Category Archives: Feature Articles

Do YOU think Oaks Bottom needs a 7-story building looming over it?

Do YOU think Oaks Bottom needs a 7-story building looming over it? Our local neighborhood jewel may be about to change Oaks Bottom is a wildlife refuge in the center of a major city where you can watch otters play … Continue reading

Posted in 2022 May-June, Feature Articles, Newsletter Columns, Newsletters | Comments Off on Do YOU think Oaks Bottom needs a 7-story building looming over it?

A Close Look at Our Close Looks- How we know what’s wrong with your vehicle

A Close Look at Our Close Looks How we know what’s wrong with your vehicle Should you trust another shops’ “Free Brake Inspection”?  Is our own 90-Point Inspection worth your time?  Is our Comprehensive Inspection worth the money?  What problems … Continue reading

Posted in 2022 May-June, Feature Articles, Newsletter Columns, Newsletters | Comments Off on A Close Look at Our Close Looks- How we know what’s wrong with your vehicle

This is a REAL fish, and there’s MUCH more to the story

This is a REAL fish We found a perfect Oregon story at the bottom of a deep rabbit hole You know how it is.  You’re surfing the InterTubes, minding your own business, and you see a post that grabs your … Continue reading

Posted in 2022 April, Feature Articles, Newsletter Columns, Newsletters | Tagged , , | Comments Off on This is a REAL fish, and there’s MUCH more to the story

Rebadged Vehicles- Are they for you?

Rebadged Vehicles In today’s expensive car market, they can save you thousands of dollars!   (by Ian Park, special to “Your Car Matters”.  Originally posted Nov 2010, updated Apr 2022) Did you know that the Toyota Matrix is almost exactly … Continue reading

Posted in 2022 April, Feature Articles, Features, Newsletter Columns, Newsletters | Comments Off on Rebadged Vehicles- Are they for you?

Enter the Tom Dwyer Tattoo Contest!

Show your support for YOUR favorite mechanic! In Portland, tattoo capitol of the known universe, Spring means showing off a lot of new tattoos everyone got during lockdown.  Don’t show up with the same stale tats as all the posers… … Continue reading

Posted in 2022 Mar, Feature Articles, Newsletter Columns, Newsletters | Comments Off on Enter the Tom Dwyer Tattoo Contest!

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to our Funny Page, of course! FOLLOW THE CHICKEN! Did you know we’re the only automotive shop in the world with an in-house political cartoonist?  Or that a hand-cut paper artist creates … Continue reading

Posted in 2022 Mar, Feature Articles, Newsletter Columns, Newsletters | Comments Off on Why did the chicken cross the road?

Mechanical Mirth and Technical Titters-  Things your mechanics laugh about when the customers aren’t around

  Every industry has its own ‘inside humor’, things only the people who deal with that subject every day will find funny.  Every electrician has ‘light bulb’ jokes you’ve never heard and every doctor has at least three jokes about … Continue reading

Posted in 2022 Mar, Feature Articles, Newsletter Columns, Newsletters | Comments Off on Mechanical Mirth and Technical Titters-  Things your mechanics laugh about when the customers aren’t around

”Idiot lights”? Only if you don’t understand them!

Posted on July 11, 2013, updated Feb 2022 Some people call them “idiot lights” but they’re more properly called “dashboard warning lights”… they’re the Christmas Tree display of lights that come on every time you start your car.  If everything’s running … Continue reading

Posted in 2022 February, 2024 March, Feature Articles, Newsletter Columns, Newsletters | Comments Off on ”Idiot lights”? Only if you don’t understand them!

The Devil In All Of Us- The Stanford Prison Experiment

The Devil In All Of Us- The Stanford Prison Experiment (originally posted June 2015)  The deluge of videos showing cops gone wild continues unabated.  Many factors contribute to this horrific situation.  Racism is an undeniable part, but so are the … Continue reading

Posted in 2022 February, Feature Articles, Newsletter Columns, Newsletters | Comments Off on The Devil In All Of Us- The Stanford Prison Experiment

Your Car Mattered in 2021

One last horrified look back at 2021 Everything we covered in 2021’s Tom Dwyer Newsletter…. Tom’s one directive for “Your Car Matters”, the Tom Dwyer Newsletter, is not to waste your time.  He says to stay out of your spam … Continue reading

Posted in 2022 January, Feature Articles, Newsletter Columns, Newsletters | Comments Off on Your Car Mattered in 2021