On July 24, 2010, aaa Auto Salvage along with U-Pull-R-Parts, The Better Bumper Company, Phil’s Body Shop, Master Transmission of Rosemount, Medi-Car and Crown Rental of Rosemount hosted the 3nd annual Rods & Wrecks Car Show in conjunction with the Leprechaun Days celebration in Rosemount, MN. There were a total of 55 classic and custom cars that paid a $10 entry fee. 100% of the entry fees went towards the purchase of game Jerseys for the 7th and 8th grade football program in Rosemount. Due to budget cuts, Middle school football was removed from ISD 196, and was rolled into the community based athletic associations. There are substantial costs to that transition and the away game jerseys and practice jerseys are just a portion of those costs.

The Rods & Wrecks show also included a Distracted Driving Demonstration & Obstacle Course put on by the Dakota County Technical College, Air Bag demonstrations by the Rosemount Fire Department, tours of AAA, and a visit to the car crusher. There were football theme games for all that attended. Awards were given in two categories including Sponsor’s Choice and Spectator’s Choice.

Don Sandoz, President - Irish Youth Football (RAAA Program) sent the following email:

“I want to thank you for your support of our youth football program this year! Your generosity is greatly appreciated and the gift will help us transition our 7/8th grade football program from Middle School to the newly created ERAVE League…Your gift allowed us to purchase a full set of away jerseys for our 7/8 grade teams and we thank you very much!”

“We have over 170 kids signed up for our new program which will allow us to field 4 teams per grade. This is exactly what hoped to see in participation numbers! Not having to worry about how we fund a one-time capital expenditure that we will use for many years has been fantastic!”

“Thanks again from the entire Irish Football Nation!”

“As with the past 3 shows, the sponsors of the show consider Rods and Wrecks a great way to give back to the community and stay connected with the city.” says Patrick McKinney, General Manager of AAA. The $6550 donation was presented to the RAAA board on July 26th.

3rd Annual Rods and Wrecks Car Show was a huge success! Thanks to all the sponsors including aaa Auto Salvage, U-Pull-R-Parts, Medi-Car, Master Transmission, Crown Rental, and Phil's Body Shop.

The second half of 2010 starts today but for Toyota, it wishes yesterday was the end of the year. 2010 has been the year of recalls for auto makers and Toyota is by far the biggest contributor. As if the gas pedal recall wasn't enough to keep the company's legal department busy, Toyota is preparing itself to issue another recall for faulty engines that affect 270,000 cars world wide.

Since the beginning of this year, 200 complaints about engine problems have been received which pushed the auto maker to start an investigation and found a problem with the valve spring of 4.6 liter V8 engines and 3.5 liter V6 engines installed in the Lexus LS460, Lexus LS600h, Lexus LS600hL, Lexus GS350, Lexus GS450h, Lexus GS460 and Lexus IS350 and the Toyota Crown.

"We need to take some form of measure...We will carry it out as soon as we decide on the measure to minimize inconvenience for our customers." Toyota's spokesperson reassured the press.

Recalls are generally bad news for everyone involved but it is good to know Toyota has learned its lesson, and addressing problems sooner rather than later.

P.S. Note to Volkswagen Group - it's about time for a recall on the cam follower problem people are having with the FSI 2.0T motors. Let's not make 2011 the year for VW's recall woes.

On Thursday May 20, 2010, Eastview High School in Apple Valley held a “demonstration” crash to show the dangers of drinking and driving. The staged crash is a real life enactment that shows the vehicles crashed with “real time” from the 911 call, police officers as the first responders, the Fire Department, the Ambulance team and the medical air lift from the scene.

The Eastview High School SADD chapter, the Apple Valley Police and Fire Departments, along with ALF ambulance service, and aaa Auto Salvage were all involved to make the “mock crash” be a real life portrayal of what can happen when drinking and driving mix. As summer time heats up and you enjoy your favorite drinks, please do not let anyone you know drive drunk! The risk to themselves and to all the other drivers and passengers on the road is not worth the risk.

AAA Auto Salvage will host the 3rd Annual Rods & Wrecks car show in conjunction with the city of Rosemount’s Leprechaun Days celebration, July 24, 2010, Noon – 4 PM.

Download Registration Form (PDF) or Register Online

Due to District 196 budget cuts, middle school football will now be offered by local athletic associations. All proceeds from this year’s Rods & Wrecks show will go to RAAA to help offset some of the costs involved in absorbing that program from Rosemount Middle School.

• Concessions will be available on site.

• Guided tours of AAA Auto Salvage, Better Bumper Company, & U-Pull-R-Parts.

• Learn all about what happens to a car when it gets recycled.

Come experience the awesome power of the car crusher!

