspections are.

* my chrysler rep. also has a max care service contract on her jeep (and she hasn't read her owner's manual).

* i now have a name and a direct line into chrysler.

i was traveling at the time and forgot to ask for a quick note in the mail stating the same, just for my record purposes, but i will.

we also had a brief conversation about chapman that i will not repeat here, but i will say i am satisfied.

i consider this an early xmas present from chrysler, and given the current circumstance, could not be happier.

(19184486)

they've got mail

you can get email confirmation on certified mail now ... and it's cheaper than those damn little green cards.


***


b1-66er has requested that you receive a Track & Confirm update, as shown below.

Track & Confirm e-mail update information provided by the U.S. Postal Service.

Label Number: 7107 1692 5290 2804 2861

Service Type: First-Class Certified Mail

Shipment Activity        Location                               Date & Time
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Arrival at Unit          AUBURN HILLS MI 48326                  12/22/09  7:46am

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2009-12-19

and just when it was getting good too ...

i'm headed back east (which is to say CO and NV) for a few weeks ...
which means there'll be a delay on seeing/reporting anything related to
the chrysler group letter until after the new year.

in other news, my car was 2 years old, yesterday.

2009-12-18

a question of faith

at breakfast with the grumbler this morning, i brought up the letter to mr. marchionne (since i knew he subscribes to my RSS feed) and asked him what he thought of it.

it was a non-topic for him.  "i don't think anybody's gonna read it."

but i think he's wrong.  i could go on and on about this, but having worked in large corporations (some with the grumbler, in fact), i know that a letter that comes out of the office of the president will get attention ... and very little gets sent certified mail these days ... i think it'll get a response ...

... but i've been wrong before.

quote of the moment

"The Sacred"

After the teacher asked if anyone had
a sacred place
and the students fidgeted and shrank
in their chairs,
the most serious of them all
said it was his car,
being in it alone,
his tape deck playing
things he'd chosen,
and others knew the truth
had been spoken
and began speaking about their rooms,
their hiding places,
but the car kept coming up,
the car in motion,
music filling it,
and sometimes one other person
who understood the bright altar of the dashboard
and how far away
a car could take him from the need
to speak, or to answer, the key in
having a key
and putting it in, and going.

-- Stephen Dunn