Summer is a beautiful thing. Especially so when we get to start it off with an extra day off from work to enjoy barbecuing in the wonderful company of our loved ones. The good life, all but warranted to us by those who have served.

Today we remember and honor our service men and women who have given their lives so that we may live in freedom.

Happy Memorial Day!

When I was in high school, riding the school bus was an adventure through busy city streets inside a boombox. It made for an exceptionally painful experience especially when one just got out of bed and it's 20 below on a gloomy winter morning. I survived those bus rides by staying up way too late so that I could sleep through them on the way to school.

To relieve this pain, many school administrators now propose having Wi-Fi on the bus. So far, 25 counties have gotten on board with this Wi-Fi on the go program. Kids are saying they get more homework done on the way to school, they're now able to do more research right before a class discussion and all the good that technology upgrades should provide academically.

My thoughts? I'd say it's an interesting idea to occupy the kids, but I don't see how this would make the experience more pleasant. If anything, it opens up a possibility where one would hear loud rap from the back of the bus, Keith Urban in the front, foreign tunes the Asian kids are listening to, and Spanish songs blasting all at the same time - on top of whatever else is playing on the most popular radio station in town.

Thanks, but I'll take the short bus.

A friend told me a rather morbid story the other day of how a guy accidentally backed his boat and truck into the water.  The situation could have ended with just an insurance claim on lost property, but the man wasn't prepared and unfortunately didn't know how to escape. With fishing opener right around the corner here in Minnesota, I thought it would be a good idea to post this guide from The Art of Manliness. Even if you don't fish or are too broke to afford a boat like me, you never know when this may come in handy given the many bridges we have in MN (over one-quarter of which are rated structurally deficient or functionally obsolete).

How to Escape from a Sinking Vehicle

Stay as calm as possible. When you have gallons of water filling your car, it’s hard not to panic. But when the difference between life and death comes down to a matter of minutes, having a clear head is essential to your survival. Panic is often the reason people drown; they lose the ability to think straight and don’t know what to do. The women in the North Dakota accident called their friends on their cellphones! But panic=death. Hyperventilating and wasting your energy on ineffective actions closes off the easiest options of escape, wastes precious oxygen and shortens the amount of time you’ll be able to hold your breath when making an escape. Just concentrate on what you need to do.

Keep your seatbelt on. Survival experts all agree that you should keep your seatbelt fastened until the very last second of escape. While this may seem counter-intuitive,  it actually makes a good deal of  sense. Water will be rushing into your car. If you’re not anchored to your seat, there’s a good chance you’ll be pushed away from the door or window that will serve as your escape hatch. Moreover, it’s easy to get disoriented when you’re floating around in the cabin of your car. This is especially true if your car flips upside down. Finally, being anchored to your car seat can give you more leverage to break the side window than you would have if you were floating in the water.

Do not wait for the pressure to equalize! When your car starts really sinking, the differential between the pressure outside the car and inside the car makes opening the door impossible. So people are commonly told to wait until the car fills completely with water in order for the pressure inside and outside of it to equalize, at which point you will supposedly be able to open the door. But two shows, Mythbusters and Top Gear have tested this theory and found it wanting. The inside/outside pressure will eventually equalize, but it won’t happen just as soon as the car fills up with water. It takes a bit longer, so long that you’ll likely drown before it happens. It is possible if you are patient, calm, and conserve your oxygen, but don’t count on it.

Watch Top Gear test out this theory:

Get out immediately through the door! Your best chance for survival is to open the door as soon as you hit the water. You should be able to get the door open up until the point that the water has reached your waist. After that, the pressure from the water outside the car will prevent you from opening the door. Of course, if you just accidentally drove or fell into a body of water, you’re going to be somewhat in shock and disoriented. You may not have the presence of mind to open the door before the pressure becomes too great. If so, you need a Plan B.

Roll down or break a window. If you can’t get the door open, the window is your best chance for escape. If the waterline has not risen past the windows, try rolling down the window first. Contrary to popular belief, Mythbusters found that automatic windows don’t immediately short circuit underwater. But as the car sinks, the pressure of the water will prevent you from rolling them down. This is even the case with manual windows. Even if you’ve got Popeye-sized biceps, you won’t be be able to overcome the pressure and roll down the windows. You’ll probably just break the crank.

So if rolling down the window doesn’t work, you’ll need to break the side window to escape. This is actually harder than you might think as the windows are made of strong, tempered glass.  While the windshield is easier to shatter, they’re designed to be unbreakable and are laminated with a plastic sheet that could keep you trapped in the car. If you’ve been doing your push-ups and pull-ups, you might be able to break the side window with your elbow or fist. Aim for the center of the window. But this is extremely difficult. The water significantly slows down the force of your movements. The Mythbusters were unable to break it with a kick from a steel-toed boot. Even if you are able to punch it through, your risk cutting up your hands on the broken glass. Remember the scene at the beginning of Karate Kid II when Cobra Kai sensei John Kreese punched through some car windows? Yeah, your hands could look like that.  Wrapping your hand in something can help reduce the chance of slicing them up.

Your best option is to have some sort of device in your car at all times that allows you to easily break your windows in case of an emergency. The LifeHammer or ResQMe keychain are two tools you might want to consider keeping in your car or on your keychain. They both have a hardened steel tip that makes breaking strongly tempered windows a breeze. The LifeHammer and ResQMe keychain also have a cutting device that will cut through a seat belt if you find that you can’t unbuckle yourself. Keep them in a place that will be immediately accessible in case of an accident; you don’t want to be rummaging through your glove compartment as your car fills with water.

Escape through the window. If the waterline is still below the car window, escaping from the window will be pretty easy. If the waterline is past the window, keep in mind that as soon as you break the window, you’ll be hit with a flood of water. But you should still be able to swim out. Watch Adam from Mythbusters “break” the window and make his escape:

Escape through the door. If escaping through the window is not an option, then your last resort is to wait for the pressure differential to equalize. Try to remain as calm as possible. Don’t waste your energy and oxygen fruitlessly trying to open the door before the car is completely filled. As soon as it is, wait a few seconds more and then give it a try.

Swim to safety. Push off the car and swim to the surface. If you’re disoriented and don’t know which way is up, look for bubbles and follow the direction they’re going.

What to Do with Passengers

First, don’t open the door to make your escape. While you might be able to get out, the car will quickly fill with water and sink rapidly, possibly trapping your passengers in a watery grave. Instead, roll down or break the window.

Escaping from a sinking car is hard enough by yourself. But what if you have passengers? The first goal is to keep them calm. Take control of the situation by explaining exactly what you’re about to do. When people see there’s a plan, they’ll usually calm down. Tell them to leave their seat belts on until you’re about to make the escape. Try to make your escape from a single front window.  They’re bigger than the rear passenger windows. Plus it makes it easier to ensure that everyone has left the car safely if they go through a single exit.

In honor of Earth Day, Eric Schulz CFO of AAA Auto Salvage went to Shannon Park Elementary to talk about how the recycling of cars impacts the environment. Mrs. Spring’s class of 2nd graders, including Eric’s son Cameron, were very attentive while showing pictures of the life of a car after it leaves “a family’s garage.” The question of “what happens to cars” was answered as the 2nd grade class saw the process of dismantling reusable parts off of cars to be sold, to the cars being crushed.

The 2nd graders were able to realize things in their environment that are made out of recycled cars from naval aircraft carriers, steel buildings in Minneapolis and St Paul to the brand new track at Rosemount High School. Unfortunately, many kids know how some Mom’s and Dad’s have had trouble finding jobs in the last few years. These measures of recycling enables companies to provide 46,000 jobs and results in 13 million new vehicles! This is all great news, from the people who are in the jobs to those who get to use the new materials from the recycling of cars.

Finally, the 2nd graders were able to understand first hand, one of the ultimate effects of recycling. It was quite amazing to be able to share with these Rosemount students, that recycling just the wheels could provide enough power to run the entire City of Rosemount for 6 years! So let’s REDUCE – REUSE – RECYCLE and give Mrs. Spring’s 2nd grade a big “high five” for learning about what car recycling is all about!

AAA Auto Salvage in Rosemount, Minnesota hosted an Earth Day event for a local Pre-School. There were 35 kids along with several parents and teachers in attendance. The kids got to witness how cars get recycled after they are no longer usable or wanted. “We took the kids through the whole process from the car coming into the facility all the way to the crusher” said Eric Schulz, CFO of AAA Auto Salvage and dad to one of the students. One of the highlights was in the inventory area when they were looking at two doors and knowing which one could be re-used and which one couldn’t. Then Kendall Schulz pointed to a mirror hanging off a door on another car and said “I don’t think that one is good!”

What would a Pre-School field trip be without a snack? AAA had purchased a tire swing at the Upper-Midwest convention the week prior. The AAA employees went to work trying to figure out a way to hang the tire swing in the building somewhere so they could entertain the kids during snack time. Phil Steinle, AAA’s Quality Control person said “We ended up using a rope to tie it to the rafters”. One of the guys from the shop took a ride on it to make sure it would hold before they let any kids ride the swing.

After snack everyone went over to the crusher to see the last step in AAA’s part of the recycling process. “The crusher is always a highlight of any tour we do” says Eric. John Pesch, the loader operator crushed 5 cars in a stack and then placed the stack on the ground so each class could get their picture taken by the crushed cars.